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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"Trying To Hear - part 2"
"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." Mark 4:18,19Yesterday we talked about a very common phrase that we use- "God is trying to tell us something.". We said that this leaves you with the impression that God has a hard time articulating what He wants to say and that He struggles with being able to communicate His message to us. Of course, that isn't true, God never has a hard time communicating- He speaks very clearly and is easily understood. What we should say instead is that it is "us who are 'trying' to hear what He is saying"- not Him trying to say it.
We also said that one of the main reasons why we don't always understand what He is saying is because we are being distracted- the distractions take our full attention away from our "listening". This morning I want to talk a little more about what some of those distractions are.
The verse above clearly lets us know that the "cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things" will "choke the word" (choke out what is said)- in other words, these things will hinder us from hearing Him. There are other things that hinder as well, and they come from without and within. We already know that too much television and too much time spent in other forms of entertainment will distract us, but there are other things such as our culture, society and education that will hinder us from hearing what the Lord is saying. When God speaks, everything He says has a "Kingdom perspective" to it- His Kingdom. His Kingdom and this world often clash with each other. For example, His Kingdom teaches that we are to "forgive those who trespass against us". Our culture, society and intellect tell us to "get revenge or hold a grudge". So when He is telling us to forgive that person that hurt us, we have a hard time hearing that because we are distracted by what these others teach us. (In this example, we are also distracted from hearing by our own pain and hurt that was inflected upon us by that person.) To sum it up- when our culture tells us one thing, when society says one thing, when our intellect says one thing, and God says something that is in opposition to what they are saying, we have a hard time hearing because we are so influenced in our way of thinking by them.
Our own agenda often distracts us from hearing what the Lord is saying to us. We have our own plans laid out and when He speaks to us in a contrary manner- like when He says that our plan is not His plan for us- then what we want often overshadows what He is saying. Our own determination to do something, our rebellion, our own desires, all make it hard to hear what He is saying.
What is distracting you? What are the "cares of this life" that are choking out His voice/word? What influences you other than Him, making it hard to hear Him above them? Until we deal with the distractions we are always going to be "trying to hear".
Have a great day. The Lord speaks plainly but distractions will distort His voice.
For further reading:
Luke 11:2
Isaiah 28:12
Acts 7:29-32
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Visit us on the web: /www.mastersbusiness.org/">http://www.mastersbusiness.org/">www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
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"Trying to Hear"
"And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." Acts 9:5How many times have you said, or heard someone else say, "The Lord is trying to tell us something."? I have been guilty of saying it. It almost conjures up the idea that God is having a hard time saying something- that is never true. It is not, "God is trying" to say something, instead we should be saying, "We are trying to hear what He is saying".
I understand what we mean when we say that, but the truth is that God never has to "try" to say anything, He just comes right out and says it. He doesn't have a hard time communicating or articulating His words or their meaning. When He wants to speak to us or get a message across to us, He knows just how to say it and He speaks plainly. Look in the Bible, every time God spoke to the people He spoke plainly and didn't "try" to give the message to them. He spoke plainly to Moses out of the burning bush. When Balaam was going to curse God's people, God spoke very clearly to him not to do it. When Saul encountered Him on the road to Damascus, He didn't try to tell Saul something, He spoke so clearly that immediately Saul repented of what he was doing and turned to wholeheartedly follow Jesus. The Lord spoke to David at Ziklag to pursue the enemy and take back what was stolen from him. He spoke clearly to the prophets-- He didn't "try" to tell them what He wanted to tell them.
Like I said earlier, we are the ones who are "trying to hear" what He is saying. For some reason we make it so difficult when really it isn't hard to hear. Jesus told us that His sheep would hear His voice. When we read His word, we are hearing Him speak, and speak plainly. For example, how much plainer can He get we He says, "Love you enemies, or do not commit adultery"?
He biggest hindrance to us hearing is called-- distraction. I can remember when I was growing up, if I was watching television and my mother came in and told me something, most of the time I would not hear what she said. It wasn't because she wasn't saying something I didn't understand (I knew what she meant when she said, "Go clean up your room."?). But the television had my attention so I was not fully listening to what she was saying. I believe this (distraction in various forms) is what hinders us and keeps us "trying" to figure out what God is saying.
God has always spoken plainly. He has never had a hard time or struggled with what to say, how to say it or how to get the message across. It is us who are having the hard time hearing, but that is because we are either not listening or not listening attentively.
Have a great day. God is not having to try to tell us something, we are having a hard time trying to listen to what He is saying.
For further reading:
John 1:37;10:16;27
Revelation 3:20
Mark 12:37
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Visit us on the web: /www.mastersbusiness.org/">http://www.mastersbusiness.org/">www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry
To unsubscribe from the Coffee Break mailing list, just hit "reply" and put "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Jonah and the Whale
A little girl was observed by her pastor standing outside the pre-school Sunday School classroom between Sunday School and worship, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up for "big church." The pastor noticed that she clutched a big storybook under her arms with the obvious title, "Jonah and the Whale."
Feeling a little pernicious, he knelt down beside the little girl and began a conversation. "What's that you have in your hand?" he asked.
