Classroom of Suffering and Patience

Gods Word says:  "As an example of suffering and patience, we are to take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord....James 5:10

Following Jesus means suffering for what He says is truth. The prophets of the Old Testament knew this.

Suffering, pain, anguish and trials are times when believers can learn lessons only God can teach. They are "classrooms" in His hands.  Places where He provides a wealth of knowledge about who He is and how He operates, if we are willing to turn to Him,  actively seeking from His mighty and awesome Word, what He says as the way to handle them.

The prophets and apostles learned valuable lessons in the what I'm calling "godly classrooms".  All  of them listened to Gods voice and yet they suffered anyway, the above verse tells us. And if you read about each one specific experiences you will see how they also learned patience in the midst each ones times of suffering.

Scripture says, "Gods ways are not our ways".  We in our humanity  see adversity as something to stop, something to run from,  something to fix quickly. Yet over and over Scripture tells of the suffering and trials that Gods people went through, book after book. I am learning through my own struggles, that God wants me to see these times of adversity as one of His choicest tools for refining me and making me more like Jesus.  Adversity drives me to Him; to His voice...His Word. Nothing else comforts me more in my suffering than hearing what the Lord has to say to me from His Word.  Telling me how much He loves me, telling me He is with me; He will be my strength and my shield.  Comforting me with the comfort I can then comfort others with because I know their pain and can point them to Him to help them through the dark valley.

Adversity gets our attention, if we let it. It leads us to examine our inner self.  If, as today's verse says, the lesson in our suffering is learned--which is to follow the examples of the prophets and learn patience in our circumstances, this learned lesson effectively make changes our behavior. We can have His peace and to still praise Him even when we suffer. Endure with spiritual patience, which is what I believe the prophets knew.

Jesus suffered. Godly men and women written of in Scripture suffered.  Christ told His followers they--we--would suffer in this world, but not to be afraid, because He has overcome the world....John 16:33  So we will also suffer.  For us it is what we choose to do with the suffering.  Christ gives us the answer.  His strength, His Word, His Spirit sent to help us.  There is no other true way.

I am learning if I let Him, my Lord Jesus, will help me overcome all my adversities, trials and difficulties. and in the midst of  them  give me His patience and peace.  His Voice --the Word-- tells me how I can do so, and my part is to listen  and do what He says. God speaks to us through His holy Word,  His holy Spirit, and the godly counsel of His holy people.  He has something to say to each of His children in every situation we face.  We are the ones who have to decide we want to hear what He says.  His Word is where we must go first. As our Father He knows exactly what we need and longs to help us.  But we must accept His way of doing so and only learn through His Word.

How about you,  whens the last time you had a moment of listening? Reading Gods Word is how we listen to   God.  If we seek Him, He promises He will be found.

Listening....Hearing

I had someone ask me recently, how do I know God is "speaking to me, personally". Why would He speak to any of us personally?"  These are very good questions.  I  remember replying at the time, "Because I hear His voice in my heart.  Not an audible voice like some that claim to hear voices in the head, but in the whisper in my heart: when remembered Scripture reveals itself to my mind. That's when I know He is speaking to me When I hear His Words with in.

Many people ask,  " Is God speaking today?"  My reply to this is, oh yes He is definitely speaking. The real question is, are we listening?.  I am just now beginning to get a glimmer of understanding as to what it really means to listen. How can I know what He has to say, if I do not go to the source of His voice, His Word.? The Word of God is how He is speaking to us, His creation, today.

Scripture says: " God is not man that He should lie...Has He said and then not done; spoken and not made good? [Numbers 23:19]...."My word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path." [Psalms 119:105}
Light shining in darkness, [another blog maybe]. Isn't this, His Words speaking to us? He says," I the Lord your God... I will... listen to what I say?"

No, I do not question whether God is speaking. What I am learning is to question whether I am hearing. When I hear a voice whose speaking do I hear a , my own voice, telling  me to do  what I think and,feel is the right thing to do?.  Is it the worlds voice noisily, shouting out, loud contradictions to what God clearly says in Scripture?  Whose voice am I hearing?

I have learned if I do not go to the source of Gods Voice, His Word,  I can not expect to hear Him speak.  I can not know what He is saying. I can only hear what the other voices I am listening to say. The Bible is how I hear God speak to me.  And when  I 'am  hearing Him "speak to me" I now know it is His Voice,  the voice of His Words, usually telling me to listen.

