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Feb.28.07: Light for the Day -"The
Voice of God"
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-- Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." -- John 16:13-14 13 When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into the all truth. He won’t speak on His own. He will speak what He hears and will tell you about things to come. 14 He will give Me glory, because He will tell you what I say. -- Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Hang this question up in your houses -- "What would Jesus do?" and then think of another -- "How would Jesus do it?" For what Jesus would do, and how He would do it, may always stand as the best guide to us. -- C.H. Spurgeon How do you know what God wants you to do? How can you go about making decisions that honor the Lord? Though it would be nice for God to call with specific instructions for the next step you should take, He offers a combination of divine and human guidance instead. He promises to guide you, and to speak to your heart and your mind. How do you go about seeking His guidance in your life? Start with the Scriptures. The Bible offers teaching, instruction, stories, and wisdom. Reading Scripture feeds your spirit and helps you make choices based on your allegiance to God's values and your relationship with Him. Spend some time studying and reading God's Word. Meditate on the Psalms. Though what you read may not apply directly to your situation, hiding His Word in your heart through study and memorization will attune you to the wisdom of God. But general guidelines still won't tell you whether to go to your state university instead of an out-of-town college, whether to marry this person now or wait, whether to leave your old job and go to work at the corporation down the street. Ask the Spirit to guide you. God whispers to your heart, if you will take the time to be still and listen. Set aside quiet times for prayer. Ask specifically for clear direction. Then do what seems to be the natural next step, trusting that the Spirit will show you one step at a time. Circumstances offer another key to understanding what God would have you do. List the pros and cons of a situation to give you a better perspective on what decision you should make. During times of stress and uncertainty, gathering with God's people is important. It is easy to get off track when you separate yourself from the Body of Christ. Your church can be a wonderful resource as you seek God's guidance in your life. Many people can help you discern God's will, from someone in a prayer group or Sunday-school class to your pastor in a counseling session. No matter how many ways you seek God's guidance, in the end it comes down to making a decision, trusting that His voice will speak to your heart. Listen to God's Word, the wisdom of friends, your own analysis, and your heart. Then step out on Faith that the Voice of God is whispering in your ear, "This is the way, walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21b) -- CL4Life -- Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, Believing, ye shall receive. -- John 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in My name: And I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: -- 2 Timothy 3:15-17 15 And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. -- John 5:25-26 25 "I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. 26 The Father is the source of life, and He has enabled the Son to be the source of life too. -- John 14:6, 16-17; 26-27 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. 26 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. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. -- 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 9 But as Scripture says: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 God has revealed those things to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, especially the deep things of God. 11 After all, who knows everything about a person except that person’s own spirit? In the same way, no one has known everything about God except God’s Spirit. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. 15 Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation. 16 "Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can teach Him?" However, we have the mind of Christ. -- Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16 1 I, a prisoner in the Lord, encourage you to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you. 2 Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other. 3 Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives. 4 There is One Body and One Spirit. In the same way you were called to share One Hope. 5 There is One Lord, One faith, One baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is over everything, through everything, and in everything. 11 He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to His church. 12 Their purpose is to prepare God’s people, to serve, and to build up the Body of Christ. 13 This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. 15 Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. 16 He makes the whole Body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part does its job, He makes the Body grow so that it builds itself up in love. -- Revelation 2:29 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. -- Deuteronomy 5:32-33 32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. -- Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. -- Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says -- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you what is best for you, Who directs you in the way you should go." -- Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. -- Psalms 25:8-9 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He instructs sinners in the ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. -- Psalms 143:8-10 8 Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. 9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in You. 10 Teach me to do Your Will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. -- Psalms 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. -- Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. ----- Counsel ----- -- Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6; 16:9 11:14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is victory. 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, But with many advisers they succeed. 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, But the LORD determines his steps. 24:6 For waging war you need wise guidance, And for victory many advisers. I am satisfied that when the Almighty wants me to do or not to do any particular thing, He finds a way of letting me know. -- Abraham Lincoln When we turn to one another for counsel we reduce the number of our enemies. -- Kahlil Gibran The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Anger is a bad counselor. -- French Proverb Some of these people need ten years of therapy -- ten sentences of mine do not equal ten years of therapy. -- Jeff Zaslow A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors. -- Charles Baudelaire Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers. -- Charles W. Eliot Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time. -- Pericles If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius. -- Joseph Addison In difficult and desperate cases, the boldest counsels are the safest. -- Titus Livius They that will not be counseled, cannot be helped. If you do not hear reason she will rap you on the knuckles. -- Benjamin Franklin |