#listening to god

[dramoor]

"Getting to know God is fundamentally a matter of listening. He takes the first step in this business and looks to us to respond.    If we know God, it is because we have let Him speak to us.

~H.R. Mackintosh

#Orthodox Christian #listening to God

[momentsbeforemass]

Self-inflicted

Moses screwed up everything.

Moses should have been killed as a child. Instead, he gets adopted by Pharoah’s daughter.

Moses grows up in the palace. He’s got every advantage. But he’s still in touch with his own people.

He’s got everything he needs to succeed, and he’s doing it without losing who he is.

Then (as today’s first reading shows us) Moses tries to protect one of his own people and ends up killing an Egyptian.

His own people turn on him. Pharoah orders him to be put to death. And Moses flees for his life.

In one day, Moses loses everything. And it’s all his fault.

From a human perspective, that sounds like the end of the story.

I’m sure that’s how it looked to Moses. And yet we know it’s actually the beginning.

This is the backstory of one of the greatest liberators in human history. Which makes no sense at all.

How is that even possible after a self-inflicted disaster like this?

The reason that his story doesn’t end with an execution, the reason he becomes the Moses we know from the Exodus, comes down to one thing.

Moses listened to God.

Mind you, Moses didn’t start listening to God until after his self-inflicted disaster.

In fact, Moses didn’t start listening to God until he had already been hiding out on the back side of the desert for 40 years. Moses was not a quick study.

None of that bothered God in the least.

When Moses finally started listening to God, God didn’t tell Moses that he’d waited to long.

God didn’t say, “If you’d started listening to me years ago, I would have been willing to help.”

God didn’t tell Moses that he’d thrown away too many opportunities or that he was too far gone.

God didn’t say, “You could have done great things, if you hadn’t killed that Egyptian.”

Instead, God begins with Moses like it’s day one. Like nothing has happened that could derail God’s plans for Moses. Because it hasn’t.

Not because Moses is anything special.

After all that’s happened, it’s not easy for Moses to trust God. He even gets into an argument with God, telling God all the reasons why God’s plans won’t work and why he’s not the right person.

None of that matters to God. Because (as Isaiah tells us) God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.

Again, not because Moses is anything special. But because this is who God is. And this is how God looks at each one of us.

No matter how long it’s been. No matter what we’ve done.

Even if it’s self-inflicted.

None of that matters to God.

With God, what looks like an end to us, is really a beginning.

One that starts with listening to God.

Today’s Readings

#Self-Inflicted #Listening to God #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Beginnings #Moses #Backstory #Too Far Gone #Too Long #Moments Before Mass

[hatrackley]

More than Oneself

“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for…

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#Evangelism #Listening to God #Prayer and Devotions #The Christian Life

[1-1-s1ay-2-2]

Virginity is priceless! Hold your purity steadfast for as long as you can. The world will rush you to give up your innocence...even try to take it from you...

I'm pretty sure there's a Bible scripture that suggests it is better for a woman to keep her purity and her virginity and stay unmarried and untouched by a man (way too late for me in that area, but hell, you youngins still got a good chance), and instead devote her life to the righteous integrity of God's body and God's true love for her.

But also says something like if a woman must have sexual relations, take a husband and be one with him and live righteously unto the man, as you would unto God. But, I mean...no sex with no man, but staying true to God in mind, heart, body, spirit, and soul instead is the first instruction, I do declare. Wish I would have paid more attention to that when I was young...wish my molester would have read that scripture and given a damn.

Now, I will indeed google that scripture to post as a reference to my thoughts here today. Regardless, the "no sex with no man" is a good rule to live by. There would be less broken hearts, less confusion, less STD's, less unwanted pregnancies, less abortions, less unwanted babies and children, less unmarried mothers, less unwanted children in the system (foster care, etc)...God always knows best, you see.

Maybe we women should start listening to Him and applying.

#listening to God #explained

[blessedbekah]

College

God is good

My mental health has gotten significantly better, I’m back in college, and have finished midterms. The adjustment was a little rocky, mostly because I am figuring out how to manage my time better and gain some more self-discipline.

I didn’t do much in terms of faith over the summer, but when I moved into my dorm and looked out the window, I could see a Catholic Church right across the street. I instantly felt a pull, but I ignored it at the time, and went to parties instead while it was still warm out. However, every time I went to bed, I would look out my window and see the Catholic Church. Looking back at this now, I knew this had to be quite an obvious sign from God.

While still on my own I read a Christian book my mother gave me (Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig’s Groeschel), went to my home church while I was on break, and I felt that pull again. At the end of that book, there was one verse that really stuck with me:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews‬ ‭13:5‬).

When I read it, I teared up a little, because I was feeling so alone at the time. I love this verse because now I know I’ll never be alone. God is always with me. He’ll never leave me which means I can rely on Him.

Thinking of that verse, I prayed to God about it, and the next morning I felt God’s presents, physical presents. I felt a warm embrace and I knew it had to be Him. I realized the importance of prayer, and now make it a point to pray everyday, no matter how short the prayer, or how small the worry is. I also decided I really wanted to grow spiritually, and needed to find a church at college to help me with that.

