Tag Archives: direction from God

Incremental Obedience … God Leads in Steps NOT Leaps

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Incremental Obedience … God Leads in Steps NOT Leaps

Incremental Obedience…God Leads in Steps NOT Leaps

The phrase “leap of faith” is commonly used in Christian circles.  I’ve probably even used the term myself.  But did you know that this phrase is actually unscriptural?  God leads in steps NOT leaps.  We’re not frogs.  We’re humans.  Humans walk, not jump.  We need to learn how to practice incremental obedience via steps that God gives us.

God leads in steps NOT leaps. We’re not frogs. We’re humans—we walk. #incrementalobedience

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Previously, I  read through the devotional plan “How to Neighbor” by Pastor Craig Groeschel from Life.Church on the YouVersion Bible app.  It’s an excellent 10-day plan.  I highly recommend it.  In part of the plan, Pastor Craig is talking about Esther and her pivotal role in helping God’s people.  He mentioned that Esther had to take steps of incremental obedience…

“As a teen, Esther pushed back darkness and risked everything for her neighbors because Mordecai, her adoptive father, reminded her why she was alive “for such a time as this.” Think about this. Esther, and every other person who’s ever done anything valuable for God, basically just took incremental steps of obedience.”

The frequently quoted scripture, “Perhaps you were made…for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) can apply to our lives too.  We will have “for such a time as this” moments throughout our lives.  Those moments will require steps, not leaps, of incremental obedience leading up to them.

Esther’s steps of incremental obedience

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How to Understand God’s Will

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Learn how to understand God’s will ...

How to Understand God’s Will

Recently I received a question from a reader that I thought was an excellent question and worthy of sharing…

“How can we understand about God’s will for us? I’ve been struggling with the feeling that I may have done something out of His plan, and it saddens me so much.”

I think this is something that many of us have wondered about at one time or another.  How do we understand God’s will, and what happens if we feel like we’ve missed it or did something opposed to His will?  This week I’d like to discuss a couple of ways to understand God’s will, and also address what happens if we miss it.

We ALL miss God’s will sometimes…

First let me say, don’t beat yourself up too much if you feel like you’ve done something out of God’s will or plan.  We ALL have “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s”.  I screw up all the time! 🙂 The cool thing I’ve learned is that I can never mess up so much that God can’t fix it or even use it.  God can turn anything around.  I wrote about that in “Mistakes Can Turn Into Success” if you want to see an example in the Bible.  Romans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”  So if you know you’ve messed up, repent (admit it, apologize and don’t do it again), and then ask God to fix it or work it out to be something good. 

His will is in His word. #Godswill

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God’s will is in His Word

As for understanding God’s will, I’ve learned that the best way to learn and understand God’s will is by reading the Bible.  His will is in His word.

Romans 12:2 says “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Other versions say “renewing your mind…to discern what God’s will is”.  We renew our mind by reading the Bible.

God’s will or plan will NEVER contradict what the Bible says.  For example, God’s will is never for someone to have an affair because the Bible clearly calls that adultery, which is a sin. Another example is that God’s will is never for somebody to go to hell because God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Unfortunately, I’ve heard both of these examples used as “God’s will”, but they both contradict scripture.

Ask God to show you His will

I’ve also learned that I can ASK God to show me what His will or His plan is.  James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.”  That means if we want something we need to ask for it.  The same can be true when trying to understand God’s will—We just need to ask.

So first I pray (i.e. God, please help me to understand your will and plan in this area…). Then secondly, I just spend some time reading the Bible.  I usually just do this in my regular daily quiet times, and I try to pay attention to anything that stands out.  A lot of times God will answer my question (usually not right away though) in some of the verses I read.

A recent example

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How to Recognize God’s Voice

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Learn how to recognize God's voice

Image Credit: ohmega1982 via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Recognize God’s Voice

“Then he (Jesus) added, ‘Pay close attention to what you hear.  The closer you listen the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more.’”  Mark 4:24 (NLT)

I previously shared a post on What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?  I’d like to share some more tips on how to learn and recognize God’s voice.  God’s voice becomes more familiar as we grow in relationship with Him.

God’s voice becomes more familiar as we grow in relationship with Him.

