It seems to me that sometimes we as believers doubt that we hear the voice of the Lord. There is a scripture in the Bible that tells us that God’s people hear his voice and follow His directions. (I am paraphrasing here)

So then why is it that we run around asking other people their opinion? When we find ourselves in need of guidance from God, and when the answer comes, we doubt that we have heard from God. Maybe we do not like the answer or maybe we are unsure whether we heard the answer properly.  Either way we can be swayed by the words of people.

1 Kings 13 tells the story of how a “man of God” from Judah is sent by the Lord to confront King Jeroboam at the altar in Bethel, where the king is offering sacrifices to false gods. The young prophet sent by God declares that the altar will be split apart and its ashes poured out as a sign of God’s judgment.

King Jeroboam invited the prophet to his house to eat and drink, but the prophet rejected the invitation because God had already told him not to. An old prophet that lived in the land came and invited the young prophet to his house to eat and drink, but again the younger prophet chose to listen to the voice of God and say no.

This is where we pick up the story in 1 Kings chapter 13: 18-19 AMP says, He answered, I am a prophet also, as you are. And an agnel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. (19) So, the man from Judah went back with him and ate and drank water in his house.”

In this story, disobedience cost the man of God his life. Because he ended up dying. In this story the man of God had heard the voice of God but had only partially obeyed the directions of God. Instead of following through on what God had said, he chose to listen to a person who told lies. Which brings me back to my thoughts.

Why do we seek to listen to the opinion of others? Why do we doubt in our own ability to hear the voice of God? Why do we choose to please people instead of pleasing God? There is a time and a place for seeking godly counsel. But most importantly, there is a time to just listen and obey the voice of God.

I pray we all chose to practice listening and obeying the voice of God. Blessings come from obedience. Consequences come from disobedience.

Genesis 4:7 says, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.  I believe that if you are saved, it is your desire to be accepted by God.

This scripture gives us an “if” statement.  If you do well you will be accepted, but if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door. This scripture goes further to tell us that sin has a desire for us, but we must master it. 

What does it mean to master something?  It means we do not give into it.  We do not entertain it.  We do not make a practice of sinning. Sin does not have control of us, we have control of it!

1 Corinthians 10:13 says in the Amplified Version, For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin, no matter how it comes or where it leads) has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear.] But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

There is no temptation that we have to give in to.  There is not temptation that we do not have authority over.  There is no temptation that is stronger than our reliance of God.

God will always provide a way of escape.  God will always provide a way out. You do not have to sin.  You do not have to stay in your old ways.  James 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

If you have a relationship with Jesus, I urge you to stop sinning.  I urge you to flee from sin. Do not put yourself in situations where you will be tested and tempted.  Stay close to God.  Resist the devil he will flee.  The bible does not say he might flee, it says he will flee. 

If you are having trouble with sin, I urge you to take some time here today to cry out to Jesus!  Repent to Him.  Watch how quickly He will forgive you!

We are told in 2 Peter chapter three that in the last days scoffers would come saying where is this Jesus you have been talking about?  You have been talking about Him coming for so long and He is still not here.

That my friend is evidence that we are in the last days.  We know the times we are living in because we read His Word and He tells us what to look for.  A scoffer doubts He is coming while a believer looks excitedly for His coming!

The bible is very clear that He is coming for those who are looking for Him in Hebrews 9:28. As a believer, we look for Him!  We have no doubt!  We know that He said He would be coming, and so we keep an eye out for Him.

We know He is coming soon because we see ALL the signs He as mentioned.  We who have read the Bible are excited to see all the current events taking place.  We have read about how people would have a large sense of love for themselves instead of love for others.

We remember how He said the times of the end would be like the times of Noah and the times of Lot.  We have learned from history what those times looked like.  We learned what the hearts of the people of that day really wanted.  We know they believed in child sacrifices which is what abortion is. 

We know that people would stop listing to truth and choose to listen to lies. Those people would choose to attend churches that would tell them what they wanted to hear rather than what would give them life.  They would choose death over life.  They would choose to mock and make fun of those who declare the truth.

