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One of the scariest times for a Christian is when they cannot hear the voice of God. Jesus lived His life doing whatever He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). As Jesus’ followers we are to have the same closeness of relationship. And yet, we doubt our ability to hear God. We cling to the Bible for our security, but the Bible doesn’t tell us what career to go into, which house to buy, who to marry, etc. Life is full of decisions and full of trials that we need the constant companionship of the Spirit to get us through.

I have been thinking a lot on this lately as I have tried to come to grips with this current stage in my life. I’m desperate for God’s voice, but I keep floundering about what my next step should be. Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice, and whoever belongs to God would hear His voice (John 10:27 and 8:47). Hearing God’s voice should be as natural to a believer as taking a breathe. It’s necessary. A quick read of the first half of Joshua also reveals plenty of example of our need to hear God’s voice.

Why is it hard for most Christians to hear God’s voice then? To attempt to answer this I am going to look at a section from Chronicles of Narnia, The Magician’s Nephew. After I quote the passage I will explain.

God wants so much more for you than merely freedom from sin. All sin is just symptoms of deeper issues going on. Even if you are able to contain the act, some other sin will pop up in another area of your life if the heart is not addressed. That is why you see alcoholics trading alcohol for anger or overeaters trading food for exercise. If the heart is not healed, you will find new ways to soothe the pain.

Maturity is not measured by outward expressions or overcoming sin. Maturity in the Lord happens in the heart. Remember God’s rebuke to Samuel:

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7

Focusing on the sin also hinders you from celebrating the successes you do have. Thankfulness cannot happen if you are too focused on what you don’t have.

Try to imagine building a house. You clear the ground, grade it, dig the footers, pour the foundation, and start making good progress. Then comes the framing. In the early days of construction things move very quickly and progress is easily seen. After the outside is in place, work goes on within the walls and each step is not as visible. You get the wiring done and the insulation put up. The steps are no longer drastic and you start to long for the finished product. But, each step is necessary. If you don’t get the flashing put around the windows you would have high energy bills and water damage, but flashing does not appear to be progress.

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As Christians one day we will spend eternity with God. We will experience fully everything our hearts hunger for… everything we have been created for. Joy will fill our hearts and never depart from us again. When we are with God, we are in heaven for heaven is where ever God is.

Heaven is God’s kingdom. It is where His rules, principles, and ways are observed. This happens in God’s presence. Therefore when God invades earth, heaven comes with Him.

As we read the Gospels, we see the Son of God restoring heaven to earth. He disarms the power of sin, removes its sentence of death, restores people to God, and offers new life to all.

As Christians we have the potential to live Emmanuel lives – God with us. We are taught to pray for God’s kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We are to be continually filled with God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We are to be temples of the living God (1 Corinthians 6:19). As we bring the presence of God to our world, we bring heaven with Him. Where heaven is, the benefits of heaven reside. Let’s bring the life-giving benefits that only God can give to the people around us.

image courtesy of Associated Press (via Times Union)

Today is a remembrance of one of the most evil attacks on US soil. There have been many memorial services honoring the lives of friends and loved ones we lost on that day. As Christians we are told to be joyful always and that the joy of the Lord is our strength (1 Thessalonians 5:16 & Nehemiah 8:10). How is this possible in the midst of such pain and tragedy?

In Nehemiah chapter 8, the Israelites just finished rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. In gratitude they all gathered to listen to the public reading of Scripture. As they listened they became convicted by their disobedience to God’s commands. Grief began to rise, so Nehemiah called a joyful celebration stating that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Nehemiah recognized that grief that lasts beyond its time saps energy and leads away from faith. Joy leads us into the heart of the Lord and helps us see His joy for us. Grief has its season, but joy is our lifestyle (Psalm 30:5).

How can we enter into God’s joy in the midst of evil?

1. Choose to believe that God’s goodness is greater than the evil you are experiencing.
2. Thank God for His goodness and actively look for evidences of his goodness that still lives.
3. Activate your faith in God’s goodness by choosing to focus on joy.

I am not insinuating that joy is easy, nor should we ever forget what has happened. Life can be extremely difficult, but joy is an act of faith in God’s goodness for you. If God is for us, which we know if true, than we can always find joy.

image courtesy of Carl Heinrich Bloch

I was recently reading 6 Principles for Prayer from Jesus by Bogdan Kipko. He took the prayer of Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to pull out these principles of prayer. The principles were well thought out and neatly explain what Jesus did as He prayed. Probably because my mindset while reading, I was struck that these principles without Jesus’ motivation can be very dangerous to our faith.

I have recently been rereading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. One point he makes throughout the book is that focusing on the dynamics of the disciplines over our relationship with God would lead to a form of religion. Religion leads us away from relationship with God by making us try to earn His response to us.