The protestant churches here are a little… misguided. The are a lot more worldly than the church I grew up in. There are some sins they outright reject as being sinful which doesn’t sit right with me. So, I’ve decided to go to the Catholic Church tomorrow on Sunday since they seem to focus more on obeying God than the world.

While I go through this spiritual journey, there’s another verse from the Bible I like to go to (well technically it’s two verses):

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I always think of this verse whenever I feel worried or anxious, and I pray over it. There are times I’ll stop what I’m doing just to pray over it. I find myself praying for other people too whenever I hear their worries.

Please pray that I may continue to grow closer to God, and if I may stumble, that I can look to Him who will always be there to lift me up again.

Have a Blessed Day

#catholic #christian #christian faith #christianity #faith #bibleverse #faithoverfear #godislove #pray #godisgood #jesuslovesyou #word of god #prayer #listening to god #seek jesus #jesus loves us

[variksel]

i hate you ai art i hate you "unalive" i hate you youtube premium i hate you twitter 8$ checkmark i hate you nfts i hate you therapy app advertisements i hate you non-chronological timelines i hate you instagram reels i hate you subtle tiktok filters that cant be turned off i hate you family bloggers i hate you ads on true crime episodes i hate you facebook i hate you vr glasses on chickens i hate you dystopian social media

#sorry but genuinely sometimes i feel like we live in a fucking dystopia #i get ads of chat bots designed to look like cute girls who will listen to your problems and it. god #its so unbelievably strange in some indescribable way #how am i supposed to explain that the word unalive makes me want to tear my hair out #vent #rant #idk

[troubledontlast1]

Listen to where God’s voice is guiding you.

#listen #listentogod #listening to god #godsvoice #gods voice #voice of god #hearingfromgod #godguides #wheregodguidesheprovides #wheregodguides #whengodguides #whengodguidesheprovides

[twtron]

The Whisper

Standing upon the crest of the hill overlooking what one would suspect, the valley below, shrouded in the mist, tops of towering pines quietly appear. The elevation is apparent, but the feeling of the exhilaration of the moment, the cool, nearly invisible moisture embraces the exposed flesh, becomes one with the atmospheric ambiance – uniting body and soul. The light from above is all but muted,…

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#appalachian mountains #lean on Him #listening to God #mountain top #waiting #whisper

[papasoul]

Listening has a lot more to do with hearing and discerning the actual truth. Instead of just hearing words when spoken.

John 10:27‭-‬30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

Join the show🎙🌍📖@

https://youtu.be/oxRNkiGVSVs?si=yW2EFHA5FvftCxZU

#papasoul #nosakhere #spiritual knowledge #podcast #listening to god #Youtube

[dkcdude]

Conversational Intimacy with God

In the journey of faith, cultivating a relationship with God is most important. It reigns supreme over religious-looking actions or religious-sounding words. God beckons us, calling us deeper into His depths, into the realms of conversational intimacy with Him, where dialogue with the Divine is not just about voicing our needs or desires but about fostering two-way communication. This week, I am…

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#Conversational intimacy with God #How God speaks to us #Listen for God&039;s voice #Listening to God #Talking with God not just to Him #The Bible is God&039;s love letter to humanity

[tom4jc]

January 26, 2024 Verse Of The Day

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#1 Samuel 3:10 #Answering God #Hearing God #Listening To God #responding to God #Samuel #Servant #the Lord calls #Verse of the Day

[beingstill-blog1]

My Testimony

My Calling To Write

I was called to write when I was 14 years old, but, somewhat like Moses, my time to serve the Lord and actually become a writer, would not come until I became old. Now I am old. Here is my story.

It was Spring time of 1973 when, my literature teacher Mrs. Kimball at TH Rogers Junior High in Houston, Texas, asked us to write a poem about Easter. I started to think about what I was going to write and all of a sudden, the words started coming into my head almost faster than I could put them down on paper, to the point that I thought the words in my head were never going to come to an end. When the flow stopped, my fingers literally hurt from writing. I had written 2 pages complete pages in 15 minutes. The next day, my paper was posted up on the bulletin board with a big red A+ written across the top of it. I do not ever retrieving that paper from that bulletin board. Had I known than what I know now I probably would have take the poem and published it: it is forever lost.

The idea of me actually becoming a writer did not come to me till almost 2 decades later, after I already had 4 children to raise, two being teenagers. I had the inspiration to write, but, I was trying to do it, too hard, all on my own. I did not take enough time to talk to the Lord about my writing or ask Him for His strength and guidance. I was still a baby Christian, learning how to listen to God's voice. I suffered from anxiety and depression a great deal and I was letting the world pull me in all different directions. I was too distractable. I knew the Lord was calling me! I could feel His inspiration daily and I knew I should be writing my thoughts down daily in a journal; however, I was too undisciplined, lacking an ability to stay focused.

Around that same time period, I had a very interesting dream. In the dream, I was sitting in a row boat all by myself, paddling upstream, around curves and up embankments. Above the boat hovered a little cherub. I asked the Lord what the dream meant. Not really getting an answer; I decided it probably meant that I was a person that would always go against the current, that my life would always be filled with challenges, and difficulties that I needed to accept. The Lord I think was basically telling me that I needed to accept this. This was my reality, but He was also saying that He would always be with me keeping a watchful eye over me.

