“Follow your heart. Go with your gut. Trust you feelings.” These are popular statements. And before I sound too negative, let me just say there are times when your heart, gut and feelings have important things to teach you. But they’re not God. It follows, therefore, that if your heart, gut, or feelings urge you … Continue reading God’s will and God’s word
discernment
You can’t rush God
The past several devotionals have been about hearing (or discerning) God’s voice in our lives. You hear God’s voice by seeking God’s voice. It is usually a proactive process. We’ve talked about the importance of the Bible, prayer, seeking the counsel of other godly people, being humble, and acting with love. Imagine those five parts … Continue reading You can’t rush God
Love is important to God—and to his people
The past several devotionals have been about hearing (or discerning) God’s voice in our lives. We’ve talked about the importance of the Bible, prayer, seeking the counsel of other godly people, and being humble. Here’s something else to consider: love. If you think you’re receiving some sort of message for God, and it does not … Continue reading Love is important to God—and to his people
Humility and receptivity to God
We’re focusing a few devotionals on hearing (or discerning) the voice of God in our lives. You hear God’s voice by seeking God’s voice. In addition to saturating yourself with Scripture, and prayer, and seeking the counsel of other godly people, it’s important to cultivate humility in your character. In the Bible, humility comes up … Continue reading Humility and receptivity to God
With many advisers they succeed
We’re focusing a few devotionals on hearing (or discerning) the voice of God in our lives. You hear God’s voice by seeking God’s voice. In addition to saturating yourself with Scripture, and to spending time in prayer, a third habit of discernment is counsel. This has to do with seeking the counsel of other godly … Continue reading With many advisers they succeed
Scripture cannot be set aside
We’re focusing a few devotionals on hearing (or discerning) the voice of God in our lives. You hear God’s voice by seeking God’s voice. The first and most significant thing you can do is saturate yourself with the Bible. It is the primary place where you learn about God’s will. In John 10:35 Jesus says: … Continue reading Scripture cannot be set aside
“Hear” is a verb
In John 10:27 Jesus said: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” To his original followers, that made a lot of sense. Their ears could literally receive the sound waves coming out of his mouth. What about today? G. Campbell Morgan was a Bible teacher and author. He said: … Continue reading “Hear” is a verb
Hearing a ‘still small voice’ over the roar of your appetites
In his book, A Hunger for God, John Piper writes: “we are less sensitive to spiritual appetites when we are in bondage to physical ones.”* Fair enough. Here’s where I want to focus us. Some of your physical appetites can be good. But they’re not your boss. Previous generations were much more used to denying … Continue reading Hearing a ‘still small voice’ over the roar of your appetites
Maturity and sifting out the gunk in our minds
In Hebrews 5:14 we learn that those who are spiritually mature “have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Maturity is not a finish line where you have completed everything you need to know. There is continual training. A part of this training is learning to distinguish between good and evil. There is objective good … Continue reading Maturity and sifting out the gunk in our minds
Divisive times
The other day I was thinking about how political a certain issue has become. Why does everything have to be so politicized? Why can’t people respectfully and graciously disagree about something without painting the other person as an enemy? But you and I don’t have to get sucked in to that approach as if it was … Continue reading Divisive times
The Up Devotional 