The Voice of God

Hebrews 12:22-29 (NKJV)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 

to an innumerable company of angels, 

23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 

24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 

27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

29 For our God is a consuming fire.

I was so moved by a poem discovered this morning, written by my blogging/author friend Glynn Young  at his blog http://faithfictionfriends.blogspot.com/2018/03/rejoicing-on-mountain.html, that I had to look up the above scripture reference and let it soak into my mind and heart.  Please check out Glynn's poem entitled "Rejoicing on the Mountain" and see if it causes your heart to rejoice as you spend time in worship today.  

Glynn Young is also the author of the Dancing Priest series of books...you can read more about that on his blog.  I highly recommend them to your reading...but be sure to get all three at once because you won't want to wait for the next one to arrive...

The Secret Garden Chronicles-Day 9- The Voice In The Garden

"I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses,

And the voice I hear,

falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses,

Chorus:

And He walks with me,

and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave to me,

Within my heart is ringing,

(Chorus)

I'd stay in the garden with Him

Tho' the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go;

Thro' the voice of woe

His voice to me is calling."

(Chorus)

(In The Garden by C. Austin Miles)

I love coming to the garden in the morning...but actually, the birds do not hush their singing at all--rather they are continuously calling out to one another--One calls from one side of the woods,

and another responds from somewhere way over on the other side of the woods.  It could be a mate calling to his mate, and she responds "Here I am", and he warns her that there may be an intruder in the garden...and soon it seems that their voices are coming from somewhere closer together...and then their song actually changes tune, and it seems as though they are happily reunited and all is well.

And I think about myself...and the Lord is calling out to me; "Pam, where are you?"  And I respond with, "Here I am, Lord."  And He draws closer to me as I listen to His voice...and He speaks to me in tones of great love and comfort.  He truly knows exactly what I need to hear at this very moment; and while I am sitting here, silently waiting, He whispers words of love in my ear.  He reminds me that I need not fear, no matter what is happening in the world around us...because He is always near...and He will never let me go!  However, I am not held captive, no, He actually wants me to realize that I am free to go, but He will always be with me wherever I go.

Hebrews 13:5-6 says:

5.  "Let your conduct be without covetousness,

Be content with such things as you have.

for He (God) Himself has said,

'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'

6.  So we may boldly say:

"The Lord is my helper.

I will not fear what man

can do to me."

I found verses 7-9 to be interesting as well:

7.  "Remember those who rule over you,

who have spoken the word of God to you,

whose faith follow

considering the outcome of their conduct.

8.  Jesus Christ is the same, 

yesterday, today, and forever!

9.  Do not be carried about 

with various and strange doctrines.  

For it is good that the heart

be established by GRACE,

not with foods which have not

profited those who have 

been occupied with them."

I'm not sure where all of this is heading today.  But, Lord, I'm listening to Your voice.

Perhaps this message is as much for someone else visiting here as it is for me...God knows....

Thank You, Jesus, for always being there for us--and for being changeless--

In this ever-changing world, it is a great comfort to know that You will NEVER leave us nor forsake us..and we do NOT need to fear what man or the things of this world can do to us.

We are SAFE in the palms of Your loving, protective hands.

We need to keep our eyes on YOU, Lord, and not on man or any man's ideology.

Thank You for bringing us here into Your Presence today, where we can hear Your voice,

and know that You will be with us, no matter what!

Praise God!

For a previous post from "In The Garden", which was written a couple of years ago, please click HERE.  This was written long before I ever dreamed of creating this lovely "Secret Garden", but the opening scene was taken from the very same spot, early in the morning.  And the roses are from my yard, but in another garden.  These pictures today are not roses, but are camellias, which are blooming now.  I love how God provides beauty all throughout the year, if we just take the time to "stop and smell the roses" around us...and listen for His Voice!

Today, If You Will Hear His Voice

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture,

And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice;

Do not harden your hearts, 

as in the rebellion,

As in the day of trial in the wilderness...

Psalm 95:6-8

Remember this sign that I posted not too long ago , when I told you about my One Word for 2017..."REST"...and also in conjunction with that I am in the process of creating a "Secret Garden" for a place of prayer, meditation on God's Word, and REST?

I couldn't help but think about this sign when I read the above scripture from Psalm 95 during our morning devotions today.  Interestingly, this same scripture is quoted again in Hebrews 3:7-14...and it seems to me that it is a message that the Lord wanted to drive home to me since both passages were a part of the proscribed readings for today.

It would appear that we are very prone to allowing our hearts to become hardened when we are overwrought with concerns, anxieties, lack of rest, and possibly even a bit rebellious.  We may even say that we are okay, and that we don't need to rest... like a little child who is in desperate need of a nap...we might be in denial and become touchy, grumpy and downright irritable.  When we don't allow ourselves time to rest...and time to actually say...

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker"

and when we neglect our time of personal meditation on God's Word, times of worship and praise and literally bowing down, kneeling in prayer before the Lord, then it doesn't take much to become hardened in our hearts.  Our spirit then easily becomes hard and bitter because we have neglected to soften it with the soothing balm of God's tender words of love, comfort and grace.  

Notice again what the Psalmist says in verse 7:

"Today, if you will HEAR HIS VOICE..."

How can we "Hear His voice", unless we are listening?  And how can we listen, unless we deliberately set aside a time to tune in to God's voice...by reading and meditating on His Word, worshiping Him with adoration and praise,  and giving the Lord  the  glory due His name?

So that's where I want to be...tuning in to Jesus...listening for His voice...every moment of the day He could be speaking...speaking through His Word, speaking through family members and/or the people we meet throughout the day...speaking through you, my friends here in blogland and beyond...speaking through nature and His beautiful creation...

