My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. – John 10:27

Have you ever tried to quiet your mind? I mean really try to think nothing? I tried this exercise recently and found it to be very difficult. I know there are various techniques that enable you to quiet your mind for a period of time; however, the quiet can’t last forever.

The interesting thing about this exercise is that I realized that my mind communicates to me during my waking time primarily in voices. The voices are only audible to me; however, they are definitely a sound in my thought realm.

The bigger question is whose voice is speaking to you? Often the voice sounds like you, sometimes it doesn’t. You know the voice sounds like you because you know the sound of your voice and what you would say. Do you know when God is speaking to you? The Bible refers to a still, small voice. If you listen carefully, you’ll realize that God is frequently speaking to you.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10

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One thing that I’ve learned in writing strong articles with my understanding of scripture that I’ve heard is that God’s Word is divisive.

Luke 12
Not Peace but Division
49″I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

I have made a decision to make God’s Word Supreme Authority in my life. If it’s in the Word, then I believe it. My goal is to gain the best understanding of the Bible that I can. As a man, I do miss it sometimes or I fail to have a complete foundation to properly divide the Word of Truth. When I do miss it, I repent and change my behavior.

So, if you are interested in learning more about God’s Will, join me in studying God’s Word and applying His Word to our lives.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

Since there is a lapse of time between when we sow and reap, it is easy to lose the connection between our actions and the results of those actions. There is a direct connection between the two; however, we are often blind to that connection. In addition to the time factor, there is also a noise factor that contributes to the disconnect.

The noise factor is the amount of other actions that you are taking that are not in alignment. Instead of corresponding action, our actions are sometimes in direct contradiction to what we want or just not supportive. This noise factor makes it more difficult to see the clear connection between our actions and the results that we are getting.

Since these two factors, lapse of time and noise, are at work in our lives; we must have diligence to re-establish our awareness of the connection. We know that God always tells the truth, so, we are rewarded for diligently seeking Him. Thus, if you are not seeing these rewards, make sure that you are being diligent in your pursuit of God and His Word.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

We know from the Bible that God’s intentions are to bring us the fullness of life. If we are not receiving the fullness of life, then, we know that the problem is on our side. One of the ways for us to re-connect to the blessings that God has for us is to re-connect to the Old Testament. We know that Jesus is a fulfillment of the Law; thus, it is helpful for us to understand the benefits of following that Law.

Since we are righteous through Jesus, we have access to those blessings even if we don’t live sin-free. First, you must confess and repent of those sins. Then, we must receive God’s promises. We are to put God into remembrance of His promises for you. Promises of His good plan for your life, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. – Isaiah 43:25,26

To make sure that we are following God’s laws and repenting when we don’t takes diligence. Don’t let time and noise deceive you into giving up on living God’s best.

We say it all the time. “I can’t wait until this summer!” “I can’t wait until my daughter’s potty trained!” “I can’t wait until football season starts!” Then what happens? That time you couldn’t wait for comes and goes. And before you know it, an entire decade passes and you’re wondering where the time went. Some time ago, I was expressing my inability to wait on a particular event or happening and my spirit took notice. I asked the Lord to show me a better way to express my enthusiasm or to control my anticipation. Patience is, after all, one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

For many, patience connotes an arduous task. This could very well be your situation, and life has its share of discomfort. The Bible encourages us to run with patience the race set before us, and fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). I believe that mastering patience, regardless of the situation, can instill an ability to enjoy or learn in every nuance of life.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently on Him …” –Psalm 37:7a

James tells us to let patience have her perfect work so that we can be perfect and entire lacking nothing (James 1:4). So it’s possible to lack nothing. By allowing patience to have her perfect work, you hold out for the best every time. You end up lacking nothing and enjoying the journey. Before you disagree, lend me your eyes. Look through the eyes of God. He never gave up on you—and He never will! “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance,” reads the Amplified Bible’s version of 2 Peter 3:9. He waited for you and He continues to wait for you. He wants you to get it.

And one day, I got it. The Holy Spirit ministered to my spirit. We started saying things like, “I’m excited about the party this weekend!” Instead of, “I can’t wait for the party this weekend!” You see, by saying you’re excited about or you’re looking forward to or you’re interested in seeing this or that, you acknowledge where you are right now. Take the potty training comment. I tried not to focus on rushing my daughter through it, rather we celebrated the task! It gave me the opportunity to teach her more about worshipping God. Every time she produced positive results, we shouted, “Hallelujah!” or “Praise the Lord!” Now in addition to being well potty trained, she loves to worship God! Patience had her perfect work.