"This is my storybook about Jonah and the Whale," she answered.
"Tell me something, little girl," he continued, "do you believe that story about Jonah and that whale to be the truth?"
The little girl implored, "Why of course I believe this story to be the truth!"
He inquired further, "You really believe that a man can be swallowed up by a big whale, stay inside him all that time, and come out of there still alive and OK? You really believe all that can be true?"
She declared, "Absolutely, this story is in the Bible and we studied about it in Sunday School today!"
Then the pastor asked, "Well, little girl, can you prove to me that this story is the truth?"
She thought for a moment and then said, "Well, when I get to Heaven, I'll ask Jonah."
The pastor then asked, "Well, what if Jonah's not in Heaven?"
She then put her hands on her little hips and sternly declared, "Then YOU can ask him!"
Opportunity Lost
Opportunity Lost Years ago, Walter took his friend Arthur to see some land in open country where cattle were idly grazing. Walter explained about his dream for developing this area. He told his friend that in time the area would be surrounded by many restaurants, hotels and convention centers. He told Arthur that his plan would take all of his money and he needed others to develop the surrounding area. He wanted his friend to have the first opportunity to buy into this project.
But Arthur thought to himself, "Who in the world is going to drive twenty-five miles for this crazy project?"
He said to Walter that he would think about it and decide later on. "Later on will be too late," Walter cautioned Arthur. "You'd better move on it right now."
"And so Art Linkletter turned down the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walt Disney tried to talk him into it. But Art thought he was crazy."
Life's like that. In Acts 26:28 we read, "Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." King Agrippa had the opportunity to accept Christ and become a Christian. He turned it down. Judas had one of the greatest opportunities in all history to become a follower of Jesus. Instead, he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Unbelievable! The two thieves who were crucified with Jesus also had the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life. One accepted. The other didn't.
Life offers all of us many opportunities. We all have the opportunity to become followers of Jesus and to be a part of what God is doing in the world today. That choice is ours. Today. As God's Word says, "... I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
from firstIMPRESSIONS Vol. 11:14
Reduce the Stress of Serving
Reduce the Stress of Serving We were saved to serve, not sit on the sidelines. Ephesians 2:10 says we were "created in Christ Jesus to do good works." But even in our appointed slot, overload is possible.
We love serving the Lord, yet sometimes our attitudes stress us. The toxic mix of inadequacy and perfectionism in serving leads to burnout. It pushes us to behave obsessively and compulsively, decreasing our joy and increasing our tension. We feel trapped. We don't know whether to quit and feel bad, or keep going and feel overwhelmed. So we either become overly responsible by carrying our own workload plus everybody else's, or drop out, leaving everything to others.
What's the solution? First, we must stop serving to please others. It's the wrong motive and never works. And when it doesn't, we work harder for approval and end up disappointed. Paul writes, "...I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant." (Galatians 1:10) Our "well done" must come from God, not people.
Secondly, we must stop serving in our own strength. Jesus said, "...The Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does." (John 5:19) Like hand in glove, they move together. That's cooperation and interdependency. "...No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me." (John 15:4)
It's how Paul served. "...I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." (Colossians 1:29) He worked hard, but the energy was God's, not his. So we must remember our source of effectiveness, and we'll reduce the stress of serving.
from firstIMPRESSIONS Vol. 11.14
Friday, April 08, 2011
"Ducks- Part 2"
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes..." Malachi 3:11a
Yesterday I shared my story about the mama duck and her ducklings that were at my house and how this mother duck led her babies by continually quacking for them to follow her. That mother duck loved her babies and was trying to keep them from harm so she stayed in constant communication with them leading them in the right direction. It was such a beautiful illustration and example of how our Heavenly Father leads us by His voice. His loves us, therefore, He speaks to us and if we will follow Him it will be well with us.
I also told you that as I was following them trying to get a picture of this amazing sight, I turned the corner of the house heading into the side yard and all of a sudden a hawk swooped down and then ascended back up right in front of me- so close it almost hit me. He was after that one little ducking that was lagging behind. Had I not been there, it would have surely got the baby.
I want to share another spiritual parallel this morning from my encounter with these beautiful creatures. That hawk is a bird of prey. It goes around looking for something to destroy and consume. It would have surely devoured that duckling had I not been there. That duckling was no match for the hawk. My presence scared it off because the hawk is no match for me. My presence into the situation came at just the right time- when the hawk was making his descent to latch hold of the duckling.
We have a very real enemy who goes about seeking whom he may devour- like a bird of prey. He has one goal and that is to steal, kill and destroy. But we have a Heavenly Father who is watching over us. We are no match for this enemy, but he is no match for God. This hawk was much bigger than the duckling, but he was not bigger than me. The enemy, though he often appears much larger than we are is not bigger than God. Our Father intervenes in the situations that we get in and He delivers us from the devourer. He comes in and fights our battles for us.
That hawk just knew he had that duckling, but I came up unexpected and foiled his plans. Our God will foil the plans of the enemy against us. He will come in at an unexpected moment but always right on time. So this morning, do not fear the devourer. Your Heavenly Father is watching over you. He promised to not only lead us by His voice but to protect us and deliver us from the devourer.
