Friends In Need – Hearing From God: A Mindful of Christ Message – Purity 1406
Purity 1406 07/20/2024 Purity 1406 Audio Podcast
Purity 1406 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the shadow of my house down by the river and all that remains standing of that remains standing of what was the mammoth tree that had stood and fallen in my backyard comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene at the end of the “workday” day off yesterday. I am sharing views of the workday on YouTube today so check out the video for today’s blog above. The photos show just how big the tree and the job were.
Anyway, it is Saturday, and I now know the answer to that age-old question: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? As much as it needs to because, after yesterday’s day as a chucker of wood on a crew of destroyers of trees, I can tell you from experience, that nobody and nothing chucks wood unless they need to. After watching some men skilled in “lumbering” with their various tools and machines to cut, move, and obliterate trees, I am still in awe over the fact that we “got ‘er done”. Men with the right know-how, technology, and motivation can do much and after accomplishing much yesterday, I am here to remind all of us that we need one another, and we shouldn’t be ashamed or fearful when it comes to asking for help. I asked and I was blessed to receive it.
Of course, although men could literally move mountains with technology, time and effort, there are some things that men can only do and receive through God’s power, and today I am mailing it in by sharing a message from Lauren Roskilly from Mindful of Christ Ministries that will help us to hear from God. Lauren writes:
How Do I hear from God? – Lauren Roskill Mindful of Christ Ministries (https://mindfulofchrist.net/how-do-i-hear-from-god/)
“How do I hear from God?” is a question a lot of believers may ask at some point or another! I know I certainly did!
We will cover some practical ways to help you to hear God’s voice.
Firstly, I’d like to point out, as you are already aware, that in order to hear anyone say anything, you need to be listening to them. Therefore to hear God’s voice we need to learn how to listen to Him too. But before we even get there, you need to be aware that we can hear a range of voices, or thoughts, throughout our day and so it is important to recognise where each of these come from. These can be:
- Our own
- Our parents
- Other people, e.g., Family, friends, teachers, etc.
- The enemy
- God!
As you can see there are many different voices and thoughts that we may think are our own. Some of these aren’t very helpful, they are negative, limiting and even destructive!
For instance we may say things like:
“I’m useless!”
“No one loves me!”
“I don’t deserve this.”
etc etc etc!
But! But! But!
On the other side of this, we have the opportunity and are blessed with the fact that God speaks to us too!
Are we listening?
How To Hear From God
1. Wait
Psalm 5:2 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Most importantly, we need to listen. By listening, I mean you need to wait. When we pray we need to stop and listen, giving God a chance to speak to us too. If you have questions for Him, if you’re asking for guidance, help, direction you need to stop and listen to what He has to say to you too. If we are talking to another person, there’s no point in asking a question and not listening to their response is there? It’s the same with God. Take time to stop and wait and listen out for what He has to say to you too.
2. Read
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
We have been blessed by the Holy Bible. This is the Word of God and as this verse tells us “it is alive!” The words from this most precious book speak to your mind, body, spirit and soul. Everything you need to know is in there. I’ve heard this acronym for Bible before:
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
So we can use it. The whole of the Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). In this book God is speaking to you. To know what He is saying, you need to spend time in it, reading this precious gift.
3. Meditate
Psalm 199:15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
Biblical meditation is key if you are to hear from God! It talks about meditating throughout the entire Bible!
We are to meditate on:
- God’s laws (Joshua 1:8/ Psalm 1:2)
- His love for you (Psalm 48:9)
- Everything He has done (Psalm 77:12/Psalm 119:27/)
- His promises (Psalm 119:148)
By focusing on Him, sitting with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we learn to be with Him, getting to know and recognise Him and His ways therefore we will learn how to hear from God too.
4. Time
Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
At the end of the day, time is what you need to invest in to hear from God. Building a relationship with Him is key and the key to a relationship is time. So use the above ways to spend time with Him. Get to know Him, thank Him for what He has done, worship Him. Simply BE with Him. Get rid of any distractions and spend time being alone with God.”
Amen. My Thanks to Lauren Roskilly for sharing this message through the email I received from her ministry on Wednesday. Sign up to receive those emails and to check out Lauren’s work at Mindful of Christ Ministries by going to (https://mindfulofchrist.net/) .
Sometimes in life we need a little help from our friends. So don’t remain isolated and alone. Ask for help if you need it. If you don’t have friends, step out in faith and friendship by joining and serving at a local church.
We can receive help and friendship, but we may need to be bold and courageous and go outside of our comfort zone. We don’t have to be afraid of the unknown or new experiences. That’s where God is calling us to and that’s where He is inviting you to walk and talk with Him.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on False Prophets, Teachers.
1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Today’s verse falls under the tenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on False Prophets, Teachers.
10. Test the spirits (by the Word of God) to see whether or not they are from God.
Today’s verses tell us pretty clearly that we are to be diligent in examining the spiritual atmosphere around us by testing the spirits and they tell us very clearly how to know the difference between good and evil.
No matter what things look like, or how nice, helpful, clever, or sweet people can be, we have to ask the question – where is God in all this? What does this person, these people, or this organization REALLY think about the meaning of life? What do they think about Jesus?
There is your “discerning the spirits” measuring stick. If it’s not Christ, It’s anti-Christ. No fifty shades of gray here. It’s the difference between darkness and light. However, we do have to be careful and know our Bibles and hear from God on the regular because Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and sometimes the spirit of antichrist likes to present itself as a “different view of Christ” and if that “different view of Jesus” denies his incarnation, his deity, his teachings, or his resurrection – the spirit of antichrist is running the show.
So be wise and discerning and follow the Real Jesus depicted in the Bible and the One who brings the Holy Spirit to live in you when you put your faith in Him.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.
MORNING READING: GALATIANS 3
“The hearing of faith.” – Galatians 3:2
Paul says in Romans, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). This verse in effect teaches that the Holy Spirit is received by the “hearing of faith” (Gal. 3:2). The Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
I conclude that the spiritual process is: The Word enters the heart, faith is begotten, faith receives the Spirit, and a man is born again. Or, the seed of the Word falls into the womb of the heart, there faith lays hold of it and through faith, the Spirit imparts the new life.
Teach me these great truths, dear Lord, that I may be
a faithful minister of the New Covenant.[1]
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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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