Month: July 2025

A Still Small Voice

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It has been my observation while trying to make sense of the Book of Job that sometimes God speaks to us with an audible voice, a whirlwind, an angel, a prophet, or a dream. He even writes stuff on a wall (Daniel 5). If we hear an audible or see a big sign, we feel more confident stepping out – we will follow the plan. When he is subtle, we can often get timid. It is easy to doubt what we are hearing. For sure we need to confirm all messages with scripture, but the truth is simple – God speaks in the way he decides is best for the specific situation. We are wise to trust his judgement.

We all experience confusing circumstances (1 John 4:1). Sometimes we just want God to send a text message to tell us what to do. Maybe you feel far from God and want Him to reach out to reassure you He is still there. Maybe you have heard people say the God of the Bible is personal, but you have never interacted with God before and wonder how to begin. The one true living God communicates with each of us.

This communication mode is central to the notion we are created in the Image of God. He always reaches out in the way that is best for us and best for the circumstances we are in (implied in Psalms 143:8). However, never assume he will communicate on your timetable. When you say something to another person, we wait for a response. If nothing ensues, we rapidly follow up – Did you hear me? What say you? Yet when talking with God, a timetable and polite responding is not part of the game. The communication plan is his, the schedule to communicate is his, the message is his. We are told to rest and be still. Wait. Help is coming!

So how does God speak to us? On the night Jesus was arrested, He spoke to His closest friends. He knew that He was going to return to His Father (implied in Matthew 26:47-56). His friends, the disciples, had spent several years with Jesus every day. They never struggled to hear His voice. But this was changing. Soon, His disciples would need guidance every day to make decisions about where to go and what to do next.

Jesus told his disciples — I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own authority; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:12-15). The comm plan emerges! And the wait begins. They barely understood what the spirit of truth was all about. But they waited. They trusted Jesus to do what he planned on his timetable.

Fast forward to now – after the second chapter of Acts (the arrival of the Holy Spirit is documented in Acts 2). The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life changes everything about hearing God’s voice. His presence delivers complete confidence that He lives within you and is always ready to deliver guidance. The Holy Spirit is our communications portal.

We read in 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 a description of the communication portal — What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love himthese are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. [NIV]

However, if we are not focused on God regularly, it is implausible to expect clear communication. God often speaks through the Bible. He uses scripture (coupled with insight from the Holy Spirit) to help us live the life we are called to live (implied in 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is full of lessons, experiences with God, wisdom, truth, and the message you need to hear to enhance and give direction to our ‘walk with God.’ Reading scripture on a regular basis is paramount. Getting to know the message is paramount. Learning the vocabulary of God is paramount. The message we hear will always align with Scripture.

Studying the Bible, spending time in prayer, and talking with other followers of Jesus are not just part of our to-do list – these actions are paramount. God encourages us to do these things because they help us to learn about His character and learn to recognize His guidance. However, I would be remiss if I did not say in clear language — If you think you have heard God speak to you, but it seems to be inconsistent with scripture, it is unlikely the message you heard came from Him. Pay attention, verify, then act on the message (implied in 1 John 4:1). Do not let Lucifer or your imagination get you into trouble.

AW Tozer said – the voice of God is a friendly unassuming voice. No one need fear to listen to it unless he has already made up his mind to resist it… Whoever listens will hear [God in Heaven speaking].

I think we are incredibly blessed be in contact with the one true living God. The more I learn and write about his attributes the more astonishing I find his attentiveness to our personal needs. Words fail me. We worship a God with undefinable range and power. Then comes us; finite and incredibly frail – needy. Goodness. I am prostrate on the floor. No place else to be. No words left except…

I choose Jesus.

AW Tozer

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“Sometimes I go to God and say, “God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and, in the ages, to come for what Thou hast done already. God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums, I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.” ― a quote from AW Tozer

The Steadfast Heart.

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To Jacob, a friend of mine. I am sorry for your troubles. Let me tell you about somebody else who has a story like your story. I heard her story many years ago. Her name was Patty. In her early days, Patty lived a faithful life focused on Jesus. She was active in her church choir, spent hours praying for others. She made meals for neighbors when their children were sick. But then Patty broke her back. She rarely asked why, Patty simply tried to be true to God no matter how bad it got. Patty could have sat on the ground and withered away. She was completely flattened by life. The increased health care insurance premiums caused her boss to let her go. Quickly after the release, her house was repossessed by the bank for lack of payments. Patty had no place to go. Her girlfriend stepped in and invited Patty to shelter in her house until she recovered from the injury and found more work.

Gradually Patty was getting better. Then her friend died from a kidney rupture. Once again, her life was in turmoil, but her girlfriend had told the children that Patty should remain in the house. Then the children of the girl friend reneged on their agreement, took the house, and pushed Patty onto the street. She had no family, money, or place to go. She only had the clothes on her back. Gradually, things got better. She drifted to a new city and started again – she remained in the eye of the Hurricane.

