Hearing God's voice

From 'Creative Commons'

I could be hearing God's voice when:

1. I am reading the Bible and a verse seems to 'jump out of the page'
2. I wake up and remember my dream
3. When  I am praying and a picture or thought strongly breaks through
4. I have a persistant feeling of 'having to do something' which reoccurs (call, send a card etc)
5. I see a lesson in nature that underlines what I am thinking
6. I am meditating and I really do hear a voice
7. An overwhelming emotion takes over
8. A song or piece of music 'fits' the situation I am in
9. An angel appears and speaks to me - wther in a dream or in a vision
10. Someone else brings me a word of knowledge

If I am hearing God's voice then:

1. What I hear will not contradict the Bible
2. God will be exalted through the message
3. The message will flow from love (not to please the other nor to preach to the other)
4. It will keep me humble
5. I should pass it on without interpreting it, being a channel
6. I should avoid predicting the future

Riding on the Father's back

Swan and cynets from 'Creative Commons'

When young cygnets are first hatched, the mother remains on the nest to incubate the other eggs. The young chicks who hatch first keep warm by riding on their father's back.

They are safe in from the cold, stormy waters in the strong wings of the father. The father guides them safely through the flotsam and jetsam of the river, avoiding the weeds that might entangle them and keeping them safe from other river predators.





W. H. Davies

"Leisure"

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Spiritual warfare

Sometimes life rolls on in a typical pattern - work, play, sleep, eat and so on. And then suddenly, something happens that reminds us that there is a whole invisible world out there of which we experience so little.

However, in the face of a spiritual attack, I can rely on God's army of angels being greater and mightier than those of the enemy.

2 Kings 6^:15-17
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. "

And God wins the war through untraditional methods:

Zechariah 4:6 " 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

Be the wind in these sails...

Just back from the Alpha Course Weekend when we have spent 24 hours talking about the Holy Spirit and have been watching Him at work in human lives. I spent a few minutes reflecting on what I saw and heard this weekend and the words of this song came bubbling up in me.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would be the wind in my sails. How often I get so busy that I forget to head my boat into the wind and let my life be moved along by Him, instead get tossed and turned by the currents beneath me.

Be the reason that I live....Jesus ... Be the centre ...

There is a day by PHATFISH

I love this video. It shows so clearly that the world we experience is a poor, sad, broken black and white copy of the vibrant, colourful, complete world that we are travelling to. "We will meet Him in the air and then we will be like Him."
Not wanting to be morbid, but ...if I die before He returns, I hope they sing this at my funeral....

There is a day
That all creation's waiting for,
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth.
And on that day
The Lord will come to meet His bride,

And when we see Him
In an instant we'll be changed
The trumpet sounds
And the dead will then be raised
By His power,
Never to perish again.
Once only flesh,
Now clothed with immortality,
Death has now been
Swallowed up in victory

We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see Him, as He is
Oh yeah!
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we'lll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live
Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

So lift your eyes
To the things as yet unseen,
That will remain now
For all eternity.
Though trouble's hard,
It's only momentary
And it's acheiving
Our future glory.

Tagxedo

Vision and Action

Twittered by Nicky Gumbel on 29 January 2012:

Vision without action is only a dream

Action without vision is a nightmare

Vision with action changes the world