Are you listening for God's Voice?  He's speaking to YOU as well!  Take a moment and just listen.  You may be amazed at what you will hear.

Finding Your Voice - Part Two - Friday Foto Friends #45

Yesterday I wrote this post, "Finding Your Voice - Part Two", and then somehow I accidentally deleted it! I guess you could say I "lost my voice"...well, temporarily.  Not too sure that the same post can be totally reproduced, but maybe that was God's way of saying that perhaps something else ought to be said instead.

This post was to be a follow-up to the one written a few days ago, "Finding Your Voice" (Click HERE for that post).  After publishing that particular blog, I was surprised to see that the Christian contemporary singer Natalie Grant had written a new book with the exact same title!  Click HERE for more about that!

So it seems as though this is a message that God is trying to get across to us...and to each individual it may be a little bit different approach, but the idea is still the same..."Find Your Voice" and use it for the glory of God.  Whether it be a voice of ministry, teaching, singing, writing, creativity (crafts, art, photography, quilting, ceramics-many voices there)...a voice of kindness, encouragement, compassion, exhortation, counseling... Whatever your voice...speak boldly and with confidence!

In thinking more about this topic I was led to the following scriptures regarding voices with a message for all of us during these days of decision, confusion, and concern regarding the future of our nation and world...

Isaiah 40:6-8

"The voice said, 

'Cry out!'

And he said, 'What shall I cry?'

'All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, 

The flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers,

the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever!

Behold your God!

To sum up these thoughts...we have a message to give to the nations...and to the people around us. Whatever God is placing upon your heart...do not be afraid to speak out. 

Pray first, seek His voice most of all...and then, as the Lord leads you, do your part to be a messenger for God's glory here on earth.  Nothing is too small or insignificant when God is in it. Your voice matters. Our days here on earth may be numbered...and the message we have to share needs to be heard.  There may be someone right around you just waiting to hear what you have to say! 

P.S.:  I almost forgot that in my original post that got deleted I had included this song, "O Zion, Haste".  This is an old hymn that I am sure many of you will remember.  Put on your sound and enjoy singing this beautiful hymn with me...and pay attention to the words as you sing.  Such a message here!

O Zion, Haste - You Tube Video


I am linking up with Deb at Friday Foto Friends today.  I hope you will join in and see what others are sharing as well. 

Walk Away

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

'This is the way, walk in it,'

Whenever you turn to the right hand 

or whenever you turn to the left."

Isaiah 30:21

As seen recently on Facebook.com

If you regularly follow this blog, you may remember that I recently wrote a post about a new possibility  for our lives...a possibility of an "open window" of ministry opportunity primarily for my husband, but one that would affect our family as well.  I was expressing my own concerns and a bit of anxiety over the added "commitment of time, energy and love" that this would involve as I learned to "stretch my loving" beyond my present sphere of life. I also stated, "I just have to learn to listen to HIS VOICE...and know when it is God calling me as opposed to when it is the expectation of others calling me."

Well, God spoke, and we listened. I say "we", meaning my husband and I. And when God spoke, He did not encourage us to move forward with this "opportunity", but to "walk away".  I want you to know that it took courage to do that. However, we both realized that not to walk away would have caused more than just some "concern and trepidation".  It could have meant disaster for us in more ways than one.  The day we made this decision to "walk away" I saw this little sign on Facebook.com that I have inserted here to my right. This message was a word of confirmation to me that we had made the right decision, even though it was difficult to do so.

Having served for many years in one kind of ministry or other, we are people who take these commitments seriously.  We don't just move from one thing to another without much prayer and a type of "fasting"...fasting of the soul, fasting of the heart, fasting of the mind.  We search our hearts to be sure we are listening to the right voice...not the voices of others' expectations, guilt laden thoughts, desires to further our own little kingdom here on earth...but THE VOICE of God,  that "word behind you, saying, 'THIS IS THE WAY, WALK IN IT...' "     and if we can't hear that voice clearly, then we need to stop, look, and listen a little more closely. To not heed that voice could mean imminent disaster.  I speak from experience. 

I think this is good advice even if the possible "opportunity" is not especially a ministry...but perhaps any kind of new employment, relationship, activity or other event that may have the potential to lead you in a different direction other than your present situation. Take the time to count the cost of any new venture, whether the cost be regarding finances, time, energy, or physical/emotional involvement.  If you are not certain you will have the resources available that are necessary to complete the task before you...and it is not really a matter of "faith" that God will provide, but a matter of recognizing possible danger signs that to move ahead could be perilous to your health and home, then wisdom says it is better to "walk away".  

I really like what that little sign above says, "walking away, with  your head held high is dignity."  There is no shame in walking away from a situation that you know would only cause serious hurt or sorrow to you in one way or another. Yes, I know there are many situations that we ought to hang tough and stick it out...but in this case, I am speaking about reading the danger signs ahead, and listening to the VOICE of reason...i.e., GOD'S VOICE, and trusting Him to guide you in the right path. It does take courage, and a lot of faith that you are making the right choice, but when you have any doubts at all about moving forward, it is better to wait and take time to listen for that still small voice telling you which way to go. It could save you and possibly others a whole lot of heartache later.

So, sometimes those "Closed Doors" are not all bad.  And not every window should be opened. But when it is right, you will know it, if you are listening to the right "voice".

What do YOU need to walk away from today? Be sure to pray and give God a chance to speak to you before you make any decisions...and then, if that is what you believe God is saying to your heart, "Walk Away"....with your head held high.

May you have God's peace and blessing in your heart and life today. Amen.