I heard about Patty when she was working at a church thrift store — after all this happened. As I listened to the story, it appeared this woman, who had been faithful to God, had been completely crushed. Patty should have given up on God. She should have quit. She had every human excuse to stomp her foot and curse God. But Patty did not. In time, God restored her life with new friends, a job, a home, and the things she needed to live her remaining life in fullness. Through all of this, she stayed the course.

Abraham should have let go of the dream from God and returned to the land of his parents. He should have quit. Abraham should have told God that this covenant thing was dead, he was too old and completely unable to make a life in this new place. Yet, God had called Abraham several years earlier and Abraham responded. He left his home and traveled to a distant land. He left for this new place because God had promised to bless him with land, children, and prosperity (Genesis 12:1-13,18). However, none of that was forth coming. So far, this new place brought him famine, conflict with other groups, no children, and personal threats upon his life. Abraham had nothing to show except a sad adventure story.

So, he asks for guidance from God and once more God steadies him…be patient (Genesis 15:18). But after that conversation, all Abraham obtained was more silence (Genesis 16:1-6). He should have given up on God. He should have quit. But he did not and we know the rest of the story. Abraham became the father of many nations. We Christians continue to be adapted into his family (read the book of Hebrews).

Paul says — Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

In the face of what could be deemed as God’s failure, neither Patty nor Abraham gave up. They did not quit. They lived within his strength. All during her time of trouble, Patty would take aside young women who were in deep trouble, pray for them, encourage them, take them under her wing, and help them to trust in God despite their troubles. Abraham became the father of many nations. God is sovereign. No questions, no whining, just obedience. He is sovereign. When we are faithful, in the end he is faithful. Even if we waver a bit during the dark days, he is faithful. He loves us.

I choose Jesus.

The Lost Sheep

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by Sharla Guenther

This week we are going to learn about another parable.  Do you remember what a parable is?  It’s a story Jesus told to teach a lesson.  The story should be easy to remember and will have a special meaning for us to learn from.

This is the parable of the lost sheep.  Jesus started by telling the story to men called tax collectors and Pharisees.  These were men who thought they were more important than everyone else and they weren’t very nice.  They were whispering about Jesus and how he shouldn’t eat and talk with sinners.

It’s funny they would say that because we all are sinners, we all do things we shouldn’t.  The tax collectors and Pharisees thought that they were better than everyone else.  In fact, they didn’t think they had to repent or say sorry to God for their mistakes.

Have you ever felt really bad for something you’ve done?  Maybe you’ve hit your brother or sister and afterwards you wished you hadn’t.  When you really feel sorry for something and tell that person you are sorry, that is what we do when we repent.

Just like with our family we need to feel bad and say sorry to God when we’ve done something wrong.  The Pharisees and tax collectors didn’t think that they had to do this because they were so important.

Of course Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he told this parable:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine sheep and go find the one sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he is so excited he carries the sheep all the way home.  Then he phones all his friends and neighbors and has a party to celebrate the sheep that was found.

Then Jesus told what the parable meant:  Just like there was a big party over the one lost sheep, there will be a big party in heaven over just one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine people who think they are perfect and don’t need to repent.

Just imagine, when you say “your sorry” to God all of heaven has a big party just for what you’ve done!  God is much more excited when we say we’re sorry than when we act like nothing has happened and don’t think we need to repent at all.

But you know, Jesus just kept going and he told another parable.  Listen and see if this sounds like something you’ve already heard.

Suppose a woman has ten dollar coins and loses one.  Does she not turn on all her lights, sweep the whole house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls all her friends and neighbors and has a party to celebrate finding the lost coin.

Just like the lost coin, there is great joy with all of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.

I think the lesson here is that nobody is perfect (except God of course).  It’s very important that when we make a mistake we realize we have done something wrong and we tell God we’re sorry.  It’s as simple as taking a couple minutes, going somewhere quiet would be best (but you can talk to God anywhere), and just say you’re sorry for the wrong thing you’ve done and ask God to forgive you.

When you ask God to forgive you He immediately erases the mistake from His mind and He won’t think of it again.  It’s pretty easy, huh?!  Just think how happy God will be when you do it ,and you’ll feel better too!

Rummage Sale

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By Jennifer Maier

Forgive me, Aunt Phyllis, for rejecting the cut

glass dishes—the odd set you gathered piece

by piece from thirteen boxes of Lux laundry soap.

Pardon me, eggbeater, for preferring the whisk;

and you, small ship in a bottle, for the diminutive

size of your ocean. Please don’t tell my mother,

hideous lamp, that the light you provided

was never enough. Domestic deities, do not be angry

that my counters are not white with flour;

no one is sorrier than I, iron skillet, for the heavy

longing for lightness directing my mortal hand.

And my apologies, to you, above all,

forsaken dresses, that sway from a rod between

ladders behind me, clicking your plastic tongues

at the girl you once made beautiful,

and the woman, with a hard heart and

softening body, who stands in the driveway

making change.