Voice Recognition

In a recent conversation with a friend, I recounted a situation that left me feeling kind of yuck in my heart. Ninety-nine percent of the time, running brings a lot of joy and goodness to my world. Time to commune with the Lord, escape from the worries of the day, and work hard. But in this particular scenario, I allowed my frustration to get in the way and have a negative attitude about someone in a race. As time went by, instead of feeling content with my effort or even victorious of the outcome, I was left feeling pretty blah and embarrassed about the thoughts going through my head about this other athlete. It definitely took away from the joy of the hard work.

Most friends, when hearing this story, would brush it off and say hey, that other athlete has issues. Don’t worry about it, we all have negative thoughts. She said some pretty rude stuff in the past, anyone would think those thoughts. Shake it off.

But not this friend. She’s a wise truth-teller. She made a point of saying, ‘if you’re feeling that press on your heart, I’m not going to speak contrary to the work the Holy Spirit is doing in your life’. She asked me some really insightful questions to help me get to the root of why the Holy Spirit was working on me in this area. Multiple times I have recalled the conversation, mostly her example to allow the Holy Spirit to work, and not gloss over it, justify it, or try to absolve my conviction. There’s definitely a time to lift someone up, and there’s a time to allow the Holy Spirit’s conviction to do his work. My friend had the wisdom to know the difference, and clearly she is filled with the Holy Spirit herself.

I’m reminded of this outline I came across years ago – which helped me pray and process through different thoughts. It can be HARD to distinguish between thoughts from the Holy Spirit, my own thoughts, or even thoughts from the enemy. I love this tool to help recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit:

When we recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit, we can continually empty our hearts and minds of other voices, and make more room for him.

Today’s reading is all about Stephen, Acts 6-7. He’s often remembered as the first martyr, stoned to death, but his testimony begins much before his stoning.

The early church was growing in size in Jerusalem and they needed to differentiate roles. Specifically, they sought out disciples that were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to coordinate the needs and sharing across the body of believers. Stephen was chosen, and recognized as a leader in the church. As the church grew and multiplied, Stephen kept showing up, with more grace and Holy Spirit power, miracles following. Fear spread across the Jewish leaders. They made false accusations against him (claiming he was going against Moses), and chapter 7 outlines Stephen’s response. Picture a courtroom setting and this is his closing statement to the Sanhedrin (the same Jewish council that sent Jesus to his death). Again, so filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, Stephen rehearses for them how they are behaving just as their fathers did and resisting the Holy Spirit. From Abraham, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Moses, to Joshua, to David… he pointed out salvation through Christ, and their history over time of disobeying God and persecuting his prophets. Stephen’s testimony of Jesus hit them right between the eyes. Verse 55 tells us that in that moment, being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. This enraged the Sanhedrin and they took him out and stoned him.

Because of this persecution, the church scattered, and the salvation through Jesus was brought to more parts of the world. Instead of Stephen being shut down through his death, instead his impact was multiplied! His witness of living a Holy Spirit filled life and boldly proclaiming the truth of Jesus, was the catalyst for the church growing outside of Jerusalem.

Yes, Stephen was stoned to death and the first Christian martyr. But much more than that is the life he lived, recognized for how the Holy Spirit filled him, equipped him, and strengthened him.

I can’t help but think of this hymn, All of Thee, that verse by verse shows the process of sanctification, from a life of pride and self, to a Spirit-filled life.

God, You are so faithful and abundant. Show me areas I need to surrender so I can continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

With a little help from my friends

I love writing for Bible Journal! This experience has caused me to view every situation in my life as a story and reflect on how Jesus is part of that story, with the potential to share that story on this site. God is at work in all things… ALL THINGS! He is mighty and perfect, and he loves us more than we can comprehend! Where do you see God at work in your life? Not sure? Take a moment and pray; humbly ask him to show you where he is at work. I believe if you truly want to know, and truly seek him, he will show you and answer this prayer.

