Surrender…your Humanist Ways Part 3 of 3

Give God Complete Ownership

The ultimate goal for our lives is to give complete ownership of our lives over to God, no humanism and no selfishness allowed which means no pride allowed.  This is a tall order but it is to be our aim. We must regularly repent of pride and selfishness, turn from our wicked ways and seek Him with all our hearts.  No one can say they are completely without pride and selfishness, we are in process.  We thank God for where He has brought us and press on to experience more of His fullness.  Zech. 4:10 tells us to not despise the days of small beginnings.  God is thankful with the progress we have made already, He looks at that and DELIGHTS, but He is calling us to an even higher standard…

• He is calling come of you today to GROW UP
• He is calling some of you today to devote more time to PRAYER
• He is calling some of you today to give up more TIME for Him
• He is calling some of you today to FORGIVE
• He is calling some of you today to LET GO of the past
• He is calling some of you today to ARISE and to be the WARRIORS He’s designed you to be (not for self, but for Him and His Kingdom)

But this will NOT happen as long as we are living humanistic lives, seeking self-glorification and if we are full pride.  If we don’t deal with these things we will end up being like a hamster in a wheel, we’ll go 10, 20, 30 years and won’t have anything to show for it at the end of our lives.

1 Cor. 3:11-15 ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³  each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)

This passage clearly teaches that what we do with our lives matters, and that only that which is built on the right foundation (Jesus) will survive.  Anything done for self (including good things like ministry) will burn up and there will be a loss of reward in eternity.  We must put away self-glorification and pride or we’ll suffer loss because we won’t be building His kingdom but rather our own.  It’s time to change our motivation from self to God. It’s not about doing it for ME, it’s about doing it for HIM.  MOTIVE is everything. 

1 Cor. 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Purpose of Listening Prayer

So what’s the #1 purpose for listening prayer? It’s about HIM, giving HIM the glory through a life that is God-centered and fully submitted to His will. That’s why we listen in prayer, it’s an act of WORSHIP, it’s an act of SUBMISSIVENESS, it’s an act of OBEDIENCE, it’s FOR HIS GLORY and not our own.

CONCLUSION

I challenge you to ARISE today and to commit to submitting your life fully to the Lord. I challenge you to keep pursuing God, keep pressing in, keep reading your Bible and praying, don’t give up…don’t despair. He sees you not as you are but as you ought to be and wants to encourage you to become the person God has destined you to be…FOR HIM!  It’s all for Jesus.  He’s worth it!  

The Cure for Humanism Part 2 of 3

Why are we saved?

Sometimes I wonder why so many people call themselves Christians.  Why have they accepted Christ?  Why are they Christians?  Why do they follow God?  Are they “using” God because they don’t want to go to hell? Does being a Christian make them feel better about themselves? Or, are they actually committed to Him, His plans, His desires and His way? 

We can do a lot of good things with a humanistic motive.  In fact, we can even follow God and listen in prayer for selfish reasons.  Yes, you can listen in prayer for selfish things and God will probably show you stuff because He is Good and He likes that you are taking things to Him in prayer but WE MUST GO DEEPER THAN THIS!

 

The Cure for Humanism is God-Centered Living

Matt. 10:38-39 ³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

The Bible teaches that there is a cost in following God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”  Our walk with God is not about US, it’s about HIM!  Yet many Christians are trapped in self-centered living (humanism) instead of God-centered living.  Here is a brief comparison:

Self-Centered Living	God-Centered Living
See things from your own perspective	See things from God’s perspective
Focus on your own needs/desires	Focus on God’s will/purposes
Self-reliance	Confidence in God
Independence	Dependence on God
Obsess about self	Deny self
Ask God to bless your plans	Ask God what He wants of you
Proud , live selfishly	Humble, live holy
Boast of self	Boast of God

 A good test which tells you a lot about where you are at in the journey of moving from self-centered living to God-centered living is to look at your prayer life.  Do you pray?  What do you pray about?  Are your prayers God-centered?  

