Divine Ventriloquist

 

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 5:27-33 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ John 3:31-36 ~~~

 

'... the one whom God sent speaks the words of God...'

 

God sent Jesus to be among other things his voice.

Jesus in carrying out the will of the Father spoke the words of the Father.

Jesus uses his voice so that we may have a very personal experience of God.

 

A good ventriloquist can be very convincing by using his voice

 and his puppet or dummy.

Edgar Bergen was one such accomplished ventriloquist;

perhaps you have seen one of his skits.

Of course I am not suggesting that Jesus was just a puppet for God.

 

When God sent Jesus to become human he took our flesh and blood

without losing his divine connection to God the Father.

Jesus becomes the self portrait of God himself.

 

If we hears the words spoken to us by Jesus,

 then we also hear the unspoken words of God.

 Jesus is the Word made flesh.

 

 

 The Holy Spirit is given to those who hear the word and are obedient to it.

 

The apostles heard and were obedient; even in the face of imprisonment.

 

They were commissioned by Jesus to continue spreading his message of love.

 It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that they maintain

the stamina and conviction to persevere

no matter.

 

I must ask myself today...

Is my conviction strong enough to give me the necessary stamina

needed to stay the course?

It would be much easier to simply be a puppet

under the complete control of the Master...

to speak and move only at his command.

But God does not want us to be controlled by him,

but rather for us to make the decision

 to allow him to be in control of our lives.

 

The Lord is close to all who call upon his name.

 

The Easter Blessings continue as we witness the outpouring

of the Holy Spirit upon those who believe.

 We are a part of those who believe.

therefore the Holy Spirit is upon us as well. 

 

Unlike a ventriloquist puppet we have the ability

to move and speak as we wish. 

We can make the choice to maintain God's self portrait

by making the right choices in our actions and words.

Listen to His Voice

~~~ Jeremiah 7: 23-28 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ Luke 11:14-23 ~~~

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Listen to my voice;

then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

Walk in all the ways that I command you,

so that you may prosper.

God is calling us to listen to him.

Can you hear him?

He is speaking to you today.

With his grace we can walk in the way of the Lord.

...it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons.

It only takes the touch of the finger of God...

Selective Hearing: Do You Hear His Voice?

~~~ Jeremiah 7: 23-28 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ Luke 11: 14-23 ~~~

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

"Listen to my voice...
walk in all the ways that I command you...
listen to the voice of the Lord..."

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
(Luke 11:23)
If you are constantly doing all of the talking you cannot be listening. You may be able to hear if you are talking, but you are not listening. Hearing and listening are not the same, the former requires your attention. 
The same letters are used to spell listen and silent.
Did you ever notice that before?

I find the story of young Samuel disturbing, because he heard the voice but was not able to recognize it as that of God. What if you hear but are confused by what you hear? How do you determine the voice of God?

"Listen, my children." (cf. Proverbs 7:24)

Have you ever gotten a phone call and as soon as you heard the voice you knew it was your friend or someone else you know well? Each person's voice has unique qualities. Your voice is like your speech print.

I believe there was something most unique about the quality of the voice of Jesus. I believe that when you heard his voice you would leave your nets and walk away from your monotonous life. Jesus walked along the seaside and said, 'Come, follow me' and men did just that.

Sheep learn to recognize their owners voice and will come when called. What happens if you hear the voice, know it is God, and do not respond? God will not wrestle with you, he will wait until you can hear his voice. When the time is right you will be able to really listen. It is only when you can listen that you can respond accordingly. Spending time in silence creates an environment
more conducive to being able to listen.

The words of God cannot take root in a hardened heart. If you have decided you are not going to listen for God, because it is a waste of your time most likely
you will be right....you will not hear him.

I do wish I could have heard his voice. I wonder what it sounded like? Was it a strong commanding voice? Or was it a loving kind voice?
You tell a lot about a person by just listening to how they speak to others.

 It is interesting that in the gospel Jesus is curing a mute...
this man was not able to speak until the demon was cast out of him.
Jesus uses his voice to restore the man's voice.

The words we speak effect the people who are listening to us. Once words have passed your lips you cannot recall them to return to you.

Sit in silence this week and listen for the voice of the Lord.
Make yourself available to recognize his holy voice; then you will walk 'with him'.
Activate your selective hearing...you know what I mean, think about it for a moment.
I long to hear the sound of your voice, Lord.