God Speaks

Wednesday February 25, 2015

One day I had an interesting conversation with a young man. Although he believed that God existed, he didn´t think that He was directly involved in the affairs of humanity - a belief known as deism.

There are times when we wonder where God is in this broken, noisy world. But from Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:8) to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2) to the activities of the early church, we see God consistently involving Himself in the affairs of human beings. 

In the Old Testament, God often spoke to people through the prophets. After years of consistent disobedience, He allowed the people of Judah to be taken captive by the Babylonians (1 Chronicles 9:1), yet He never gave up on them. Instead, He sent - among other prophets - His "watchmen" Ezekiel to speak to the exiles through a series of visions (Ezekiel 1:1-3, 2:1-8, 3:17, 33:7).

The people had been overcome with grief (Jeremiah 8:18-21), for they had lost their homes and were now living in a foreign land as a result of their rebellious, hard hearts. God, however, revealed through Ezekiel that He had not forgotten them (Ezekiel 2:4-5). He remained faithful and reminded them that they would once again be restored (28:25, 39:25-29).

God speaks to us today in many ways : through the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17), His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14; 2 Peter 1:20-21), other people, the natural world (Job 12:7-9; Psalms 50:6, 97:6) and dreams and visions (Job 33:15). God´s plans is to restore all creation to Himself through Jesus (Romans 8:20-24), and He continues reaching out to us today. Let´s remain still and listen for His active voice above the din of this world (Psalms 46:10). - Ruth O'Reilly-Smith

Read
Ezekiel 2:1-7
He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious."

Job 33:13-18
Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man´s words?
For God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds,
he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
to turn man from wrong doing and keep him from pride,
to preserve his soul from the pit, 
his life from perishing by the sword.

Question to Ponder
How might God be speaking to you today?
Be aware and strive to see or hear Him as He´s working in and through you.

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue

The Restoration Promise

Saturday January 24, 2015

Uncle Mark (not his real name) had his big toe removed because his arteries had become blocked after years of smoking 60 cigarettes a day. My husband and I used the traumatic event to talk to our children about the consequences of destructive habits. We realized just how much Uncle Mark´s story had impacted them when a few days later we heard our son telling another family member to quit smoking or his big toe would need to be cut off!

The nation of Israel was about to suffer the consequence of destructive habits. They had wandered far from God, were unfaithful to His laws and had chosen to worship other gods (Jeremiah 2-3, 5, 9). They had built altars to Ball and sacrificed their children in the fire as offerings (19:4-5). The prophet Jeremiah warned that Judah would soon face famine, be plundered and the people would be taken captive to a foreign land (10-11). Jeremiah exposed the sins of the people - sins which would ultimately lead to their captivity and destruction by the Babylonian army (1-2, 5:19).

Anyone who´s tried to defy gravity by leaping from too high of a perch has known the painful consequences of trying to break the laws of nature. In the same way, the price we pay for breaking God´s laws is high. Now, God´s kindness can turn us away from our willful disobedience (Romans 2:4), but sometimes it´s the consequences of our sin that finally leads us to right living (Hebrews 12:3-17).

God longs for us to turn away from our stubborn disobedience so we can know Him as our merciful and gracious Father (Jeremiah 24:7). He reinforced His faithful commitment to Judah and promised to restore them to Himself. And, by His grace, He does the same for us today (32:39-40). - Ruth O'Reilly-Smith.

Read
Jeremiah 32:37-44
I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them : I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
"This is what the Lord says : As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, 'It is a desolate waste, without men or animals, for it has been handed over to the Babylonians.' Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord."

Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; i will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Question to Ponder
What has God revealed about your distance from Him? 
What will you do today to draw closer to Him?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015