But as believers, we choose to stay on the narrow path.  We choose to watch the signs.  We choose to continue to live our lives based on the truth of Gods’ Word.  We choose to separate ourselves from the things that would separate us from God, because we choose to be close to Him.  We choose to be led by Him.  We choose to spend eternity with Him. 

I cannot tell you if you are a scoffer or a believer.  You will have to determine that for yourself.  Just remember the Bible says in Philippians 2:12 that we must each work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. 

John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Our heavenly Father loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that we could live.  God made a way for us to be with Him.  Jesus paid the price of His life.  He purchased our life with His life. 

2 Corinthians 11:2 says, For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chase virgin to Christ.

Our heavenly Father watches over us with godly jealousy.  He is keeping an eye on us as the one betrothed to His Son.  He is watching over us intently.  The Holy Spirit is leading us into a life of purity so that we are everything Jesus is waiting for.  He is waiting for us, a spotless bride.  Waiting for a faithful bride.  Waiting for a devoted bride.

Song of Solomon 4:9 says that we have ravished His heart.  It says it twice.  We have ravished His heart.  His heart yearns to be with His bride.  He is eagerly waiting to hear His Father say, “Ok Son, go get your bride!

Think about all that He went through to be with us.  He was spit upon, ridiculed, had a crown of thorns cut into his head.  He was nailed to a cross.  All so that we could be with Him. 

Song of Solomon 2:8-10 says, The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. (9) My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. (10) My beloved spake, and said unto me, rise up, my love my fair one, and come away.

Here Jesus is pictured as leaping in excitement to come get His bride.  He is skipping with joy because the wait is finally over.  He has waiting so long to bring His bride home.  He makes himself known to his bride and I can hear the excitement in his voice as he says rise up my love and come away! 

He has waited so long!  His bride has kept herself pure and she is ready to hear her bridegroom say, Arise my love and come away.  Get ready!  Stay ready! Jesus will soon come for His bride!

I understand that in this world finding peace can sometimes be a struggle.  We wake up in the morning as we are confronted by the latest breaking news.  If we have children, we can be confronted by things going on at school or in our neighborhood, or around the corner.  We may be confronted by recent posts on Facebook that cause us discomfort. 

Maybe we have a conversation with our co-workers and are confronted by issues they are facing.  Maybe our health has gone downhill.  Maybe our parents have entered the stage of life where they are just not as independent as they once were. 

Maybe you are looking at your bottom line and see that your expenses seem to be constantly rising while your income does not seem to match the pace of escalation.  Sometimes we have disagreements with our siblings, our husbands, our friends, our bosses.

Sometimes we are just discouraged because we have not achieved a certain level of success in our lives that we had planned on.  We find ourselves stuck in a rut.

Whatever the cause or causes, these items and more can rob you of your peace.  The Word of God is very clear on the subject of peace.  Colossians 3:15 in the Amplified Version says to let the peace of Christ be the controlling factor in our hearts. 

I have had people ask me many times when turbulent times came my way, how can you stay so calm.  How can you smile with all that you have going on.   I reply that I have the peace of Christ guarding my heart.

But here is a very important statement.  In order to have the peace of Christ controlling your heart, you have to have Christ in your heart.  There is no other way to have the Peace of Christ in your heart.  It all starts with a relationship with Christ. 

When we ask Him into our heart with sincerity, He will come in and bring with Him a flood of peace.  That peace that surpasses all understand.  That peace that helps us smile during times of trial, that peace that gives us hope when things look hopeless. That peace that keeps us going with a positive attitude. 

If you do not know this peace, I offer you the opportunity here and how.  Ask Jesus into your heart.  Ask Him to be the Lord of your life.  Turn away from all ungodly living and ask Him to keep you on the right path.  Then watch as His peace fills your heart!

Have you ever found yourself feeling exhausted?  Like no matter what you do you cannot relax or get caught up?  Maybe you work all day only to find you have more to do at the end of the day than you did when you started.  Maybe you are one of many who get little sleep because your brain is thinking all night.

I have found myself in this situation more than once in my life.  I can remember times before I formed a relationship with Jesus, when I would lay awake at night thinking of everything I needed to do the next day.  Or I would be thinking about bills that needed to be paid.  I would toss and turn all night and be exhausted all the next day.

