God communicates!

I want to go through some basics about how God communicates and take the mystery out of it. It should be as natural for us!

The most frequent way God speaks to people is by Holy Spirit inside of you. From John 10:27 we can see that, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." So we should all be able to hear God's voice if we've made Jesus our Lord and Savior. If you have not yet asked Jesus into your heart, it is not too late. Just ask Jesus/Holy Spirit in your own words to come into your heart and reveal Himself to you.

Okay then, so how I started hearing God/Holy Spirit was recognizing that"Yes" is a peace deep inside and "No" is a queasy, something is not right feeling in your gut area. Many people identify with this long before they openly acknowledge God. Isn't that amazing? (more on that in another blog article)

Discerning God's voice gets easier with practice. Yes that's the big key, we have to practice every day. Sometimes we are so busy that it's hard to still ourselves enough to hear His quiet voice. I try and ask at least 20 questions a day of the Lord. Be a question box for the Lord.

Some people have heard God's voice audibly but that is not the norm for most of us. Holy Spirit has only yelled at me once in twenty five years and that was when I was going to make a horrible mistake and marry the wrong man. Trust me you never forget it!

I love hearing his voice. To me that's one of the biggest miracles of all, that I can hear his voice all the time. His voice sounds like your voice in your head and He's always encouraging, always hopeful, always the counselor. If this seems a bit far fetched I encourage you to start with the word of God because Holy Spirit will never disagree with the whole counsel of the word of God. You can learn to discern His voice by comparing it to the word of God (the Bible).

For example, we know that God will never condemn you because the Bible says that there is therefore no condemnation for them that follow Christ.(Rom.8:1) Now that is not to say that He won't correct you but He (Holy Spirit) will always leave you with hope and a solution. Condemnation does not do that. It leaves you in despair.

I want to mention how important it is to renew your mind with the word of God (Bible) because some traditional teaching is not backed up by the word of God. This is where 'the voice you know' comes in to effect. In John 10:6 it says that the voice of a stranger we will not listen to. That's good and I agree with that. Unfortunately some of the things I was told, I got used to, so they were not the voice of a stranger anymore and I did listen to them. Thus, I had a very unhappy life. As I started to speak who I was in Christ and root out all the garbage from my past I became a lot more peaceful and had much more victory in my life.

Also, it is easier to hear God's voice after you have died to your own will. That is the hard part. When we still have our own ideas or desires that we have not fully died to, that is when His voice gets skewed by our own voice/will. So I use Rom. 12:2 as a help and I "offer myself a living sacrifice to him" every day. Sacrifices are supposed to be dead, right? That is the interesting part. When you get to the point where you can honestly say that you do not care what the answer is, whether yes or no; you just want to hear His Voice, THEN you will hear Him clearly. After all the bible says "that you will seek Me and find Me when You seek me with all Your heart." (Jer 29:13)

Visions:
Another way that God speaks to you is in visions. In Habb. 2:2-3 we read, "Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make [it] plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. "

There are different types of visions. Some of the different types of visions that I am familiar with include: visions in our mind as we think about God, visions that appear as pictures overlapping our regular vision, visions that happen as we soak in His presence with our eyes closed and visions that happen as we conduct our daily lives. Sometimes a deja vu can be a vision that we've had previously.

Dreams:
Other ways that God spoke to people include the use of dreams. God spoke to Joseph, the husband of Mary in dreams and thus kept Mary and Jesus safe Matt. 1:20 Matt. 2:13,19.. That is another cool way that God can talk to you. My daughters get these little dreams that are prophetic and it is so neat how the Lord is showing them that they are significant so they will start to write them down and pray into them.

This is not an exclusive list by the way, just a start.

I hope this helps you to dare to believe that God wants to talk to you. It is your right as a child of God to hear Him. So go have fun being a 'question box' to your Heavenly Father aka Daddy.
Bless you in Jesus' name!

Almost There

Learning how to walk tight with Holy Spirit is a learning process. I wish I could say that I have arrived but after twenty plus years, I'm still catching myself once in a while.

Last night I asked Holy Spirit what He wanted to show me and I saw a cave with some rock icicles hanging from the ceiling. It was so dark I didn't want to stay in the vision but Holy Spirit said there was more to see. Trying to focus I noticed a translucent window that begged investigation. I moved over to see a morbid scene; a road leading down into the earth and people behind a partially built wall in the road.

Something was happening! The partially built wall, in the road was hindering the people from going down the road to you know where. I was squeamish at the sights and sounds and I didn't want to be in this vision. I was upset and horrified at what was happening before my eyes and I wanted to scream at the people to run the other way, but they couldn't hear me.

Shaken... I asked Holy Spirit what was the point of showing me this scene? He showed me that the bricks in the wall were parts of christian character, and how a life totally submitted to the Lord, mature, full of Holy Spirit will cause us to be such a witness that many will be turned to Him. In essence, hindering people from going to Hell.