Have a great day. Our Father is watching over us. He is our deliverer from the enemy who would try to destroy us.
For further reading:
Isaiah 59:19
Deut. 3:22; 20:4
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Visit us on the web: /www.mastersbusiness.org/">http://www.mastersbusiness.org/">www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry
To unsubscribe from the Coffee Break mailing list, just hit "reply" and put "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
"Ducks"
"Ducks""My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27
The other day I went outside and as I stepped off of the carport I heard a noise to my right so I looked that direction and to my amazement I saw a duck coming off my patio and she was being followed by thirteen baby ducklings. The noise that I heard was the mother's quaking sound that was leading her babies. As soon as the mother saw me, she immediately turned around and headed back to the patio with non-stop quacking-- she was "calling" her babies to follow her. I ran into the house to get my camera and as I got to the sunroom I saw them going around the back of the house- so I went out and then followed them with my camera. Just as I started to turn the corner at the back of the house and follow them into the side yard, a big hawk swooped down and then back up right in front of me- it was so close he almost flew into me. He had his eyes on those babies and had I not been there and startled him, he would have surely got the scragglier. The mama duck and her babies continued on until they found a dense bush to hide under.
The thing that stuck out the most to me about the whole scene was that while I was following them and they were trying to find shelter, the mother never stopped quacking as she led them. She "talked" to her babies the entire time I was following them. They were following her voice. They weren't leading the way, they were following. They weren't following by sight, but by the sound of her voice. They followed and went in the same direction she did. The ducklings knew this was the voice of their mother and while they didn't know where they were going or how to get there, they just kept following her voice and heading in that direction.
I am trying not to be too lengthy but I wanted to share this because it paints such a beautiful picture of how the Lord leads us-- He does it through His voice. His voice speaks to us in a small still form, through His written word, by His Spirit and sometimes through others.
We want to follow the Lord by sight. But that is not the way He leads us. He leads us by His voice. What makes sheep follow the shepherd? They know his voice so when they hear it they follow him. What made these ducklings follow their mother? They knew her voice, listened for it and followed her. What will make us follow in the direction the Lord is desiring to lead us? Knowing His voice and listening for it.
Have a great day. He leads us by His voice and when we hear it, we should go in that direction.
For further reading:
2 Corinthians 5:7
John 10:1-16
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Visit us on the web: /www.mastersbusiness.org/">http://www.mastersbusiness.org/">www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact.
Please remember to give credit to
About the Master's Business Ministry
To unsubscribe from the Coffee Break mailing list, just hit "reply" and put "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Making a Fool of Yourself
A new missionary recruit went to Venezuela for the first time. He was struggling with the language and didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on. Intending to visit one of the local churches, he got lost, but he eventually got back on track and found the place. Having arrived late, the church was already packed. The only pew left was the one on the front row.
So as not to make a fool of himself, he decided to pick someone out of the crowd to imitate. He chose to follow the man sitting next to him on the front pew. As they sang, the man clapped his hands, so the missionary recruit clapped too. When the man stood up to pray, the missionary recruit stood up too. When the man sat down, he sat down.
When the man held the cup and bread for the Lord's Supper, he held the cup and bread. During the preaching, the recruit didn't understand a thing. He just sat there and tried to look just like that man in the front pew. Then he perceived that the preacher was giving announcements. People clapped, so he looked to see if the man was clapping. He was, and so the recruit clapped too.
Then the preacher said some words that he didn't understand and he saw the man next to him stand up. So he stood up too. Suddenly a hush fell over the entire congregation. A few people gasped. He looked around and saw that nobody else was standing. So he sat down.
After the service ended, the preacher stood at the door shaking the hands of those who were leaving. When the missionary recruit stretched out his hand to greet the preacher, the preacher said, in English, "I take it you don't speak Spanish."
The missionary recruit replied, "No, I don't. It's that obvious?"
"Well, yes," said the preacher. "I announced that the Acosta family had a newborn baby boy, and would the proud father please stand up."
Be Careful What You Say
Be Careful What You Say A World War II poster reads, "Careless words cost lives." So when you hear something negative about someone, ask yourself four questions.
First, is it true? "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16 NKJV) That's one of the Ten Commandments, not the ten suggestions! Until you're certain it's true, say nothing. Wait; time always reveals the truth.
Secondly, is it confidential? Did you hear it as a result of someone else's having broken a confidence? If you speak it, will you be contributing to the violation of a confidence? Remember, "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered." (Proverbs 11:13) Your usefulness to God requires that you don't sacrifice your integrity by betraying trust.
Thirdly, is it helpful? Will it tear others down or build them up? Satan is devoted to pulling down, discouraging and defeating; don't be his accomplice. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Ephesians 4:29 NIV) Will it be beneficial and encouraging to those who hear it?
Finally, is it necessary? Stop and ask yourself, "What do others and the cause of Christ gain by my saying it, or lose by my not saying it?" Always keep this in mind: you're more likely to regret the things you said than the things you didn't. "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back." (Proverbs 29:11 NKJV) Be wise; be careful what you say.
from firstIMPRESSIONS Vol. 11.13
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