 

Next Blog Post: Surrender...your Humanistic Ways

What??? I’m a Christian not a Humanist!!! Part 1 of 3

Introduction

Humanism is the prevalent world view that we see today.  It focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to self and not to God.  It’s not just a philosophy, a world view or an approach to study, it is a religion and it’s everywhere in our culture.  This thinking elevates man over God and rejects religion.  Humanism is rooted in pride, elevating humanity over God.  In last week’s blog posts (4 parts) I talked about many characteristics of pride and today we’ll see how pride and humanistic thinking go hand in hand. 

 Unfortunately, humanism is prevalent in the Western Church and it’s in many Christian books.  I don’t want to get into the specifics of what these books teach, I’ll just say that they are filled with SELF and a HUMANISTIC CHRISTIANITY.  I think it’s only fair that Christians understand that much of the pop culture, self-help, inspirational Christian literature out there today is laced with humanistic beliefs.  Sometimes it’s subtle but any time we put religious attainment, education and intellect, health, healing, prosperity and wealth or even social justice issues ahead of God, they become idols. Many of these things promote selfish living over godly living.  

We must tread carefully for MOTIVE IS EVERYTHING.  God says HE must be FIRST in our lives and He’s rather picky about this.  Yet, humanism is a religion, with man as the god.  It’s subtle but the world uses it to sell just about everything:

• Because I’m Worth It – L’Oreal
• You Deserve a Break today – McDonald's
• Open Happiness – Coke
• Have it your way – Burger King

 This mindset is also used a lot in the fitness and exercise world:

• Make Your Body.  Make Your Life.  Make Yourself
• Persistence supersedes talent, genetics and luck.  There can be no true success without it.
• YOU are the creator of your own destiny.

Can you see how these slogans are ALL self-focused? They emphasize YOUR pleasure, YOUR satisfaction, YOUR comfort, YOUR success, YOUR needs and YOUR feelings.  Yet the Bible teaches that we are to live for the glory of God and not for our own comfort, pleasure, satisfaction, success and so on.  

As Christians we have been sucked into believing secular ideologies and they are influencing how we are living our lives!  Yet we are to be in the world, not of the world (John 17:11-16; Rom. 12:2).  What are we to do? 

Next Blog Post: The Cure for Humanism

Pride, Low Self-Esteem and Hearing God Part 4/4

Pride, Low Self-Esteem and Hearing God: Part Four of Four 

Practical Tips for Cultivating Self Esteem

• We must begin to see our pride and low self-esteem as sin.  We cannot rescue ourselves from our sin; we must find redemption through Jesus.
• Ask the Lord to help you honestly evaluate yourself – your strengths, weaknesses, etc.
• Our method of uprooting pride and low self-esteem must include a sincere desire to deal with it through confession and repentance.
• We need to ask God for humility and surrender our lives to Jesus so He can take His rightful place in our hearts and lives.
• Meeting with Jesus daily and growing in Him through obedience and submission is a powerful weapon against pride and low self-esteem.
• Thanksgiving is also a great tool, so is apologizing when you have made a mistake as well as forgiving others.
• Practice listening to others, avoiding the spotlight. 
• Invite God into your everyday life by seeking His guidance and perspective through reading the Word, praying with others, listening in prayer, etc.
• Go to an encounter (even a re-encounter) and/or book a personal ministry session.
• Make it your goal to please the Lord and not others.
• Allow yourself to be pulled away from cultural norms.
• Throw out the self-help books and go to the “One” who can truly help you.

 

How does pride and low self-esteem relate to Hearing God?

God speaks to both the proud and the humble but the proud person often cannot hear properly or accept what God says properly.  The opposite of pride/low self-esteem is humility. Humility is a key characteristic in hearing God better.  Pride (incl. low self-esteem) keeps us from hearing God properly because both are rooted in self-glorification. The more we humble ourselves the more clearly we can hear His voice and glorify Him with our lives.  

1 Peter 5:5b (NIV) All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."

James 4:6 (KJV) God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Isaiah 66:2 (ESV) …this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

 

Cultivating Healthy Identity (self-esteem) Part 3/4

Pride, Low Self-Esteem and Hearing God: Part Three of Four  

 

Our society promotes false self-esteem based on SELF, it’s humanistic and disgusting. It doesn’t emphasize the REAL REASON why we need it.  We need a healthy identity (self-esteem) for the purpose of HIS KINGDOM, not for SELF-GRATIFICATION.  Our culture makes it all about “me, myself and I”.  It’s selfish and sickening.  It’s rooted in pride! 

