I read recently there’s a bit of controversy about Sarah Young’s devotional book ‘Jesus Calling’, that perhaps it’s ‘extra-biblical’, even new-age-y.The articles I read didn’t cite any of the particular daily devotions, just made rathersweeping statements about the fact she ‘claimed’ to hear from Jesus and wrote down what He said to her in first person.
Mind you, each selection is accompanied by Scripture.
Mind you, many, many of the people I know personally have heard God speaking to them as well through her words. Many, many times.
Mind you, people have been led closer to Jesus as a result of these messages.
But the validity of the message is in question because people claim they actually heard Jesus speaking.
Now let’s consider this—
God first spoke to the prophets and kings directly, in many places. Here’s a verse I happened on in my reading the other night:
II Samuel 2, “After this David inquired of the LORD….and the LORD said to him…”.
Then God shared His message through his son Jesus, who WAS the Word of God—(see the book of John. Start there.)
Then when Jesus left the earth He told His disciples He would send a Comforter—the Holy Spirit—to lead them and guide them into all truth.
The Holy Spirit is still speaking today. Why, as recently as last week–in Washington D.C. of all places.
House Speaker John Boehner heard God after Pope Francis gave his message on Capitol Hill. As he told the press, after ‘saying his prayers’ that night he woke up the next morning and decided to resign his job.
Just like that—because he was fairly confident he heard God say something. Something very important.
Now, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an audible voice, but a silent ‘knowing’ in his knower, a soul conversation prompted by the tenderness perhaps contributed to by the words from the Pope.
But the way John Boehner shares it, nothing else really mattered after his encounter—the Pope pulled him aside and actually asked the Speaker if he’d pray for His Grace.
I have a feeling after that, the rest of Mr. Boehner’s life came into sharp perspective, that well, politics weren’t all that really mattered in the big picture.
I too hear God’s voice—Jesus calling, if you will—on pretty much a daily basis. And no, I can’t hear it, but I ‘hear’ it—the words are clear and quick and cut through all the clutter when I’m paying attention. And sometimes I write down what He says.
I noticed a journal entry from earlier this year:
4:50 a.m. Feb. 9th
“Woke up and prayed in the Spirit a bit and I think I heard God say, “I’m not going to answer your prayers the same way I did in the past–it’s going to be different.”
My margin notes say, “I’ll take different. With a side of wonder.”
I also included some lines from a book I’ve been reading about the Song of Solomon–
it is to have a greater hunger for Him to be all and in all to us;
it is to make Him more and more our only consolation and confidant. …
there is nothing small in our lives,
but everything is important and tells for Eternity.”
Everything.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit says simple things like, “you left the water running out in the garden”. (Words He knows will save me a lot of grief and a lot of money because our water bill tripled last month.)
Sometimes He says things like, “Call your sister.”
“Write a note to Sherry.”
“Pray for Linda.”
SO I follow through with the note or the prayer or the call and trust the results to Him. And more often than not, that prayer or note or phone call will touch a life and bring hope and encouragement from me, yes, but ultimately from my Jesus.
He cares for every little thing.
There is nothing small in our lives
Everything tells for Eternity.
I doubt You and I will have a conversation with the Pope probably ever.
I hope you don’t get a personal visit from the Water Department about your water bill.
(True story—that happened.)
But you can count on a Person who still speaks today, even though you can’t see Him.
I’m so grateful Summer is officially over. It lasted way too many long, hot, sunshiny days for me. Truly. (I live in the Pacific Northwest. I am allowed to complain about these things.) We did not get our reprieve with refreshing summer rains. There were no soft gray mornings to offset the cloudless days. And…
“The seed catalogues are a further promise of warm days to come. I class them as fiction and love to read them. Oh, the beautiful roses and tall spikes of delphinium and the flowering bushes-not to mention the carrots as big as telephone poles and the peas that practically shell themselves… We get some pretty…
Golden Gardens Seattle j.l. collins Seattle view j.l. collins A soaring wide-winged bird circles the lemon colored trees on the horizon. My eyes are drawn to the sight of flat-bottomed clouds stacked in the far off blue sky. I’d much rather swoon over the bursting expanse of creation in my view, but paying…
I couldn’t help thinking this week about how God has been driving home my out loud confession of wanting to ‘dwell’ in Him this year. “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” Psalm 43:3 …
Frequency There was always a tune in the heart of God A song that He sang over us. The melody came with a note from above A chorus from the Father of love. But the tune met resistance-titanium, stone Even water that blocked all the notes. Was everyone drowning, message nullified, absorbed? Perhaps the enchantment…
When it comes to those things that bring me joy, I’m not sure whether I fancy birds or books more. Perhaps equally. I have books with ‘birds’ in the title melding those two—a love of reading and a fascination with my avian friends. There is much I learn from both—life lessons from the birds, echoing…