Now for the more serious instances, I’ll share a more difficult experience. During the weeks and months following the death of my first son, I wanted to totally escape. I literally could not wait for the gut-wrenching pain to end. But, I had need of patience. I had to count it as joy. There is no quick fix—no immediate way to totally heal (physically, spiritually or emotionally). After this tragedy, I had to be healed from the inside out. God was with me the entire time. Had I decided to yield to escapism by evading the emotions I was experiencing, I would not have been healed. Patiently, I allowed the Lord to help me deal with the hurt, anger and confusion I was feeling. Even in cases of instantaneous divine healing, there is still work to be done on the individual’s part in order to maintain the healing. So it is a work in progress. Jesus told the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14).”

Let’s finish with Brother James. Again, he tells us in James 1:2-4 to, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” We can count it as joy because we know this—that our faith will be tried and if we endure, we will want nothing (Psalm 23:1). Your father God is patient, imitate Him. Enjoy the time you have. Patiently stand in that line and if you can find nothing positive about it but the fact that you have healthy legs to stand on, praise God for that! Know that your steps are ordered and there may be a reason for the unexpected delay. Clean that oatmeal off the wall with joy! One day you may have to set an appointment with your children in order to have a meal with them! I think you get the picture now. There is something positive and beautiful in every experience and season of your life. Yes, you can wait.

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta

This article was inspired by a message from Pastor Sue Lingerfelt at Overcoming Faith Christian Center. One of the most challenging issues that a Christian faces is dealing with temptation. Make no mistake about it, there is a tempter loose in the earth who wants to destroy you. When you fall into temptation, you open the door for destruction. With so much as stake, it’s important that we know how to deal with it when the temptation comes.

No one is immune to temptation. However, if we continually resist, then we will be strengthened in our faith. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). The first part of this verse is critical and often overlooked. We must be submitted to God to have the authority to withstand temptation. When we walk in the Spirit, we do not give into the desires of the flesh. Before I learned how to walk in the Spirit, I was constantly being pulled off course. Even though I had willpower, it simply was not enough when the thoughts and emotions of the seduction came to me. Some people have more willpower than others; however, willpower will fail at some point for everyone. It is simply not possible to live without sin in our own strength.

So, here are some practical steps that can take to overcome temptation:

1. Don’t yield to temptation in the first place. Have you ever noticed that it’s almost impossible to put down a bag of potato chips once you’ve started eating them? This is how it is with temptation. If you give into it, even a little, then your flesh will want more. So, the first key is to learn to recognize evil, then, guard your heart against it. I heard someone say once, “don’t get it twisted”. Even though this is slang, I think it’s an appropriate way to describe avoiding sin. When you do the right thing, God will reward you.
2. Avoid bad fellowship. Have you noticed that the Bible says that “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33) and not the other way around. It’s clear who you should avoid: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
3. Stand firm in your Faith. I have a picture of a lighthouse in the middle of crashing waves in my study. Whenever I feel pressure or stress, I look at that picture. The lighthouse doesn’t move. When you are doing right, you shouldn’t either.
4. Be strong in the LORD. Don’t water down your walk with God for other people. In everything we do, we’re doing it for God. So, why would we be concerned about what other people say and think about us? “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
5. Refuse to compromise God’s Word. “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11) I’ve heard it said that our heart will grow whatever word-seed we plant (or allow to be planted) in it. Like weeds in your yard, it’s possible to have something come up that you didn’t knowingly plant. That’s why it’s critical that we constantly plant God’s Word in our heart, and not the words and images of the enemy.
6. Have a pure heart. We know that a house divided against itself cannot stand, yet, we often entertain “little” sins. It’s very rare (maybe never) that you find a drug addict that has never smoked marijuana. This is why they call it a gateway drug. In the same way, it’s impossible for someone to commit adultery without first “playing” with the thoughts of it. While people cannot see your thoughts, eventually, your thoughts will be seen through your actions. Even if you think you’re getting away with it, you’re not. “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Luke 12:2) If you have something in your thinking that is not in alignment with God’s Word, confess it right now and repent to God. This is the process of removing weeds from our heart. You may have to do it repeatedly (like every 5 or 10 minutes), but it will eventually go away.

The reason that we are tempted is because our flesh is not pure. While our Spirit is pure, our flesh must be tamed. We all have evil desires within our flesh; however, it is not God who is tempting us to act on those desires. “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15)

God is a good God and will always give us a way out. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)