Today’s self-help culture tries to promote positive self-esteem apart from God; it has turned positive self-worth into a god or an idol.  It has become self-glorifying, self-gratifying and self-seeking and is based on self-determination.  Where is God in that???  Be careful if you read self-help books, even Christian literature, especially Christian inspirational literature, they are laced with SELF. 

The fitness, exercise and diet plans of today’s culture also promote self-glorifying, self-gratifying and self-seeking strategies…even the Christian ones!!!  If you struggle with body image or overeating or struggle with exercise problems (either too much or too little) or if you are obsessed with your weight – you need to throw out all those books and go to an Encounter God Retreat (even a re-encounter) and/or book a personal ministry session! 

Healthy self-esteem means that I accept who I am, I am comfortable knowing that I don’t have all the answers, I am free to rely on others and I have a healthy dependency on God because I understand that  I am not perfect and I need Him.  The goal isn’t being positive about yourself but HEALTHY identity, there is a BIG difference. You can be the most positive person on the planet and still have an unhealthy self-worth.

Illustration: a man was driving a train down a track when a radio call came in that the bridge down the way was washed out.  The train was doomed for there was not enough track between the train and the washed out bridge to make a complete stop.  No matter how positive the man is, the train is still doomed to destruction.  Being positive isn’t going to help one bit.  The man needs to do the healthy thing and jump off the train.  He might break his leg but at least he won’t die.  

Characteristics of Healthy Self-Esteem

• Feel at ease about your strengths and weaknesses
• OK giving and receiving compliments
• Open to criticism and comfortable admitting mistakes (not tied to having to be perfect)
• At peace with oneself
• Congruency between what you say and what you do
• Open to new ideas, experiences, possibilities in life
• Not intimidated by feelings of anxiety or insecurity
• Can laugh at oneself
• Trusts others
• Able to step out even when you feel uncertain and incompetent
• Confidence that you can accomplish a task
• Confident in knowing your strengths and weaknesses
• Sense of self-worth
• Self-respect including how you treat your body
• Being honest with yourself both in self-talk and with others
• Understanding what healthy relationships are and what it means to love and be loved

 

How do we cultivate healthy self-esteem? 

 

We need a stronger alliance with Christ so that we can see ourselves the way He sees us.  When we base our identity on Christ and His love for us and not on our culture then we will find true security, no matter how the world sees us.  It is then that God can guide us in carrying for our bodies (including healthy diet and exercise plans). Then we can agree with the Psalmist and say: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (139:14, ESV)

Identity is the core of self-esteem, if our identity is in Jesus we will grow in confidence and obedience because we know how He sees us.  We’ll see that He loves us and we’ll grow in trusting and believing what He has to say. If we remain filled with pride and low self-esteem then we will struggle to receive His truth and love for us.  We need to experience the transforming power of God within us and we need to experience loving others and receiving their love for us.

The only way we can truly master pride + low self-esteem is by knowing Jesus.  The more we press into Him through seeking, praying and obedience, the greater our victories. We become overcomers because He has overcome for us.  

Next blog post - practical tips for growing healthy identity (self-esteem) and how this all affects hearing God. 

Low Self-Esteem...is Pride??? Part 2/4

Pride, Low Self-Esteem and Hearing God: Part Two of Four

  

One form that pride takes in our lives is low self-esteem.  Did you know that when we criticize or judge others we do this because we often have problems with low self-esteem?  We pick at the stuff in other people’s lives (judgment) and as a result we feel better about ourselves (elevating ourselves which is pride).  But this feeling doesn’t last because in doing this we are also judging ourselves and the judgment we pass on ourselves tends to be more critical than our judgment of others. We tend to be really hard on ourselves.

What does judging yourself sound like?  “I should have… I could have… I wish I had… How could I have said…? How could I have done…?”

Low self-esteem is one of the major contributing factors in a form of pride.  Low self-esteem causes us to present a strong front with others; like we are all together yet inside we are harboring feelings of inadequacy or fear.  This is pride.  Often we over inflate ourselves to distract away from our feelings of inadequacy. Pride!   

