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Who are you listening to?

12/31/2014

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I said a prayer the other night and what I asked for was given me, even though my heart told me it was the wrong thing to ask for.  That realization, which has happened more than once in my life, (apparently because I am a slow learner) has an important lesson which I seem to forget at times.  Perhaps it is a lesson you forget at times as well.
Want to know what the lesson is?  The lesson is this:  There is grave danger in arguing with God because God might just let you win the argument!  In 2 Chronicles 18, we read about King Ahab who prayed for advice and direction from God and then didn't like the answer God gave them.  So he chose to follow the voice of others instead of the voice of God.  (I've been there and done that too!)
The question is: who are you listening to?  King Ahab listened to the wrong voice, and it cost him his life.  When we argue with God, He doesn't push back.  He doesn't overpower us with his will but allows us to live with the decisions we make.  That's one of the consequences of free will He has given us.  God accepts our "no" and allows us to make stupid decisions.  But, God doesn't give up on us.  Though He wants us to follow Him the decision is always our own.
When we listen to the wrong voices and search for the wrong things, we miss out on the blessings God has for us.  Many times those blessings and answers to our prayers are right in front of us, but we fail to see and realize them because of our stubbornness. 
Who in your life is the voice of truth?  Who do you listen to?  Who do you need to stop listening to?  Our goal as Christians should be to have ears that listen to God as He speaks to us in our hearts and minds.  It's just a matter of listening.  Are you listening to God?  Amen.
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December 02nd, 2014

12/2/2014

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It was a clear night and as I stood looking up at the stars, when suddenly to my surprise a shooting star passed by.  I have never seen one so bright.  A shooting star is another name for a meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere.  So, a shooting star isn't a star at all.  Meteoroids are objects as small as a piece of sand, and as large as a boulder.  Smaller than a piece of sand, and astronomers call them interplanetary dust.  If they're larger than a boulder, astronomers call them asteroids.  A meteoroid becomes a meteor when it strikes the atmosphere and leaves a bright tail behind it that can last for more than a minute.
I have often wondered what it might have been like the night Christ was born.  The star that led the Magi to Jesus is an intriguing element of the Christmas story.  What was it?  A comet?  A supernova?  Was it the meeting of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars that occurs every 800 years?  One thing is for sure.  It was a star of luminous expectation.
The Magi were astronomers and had been studying the night skies for astral signs hoping for a revelation that they believed would give them insight into life or reveal the future.  When the star came, they were prepared for it.  While most people slept that night, they were drawn by the brightness of the star and they followed it, they followed it with excitement and expectation, and in so doing they discovered the true meaning behind its light.
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival."  The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ in his Second Advent.  Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history.  It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing.  Advent is a time of preparation that is marked by prayer.  It is that hope, however faint at times, that God, however distant He sometimes seems, hears our prayers and is faithful to us in the promises he made when He sent His Son into the world.
Perhaps you have heard it said, "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he will not be disappointed."  What are you preparing for?  That makes me wonder, what are you expecting as Christmas approaches?  What are you excited about?  The richness in our lives is often determined by our expectations.  Amen
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