It is true that one of the keys to life and good relationships is effective communication. And for effective communication to occur, there must be effective listening. This is true not only in developing relationships with one another, but in our relationship with God as well. Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. 

Many of us are petitioning God for so many things. We are repeatedly asking, as if He didn't hear us the first time. But have you ever considered that He heard you but you aren't listening?

Is God someone you can hear? The Bible says He is, and the Bible is one of the main tools through which He speaks. Notice the Bible says in 1 Samuel 3:1-10, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening"…not Listen Lord for your servant is speaking.  Is it possible that God is trying to speak to us and we’re pretending to listen? 

I know for many years, He was trying to speak to me. I ignored sometimes deliberately but many times unknowingly. I would not let my thoughts get below the surface level and I allowed the noise of the world to drown Him out. But eventually He got my attention and  I began to listen and not just listen but willingly saying, "Yes" to what He told me. Now that I put myself in a position to hear, my life has a whole new meaning. 

I encourage you to put yourself in a listening attitude. Solomon urged, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God" (Eccl. 5:2). Instead of getting to your list of requests, enter into worship and stillness with one question: "Lord, what need do You have of me?" Expect God to remind you of a Scripture passage or to put a thought in your mind. If you have already decided what you think God wants to say, you will close your heart to any other thoughts from Him, so allow Him to say anything He wants to you.

Listening to the voice of God is active and participatory. Listening doesn’t always mean quietness, but attentiveness.  In the midst of a powerful song, God may speak to you about something in your life. In the midst of a sermon, your mind may be drawn to something the Spirit is trying to speak to you. Go with it…Listening is not about the sermon or the song– but it is about an encounter that tunes us into the Spirit so that we can do what God has called us to be. 

Here is the truth: God loves us, wants to be in relationship with us and to speak to us.  So when we seek to listen to God we gain clarity, a deeper relationship with our Father, direction, assurance, and guidance. We can gain all of these things by just listening. 

Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane…

Many of us are looking for a  super hero to save us from the stress, pressure and misfortunes of life and the destruction that the enemy brings to our life. There’s a human longing for real heroes we can look up to and who can bring real justice to this troubled world. Everybody’s searching for a hero; people need someone to look up to. In essence, people are looking for a savior of sorts. A super hero is always the one who “saves the day”. He is the one who fights evil and he wins every time. A super hero puts his life before others and somehow never dies… in most “movies” at least. He is the defender of all that is good! He is the first one on the scene! He brings a peace like no on else!

Longing for a superhero is nothing new Greek mythology was just such a systemized belief system in which the characters were reverenced yet given human frailties and desires. The apostle Paul took note of the reverence these “super humans” received in Acts 17:16-21. And Superheroes are more popular than ever before.  Everyone is looking for a hero who will swoop down and save the day when life gets hard.  Someone who will right the wrongs of the world and protect the underdog. We all want a protector who will rescue us and help us to feel safe.

We look for heroes in our imagination, in our relationships or even in celebrities. But I think many of us overlook that fact that Our Father, God wants to be all of those things and more to us. In Psalm 146:1 David talks about what God is to him and to all believers. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

And His son Jesus is surely more than a superhero. He breaks the mold of a superhero. He doesn’t merely do things better than Superman. Jesus comes to save and redeem eternally. He doesn’t pull someone from a burning building, but rather takes someone who is dead in sin and gives them eternal life (Ephesians 2:5). This is the work, not of a superhero, but of a redeemer and savior. This is the work of the ultimate hero.

The past six years have been the most difficult years of my life. I have had so many disappointments, trials and situations that I thought I was going to loose my life. And I surely needed a superhero, and I can say my Father was more than a super hero, He has always been a ever present help in the time of my trouble.  He has always been there when I needed Him. He has protected me from the storms that seek to sweep me away, delivered me from the hands of my enemies that wanted to destroy me and than He bestowed me with His power and authority to overcome them. He gives me strength when I feel I can’t go on. And the beautiful part is that I know I can't lose because He always there. Why? Because He is my Jehovah Shammah.

This name, or title of God is like all of the other names of God; it is given so that we might come to know God better. He reveals a key aspects of His character to us through the use of this name. This comes from Ezekiel 48:35, "It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there." This is the only “literal” occurrence of this name in scripture, though the concept is throughout various verses. While this application was to be given to a city, God is teaching us all the time that He is with us no matter what.  God is omnipresent.  It is one of those concepts that people tend to hurry past this without really absorbing what is being taught.  He is everywhere, all the time, all at once.

So no matter what we are going through, The "LORD is There" with us. Going through hard times? The LORD is there.  Is there a storm raging outside?  The LORD is there.  Scared and alone? The LORD is There. Going through good times? The LORD is There.  Facing a mountain that seems impossible to climb?  We are never alone in the endeavor; The LORD is There.  Surrounded by people that do not care for us, or people abusing us in some manner, either physically, emotionally, or mentally?  The LORD is There…

This should not only  bring us great comfort, but also great peace that He will be there when we need Him to save the day in distress. I want you to really understand, The LORD is with us all the time, and He sees and knows every action and every human heart.  So He is able to swoop in, right on time and turn a situation around because He is the Lord of justice and of mercy.