Today’s reading includes Acts 2 which was the focus of my very first post, and today’s post is going to be a follow-up. Here’s a link in case you’ve not read it, or if you’d like to read it again under different circumstances: Cut to the Heart

Cut to the Heart ended with Acts 2:38, where the believers were promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here’s what happened after the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (Acts 2:42-44)

What touches me here is that the believers while filled with the spirit became so selfless that they either gave away or pooled together all of their possessions. I think about people in my life who I’m honored to call “friend” and see this playing out. They freely give their time and even their possessions to others and me. They listen and obey God’s voice.

Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, (Jeremiah 11:4b)

How does God speak to us? Can we hear his voice? In the Old Testament God spoke through prophets and today he uses his Holy Spirit. One of the many mistakes I have made in my life was that while I claimed to be a christian, I had no relationship with God. I didn’t read the Bible, prayed only when it would benefit me, and didn’t seek God’s direction until something big came up. No wonder why I didn’t seem to hear an answer; there was no relationship. God was listening, I wasn’t. God wanted a relationship, I was selfish.

Having a relationship with God the Father, his son Jesus, and The Spirit is a result of active participation; listening, obeying, seeking, yielding. I was reminded of King David today by my mom and how he faced countless adverse situations but had tremendous faith. In 2 Samuel 5:17-25, David followed this pattern:

  1. Inquired of the Lord as to what he should do. (verses 19, 23)
  2. Obeyed God’s voice. (verses 20, 25)

How beautiful it is when we live this out today as we inquire to the Lord, listen, and then obey. It is very evident in my close relationships where there is an obedience to God. Special thanks to some of those impactful friends recently whether it be through prayer, listening, kind words, or acts of service: Amy, Mike, BJ, Duane, Rick, my mom, my sisters Marne and Katie. Your obedience is bearing good fruit. Thank you!!!

Joshua 22; Acts 2; Jeremiah 11; Matthew 25

Extra Credit:

  1. Today’s scripture reading had multiple references to God calling us to listen and obey. Re-read them and consider where God may be calling you to listen and obey. Seeing this pattern helped me remember how serious God is about his commands. If he says “listen”, since he is a faithful and true God, that means that he is giving us a way to listen, but we must actively participate. Here are the verses: Joshua 22:2, Jeremiah 11:2-4, Jeremiah 11:6-7.
  2. Check out this prayer one of my friends sent to me after I asked him for some prayer over a certain situation the other morning. This left me in awe, humbled, thankful and joyful and was another reminder of someone being filled with the Holy Spirit, listening and obeying. Praise God for putting real friends in my path; friends who care about me! Is there someone in your life who needs prayer? Why not text or email them a specific prayer over them right now? Here’s the prayer:

God You are the Creator. You are holy and set apart. We are sinners God. Would you please forgive us of our sins. God please also forgive those that sin against us. God we forgive them. God we need You. We like sheep, do not know what is best for us. God would you send Your Spirit to fill us up? God would you fill Jon up this morning with Your Spirit. God would you push everything else out? Would you fill him up to overflowing so that even those who see him coming from afar would see You through him and for Your glory? God would you empower Jon this morning to abide in Your fruit; love, joy peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. God would you help Jon love people with the love of Christ that he’s been given; patience; kindness; without envy; without boasting; without pride; with rightness toward others; with selflessness and humility putting others first; not quick to anger; with no evil thought; rejoicing with the truth; protecting; trusting; hoping? God would you uphold Jon’s words, guarding his mouth and not letting his words fall to the ground? Would you fill him with integrity LORD? God we rely completely on You. We come under Your protection and provision as Your servants LORD. God would you bless Jon and increase his territory? Would you place Your hand upon him and keep him from evil? God to me this feels like a long list. I know you have all these good things to give to those who ask for them. God would you pour them out upon your servant Jon this morning and for all his life? We humble ourselves God. Thank You LORD! You are good! You are worthy of all glory and honor and power for You have created all things and for Your pleasure they are and were created!