A very wise, godly man and mentor, whom I greatly admire, frequently says, "Listen! Are you listening? , when he is sharing something important from Gods Word. Because He also says "The Bible has an answer for every circumstance and situation we face daily." If we do not read Gods Word,  is it  He's not speaking or are we not listening?

This is a question I ask myself daily as i spend time in the Word of God.  Am I listening to what He is saying? Do I hear Him?  And when the answer comes up "no" I'm not, as when I am fearful, full of doubts, not at peace in my inner self,  then I know I need to go to the Word, so I can listen because I haven't been hearing .  Each and every day, that I do not spend time with His Word,  my hearing His voice gets less and less clear.  It grows quieter and quieter.  I no longer hear what He says.

Whens the last time you picked up Gods Word and ask Him sincerely from your heart, to speak specifically to you. When you do, I can assure you, He will answer and  speak to your heart personally,  He promises to meet each one of us right where we each are. His Word tells us He will and that  He does exactly what He says.

Thank You precious Lord, that Scripture tells us, You are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. and You will speak to us because Your Word says you will. All we have to do is be willing to LISTEN.

Valley....Mountaintops...Gods Ways.

Scripture says: " In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight"...Proverbs 3:5

As read this verse I had actually been thinking about another subject.  The title of this message being the subject I had been thinking about. I even had a different Scripture in mind for this blog.  And as I sat listening the Lord spoke gently to my heart, in His sweet Voice and my heart heard.

"Beloved, My children experience adversity, anguish, trials, tribulations, and heartaches as the "valley experiences" of this life. These times, as much as they would like to avoid them, are necessary in order for them to grow and mature spiritually.  They are a part of My plan for their lives here on earth. These "valleys" are times, I seek for them to turn to Me, and listen to what I can tell them, as to how they can walk through the valley.  I KNOW the way.  I Am the way.."

"What I want my children to know, is that I am with them in the valley's as much as I am on the mountaintops.    and that I know it's hard for them to understand, in the pain of adversity, but I have a purpose and a plan for everything that touches their lives.  Yours too."

"It is hard, for some of My children to understand what I mean, when I'm saying, " My ways are not your ways, and My thoughts are not your thoughts".(Isaiah 55:8)  What they see as a calamity, I see as a time of teaching them to trust Me. To trust Me in all of life experiences. In their valleys, as well as on the mountaintops. I, who created them, have a specific plan for each and every child of Mine..."in My book were written all the days ordained for you, before one even came about." (Psalms 139:16)

Each valley, is a time for My child, who is in it, to come and seek Me. "To find Me while I may be found". (Isaiah 55:6). To seek Me in My Word and have a conversation in prayer with Me.  I invite them to come; " Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)  I want them to come"... "I love them with an everlasting love." (Jeremiah 31:3)

When I say, "In all your ways acknowledge Me, what I am saying is seek Me, listen to Me, and I will make your paths (ways) straight; both in the valley's, as well as on the mountaintops of life. Abba

And what I share with those who may be reading this post is, God is Faithful! He can be trusted!  I know From experiencing  many valley experiences of my own.  If you heart desires to know how to find a straight path through your valley and walk back up to the mountaintop, seek to meet with Him today in Scripture. There's no where higher. His ways and love are wonderful,  and yes at times, even hard to understand, But He has promised  He is always with us wherever we go.

Thank You Lord Jesus, that there is no where we can go that you are not with us, offering Your love, Your guidance, Your peace.  Praise the wonderful name of Jesus.

Whose Voice Do I Listen To?

Mark 10:1...crowds gathered around Him...and according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.

I am reading in the book of Mark right now and as I read this chapter (10) The Lord, in answer to the request I made in prayer to Him earlier, is speaking to me about  what He wants me to hear from Him.
Speaking to my heart, saying, " listen this is what I say".

The part of this passage that is most familiar to many of us, is when the Pharisees came up to Him and tested Him,  asked the question, "Whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife". They were trying to trick Him. He answered and said, "What did Moses command you?  They said, "Moses permitted (emphasis mine) a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away".