Bogdan’s six principles are there in Gethsemane (distance, demeanor, disposition, declaration, dedication, and determination). Jesus sweated blood as he prayed here. But, what was motivating Him to go to such lengths in prayer?

Jesus said earlier that He only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Was this what the Father was doing? We know that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die (John 3:16), but that was the Father’s motivation for sending Jesus. Was Jesus’ motivation the same? We know that for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2), but this was just the preamble to that suffering. So what was His motivation?

As I understand it, Jesus needed something before going through the suffering that He could only get from prayer. He had become sorrowful and troubled to the point of death (Mark 14:33-34). He is so troubled He asked His three closest disciples to watch and pray. We know that Jesus asked God to take the pending cup from Him. We also know He bowed to the will of the Father. What we don’t know is what He prayed for so long?

After Jesus goes up into heaven, the disciples realized that they were now down two from their group. Judas, having been overcome with guilt for betraying Jesus, ended his own life. The disciples were aware that Judas’ place of leadership was to be replaced with another (Acts 1:20-21). It seemed right for the disciples to choose from someone who had been with them from the beginning. They narrowed it down between two men and after a blessing of the dice, let fate decide who would be next.

The Bible actually gives no indication on whether this was good or bad; Acts just gives an account of what happened. Casting lots was a normal practice of deciding things in the Old Testament, but as I reread this account this week, something interesting stood out to me. The disciples may have recognized a need and understood that filling Judas’ vacancy was part of God’s plan. BUT, I don’t think that God was given much of an opportunity to direct them. Out of all the options, they gave God two men.

I am in no way picking on their decision, but later on in Acts, God appoints Paul as an apostle. Was this God’s plan for replacing Judas? Did the others get ahead of Him? Do think that if the disciples had an option for a lot to fall on some other unknown, would that have happened?

My point is that it is far to easy to limit God by our understanding for how He works.

When I was a sophomore in college, I went to God to inquire about my following year. My options, as I understood them, were to:

1. continue rooming with my friend but move to another dorm
2. stay in my current dorm with a new roommate

As a father of two wonderful daughters, the issues of sex trade is especially devastating to me. Daughters of Cambodia has created several opportunities for girls to leave the sex trade by allowing them to see value in themselves. They give the girls job opportunities, training and education, social skills, place to live if needed, etc. I have attached a video about them below. If you are short on time, skip ahead to the 7:00 minute mark to hear the testimony of a girl rescued.

There are many ways you can get involved in the work of Daughters of Cambodia:

• Partner with them in business – buy their products wholesale or retail
• They need the assistance of business consultants overseas to help us develop small businesses
• Sponsor a girl ($70 a month to sponsor one girls’ entire salary each month)
• Fundraising
• Pray – email them for updated prayer requests
• Partner with them financially by making a donation by PayPal (go to the bottom of page)

If you would like to receive the Daughters of Cambodia newsletter, please email them at newsletter.daughters@gmail.com.

Stats Regarding the Current Sex Trade

List courtesy of Nefarious Documentary

• A child is trafficked every 30 seconds. – UNICEF
• The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old. – United States Department of Justice
• Human Trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries. – The United Nations
• Pornography is a 96 billion dollar per year industry. – The Internet Filter Review
• Up to 96% of women in prostitution want to escape but feel they can’t. – United Labor Organization
• Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar per year industry. The United Nations
• In some countries it is estimated that 70% of men purchase sex. – Victor Malarek; The Johns

Much has been in the news regarding Israel lately as eyes have turned to see President Obama’s response to renewed calls to recognize Palestine as an occupied state. As Christians we are to be concerned with what is going on in Israel and actively praying for it. Whatever our views of end-times or current political decisions, God is still in love with Israel as children of Abraham. His promise to bless those that bless them and curse those that curse them does not seemed to have been removed over time (Genesis 12:3).

Here are some things that can help you pray for Israel. Some of these may seem impossible, but remember from whom you are asking help.

1. Leadership: President – Shimon Peres, Prime Minister – Binyamin Netanyahu, and Knesset Speaker – Reuven Rivlin

• supernatural wisdom to know what to do
• protection from political and physical attacks
• honor and love for enemies
• unity with others in leadership

2. Peace:

• protection from those seeking to destroy Israel
• end of violence from terrorist within their borders
• removal of all fear and replace it with love

3. Political Ties:

• wisdom to know who to trust
• favor from those who can give them aid
• strong ties with the U.S.

4. Impact:

• God to bless them to such a degree that other nations may be blessed – this was the promise to Abraham
• they chose to value others in love, even those who hate them

5. Move of God:

• like Joshua: a generation of those who walk in faith, courage, and authentic relationship with God
• like Elijah: a generation of those who stand against others’ opinions to hold on to God for what is right