A year or two after the occurrence of the dream, in 2014, I was coordinating a youth rally and hay ride for Halloweens night in the little town of Coalmont, Indiana where we were living at the time and it was not going well. I thought God was calling me to do this, but, no-one would give me any help. One day I was sitting in bed when I suddenly heard a voice! This was not my own thoughts. This was not someone speaking to me. I was at home alone. This was the voice of my guardian angel or God. The voice said, "Look to Moses". That was all the voice said. I said, "What does that mean" ?The voice did not speak to me again. I guess, I was just suppose to figure it out on my own. After years of thinking about this short conversation, I have come to the conclusion, that the Lord was trying to tell me that the youth rally was not what was suppose to be doing. I was stubborn, bullheaded, impatient and a bit vain. I thought I knew what was important in life, but, I still had many things to learn.

I did not want to wait till I was old to serve God,: I wanted to do something for Him right then and there so everyone could see that I was just as close to God as they were. God was calling me to serve Him with my writing, that I knew without a doubt. I just did not know exactly how. I was sure I did though: however, the Lord was trying to tell me that my time, had not yet come.

My job was to raise my children and take care of my husband; however, I could not get either one to behave very well in spite of the fact that we went to church almost every Sunday. I was frustrated, because of the lack of cooperation and as a result it was not very fulfilling. I kept looking for something, anything to make me happy.

The Lord was not going to give up on me though! He gave me a verse, Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God, etc. Be still, this is a hard thing to do. It takes practice, lots of it. The Lord gave this verse to me because He was trying to get me to trust Him. Looking at the world the way sometimes do and me being the dense person I am; I thought I was suppose to preach this verse to other people. Thank you Lord for your patience with me and not giving up on me.

#listening to god #warfare #prayer

[momentsbeforemass]

Listen

I used to work with Jon, a man on the autism spectrum. He could be hard to communicate with.

Some of what he said seemed random. Unrelated to…much of anything. But there were also flashes of brilliance. Insights and ideas that were amazingly helpful for our work together.

Because what I did understand of what he was saying was so good, I wanted more of it. So, I made it my business to learn to speak Jon.

At first, it was a slog. There’s no app for learning to speak Jon. It took a lot of listening. It was maybe a year or more before I started to get it.

The random stories? They were his way of thinking through ideas he didn’t have words for. By making analogies, by drawing comparisons. They were Jon’s parables.

As I learned to speak Jon, it became clear that so much of what seemed scattershot and unrelated was actually dead on.

To connect with Jon, I had to learn to speak Jon. Because the only way to really communicate with him was on his terms.

Truth be told, it’s the only way we can truly communicate with anyone. On their terms.

No matter who it is, until we learn to speak them, most of what they say won’t mean much. There may be flashes of brilliance. But most of it will be pretty random.

And if we try to impose our expectations on them for how we want them to think and communicate?

We won’t get much of anything out of it. We’ll be confused and frustrated. Maybe even angry at them. For not following our preconceived ideas.

It’s especially true for how we understand God.

The burden of our expectations is why so many people are confused and frustrated by God. We get angry at God for not following our preconceived ideas.

In His love, God is drawing each one of us to Himself. God is calling out to you, heart to heart.

If you’re not feeling that. If you’re not hearing God’s call to you.

Then it’s time to drop the preconceived ideas. And just listen.

It’s time to learn to speak God.

Today’s Readings

#Listen #God's Call #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Autism #Communicate #Expectations #Preconceived ideas #Listening to God #Moments Before Mass

[hatrackley]

OT History Last Part – 1 Chronicles 17-18

After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a…

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#Listening to God #Prayer and Devotions #Sunday School #The Christian Life #Worship

[enthusiasticallydawn]

At The End of a Year of Listening

I have already shared my One Word for 2024 and a series of posts about my One Word 2023, but I wanted to touch upon the most precious lesson and gift I have received from my Listening Year, 2023. This past Summer, despite being a prolific sharer on multiple social media platforms, I deleted Instagram and Facebook from my phone and logged out of these accounts. Why? To maximize my ability to…

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#200DayJournal #faith #listening #Listening to God #My One Word #One Little Word #One Word 365 #radical #writers #Writing Life

[biblebloodhound]

Family Dynamics (Matthew 12:46-50)

A Christian is defined by allegiance to Jesus, and not by having a certain bloodline. 

En la Cena ecológica del Reino (At the Ecological Kingdom Dinner) by Spanish artist Cerezo Barredo While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside trying to speak with him.Someone said to him, “Look, your mother and brothers are outside wanting to speak with you.” Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He stretched out his hand toward his disciples…

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#christ&039;s disciples #christian commitment #christian faith #christian identity #christian life #faith #family #family drama #following jesus #god&039;s will #gospel of matthew #identity #identity in christ #intercessory prayer #jesus christ #listening to god #matthew 12 #obedience #obeying god #relational dynamics #the church