I know how frustrating it is to have a full plate of things to do with no end in sight.  I understand the struggle to separate your family from your work, when your brain will not stop thinking about what needs to happen at work.  Then when you are at work, your brain will not stop thinking about all that is going on with your family.

It is vicious cycle that robs us of our peace and our sanity.  It keeps us constantly running from one thing to another.  Causes us to find no rest and no relaxation.  Causes us undo stress on our bodies.

Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  I have found over the years this to be true. 

When I make it habit to put the Lord first, my day always goes better.  When I go to Him first thing in the morning, I find I am refreshed throughout the day.  I find I am better equipped to face whatever the day throws at me.  I find the Lord takes all the burdens and quiets my brain. 

I challenge you this week.  If you need to be refreshed.  If you need to find some peace for your soul.  If you just need your brain to be quiet long enough for you to be able to think clearly.  Give God a try.

Get up early on purpose.  Spend time in His Word.  Spend time in prayer.  Start your day with the Lord and you will finish your day with peace. 

I have been thinking about the word “IF”.  The word “IF” occurs 1,595 times in 1,420 verses in the KJV.  If is a “conditional clause” according to Strong’s Concordance. 

According to Collins online Dictionary, “A conditional clause is part of a conditional sentence, which consists of two main components: the if-clause (the condition) and the main clause (the result). The conditional clause sets up a scenario that must be met for the main clause to occur. For example, in the sentence “If it rains, we will stay indoors,” “If it rains” is the conditional clause, and “we will stay indoors” is the main clause. 

Sorry about the English lesson here, but I needed to explain the word “IF”.  We use it daily in our conversations.  With our children, we teach them that “IF” they do not behave there will be consequences.  The consequences are both ways.  If you behave there will also be consequences, but usually we all like consequences that benefit us or bring us pleasure.

The Lord gives us a lot of consequences in His Word.  Genesis 4:7 is one example.  The Amplified version says it this way, “If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.”

From the get-go, God gave us simple directions for a good life.  “IF” we do well we will be accepted.  “IF” we do not, we could be overpowered by sin.  Sin is a topic for another article as to what the word sin actually means.

Before you tell me that “we live under grace.  We are saved.  Jesus already paid the price”, look at what Romans 8:13 says in the Amplified Version “ “for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.”

If you do this you shall live, if you do that you shall die!  God does not change.  Just because Jesus paid the price for our sin, we still have the responsibly to live a life acceptable to Him.  We should not be habitually sinning.

Let’s try to live a life acceptable to our Lord.

As I mentioned last week, I am going to address the statement “God is Love” Yes, this is true, God is Love.  In fact, the bible does say that God is love.  What worries me, however, is the deception in which this statement is relied upon.

God is love is a comforting statement.  And we know that God is love because the bible mentions it a few different times. The deception is that while He does love us, He is still a righteous judge.  Loving someone does not mean that sin is overlooked.  And since He is a righteous judge, that means there is a standard that must be maintained.

1 Corinthians chapter 6 has a lot to say about the way we are to live.  Love is not the sweeping of our wrong behaviors under the rug.  Love is not a license to sin.  Much like the misconception of Grace, the confusion is that both will allow a person to continue is their lifestyle and still make heaven. 

I know there are teachings and beliefs out there that will tell you that both God’s grace and His love will someone allow Him to turn a blind eye to our unrighteous lifestyle. 

I know we are not perfect.  I know we will suffer with sin as long as we are in these mortal bodies.  But if we do not develop an attitude of repentance, we can risk the trap of thinking we are fine when we are not.

There is a story is the bible in Matthew 24:37-50 that talks about who will left and who will be taken.  I can assure you the wicked and unrighteous will be left.  I understand the argument that we are made righteous through Christ.  But let me ask you a question.

How many of you have children that you love?  Would you allow your children to live however they wanted to and do whatever they wanted to do?  No!  You want your children to grow and mature into the people they were born to be.  Now we have God, our Heavenly Father, the Righteous Good Father.  How much more does He want us to grow and mature into the people we were born to be?

The bible tells us in Hebrews 12:6 KJV, For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives”.  There are many other scriptures that say the same thing.  Please do not put your faith in a deception that will separate you from God.