Skip to main content

“I wish that hearing the voice of God was as easy as reading, but it’s not.”

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God (p. 76). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Oh, we want to make everything easy, don’t we?  Or we make things too difficult so we won’t try.

Mark says, “I wish that hearing the voice of God was as easy as reading, but it’s not. It requires meditating, praying, and contemplating. Ironically, it’s only as we slow ourselves down that the Holy Spirit quickens us. But there is one more piece to the puzzle.

“’Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting,’ said G. K. Chesterton, ‘as it has been found difficult and left untried.’ You can’t just read the Word, meditate on it, pray through it, and contemplate it. You have to do it. Until you obey it, you’ve simply been educated beyond the level of your obedience.”

Mark goes on, “’I wonder what would happen,’ said Peter Marshall, ‘if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it…began reading again?’ I’ll tell you exactly what would happen: God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done! That’s what happens when hearers of the Word become doers of it.

“Just do it. Then see what God does!”


So, let’s do what it says, Ok?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives.”

A thought by Jon Tyson from his book, The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success (p. 118). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But is that all that is important? Jon says, “We want to realize an immediate return from whatever we invest in. I am prone to this way of thinking in so many areas of my life. ‘I paid a lot for that meal, yet the portions were not that big.’ ‘I invested two hours in that movie, and it was just okay.’   ‘I went to church, but the sermon wasn’t that profound.’ We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives. But beauty doesn’t fit within that framework. When Mary anointed Jesus with oil, there was an immediate outcry against her extravagant generosity. ‘It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ (Mark 14:5) One gospel depicts the disciples crying, ‘Why this waste?...

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...