Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Is There A Child in The House?

Recently watched a short clip of a young man.  He was goofing off, dancing and laughing.  It was uplifting until one realized that he had died tragically a day after that video in a skiing accident.  Watching him made me want to reach into the screen and grab his essence and retrieve the laughter and the boy that once was.

The body is only a house.  The soul really is a separate entity.  I could see it in the video.  The childlike nature of this young man evidenced in his love of life jumping around telling the body to move to express his joy.

Jesus knocks on the door of the house.  Is there anyone there?  A child, perhaps,
that joyfully runs to see who is there.  A child looks up with a smile and hope, that this stranger will fill a need in his/her life.  Children are like that, selfish by nature but in a good way.  Feed me, hold me, make me laugh, play with me, keep me warm, keep me safe.  Intellect, education, life's experiences, background are all worthless when entering the Kingdom of God.  We need to run to the door of heart and throw it open to the King of King and let Jesus enter in.

Hearing from God

Everybody wants to hear something from God!  Look at the popularity of preachers that call out people and start reading their "mail".  It is pretty simple.
1.  Your circumstances may indicate God is trying to get your attention.  Jonah finally quit complaining and started listening when he found himself in a dark, lonely and smelly place (whale).
2. Counsel - Listen to those in authority - Pastor, parents, trusted friends.
3.  Peace Philipians 4:7 (one of my fav scriptures).. it is a feeling that everything is right in the world no matter what is happening.  When my husband was away in Desert Storm (war in Kuwait) God put me in a God Bubble.  Nothing bad could penetrate and I was on a Spiritual High!  It was amazing.
4. Dreams and visions.  Mathew 1:20.  It took a dream to convince Joseph to marry Mary!
5. Thoughts are powerful and Amos 4:13 describes God speaking to man. 2Co 10:5 tells us what to do to protect our mind against thoughts of the enemy.
6.  Natural Manifestations point to our Creator and as a Christian, one should study the science of creationism to understand the miracle that is all around us.
7. Supernatural manifestations are mentioned in the Bible (burning bush for Moses, Voices from Heaven, Angels appearing) and so we should see and expect them in our lives (receiving the Holy Ghost)
8. Bible Hebrews 4:12 describes the power behind the Word of God.  Any true Christian can tell a story where he/she has opened their Bible and a scripture has spoken to their heart or their situation.
9.  Whisper  1Kings 19:12 describes God speaking to Elijah in a still, small voice.
Sometimes one will be given a thought or hear a thought spoken as if they are thinking it but it is really from God.  When acted upon, confirmation in the form of the result lets you know that it was truly from God.  "Speak to that person"  "Stop" "Wait"  "Don't speak that"  "Ask her to go to altar and pray" "Tell them your testimony"  These are some examples that come to my mind when I have heard from God.

Finally, my wonderful readers, read Jeremiah 7:13 which is a warning to truly hear what the Lord is saying and respond to Him.