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| Is that God Speaking? |
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God speaks to us in daily life. Most people believe this - the problem is telling if it's God speaking, or us, or the pizza we had last night (with the extra anchovies and sausage).
The missions group that hosted our church's Youth Missions Trip to New Orleans, 'Adventures in Missions' (AIM), emphasizes teaching the youth to pray AND LISTEN for God's direction in His response. Our AIM hosts gave our team some ideas and instruction on how to do this. It seemed like really good advice to me, so I thought I'd share it.
At one of our first Team Morning Devotionals in New Orleans, each person on our team was handed a small business-card-sized paper that listed the things our hosts stressed in teaching youth how to hear from and obey God. The card had the AIM motto: "Follow God... Reach our world". It also had a short acronym to help teach how to do that. The acronym, "A.L.O.E.", stood for
Ask
Listen
Obey
Evaluate,
and if we followed these steps, this particular A.L.O.E. would bring life and healing to the nations around us.
The back of the business card listed five steps to evaluate any guidance received in prayer, to TEST it, to see if it was really from God. Their suggestions (with Scriptures) were these:
1. Does it exalt Christ? (John 16:14)
2. Is it Scriptural? (Proverbs 30:5-6)
3. Do other Christians confirm it? (Proverbs 15:22)
4. Does it produce good fruit? (John 15:1-16)
5. Does God bring it to pass? (Isaiah 55:10-11)
I really appreciated the emphasis our hosts with AIM placed on encouraging our youth to a daily devotional habit and a living faith based on a relationship with Almighty God. I have met many people who argue all the time about whether God even exists, but no one can deny our personal testimonies, when they include the regular experience of hearing from God. What a privilege to know and serve the Living God who created us, but never abandoned us - He is right here right now, with us, and He chooses to speak to us and with us.
Modern philosophy teaches that God doesn't exist. Islam teaches that the last prophet died 1200 years ago and now no one hears God's voice. Deists teach that God made us, then left us on our own, to get by as best we can. Our God lives, and He is Emmanuel, the God who walks and talks with us! This is what makes us different, and what makes our message unique. Ex 33:15 And he (Moses) said to him (to God, in the middle of the desert), “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Good News Publishers. Exodus 33:14-16 KJV |
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| To add a comment to "Is that God Speaking? " |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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Nice post, Sword, with good sound advice on a question all of us have probably asked at some time. (I know I have!) And I loved the finale:
Modern philosophy teaches that God doesn't exist. Islam teaches that the last prophet died 1200 years ago and now no one hears God's voice. Deists teach that God made us, then left us on our own, to get by as best we can. Our God lives, and He is Emmanuel, the God who walks and talks with us! This is what makes us different, and what makes our message unique. Yay!!! Keep on blogging! :) |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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| Good one, Mrs. dc! |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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| I really enjoyed this reading, thank you so much for your insights! |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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| I would venture a comment that many people Ask, Listen, and Evaluate...but many of us hestitate before we actually Obey. |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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Thanks, Kathy! Your posts have encouraged and inspired me more than anyone else's on this whole forum, so kudos from you on one of my posts mean that much more to me.
Jen, Danielle, thank you both for your encouragement. I wish I could take credit for some great insight, but like I said, all I did was copy what our AIM team leaders passed out to us in morning devotions.
Voice, yeah! that 'Obey' part can get sort of dicey. Maybe the 'obey' part becomes easier the more sure we are about Who we heard. |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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I really like the ways to evaluate what's from God and what ain't...
I've struggled in the past trying to know God's will but then I found out a pretty easy way to take decision...it is to ask myself "is this the most loving thing to do?" so far it has worked great! :D |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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| Amen we know what God says to us because we have the Holy Spirit living within us |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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I think this is also a starting point for all things Godly. We want to evaluate scripture, our thoughts about theology, those ways that God speaks to us, all those areas of "interpretation" of faith. Those 5 steps on the back allow for room for God to speak, for scripture to speak, for Godly wisdom, for Holy Spirit activity in our hearts, and for proving of the "word given". You can't easily be led astray when youve thouroughly tested something.
Thanks again Sword, you are a Godly woman raising up Godly children, may God continue His favor in your life. |
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| August 12, 2007 |
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Ali, good point about asking if it follows God's heart of LOVE - checking my motives is always a good way to rule out me and the pizza.
Trinity, AMEN! God gave His Spirit to guide us into all the truth and reveal to us what 'eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man'.
Thanks, my Sistahs
Dennis, Wow! I hadn't thought about using the same 5 tests in all those other areas, but you are so right! Maybe just the step of testing what we're doing (whether it's in our own theology, understanding of Scripture, private prayer and study, interaction with others, whatever) helps keep down that pride. It's so easy to forget how easy it is to be wrong. |
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| August 13, 2007 |
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| Very good post. Keep'm coming! |
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| August 13, 2007 |
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| This is wonderful, wonderful! Where can I get some of those business cards to pass around? (well, I guess they'd be easy enough to make ourselves) So many people need a more accurate bead on whether or not it's God's voice they hear. Often they aren't listening at all, their focus just isn't on him in their lives (mine too from time to time, or maybe even often). Even folks who appear to be asking/listening can lock onto something seemingly good and lose sight of God himself!! Love this blog! ~mike |
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| August 13, 2007 |
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| FR, M&L, thanks guys for the encouragement. Mike, if you want to get some of the cards, you might try contacting AIM directly at www.adventures.org. And your points are right on the mark - Pastor at our church was just encouraging us this week to seek God and not settle for all those 'by-products' that seem to so easily distract us. |
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| August 14, 2007 |
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OK for something to get a crusty old 50 year old like me to use a phrase like "Totally Awsome" a BLOG would have to be "Totally Awsome". What can I say this BLOG is totally Awsome. In the little city I live in of Terre Haute, IN. I doubt that even the Major would return my call. The idea of communication with the creator of the universe still blows my mind. A big help for me was the folks at family foundations international who did a Ancient Paths Seminars...
Totally Awsome |
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