Tag Archives: speak

“Speak Lord, Thy Servant Heareth”

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There is a southern gospel singing group Ponder, Sikes and Wright and I enjoy their music.  My favorite song of theirs is a song titled, “He Still Speaks”.  It is a powerful song for sure.  It talks about how the world laughs and mocks us when we say we have heard from God.

As I was pondering this song again I thought about a passage of Scripture.  Let’s look at     I Samuel 3:8, “And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.”

Here in verse 8 we are told that the LORD called Samuel three times.  He thought that it was Eli the priest each time.  Finally, after three times Eli has the spiritual insight to tell young Samuel how to respond when God called again.  In our day our pulpits are powerless.  Our sermons are spiritless.  This leads to immature Christians that do not know how to respond to God.

God still speaks; but, we don’t know how to respond.  Even worse we do not want to respond to God.  We are afraid that if we do we will be sent to the deepest, darkest Africa.  More than likely, not.  If we truly abandon to God it is a possibility.  The thing is that if God calls you to it then it will be an honor to go for Him.

So, how are you doing?

Angels

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It will not be but a few days and the wrapping paper will be piling up on the floor.  We all have many family traditions.  We have tried to keep some old family traditions going and we have tried to start some new ones too.

It is common to hear someone speak of the angels singing at Christmas time.  Well, I am sorry to be the one who brings you bad news; but, if you find in the Bible that the angels sang I would like to know.  I do not find it anywhere.

My point is not to be a Mr. Grinch or Mr. Scrooge.  I point this out to us because I want you and I to both be persons of truth.  The truth is that it is not in the Bible.  Notice the words often quoted at Christmas time in Luke 2:10, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”  The angel said. There is no singing by said angels.  In my sanctified imagination I can hear these angelic beings singing heavenly.  However, I must be accurate when it come to the truth of Scripture.  God used angels mightily in the Scriptures to bring message, protect and a host of other things.  When it comes to singing, I just don’t find it.

This year; especially at Christmas time, let’s seek to be Biblically correct.

So, how are you doing?

Missed Milestone

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Yesterday marked a milestone for this blog.  I have posted 1500 posts as of yesterday and I forgot to mention it.  No, I am not looking for any accolades or pats on the back or the like.  I share this because some people say, “I could never do that.”  I beg to differ.  You can do it if God leads you to do it.  It has not been easy; but, it has been a great outreach (I pray).

I want to say, “Thank You!” to all of my readers.  If it were not for you this would not be necessary.  Although, I do enjoy writing and it does have some qualities of therapy to it.

Mostly I enjoy that moment where the Holy Spirit of the Living God speaks to me and the perverbial light bulb comes on.  There is not satisfaction like knowing that God is speaking to me (or you) directly.  The scoffers will tell you that we are crazy and that we cannot “hear from God”.  Well, we know better.  It is wonderful to be used of God and to know He speaks to me.

I was thinking of a particular verse.  Look at Psalm 45:1, “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”  When God speaks are you ready to write down what He says?  You need to be.  I would suggest during prayer and Bible study that you keep a notebook of some sort and a pen or pencil with it so that you can record what God says and when He says it.  Your family will love it when you have left this vale of tears for Heaven.

So, how are you doing?

The Voice

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I grew up on the farm which gave me many opportunities that kids today just do not get.  I remember my uncle and I rented ground from an older man.  He had many sheep.  I was always fascinated by these sheep.  I wish I knew then what I know now about sheep.

There was one thing.  They did not care about me.  I would repeatedly go out and try to call them in.  Sometimes I would walk around with John (their owner) and pump water for them to drink.  I loved to do this.  These sheep came running when John was out there.  When I was out there alone they went the other way.

The problem was they did not know my voice.  They did not know me.  I was a total stranger to them and they had enough sense to stay away from me.  I know that sheep are not smart animals; but, in this case they had enough sense to keep away from me.  I thought about  Song of Solomon 2:8, “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.”

“The voice of my beloved!”  I love this phrase.  Who are you listening to?  You cannot be going here and there listening to various different voices because it will result in deep confusion.  Cults are birthed out of confusion.  The Bible tells us that God is not the author of confusion.  So, why confuse yourself by going here, there and yonder getting counsel when everything you need is in God’s Word.

So, how are you doing?

The Importance of Communication

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The other day I listened as a man communicated something that happened to him.  He is a photographer and was injured photographing a race.  His injuries left him unconscious for five hours.  He woke up in the hospital not knowing what had happened.  The Chaplain from the track answered his phone when the man’s wife called it trying to find him.  This dear man of God answered the phone, “This is Chaplain _____.  Your husband is fine.”  The problem was that the wife fainted when she heard that it was a Chaplain.  She never heard that her husband was fine until she woke up.

History brings us many communication disasters.  Take a look at your own life and think about this.  Would you be able to name any instances of communication disaster?  I know I can.  A great communication disaster is when we communicate in such a way that we do not sound or appear any different than the world around us.  Yet, some people who call themselves Christian do not care about this.

The Word of God gives us warning about our communication in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

I know that I need to be careful to watch what I say.  My wife is always assuring me that we had a conversation and I said, “_____”.  I don’t remember it so I have to take her at her word.  Since I trust her this is okay.  If you don’t have trust for the other person you are communicating with then you are at a great disadvantage.

Remember, we started to talk about you.  How is your communication?  I hope that your communication is such that Jesus would be proud to say that you belong to Him.

So, how are you doing?

Christmas 13

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There is a Southern Gospel song entitled, “He Still Speaks” by Ponder, Sykes and Wright.  I love this song.  The truth in the song is outstanding.  You can figure from the title what it is about.  Many people in our day want to say that God is dead and that He no longer speaks.  This could not be further from the truth!

I know He is alive and speaking to His children.  He has spoken to me.  I was reminded this as I was reading Matthew 2:9, “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”

Here is an earthly king who gave orders to a group of people.  They obeyed.  That is really something.  In the realm of Jesus Christ we have a Perfect King; but, we continuously fail to follow His Commands.  The reasons for this are countless.  The next time the King of kings speaks you and I should obey sweetly and immediately.

So, how are you doing?

Communication

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The art of communication is a vital attribute in life.  If you cannot communicate you are in deep trouble.  For instance, I was attending a Bible conference this week and the Evangelist had fantastic messages each night.  They were deeply compelling and God used him greatly.

I asked him about a statement he made.  It sounded to me like he said something about mustard on cow patties in the Outback.  He laughed too.  Well, needless to say that was not what he was communicating.  Come back tomorrow and I will share with you what he really said.

It is the same way when we communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We rush through it because we think that people do not want to hear it.  Nonsense!  Take your time and communicate the whole gospel to the whole world or whomever will listen.  Sometimes people that we are not even talking with will be listening.  We need to communicate clearly so that all who hear can respond.

Look at Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”  Communication is vital.

So, how are you doing?