(Joseph said), "God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do... Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them." ... from Genesis 41
"Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This--years later--happened during the reign of Claudius). The disciples ... provided help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea." ... from Acts 11
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Lots of Christians say, "I never hear God speak to me. Other people hear Him, but I can't."
Riiiiiight. シ
In the last 5 (or so) years if your conscience ever whispered--
"Better pick up a few extra _____ before you leave the supermarket. You can store them for 'a rainy day.'"
--or--
"Maybe you should research improving your health, your immune system."
--or--
"Your favorite blogger seems passionate about prepping; perhaps you should look into it, also."
----probably God spoke that.
Or if you ever felt convicted, even for a moment, to--
Grow a garden. Raise fruits and vegetables.
Regularly put extra money into a savings account.
Buy the less expensive house (or phone or car).
Discover helpful, practical YouTube teachers.
Research natural cures. Then try some.
Visit that sick/terminal friend.
Start that exercise program.
Find (and practice) recipes using simple pantry items.
Meet your neighbors to form co-beneficial bonds with them.
Get your house in order.
If doing something back then would've made your life less troublesome now--
---probably God spoke that.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would speak to us:
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." John 16:13
Frankly? The Holy Spirit speaks to me constantly. Seriously, like, every single day.
How? He uses--
my conscience
the Bible
wise teachers
books of all sorts
my family, friends, neighbors
my garden, nature
music
YouTube videos
the news
personal experiences and --
The Holy Spirit speaks all. Day. Long.
And today? May this blog post make you pause. Think back the last few years to all the times you felt a tiny nudge--
to view Life a different way
to prepare ahead
to try something new
to give away money
to ask for help or---
---probably God spoke that. So please, remember what the nudges felt like. Sounded like. How did you feel after obeying? After disobeying? How often did the nudges make no sense until much later?
Why? Because, if Jesus lives within our hearts, we are hearing from the Holy Spirit. All the time, most likely.
But are we taking Him seriously?
"Always, God warns The Listeners ahead of time.
Seekers of Him do not go around saying, "Oh, we've heard this all before and nothing happened." No, seekers recognize that--because of incredible mercy and wishing no man to perish--warnings come long before hammers and judgments fall. " .... from As I See It Now, Nov. 2, 2015
Don't allow the "but what if this isn't God?" fear to paralyze you. Often we must step out to find out if an instruction was from Him.
Dennis Prager. Love that guy. He's like Mr. Rogers for grown-ups.
And before he filmed this fireside chat? He obviously read my diary. (But that's ok!) ツ
(His fireside chat here was my first one to watch and also a huge blessing.)
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Keeping it real@JCFarms:
"Had a couple call my wife and I out yesterday for holding hands while shopping.
My wife of 38 years, politely said to them:
“I’m just holding him back, he’s likely to choke some idiots”
This is why we are so happily married." 
Two highlights from my Mother's Day weekend? Face-chatting (or whatever it's called) with Naomi. (But do not ask me my opinion of a so-called 'law' that's kept us less than 10 miles from her since March. Do not go there.)
And these lovely mini chocolate cupcakes, below, from Amy at the coffee shop. (Yum!) It's so wonderful that each Saturday (only) she offers different treats which we can pre-order. I always make (real) coffee after I walk back home for Tom and me to enjoy with these desserts.
As I told Amy, it's such a blessing for her to do this, for it makes our life feel a bit more normal--and that's vital these days.
Did we really not hear from God? Or was it more like we so did not like what we were hearing?
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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
Excellent post. I'll never forget the time the Lord gave me an idea to take my girls to visit an elderly lady from our church who was in a rehab center. She loved hearing them sing. I put it off and a couple weeks later she passed away. We felt awful.
ReplyDeleteOh Robin! I do thank you for your comment. Most likely we've all done something like that--I did when I was 19 and it took me ages to forgive myself. Oh my. But the good thing was that I so learned from it and tried never to let it happen again. Anyway, your example was so relatable that I added it to my post in one of the lists: "to visit a sick friend." So again, thank-you! Blessings, Debra
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post so much Debra! The Lord speaks to us every single day if we just pay attention and open our hearts more than our ears.
ReplyDeleteThose cupcakes look amazing. :-). I almost think this social distancing would be much harder if our family lived closer. We don't see them often except on the computer anyway, so it's not much different in that respect.
Blessings,
Betsy
Thanks, Betsy! Yes, just knowing Naomi is only a few miles away yet we can't legally see her is rough. But yes! God does speak to us clearly and yes, also.....those cupcakes were so pretty. :) Thanks so much! Blessings, Debra
ReplyDeleteDebra, you hit the nail on the head. The Holy Spirit is constantly trying to get through to us (not easy when you think about human nature) there was a time when I called the shots and lived to regret it. Now I try to step back and let him lead. I have to work at being quiet so I can hear him, and that's often hard for me, but it is possible for us to learn how to hear the spirit. Sometimes he'll tell me to do something and I'll question if it's his idea or mine. When I ask him to please make it clear (so I don't mess up), he graciously increases my understanding. We are so blessed to have a God who loves us enough to help lead us, day by day. Happy belated Mother's Day, Debra. Those cupcakes look so good. Glad the cafe is operating!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!
ReplyDeleteLisa :O)
Pam--usually the Holy Spirit will make things clear which direction we should follow. He's not big on giving all the details why (and often we must still walk by faith), but it's not hard to follow Him on most things if that's what we're determined to do! We loved the cupcakes, appreciate all our Saturday treats and thanks for being glad with us that the cafe is opened at least one day each week! I've missed my mornings there at the table so much, but these Saturdays do help.
ReplyDeleteLisa--thanks so much and it's great to see you still reading here! You're one of my earliest readers, oh my, from at least 12 years ago or more? Again, great to see you and I hope you're doing well during these rough times.
Thanks, Ladies! Blessings, Debra