When self-esteem is low we are often manipulated by fear:

• Fear that our inadequacies will be exposed
• Fear that the truth will come out
• Fear that our masks will be removed
• Fear of exposure or vulnerability
• Fear of humiliation
• Fear of failure
• Fear of success

Often we look to others as a primary source of our self-worth.  This is dangerous because it turns us into people pleasers.  When we are stuck feeling that we need to make a good impression on others in order to feel good about ourselves then we are serving people instead of God.  We can’t serve two masters. When our need for affirmation and approval is so strong that we look to others instead of God for approval, we are proud, doing it our way instead of God’s way. 

Can you see the relationship between low self-esteem and pride? 

Where there is pride there is a warped vision and blindness, this creates misalignment and worse yet, it is idolatry.  We all have this pride (based on low self-esteem) within us; no one is exempt from this struggle.  Everyone struggles with some level of inadequacy.  Our culture tells us that you need to look a certain way to be happy, you need certain things to be happy, that approval comes from achievement and so on.  Low self-esteem requires inner healing.  I would suggest attending an Encounter Retreat (even if you have gone before) as well as getting personal ministry.

Characteristics of low self-esteem

• Insecurity
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Lack of confidence
• Distrust of yourself
• Feel shame about yourself
• Lack acceptance of yourself (your abilities, your body, etc.)
• Avoid getting close and personal with others
• Feel rejection

Next blog post - God's Ideal for us; healthy self-esteem (identity)!

What??? I’m Proud… Part 1/4

Pride, Low Self-Esteem and Hearing God: Part One of Four 

Pride is dangerous for many reasons but one of the greatest reasons is because it gets in the way of hearing God.   Psalm 25:9 tells us that God guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.  This is serious stuff therefore I’m going to take four blog posts to talk about pride, low self-esteem (a form a pride), healthy identity (self-esteem) and how this relates to Hearing God. 

What is Pride?

Most of us know that a proud person has a high opinion of themselves; they see themselves as important or superior.  When I say the word pride, there are many synonyms that come to mind - conceited, arrogant, vain, filled with ego, puffed up, a bragger or boaster. There are many forms and facets to pride yet it always ends up with the same result – SELF GLORIFICATION. 

The proud exaggerate their abilities, struggle with self-admiration and often have an excessive desire to be admired by others. I’m sure we all know someone who is conceited and is constantly bragging about their abilities, their accomplishments, their vacations or even their kids...self-glorification!!!

Yet pride has other forms, some have a preoccupation with themselves and their troubles. Sometimes proud people crave being the centre of attention so badly that they will actually overshare their problems in order to stay the centre of attention.  As long as the limelight is on them, they are happy...self-glorification!!!!  

Most often people are blind to their pride, they don’t recognize it in themselves or have the ability to see that it’s a motivator in their lives. Yet let’s not pass judgement too quickly, for we are all susceptible to pride.   The truth is that we have become so encultured that pride has subtly eased its way into a place of dominance within our lives and within the Church. Anytime we exalt something over God we are living in idolatry, and the prideful exalt themselves over God.

This makes pride the utmost evil.  The difference between pride and humility is the difference between good and evil.  The sin of pride is poisonous, it is venomous, it’s blinding.  It blinds us to our own sin.  The sin of pride leads to all other sins such as jealousy, hatred, spitefulness, anger/rage, deception, control, abuse, murder, unfaithfulness, indiscretions of all kinds, etc. Pride is at the core of all sin because pride ultimately is contending with God through SELF GLORIFICATION.  Yet we are to glorify Christ and not ourselves (Romans 11:36; 15:17; 16:27; 1 Cor. 10:3).

Characteristics of Prideful People:

• Struggle with admitting they are wrong
• Feel that they have achieved their accomplishments on their own ‘self-made’ success; they strive for self-advancement. 
• Tend to boast about their accomplishments either outwardly/spoken or inwardly/unspoken; they seek the praise of others and may have grandiose thoughts about themselves
• Feel like they need to know everything
• Tend to like to have control over other people
• Are inflexible; not wanting to change unless they can initiate it (control); want to have their own way.
• Make assumptions and tend to want to speak first and be heard yet struggle with listening to others.
• Tend to think they are better than other people whether unspoken or spoken.
• Tend to harbor grudges and don’t easily forgive
• Feel self-righteous about their offenses

 

Proverbs 11:2  “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble,” 

Proverbs 15:33  “The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor.” 