Too much you think? I thought it was presumptuous too. So I asked the Lord for more confirmation, after all we are supposed to ask for two or three witnesses before establishing something.

Holy Spirit showed me Col. 2:9-10 and to paraphrase it we have Holy Spirit, which is the fullness of God, in us right now. OR, We've been filled with the fullness of God now... already. Christ means 'the anointed one and His anointing' which is Holy Spirit, the powerhouse of Creation. (Gen.1:2)

Then Holy Spirit brought two more verses to my attention. We are the light of the world (now). (Matt. 5:14) We are the salt of the earth. (Matt. 5:13)
Holy Spirit wants our lives to so shine with God's glory that people are turned from their unbelief to a living faith.

I was thinking about this whole thing yesterday and I was reminded of a time before I was saved. I was on a transit bus and there was a man sitting on the seat over the rear tire. He had white hair, a white shirt and trousers on. His countenance was so lit up that he glowed and I desperately wanted some of what he had. He had nothing naturally to make me attracted to him... yet I could sense goodness, hope, love and laughter around him. I couldn't stop glancing at him from my seat on the back bench of the bus. He seemed oblivious to me, just looking out the window and taking in all the sights. I wish I had had the guts to ask him what made his countenance glow. I am now convinced that he was a Christian full of Holy Spirit. (2Cor. 3:18)

Anyhow, I want to be like that man. As I drive my school bus, or move people may those around me see something of God in me.

God is looking for a few good people, men or women, who will dare to believe His promises. We haven't seen too many people who glowed with the Glory of God yet, but it's coming. I want to sign up for all that God has for me.
How about you?

(For Further reference; Rom. 12:1-2, John 10:27, Luke 12:32, Phil. 2:13, 2Chron. 16:9, Psalm 24, Jer. 29:11)

In Myself

When I am tempted to think that I'm really something... it's time to go through my scriptures verses again.

In myself I am nothing. (Gal. 6:3)
In myself I know nothing. (1Cor. 8:2)
In myself I have nothing. (1Cor. 4:7)
In myself I am and can do nothing. (John. 15:5)

Protect me Lord from haughty eyes and an arrogant heart... which are sin. (Prov. 21:4)
Thank You Lord that I will not allow the pride in my heart to deceive me. (Obediah 3)

The more the Glory and power of God flows through our words and actions, the more we need to be reminded that it's God-- not us.

Yes, we co-labor with Holy Spirit as we obey Him, but the Glory is all His. He will not share it with anyone! (Isaiah 42:8) I heard someone say that if we give God all the Glory, He'll give us all His benefits. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Benny Hinn says to live a Holy life. I agree. Holy Spirit is attracted to us more and more as we take thoughts captive, watch our words and live a holy life. (2Cor.10:4-5, Matt.12:35-37, Phil 4:8) In Job 22:30 it says, "He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." Wow! I love that verse. To me this verse means that as I live a holy life, I can pray for others and Holy Spirit will set them free. Amazing! That's good news.

Isaiah emphasized the importance of submitting to the holiness journey, "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." (Isaiah 48:10-11)

Therefore, if we want to keep flowing in Holy Spirit we must make sure that we give God all the glory.

I know myself because it's happened to me. As soon as I started to think I was something special, I started drifting away from Holy Spirit. A few hours later when I asked Him a question, I didn't hear an immediate answer. That scared me.... I don't want to be here if He's not with me. I did a quick inventory and started repenting and asking Holy Spirit what I had done wrong. Thank God for His Mercy and Grace!

So let's all say, "Thank You Lord for using us today. We give you all the Glory, before and after for what You are going to do. Please warn us Holy Spirit when we start to walk in pride. Give us humble, teachable hearts so we can always have sweet fellowship with You. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen."

Gift After Gift

I was reading the Gospel of John a couple of weeks ago and it keeps coming back to my remembrance. It goes, "We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding-- all this came through Jesus, the Messiah." John 1:16-17

I want to write a song about this. Imagine, we live off of His generous bounty! I never thought of life like that. I took so much for granted when it was all a gift. Oh the love of God, that we should be called the Sons of God! Such amazing love -- the Message translation brings it out in a whole, new way.

I love the next verse where it talks about endless knowing and understanding. I was a child who got told to be quiet because I asked too many questions. In Heaven we will never be told to shut up and we can keep learning forever. That really appeals to me.

I remember the time I just cried out to the Lord, "I want to sit and watch you run the whole show!" Oh, that blessed me so much! He wants to show us how to do the stuff. Amazing! I wouldn't be bothered with the likes of me some days!

I remember a time when I messed up really big and I thought, "Oh no, there's no way I'll ever fulfill my destiny after this screw up." After wallowing around in self pity for a while, I started to worship and I felt Holy Spirit drop into my heart, "My love and plans go on forever."