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This is very similar to meeting a new friend.  At first, we probably don’t recognize their voice very well, and they have to introduce themselves when they call on the phone.  However, the longer we are friends and the more time we spend with them (and hear them talk), the easier it is to recognize their voice.  Eventually, they won’t even have to say who they are or introduce themselves.

I didn’t recognize my husband on our first date

The more time spent with someone makes them more familiar and more recognizable.  My husband, Eric, just loves to tell the story (aka make fun of me 🙂 ) about the time we went on our first “official” date.  I went to meet him at a mall.  He was waiting outside the front door for me, and I walked right past him because I didn’t recognize him.  We hadn’t known each other very long in my defense, and he DID have a baseball hat on pulled down low over his eyes!  Nevertheless, he will NEVER let me live it down.

I shudder to think of all the times I must have done the EXACT same thing to God—walk right past Him due to not recognizing Him when He was standing right in front of me.

It’s getting easier for me to recognize God’s voice the more I mature and the closer I get to God.  In hindsight, I wish I would have learned to recognize God’s voice a lot sooner.  I can look back on my life now and see poor choices and/or missed opportunities where I had a “red flag” but didn’t realize at the time that God was speaking to me.  Some things that I’ve learned along the way are the “What”, the “When”, the “How” and the “Why” of God speaking.  My goal is to share a few of these things with you in hopes that you too can learn to recognize God’s voice so that you might miss fewer opportunities or make fewer poor choices.

Recognize God’s Voice in WHAT to listen for: Continue reading →

What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?

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What Does God's Voice Sound Like?

What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?

It never ceases to amaze me how God talks to us.  I’m positive that He’s talked to me my whole life, and I didn’t even know it was Him.  The closer I grow to God and the stronger my relationship gets with Him, the easier it is for me to recognize God’s voice.  Did you know He talks to you all the time too?  You may have not even realized it was Him, simply mistaking God’s voice as just a random thought going through your head or just an odd coincidence of events.

Today, I thought I’d share a story I wrote a while back about hearing and recognizing God’s voice in something as simple as home décor. 

The closer you get to God, the easier it is to recognize His voice.

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“My sheep recognize my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (MSG)

Jesus’ arm

Jesus told me where his arm was.  That was the message that I had sent to my husband, half-jokingly, half-serious.  I have a wall decoration that is a carved wooden cross with a figurine of Jesus hanging on the cross.  Eric had brought it back to me as a souvenir from Budapest when he was there on leave while in the military. There is a place in the living room where it usually hangs.  I had temporarily removed it to put up some Christmas decorations in its place.  It had been stored in one of the empty Christmas boxes. 

After Christmas was over and the decorations were taken down (I’m not going to tell you how long after Christmas this was), I had taken the cross and set it on an end table waiting to hang it back up.  One of the kids later passed by it and asked where Jesus’ arm was.  It had been broken off.  I assumed that the kids must have broken it while playing with their cousins and neglected to tell me.

“Random” thoughts

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Scriptures About the Lord is My Helper

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Scriptures About the Lord is My Helper

The Bible declares that the Lord, God, is our helper. He is there to help us in times of need. That is a promise from scripture. It is part of who God is. It is one of his defining characteristics and traits. We are God’s children, and we have the one true and only God on our side to back us up and empower us. God loves us. He is for us, not against us, and he will help when we need it and when we call out to him. He is your helper and my helper!

There are times in our lives where we face trouble, when we need direction, or when we truly can’t do things on our own. We all need help from time to time. We will need help to do some of the things that God has called us to do. Sometimes that help can come from others, but other times we need help directly from God. It’s okay to ask for help, from others and from God! God will partner with us in the things that we face, big or small.

Therefore this week I’d like to share some scriptures to inform you and build your confidence in the fact that the Lord is your helper!