Proverbs 8:13  “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.  Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”  

Next blog post - low self-esteem (how it's actually pride)!

Does God Care? How Do You Hear God Part Two

Last week my daughter woke up coughing and with what looked very much like the flu. As a working mom, I always feel pressure when this sort of thing happens. Should I call in to work and stay home with my child? Or, should I call a grandparent to watch her for the day? Or, should I send her to school and hope that it’s not that bad? All options seem to have pros and cons which are quite different for me and for my daughter. The thought crossed my mind…“Ask Jesus”. But does Jesus really care about this sort of stuff, isn’t He up in Heaven keeping the planets from bumping into each other? Does He have time for my little dilemma?

Ask Him Questions 

Many times we don’t hear God’s voice because we never stop to ask Him what we should do. Yet this is exactly what God wants us to do, He wants to be part of all areas of our lives. If we would only make a habit of asking God what to do (it only needs to take a minute!!), in all sorts of every day decisions, He would LOVE to give us the best advice around! We’d all look like geniuses in our personal lives and in ministry if we just would learn to ask God about everything.

Recognize the Sound of God’s Voice

Once we get to the place where we are willing to ask the Lord questions then we need to learn to recognize the sound of God’s voice. Usually hearing God’s voice is not a big spiritual experience. We need to look for the still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). The fact is that God almost always speaks through simple thoughts in our heads. Too often we miss out on His voice by dismissing His talking as being our own thoughts, or the thoughts of others (1 Samuel 3:1-10).

How to Listen 

Ask God to speak to a particular situation. Then have a moment of silence (could be just a few brief moments). Write down the stuff that come into your mind, God often speaks through:

• Thoughts and impressions 
• Pictures in your mind 
• Words which come to your mind 
• Scripture 
• A song 

Write down the first thought, impression, picture, or word which comes to your mind after you ask God something. Act on what you heard, there is nothing more important to cultivating the Voice of God in your life than obeying those little promptings and words He gives you. Of course, you need to remember that God won’t ask you to do anything that isn’t backed up by Scripture. If you’re not sure then pray with a godly friend or church leader who can help you figure things out. Sometimes there is a time delay. Keep listening, even if you sense silence, often times He will wait a bit to speak to you. Don’t get discouraged! If He doesn’t speak right away, go on with your day, or keep on praying. You’ll probably find that later in the day you’ll get an ‘idea’ or thought which relates to what you asked God. That’s God’s voice! Write it down! This often happens to me while I’m in the shower or in the bathroom. Sometimes I get nothing in prayer and then I go outside to weed the garden or shovel the driveway and all of a sudden I get clarity on something…I run inside and write it down. God speaks all the time, while I’m driving, while I’m doing chores, etc. Don’t limit His speaking to your devotion times.

 Dealing with Distractions 

Often people find that their minds wonder when they listen in prayer. That’s OK, mine does too. I have to be intentional about settling my brain down before I have my devotions. Yet there is more than we can do about this. My #1 rule: watch your Inputs. We learned last week about the importance of soaking in Scripture, reading the Bible is a GOOD input into your mind. Unfortunately we live in an incredible LOUD culture. If we want to hear God better, often we need to decrease the input that our culture has in our lives. Increasing positive inputs is essential but at the same, we must be decreasing the input from ungodly sources. What are some of the main ungodly sources of input in our lives?

• Negative Media: TV, movies, books, music, internet, cell phone 
• Negative friends/family members 

In order for you to grow in hearing God, there will probably be some negative inputs that you need to reduce. It is important that we don’t make rash generalizations about these things. Spend some time listening in prayer asking God what inputs need realigning in your life. You may be surprised at what He shows you.

So, what did I end up doing about my sick daughter? I did take a few moments and asked the Lord what I should do. It was quite interesting what He showed me. He gently showed me that she wasn’t really “that” sick and that she probably could have gone to school but that on this particular morning, she needed to know that she was more important than mommy’s job. She needed to feel my care and love for her and she emotionally needed me to stay home with her. So…that’s exactly what I did. I explained to her that I still had work to do (I spent the entire morning working on the computer) and she sat right beside me on the sofa reading a book. But she knew that she was important, she knew that I cared and I still got all my work done. It was a win-win! Thank you Lord!