I was so thrilled! It doesn't matter how badly we mess up, God always has a back up plan.

I don't understand why my Dad was taken away from me suddenly, without warning and I don't understand why I missed a great full-time job because of the funeral; but I know that He who called me is faithful and He will complete that which He has started in me.

I know He's trustworthy... I know He's worthy of all my trust-- even when I don't understand it with my limited perspective. He'll give me beauty for ashes and somehow He'll turn it to good.

I do know I had a great dad for 48 years and many people I didn't know told me what a gift he was to their lives too.

Ultimately, "I Thank You Lord for so many gifts in my life. Open my eyes to see the gifts you have given me and help me to appreciate them every day, in new ways.
Amen."

Make Each Day Count!

Life is short so I'm making the most of each day. Every new day I want to make sure I make time for the Lord, to praise and worship HIM and to hear His thoughts for my day.
It's amazing how much better my day goes when I do this. You would think that I would have learned this by now and have no problem putting God first.

However, there are a lot of sneaky distractions in life. Kids, walking the dogs, work, husband, commitments in church, errands, housework; need I say more?
In themselves they are not "bad" but when they get between me and the worship that Jesus deserves then they become idols. I keep saying to the Lord that I love Him more than anything... then by my choices I say that He's last on my priority list.

All I can do is repent and get real with Him. Sometimes I'm aware of the distractions and sometimes I'm not. The devil does not want us to worship God because he knows that we will get refreshed and come out of His presence empowered. Thus he tries everything in his arsenal to keep us from seeking the Lord and basking in His presence.

It's a learning process. We all have to journey through the land of distractions and learn to ignore them and just keep seeking the Lord.

Yesterday, I asked the Lord to protect my time with Him. It really helped. I had a great time with Him (Holy Spirit) and got some great downloads to think about.

Today, I finally got to a place where I could sit down after supper and the Heaven's felt like brass. Aha! I've been there before. So I put on a couple of worship songs on youtube (Chris Tomlin and Hill Songs) and agreed with the songs they were singing. Then I started singing my own new song while the songs were singing.

Breakthrough! It worked again! Heaven's open and His presence is all over me etc, etc.
Thank You Jesus for Breakthrough! Now I'm decreeing things He's told me before, calling in the promises He's given me and asking Him who needs prayer (shoring up, protection) and where is the enemy active.

Now that's living! And some people think being a Christian is boring. They don't have a clue!

Got to go... Holy Spirit wants another song and it's another opportunity to make this day count for eternity.

So You Are Excited About Reaching Out...

I wrote a little note to a friend who was all excited about getting out in her neighborhood in her part of the world to make a difference for Jesus by herself. She was very excited about her new commitment to the Lord, but was unsure of how to deal with her fear issues, which is very understandable.

Jesus sent them two by two. So if at all possible go out with another believer. Until then, you can pray that the Lord will give you a prayer partner and witness wherever you go... ad lib.

Ask the Lord to bring to you someone who will pray with you. Ask the Lord for opportunities to witness every day, every where you go.

We want to take Baby Steps of Obedience. I hear your heart sister and if you start now, you will make a huge difference for the Lord.

So lets fight fear by building up your inner man with scripture confessions like:

"Thank You Jesus, that you arm me with strength and power and you make my way perfect." 2Sam.22:33

"Thank You Jesus, that you haven't given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self control." 2Tim.1:7

Thank You Jesus that I'm bold as a lion, because I'm righteous. Prov.28:1
Thank You Jesus that Your love is shed abroad in my heart by Holy Spirit." Rom. 5:5

Thank you Lord that you've given your angels charge over me and my family. Ps. 91

You'll Find other scriptures as you read your bible that will help you so that you are not in fear anymore but "strong in the Lord and His mighty power."

Start where you are with the situation you are in. We all grow by baby steps. Ha ha! How many times do babies fall down when they are learning to walk? I can't count.

Maybe the first thing to do is pray till His compassion and love drives out the fear in you and you have His heart for the people. Romans 5:5 says that His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord if that makes sense for you.

Have fun with the Lord. Keep asking lots of questions. That's the best way to learn Holy Spirit's voice.

Whose Report Will You Believe?

I fractured my right wrist June 26th in a freak accident that shouldn't have happened. I spent a few hours in emergency and was x-rayed and my right arm was put in a cast.

My arm swelled up as soon as the ice was gone and by the next day I had to have it recast because it was cutting off the circulation in my hand.

I had a couch ministry for a week. I was in so much pain all I could do was keep going over my scripture confession sheets and rest. I cut way back on my food intake because I didn't want to gain weight.