From this day forward, keep reminding yourself that The LORD is with you. Our God is already in our tomorrow. He already knows what our future looks like and He has complete control over it. We are told in Jeremiah 29:11 that Jehovah-Shammah says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. THE LORD IS THERE!!  The more you remind yourself of that, the more you’ll take it to heart, the more you’ll let that fact bring you more understanding of God, and bring you into a closer walk with Him.  We don't have to worry or fear when we know that He’s not just with us in the rough times, but in the good. He is in our past, our present and our future because He is more than a super hero, but our Jehovah-Shammah.

The Lord is There!
~Yolanda D.

This past Sunday, I had the great honor and privilege (2 Corinthians 8:4) to exhibit the greatness of God’s love by donating my time to an initiative sponsored by the Sanctuary, The Brown Bag Blessing initiative. We went to an apartment complex in Dallas, GA called Country Gardens and gifted to ten working families with children, two bags of groceries each.

It truly proved to be an indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), not just to those who received, but to those of us who were there to give (Acts 20:35).  Giving, not out of our surplus, but sowing seeds from our first fruits (Proverbs 3:9) so that we can be a testimony to God’s grace (2 Corinthians 9:14).

I can now joyfully acknowledge Acts 20:35 and I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is more joy in giving than receiving. I know we touched those ten families in ways that they will never be able to put into words. But it touched us in an equally profound way.

There was utter and complete surprise, with some not being able to grasp the concept of complete strangers coming to their door with groceries and wanting nothing in return but a hug. There were tears of joy and relief. Even though we truly were an unknown blessing to those families, I can’t begin to describe the blessing I received. I can’t put into words the gratitude I felt for the opportunity to touch a person’s life in that way with an act of kindness that I found to be very easy to fulfill. The only word that would come out of my heart was GRATEFULNESS. I was overwhelmed with the desire to praise God and just pour out at my Father’s feet my appreciation for such a blessing.

Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” I thought this scripture fitting for what I was experiencing so I dissected it to fully understand what this sacrifice of praise should be. 

I found it really interesting to note that the greek word that is here translated lips, cheilos, from a form of the word chasma, literally means a shore or pouring place for bodies of water. Additionally interesting was my discovery that according to Hebrew notions, a name is inseparable from the person to whom it belongs, i.e. it is something of the person’s essence. Therefore, in reading this scripture with this knowledge, we could surmise that we are to pour out the professions of our praise from our lips and openly profess God’s name or identity. We are to pour out from our hearts, in praise and thanksgiving, that God is the essence of love.

The song that came to my mind when reflecting on that information, Grateful, by Hezekiah Walker, was perfect for my praise and worship after this amazing experience.

Enter into worship…

I could go on and on and on about His works. Because I’m grateful, grateful, so grateful…

~Contributed by:
Veronica F.

“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you. . . .” ~Genesis 22:15-17a

What were the two things God said to Abraham at that point of surrender? First, Abraham was obedient to God, and second, Abraham withheld nothing.  

Do you feel as though that you are stagnant, stifled or that there is more but you've hit a brick wall? It is apparent from this passage that our God blesses the person who is in complete and total obedience to what He desires. There can be nothing we possess that we are scared to give up or to give over to God. It cannot be a child. It cannot be a career. It cannot be an employee. It cannot be a relationship. It cannot be a habit. It cannot be a hurt. It cannot be a car or house. Give up whatever you're holding back from God because when you do, you will be blessed, just like Abraham was; but you must know just because you are willing to give up or give away something does not mean God will require you to do so. He does expect you to be willing as Abraham.

And this cannot be a matter of incremental obedience. It has to be a total and complete submission to God with nothing withheld. Because if we do hold back, He holds back. Grasping and withholding limits God’s blessing.  God will not fully bless partial obedience. This is not His style or expectation.  There is nothing God wouldn't do for us. He proved that He would not withhold anything from us by sending Jesus as a substitution for our disobedience. Jesus died a criminals death so that we could be reconciled to God. So this should be our intention is to give all we have to Him. 

I declared that the latter years of my life my primary goal will be to withhold nothing.  I’m giving it all to the Lord…my relationships, my finances, my career, my future, my hurts and pain, my faith, my fears, my insecurities, every nook and cranny of my life; I’m withholding nothing. 

What are you withholding from God?  How many of you are still saying “I got this?”  It could be your marriage, your children, your finances, or the plans for your future.  He is not looking for a begrudging giving up, but He is looking for you to freely let loose and walk away with no strings attached. He wants to bring you to the place of total contentment in Him. Whatever it is, surrender it all to God and allow Him to take complete control of your life.  I encourage you to make a list of the things that you are holding on to but want to release to God.  Once you have your list ready, pray over it and release everything on the list to God.  While you’re worshiping, visualize yourself placing each of the items on your list into the hands of God.  Leave it there and trust Him with it.  Place it on His altar, Withholding Nothing…