How Do You Hear God? Part One

One of the most common questions that I get is “How do you hear God?”  This is a big question therefore in order to answer it we need to take a big step back and look at the big picture. 

God speaks to us through scripture

If you want to grow in Hearing God better, it is important to spend time reading His Word!  God’s Word is 100% accurate and God often speaks to us through reading it. If you are new at listening prayer, I would start by asking Him to speak to you through your Scripture reading times as you have your daily devotions.  God speaks to us through scripture in two different ways. First, He speaks through the logos Word.  This is the written Word, the Bible, and it is given to everybody.  Second, He speaks through the rhema Word.  This is the Word of God to you personally, given for a specific time, with a specific purpose.  When you are reading the Bible and a verse jumps out at you, that is a rhema word from the Lord. 

On Monday I was reading a passage of scripture in my devotions when I sensed the Holy Spirit tell me, “this passage is for Miles (my son); read it and substitute the word “Miles” for “I”; this is the type of boy I am calling you to raise.  Pray these things for Him.” 

The passage that I was reading was about David, it was not written for Miles.  But God gave me a rhema word to pray those scriptures for my son.  He showed me part of Miles purpose and calling in life and that it was my job to raise Him to fulfill that purpose.  God was speaking to me through His Word. 

God loves to speak about our present circumstances and He often does it through His Word.  If you want to get better at Hearing God and Listening Prayer then spend more time reading His Word.  Ask Him to speak to you through it. I have many passages of scripture that are my favourites – you hear me talk about them all the time.  Do you know why they are my favourites?  Because God has spoken rhema words to me through them. 

One of the primary ways to Hear God is through His Word.  He takes the logos and turns them into rhema.  It’s called illumination.  For example, we all know that the Bible says that God loves us, but when the Holy Spirit speaks this as a rhema word to you, you can actually feel His love and this awakens something inside you, it changes you drastically from within. 

We must linger or wait on the Lord

This is often called meditation.  Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (NIV).  It’s not about learning more and more logos, it’s about getting rhema’s.  We need Bible knowledge so that we can recognize truth from error but we also need to intentionally listen to God through meditation on His Word so we can find our true purpose in life and find success in filling it. 

 

How do you know it’s God who is speaking to you? 

1. It will NEVER contradict Scripture (test what you receive)
2. The Word will come alive in you
3. Time will tell if it is a true or a false word (through good or bad fruit)
4. Ask God to provide confirmations.   

How to Grow in Hearing God and Listening Prayer

I often tell my kids that if they want to be better piano players then they must put time in on the bench.  You have to practice – but not any kind of practice, they have to practice the tricky stuff, they have to play the tough parts of a song over and over again, often slowing down the tempo or only playing one hand at a time until they get it.  It’s similar in our walk with God.  We need to put time into it –reading the Word and in prayer.  We need to listen in prayer and then obey what God shows us. 

Many people are afraid of listening in prayer because they are afraid of getting it wrong.  It’s OK to Hear wrong, that’s how we learn.  When it comes to acting upon what we hear, we need to use wisdom and good judgment.  If it’s a little thing which is in alignment with the Bible and if getting it wrong won’t have damaging or permanent effects then we can feel free to jump in with faith and do what God told us.  For example, if I think that God told me to fast from red meat or if I think He’s telling me to donate an extra $100 to charity. I may have heard right, I may have heard wrong.  There are no permanent issues to contend with here, nothing contradicts Scripture, so I just do it!  If I got it wrong, that’s fine, I’ll just learn better next time. God is please with my desire to listen to Him and obey.

On the other hand, if I feel that God is asking me to double my mortgage to support a friends new business, or if I think God is telling me to move across the country or to quit my job – I would need multiple confirmations because these things are larger issues that have profound effects.  I would need to listen in prayer on an ongoing basis (maybe even months or years) and then I would also pray with others, get counsel from godly people around me and look for confirmation from Scripture (multiple rhema Words). I would also need my husband to be in agreement.  Also, scripture is always the plume line when it comes to listening prayer. We are to use wisdom and our understanding of Scripture to make wise decisions.   I may Hear wrong, but that doesn’t mean that I will make a wrong decision.  As I spend time and effort listening in prayer, reading Scripture and talking to others – I will see the error in my way and make it right.  I may look bad (and grow in humility) but I won’t screw up my entire life.  Make sense???