Scriptures about the Lord is my helper:

“By the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” Genesis 49:25 (ESV)

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to God, and spoke, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he is very greatly glorified: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. He was to me a helper and protector for salvation: this is my God and I will glorify him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” Exodus 15:1-2 (BST)

“There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.” Deuteronomy 33:26 (NLT)

“Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.” Deuteronomy 33:29 (NIV)

“And the song was thus: O Lord, my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God; he shall be to me my guard, I will trust in him: he is my protector, and the horn of my salvation, my helper, and my sure refuge; thou shalt save me from the unjust man. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I shall be saved from my enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:2-4 (BST)

“But You, LORD, do not be far away; You who are my help, hurry to my assistance.” Psalm 22:19 (NASB)

“Do not turn your back on me. Do not reject your servant in anger. You have always been my helper. Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me, O God of my salvation!” Psalm 27:9 (NLT)

“The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” Psalm 28:7 (NLT)

“We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20 (NLT) Continue reading →

Pray Without Ceasing

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Pray Without Ceasing: What does that even mean?

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. Some translations of this verse say pray continually or pray without stopping. So what does this even mean? Does mean that I need to sit around for hours at a time praying? I don’t think so. I think this is more about turning our thoughts to God on a regular basis and just talking to him as we do this. To me what it all boils down to is this, to pray without ceasing just means to pray and talk to God throughout your day as an ongoing conversation. Prayer is not a religious ritual. Prayer is a conversation with our father and our friend, and it comes from a place of relationship not rigid or rote protocol.

Prayer is not a religious ritual.

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An “Aha” moment

In my previous blog post about When and Where to Pray, I wrote about how when I was in college I had a sudden realization after reading this verse that there is really no “certain” or “right” time to pray. Growing up, typically prayer times were before meals and at bedtime. I remember reading “Pray without ceasing” and having the thought that God wants to talk to me all day. I just need to pray all the time and not just before meals or bed.

From that point on, I started having a daily, ongoing conversation with God.  I still had regular and more formal times to pray, but more often than not I would just talk to God throughout the day.  This idea of an ongoing conversation gave me the freedom to have a friendship and real relationship with God.  I didn’t even say “amen”. It was just an unending conversation all day long.

Sometimes I imagine this like talking to an invisible friend walking beside me (because he kind of is!). It doesn’t even have to be out loud, but it can be. Sometimes I find myself praying out loud without realizing it. You can imagine some of the strange looks I might get. I remember one time I was walking in the kitchen feeling really frustrated, drained, and overwhelmed. Slightly under my breath (or so I thought), and in a bit of a growl, I pleaded to God saying, “Sustain me”. My husband, Eric apparently overhead. He laughed as he jokingly asked me if I was demon-possessed because all he heard was a growling sound and what he thought was a “SAVE ME”. We got a good laugh about that!

To pray without ceasing just means to ongoing conversation with God.

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Some examples of what “pray without ceasing” might look like on an average day for me

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Spiritual Alignment

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Spiritual Alignment

I had to go to the chiropractor not long ago for some minor problems I was having with my back and neck. With a few adjustments the chiropractor was able to get my spine back into alignment, eliminating my symptoms of pain and numbness. It made me think about how we can get out of alignment spiritually as well.

We might not be exactly where we need to be in our relationship with God, or perhaps we aren’t completely lined up with his instructions or teachings. Sometimes we’ll seem to notice that things feel just a little bit off or not right (like my back and neck did). We may even notice that we have drifted away slightly or don’t feel as passionate as we used to. There might be a sense of dryness or just going through the motions. We may feel spiritually unproductive or unfruitful.

When we are spiritually misaligned we can become spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically depleted. These may all be symptoms of spiritual misalignment just as my pain and numbness were symptoms of physical misalignment.

Staying connected to Jesus to maintain spiritual alignment

Around that same time that I went to the chiropractor, I had spent some time reading John 15 and noticed how it shows us one way we can stay IN spiritual alignment by abiding or remaining in Jesus and his love and by God’s word abiding in us.

Pastor Tony Evans said, “John 15 says that if you will abide in Him and His Word, and He abides in you, you can do anything. You can overcome anything. Your prayers will be answered because your prayers will be aligned to Him. Jesus doesn’t want you to just learn about Him, study some stories, post some Scripture and throw up some prayers. He wants a relationship with YOU. That’s the kingdom encounter you need to pursue. It’s called: abiding.”[1]

“1I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

9“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 

16You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:1-17 (NLT)

Another analogy: Tires

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