The next verse is where the Lord began speaking so clearly. "Because of your (emphasis mine) hardness of heart, he (Moses) wrote this commandment. The Lord says," But from the beginning of creation, God made them --MALE AND FEMALE (emphasis from my Bible)...AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two but one flesh."  That's what God says.

Now let me stop for a moment to say, this isn't a message about what is acceptable or unacceptable about divorce.  What I am sharing is what I hear God saying speaking to me.  The very next verse is the is the one the one that I want to make known.  "Therefore what God has joined together, let no man (my emphasis) separate."  The key here Beloved His voice says  The point is what, I, God have join together, let no man separate."

So what do you mean, Lord I asked?   He replies, "To whom are the couple making their "vows"? That's a good question, I replied . The Lord then continues gently,  "How have they been joined together?  By a vow to Me or a promise to each other, or a tradition set by  world?.  In their hearts, do they really know what they are vowing to, and to whom they are making their vow?"

I paused here thinking about the word vow, and  what a exchanging vows may mean when we marry today?   So first, I looked up the word vow in the dictionary. Three listings appeared.  The first defines a vow as: "a solemn promise or assertion, by which one person binds him/herself to an act, service, or condition".  The second states, "to make as a vow, to bind or consecrate" And the third, "a vow, declare."

Now I really stopped and pondered.  "So how does this all apply to what You want me to "hear" Lord Jesus? I asked.

"Beloved, what few seem to understand here, is that when anyone of  My children take a vow before Me, and then brakes it, they are committing "spiritually" adultery to Me.  It is not just the vow, it is who are they really making it to?  Marriage vows to Me, any vows to Me, are serious.  Not to be taken lightly."

I , myself, know when I am making a vow before God, I must be very clear as to whom I am making the promise.  So then if I brake it, I know to whom I am braking it also. God, my Father.

I feel in my heart, what the Lord is really saying here, is that vows are made too casually today, and for sometime now.  They have been misunderstood for what they really are. If we make a vow before the Lord God, then we are making a promise to Him which only He has the right to separate, not man!  The issue is  not as much what we vow, as it is to whom we vow.

Now some may say here,  what does she know?  She probably has everything in her marriage just perfect.  She can not know what I'm suffering.  I am here to say, oh yes I can.  I have over 40 years of marriage  behind me and there have been two specific times I have been faced with a decision about my marriage vows and what I promised to My Lord God when I said them. The first time, I didn't listen to God and suffered much within my soul and life afterward, because I did not hear His Word.  The second time I listened, even  though everything in my soul cried out,  "I can't Lord.  I can't."  That time I choose to look to Him first to listen to what He and to say and follow what He asked of me.  And I have never regretted that choice.

Walking in faith is not easy. Sometimes it is down right painful, especially when we are "deaf" to what God is saying about the subject ,or we feel He is silent, or even not involved at all, during  the situation. One of the  lessons I have learn for myself, through these times of pain--and trust me there have been, and still will be many -is Gods wonderful, loving, faithfulness, even in the most painful of challenges.

When I stop and listen, really listen, to what He says, He has and I know now, will guide me into His truth, by using His Word to speak to my heart.

How about you when was the last time you listened not only to what God says, but what you yourself have said in any vow you have taken.  Whom did you make it too?

God's Voice ....Silent?

...and if My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:14)

Is God's voice silent?   Does He speak today?  And if He is what does He have to say?

Gods is not silent. He speaks to us everyday, if we choose to listen to Him. He speaks from His Word, the Bible.  Through it He tells us who He is, and what His ways are. How we can be blessed, and the things that cause us  to hurt.

God is not silent.  Scripture says,  He comes in the whisper, not the whirlwind. He doesn't shout at us. His voice isn't heard in the loudness of voices we hear today, who rise up in opposition to what He has already said.   His voice is in His Word, and the message of His Son Jesus Christ. He is speaking but, we have stopped listening.We have become "hard" of hearing.  He's not silent.

How do we hear what it is someone else wants to say to us?  A written message perhaps, or a one-on-one conversation, or maybe even by them sending it to us through an other person.  God speaks the same way: His written Word, His voice in our hearts, as we respond to reading His Word  given to us from those who experienced his written Word.  It is us who do not "hear"how He is speaking.