By the third week of having a cast on it was really loose and I was learning how to eat and write with my left hand. It was quite the learning curve and I found it very humbling. I was keeping my chin up and trying to make lemonade out of my lemons but it was tough. I even started watching movies again, something I haven't done in years.

I did help with the hay by driving a tractor and baler and I did help put square bales in the barn when the kids were getting frustrated at having to work. I figured if I was working with one hand, they could do it with two hands. It worked! We got it done before it rained and I wasn't sore for very long afterwords.

I was able to slip off my cast to get the hay out and then I put it back on. Mean while I was working my faith over time. I got all my friends to agree with me that by His stripes I was healed. (Isa. 53:3-5)

A girlfriend gave me some dvd's by great preacher Dave Hockaday and I watched them and built up my faith.

Well, I guess I took off my cast one too many times to air my sweaty, smelly arm because my daughter Tricia started playing with my cast and she got the bandages on the inside all twisted up. I couldn't get my hand back in that cast no matter how hard I tried! I felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar!

I got a wrist brace to fix my predicament and to keep my family pacified. It worked well.

A few days later a friend told me that I should get x-rays on it so that I could get confirmation it was healed and then go start physio therapy.

So I went to emergency at the local hospital and waited 5 hours only to hear that my wrist had not healed at all. I asked to see the x-rays and she showed me the break. I said, "That can't be right. Look how I can move my hand around," I exclaimed and demonstrated.

She wouldn't listen to me and put on another tight cast. I couldn't hold my arm across my chest to keep it elevated so while it was setting I broke the arm edge so it wouldn't pinch so bad.

I was upset to say the least. 4.5 weeks in a loose cast that I told the specialist was loose and he said it was okay! Now the emergency room doctor is saying it hasn't healed at all?!

I went home and called my mom. I told her that I wanted to cry. I've got on my third cast. It's itchy already and I know that "By His stripes I was healed!" All I could do was keep standing on the Word of God.
I told everybody that this was a test and I was going to pass it. Holy Spirit kept saying to me, "Whose report will you believe?" All I could do was sing back to Him, "We will believe the report of the Lord."

As an act of faith I started to pray for other people that had broken arms or bone problems whenever I would feel and ache or pain myself. I didn't know exactly who else I was praying for, but it sure felt good to knock the devil back a loop or two.

That third cast started falling apart around my hand pretty fast and it was only a day or two and I pulled it off. The splint wrist brace was much more comfortable and I could wash it when my arm got all sweaty.

Two days before I was to go to the orthopedic specialist I was worshiping and spending time alone with the Lord. This had been a tough thing for me to do as disappointment stole my desire for fellowship with Holy Spirit. Also, it sure didn't help that my house was so busy. In desperation I cut off a girlfriend on the phone saying, "I've only got half an hour before the house gets busy again. I need to go worship and hear from the Lord."

Thank God for understanding girlfriends. She said she would pray for me and let me go.
Holy Spirit was right there, as soon as I started to sing. (You can't tell me it doesn't help to have friends who know how to get a hold of God!) Holy Spirit downloaded some things to me and when I just thought about my wrist I felt Holy Spirit say, "None issue."

I wanted to laugh. It might have seemed like a non issue for Him, but this wrist was messing up all my summer activities and job hunting to boot!

Never the less, I held onto that word and kept it close to my heart. I didn't even tell anybody. I couldn't risk another disappointment at that time.

I did get two girlfriends to agree with me that the x-ray would give a correct result and that there would be no mistakes. I also prayed for favor with the doctor regarding my lack of a cast.

I went to the specialist in the city by myself. I didn't want to hear another, "I told you so," if the x-ray results were bad.

The specialist didn't say anything about me not having a cast on -- he just sent me for an x-ray to see how I was progressing.

I got back and he told me, "Okay you are good to start physio therapy and make sure that splint is off for good in a week... 10 days tops."

I replied, "Everything's okay?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Do you know that they told me last week in Arnprior that my wrist hadn't started healing at all?", I asked.

Dead silence. He just looked at me.

"Okay, I'm good to go then?" I asked.

Yes, go start physio," he said.

I walked out of his office and it hit me as I was going out of the hospital. Just like Holy Spirit said-- it was a 'non issue.'

I don't know what happened in that week between the emergency room doctor's report and the specialist's report but I know who who gets the Glory! Jesus! You are awesome and I magnify Your Holy Name! Great things You have done for your little girl!

Let me pray for you now:   "Lord what You have done for me I freely give away.  Let the person reading this be ignited with fresh faith to believe You and Your report over any other.  I loose the Joy of the Lord for their journey and I declare and decree that they are fully satisfied in this lifetime.  Every God given dream come back to life now!  Every place where hope deferred has stolen from them, be healed now, in Jesus' name!  Amen!  You are blessed and a blessing wherever you go and you make a difference for God today. Amen!"

Big hugs,
Brenda Gale