Stay tuned next week when I look at other questions people have about listening prayer and Hearing God. 

What is a Christian?

What is a Christian?  I know that question sounds strange, most would answer that it’s someone who has accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, but is there more to it than that?  Why are there so many Christians out there whose lives don’t look anything different than non-Christians?  Oh yes, they may be good, kind, loving, go to church and they may even read their Bibles and pray.  But is that what makes a person a Christian?   

 I grew up in a fine Christian home.  I went to Christian schools from K-12 as well as Bible School.  I never really rebelled.  I “did’ all the things that were expected of a Christian.  I volunteered at church, I tithed, I obeyed the rules…I was a good person.  The problem is that even though I knew right from wrong, even though I knew right doctrine…. I was dead inside.  There was no life within me. 

  

John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (ESV)

A few years ago I got fed up with status quo Christianity.  I had been Christian for years but the Bible seemed dry and dull to me, devotions were boring and I found that my relationship with God revolved around duty, there was little delight.  In fact, sometimes months would go by without me cracking open my Bible or saying a prayer.  I knew the importance of Bible reading and prayer but the Bible was dull and boring to me.  It was during this time that I was introduced to the Holy Spirit.  I had always knew about the Holy Spirit (remember, I was keen on doctrine and grew up in strong evangelical circles) yet the Holy Spirit wasn’t someone that I knew. 

John 14:26 (NIV) But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

I was always familiar with the third person of the trinity, but I can say that for most of my Christian life, I didn’t have a relationship with Him.  I knew that I had the Holy Spirit inside me (all receive Him  upon conversion) but I was never letting Him speak and my sinful actions, apathy and worldliness was grieving Him.  I attended the Encounter Retreat at my church in spring of 2008 and it was something that God used to grow me in an immense way.  I cleaned up areas of sin and felt pure and clean.  It was so fresh and new, I felt like I was very close to God.

At the Retreat, the Holy Spirit session was very powerful for me.  Since I grew up in an evangelical church the Holy Spirit wasn’t something that was talked much about but as we sang, “Holy Spirit Reign Down” I actually felt His presence and Him entering me in a fuller way. It was gentle, it was peaceful.  No one around me noticed anything (no physical manifestations) but inside a fire started in my heart that has been raging ever since. 

When I began to believe in the Holy Spirit, that He could talk to me and that we could communicate with each other, that’s when I really began to grow spiritually and my devotions changed from being dull, boring and based on duty to being full of life, and they became something I enjoyed and even didn’t want to miss.  That’s not to say that I never have a dull patch, but for the most part, I find devotions  much less dull, in fact, I now don’t really want to start my day without them.  So what made the all the difference?

God’s Kingdom is made is such as way that His secrets and a lot of Biblical truths cannot be penetrated by human intelligence or education alone.

Luke 8:10 The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.

In Bible times, many scholars of Jesus’ day had the Old Testament and yet they failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.  Yet many Christians do exactly that today, we go about in our religious routines and miss out on Jesus. Why?  One major reason is because of the way we interact with Scripture.  Our scripture cannot be correctly interpreted without the revealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

We’ve turned Christianity into a list of do’s and don’ts.  If we follow all the rules (go to church, be nice, don’t lie, cheat or steal) then we think we are doing OK.  But is this Christianity?  NO!!!  Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s not about knowing about God or even doing the right stuff (although obedience is important), it’s about having a relationship with Him.  What is one way to do this?  It’s through prayer and listening prayer.  The goal of listening prayer is NOT to use God as a genie in a bottle, He’s not a magic eight ball –He is a person who wants a relationship with you. If you are eager to grow in your walk with God, then God is eager to speak to you. 

Over the next month or so, I will be focusing my blog posts on the importance of prayer and listening prayer.  Why? Because this is one way in which I have found LIFE!  It’s a key reason for my own spiritual growth and I believe it is a key for many who are suffering as boring, apathetic, complacent Christians. 

John 17:3 (NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.