Listening to God

“I will instruct you and teach you in a way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Psalm 32:8-9

Identifying God’s Voice

Consistent with scripture

May conflict with human desires

Challenges your faith

Calls for courage

He speaks quietly

He speaks clearly

He speaks individually

How God Gets OurAttention

We feel restless

A message from some else

Blessing us 

Unanswered prayer

Disappointments

Failure

Financial problems

Uneasy feeling

Sickness or injury

~ Pastor Charles Stanley 

Faith, Hope and Love

Romans 5:1-15

Faith, hope and love are the heart of the Christian life.  Our relationship with God begins with faith, which  helps us realize that we are delivered from our past by Christ’s death.  Hope grows as we learn all that God has in mind for us; it gives us the promise of the future.  And God’s love fills our lives and gives us the ability to reach out to others.”

~ Life Application Study Bible

God is Our Only Hope

God is Our Only Hope

It’s precisely because the world is so unstable and chaotic that we need God! If the world were perfect, if we never had any problems, then we might be tempted to think we didn’t need God. But the world isn’t this way—and if we ever needed God’s help, it is now.

Let me put it this way: If we don’t find our peace and security in God, where will we find them? Where else can we turn? The answer is simple: We have nowhere else to turn. Money … fame … politics … entertainment … success … career … relationships … pleasure—every one of these can fail us, and even if they don’t, they’re constantly changing. When we build our lives only on them, we become like the man in Jesus’ parable who built his house on sand, and “The rain came down … and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:27).

Don’t turn your back on the only One who can give us lasting peace and hope—hope right now, and hope for eternity. Instead, turn to Jesus Christ and put your faith and trust in Him. Others may fail you … leaders may disillusion you … you may even disappoint yourself. But Christ never will. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Then make it your goal to walk with Christ every day, as you pray and read God’s Word and learn through fellowship with other believers. The Bible says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

~Billy Graham

Thank you God

 

“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; 

his loves endures forever.”

“Psalm 107 offers hope for those who have made a mess of their lives.  By receiving God’s free gift of forgiveness, anyone can begin a new life and break with the past.  By faith in Christ, we can break addictions, heal memories, depression, anxieties and restore broken relationships.  If we ask Christ to take control of our lives, he will answer even those who have rebelled against him.”

Angels Among Us

 

“For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.”

Psalm 91:11

“When we are frustrated by our inability to understand a circumstance or event, there are unseen angels bringing comfort and protection as directed by the wisdom of God.  Our only reasonable option is to rely on the word and promises of God.”

~ “To Heaven and Back” by Mary C. Neal, MD

One Nation Under God

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,”

Psalm 33:12

“For the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.”

Psalm 33:4

Theme of Psalm 33

“Because God is Creator, Lord, Savior, and Deliverer, he is worthy of our trust and praise.  Because he is faithful and his word is dependable, we can rejoice and sing, giving thanks and praise.”

~ Life Application Study Bible 

God’s Understanding

“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; 

his understanding has no limits.”

“Sometimes we feel as if we don’t understand ourselves - what we want, how we feel, what’s wrong with us, or what we should do about it.  But God’s understanding has no limits, and therefore he understands us fully.  If you feel troubled and don’t understand yourself, remember God understands you perfectly.  Take your mind off yourself and focus it on God.  The more you learn about God and his ways, the better you will understand yourself.”

~ Life Application Study Bible

Rest In God’s Faithfulness

“The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases, 

for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.  

Great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23

“God will never leave us and nothing can separate us from His love!  He is our shield, our hope, and our promised victory!  We can never sing His praises enough, no matter how long we sing!

Instead of worrying, wait for what you need without doubt because God’s grace and provision are always available.

Time after time, God’s grace has been there for us.  Whenever we’ve needed it, He’s been there to comfort our hearts when we’re hurting.

On countless occasions, He’s proved for our needs, faithfully giving us what we needed - even when all we could see was a hopeless situation.”

God is Good...All the Time!!!

Living Water

“...but whoever drinks the water I give them

will never thirst again.”

John 4:13

“In the Old Testament, many verses speak of thirsting after God as one thirsts for water (Psalm 42:1; Isaiah 55:1; Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 13:1).  God is called the fountain of life (Psalm 36:9) and the spring of living water (Jeremiah 17:13).  In saying he would bring living water that could forever quench a person’s thirst for God.  Only the Messiah could give this gift that satisfies the soul’s desire.”

The living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible, can satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls.”

~ Life Application Study Bible

Contemplating God in the Beauty of Nature

• By Bill Gaultiere

A primary way God nourishes our souls with his loving presence is through the beauty of nature. The face of the Lord shines on his in the sun. The moon and stars remind us that God’s light and love shine to us even in the dark. The Lord is speaking to us and warming us from the heavens, the Psalmist says (Psalm 19:1-6). The joy of the Lord comes to us in splashing waves and playful animals! (Psalm 29:3, 6)

Throughout the Bible we read testimony of the Lord communicating to us in the skies, ocean waves, breeze rustling through the trees, fields and flowers, and birds that sing cheerfully. Jesus reassures us that our Father in the heavens always near cares for the little sparrows and he cares for us (Matthew 6:26 and 10:29).

Nature reveals to us God’s beauty, glory, power, wisdom, presence, creativity, and, most of all, his loving care. This is why we’re drawn to spend time in the beauty of nature and to enjoy animals. To talk a walk on a beautiful day, play with your dog in the grass, or hold your cat are reliable ways for many people to connect with God’s loving presence.

Jesus makes continual use of nature in his parables that welcome us to find life with him in the Kingdom of God. The revelation of God in nature is so poignant and prevailing that the Apostle Paul cautions if we don’t notice and honor our Creator we are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

The Word of God inspires us to contemplate God in creation. Saint Francis of Assisi and Henri Nouwen are two devoted disciples of Christ who draw our attention to love God by loving his creatures and creation. Below are some of the Bible verses that inspired them. These are followed by Saint Francis’ famous nature hymn: “All Creatures of Our God and King” and a meditation from Henri Nouwen on “Being Sisters and Brothers of Nature”.

~ soulsherdering.org