 The Bible is Gods speaking to us.  It is how He talks to the world today. It tells us who He is and what His ways are, how he does things and why.  It is His revelation to we His creation.  When we take the time to sit and read the Word,  He is speaking to us. It is a one-on-one, personal conversation, between us and Him, passed on to us from others who were listening.

Today more than ever I think God wants to speak to His creation.  He is a personal God, The One and only God, who wants to have a personal conversation with each one of us, if we will take the time to listen to His Voice, the Bible. The real question is, do we want to hear Him?  Do we want to make the time to listen?  Conversation is a two way street. It does not matter if anyone speaks, if others do not listen. There is no communication in this.

I challenge you to take some time today,  pick up His Word and listen to what He has to say personally to you. If you ask with a sincere heart He will answer. I am each day.  You can too.

God' Most Useful Tool

All these having gained approval through (emphasis mine) their faith did not receive what was promised, because god provided something better.....( being made perfect in Christ) ..Hebrews 11:39,40



As I sit with my Bible and a wonderfully delicious, first of the morning, cup of coffee, I am  meditating on today's Scripture passage in my devotional.  The "Purification of Our Faith" is the message; the passage is Hebrews 11:32-40.  And the theme is God's using adversity  to "refine or purify" us into Christ likeness.  As verse 34 says, " made strong from weakness".

Wow! This really spoke to me, as I struggle with the weakness of my physical body, and how my affliction is rapidly robbing me of the  ability to function like others with healthy bodies do, in the everyday world.
These verses talk about men and women of faith and what adversity and suffering they experienced, approved by God but suffering also.  And Why?  Because God has something better for them. His Perfect Son perfected within them.  For them to become Christ-like.  If you read the full passage seems like a tough road to travel.  And it was.

I am slowly, though not always happily, learning that adversity in the hand's of God, is one of His best tools for sculpting Christ-likeness with in us.  Chipping away the surrounding sin and selfishness we all are afflicted with refines us.  But we must be willing to go through the process. God  the Master sculptor of His creation,   knows exactly what each of His children need, "chiseled" away.

I realize more and more that what I humanly think I need is not what God KNOW's I need.  I now have a better understanding of what Scripture means, when it says God's ways are not our ways.  Who would willingly go through the adversity these saints did--and many today need to know this -- if they didn't understand that He is lovingly and carefully, sculpting us into His best work.

Thank you Father God that even if I do not understand how I need to be shaped.  You do.  May I be willing to accept Your work in me.

Freedom Verses Captivity
"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed".  John 8:36

I have read this passage in John 8: 1-36, and each time, remembered  wondering to myself, what does it mean exactly.  The Son makes us free. Free! Free from what? How does He makes me free?   Today I think I finally have an understanding.

JESUS!  Jesus who is the Son ..of God.. is why we are free from captivity and bondage, if we are believers in Christ. It is His life, death, and resurrection, which He offers freely that sets us free from the captivity of  things of this world that imprison us.   Darkness,depression, hopelessness, emptiness, to name a few I  have experienced.  Yes these are prisons that the enemy locks us up in, and wants to keep us there.  Jesus wants to make us free, in Him.

I heard it said recently by someone,  that the Bible is a love story.  The greatest love story ever told. For me it is so true.  Jesus Christ wants to set each of us free, free us to have a personal, intimate, loving relationship with Him.   It is with in the pages of this book, The Bible, where The God of heaven, reveals how much He loves us. Enough to come from heavens glory and live among us and ultimately give up His own life in order to make us free from the bondage of sin which is what imprisons whether we see or don't see it as such.  How much greater love can there be?  A sacrificial love.  I'll die for you so you do not have to suffer eternal death.  That's being set free.

Today's world,  I think, rely's to much on what others say is right or true, especially about God, His Son Jesus Christ and His Word the Bible, rather than really to ask or search out what they, personally believe.  Hearsay! The Bible is Gods revelation to His creation, of who He is, what He thinks, what He wants us to know..about Him..and just how much He loves, loves, loves, us.  He desires to set us free to love Him in return.  How can that happen if we never spend time within the pages of His revealed story to us.

Loves sets the captive free.  Faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement for us sets us free. Jesus is love, and wants to set each of us free...
Spend some time in His word  find out for yourself what the Bible has to say about how to be "made free. Read it!  Explore it! I know you will never regret doing so.  The loving God who created you is waiting for you to come to Him.