I TALK, GOD LISTENS

“Hello Mary.”

Well, hello God.  Do you like the title of my blog?

“It is okay, but you need a second part on there.”

A second part?  Why?  I do talk.  You do listen.  What else needs to be said?

“A better title would be: I TALK, GOD LISTENS - GOD TALKS, MARY DOESN’T LISTEN”

Hey, I …

“Better stop and think about the rest of that sentence before you complete it.  Plus, if we look back at some other blogs, I think we have had this conversation before.”

I do to listen.  It is just that you do not answer me right away.  And sometimes you are very hard to hear.  Do you whisper on purpose?  

“Would you like me to shout?”

Wow.  You would do that?  I could hear you if you shouted.  Now we are getting somewhere.

“Let’s think about this a minute…

My minute or your minute?

“Have you forgotten the GOD SPEAKS, MARY IS SUPPOSED TO LISTEN part?  Sometimes I do shout, but you cannot hear me over all the noise around you.  That is why there are so many ways to hear my voice.”

(A big sigh.) I know you answer my prayers and I need to do a few things to hear the answers.

“Go on.”

I need to be patient.  Patience allows me to work through my trials and come out on the other side wiser.  Funny how that works.  Trials seem so horrible - and they are - but each one has taught me something and I know you are there to help me through them.

“Aren’t ‘we’ and ‘through’ such wonderful words?  They mean you are not alone and you will get through them.  What else do you have to do to hear my voice?”

I need to wait.  Wait ranks right up there in difficulty with patience.  I am to wait.  Waiting is hard.  I want to move forward.  Do something.  Take action.  But, sometimes what you want is for me to be still and wait. 

“Right.  If you just rush to the next thing or take action without waiting for direction, you will head down the wrong path.  I have such great plans for each of my children, but sometimes they forget to pray and wait.  And then guess who they blame when ‘their’ plan didn’t work: ME.”

How do I find the answer and the direction I am to take?

“My child — when you have patience, wait, pray, and listen, you will hear my answer.  It might come through a verse in the Bible.  It might come from a sermon.  It might come from a friend.  Or even a stranger.  But you are forgetting your secret weapon.”

I have a secret weapon?  Oh..  wait..  I know!  The Holy Spirit!

“Give that girl a prize.  When you are searching and listening and praying and waiting and having patience, the Holy Spirit will guide you.  The Holy Spirit will direct you.”

Are you sure?

“Look it up.  There are a few scriptures on the subject.”

Okay.  I will be right back.

“I will check in later.”

< <  <    >  >  >

(Jesus speaking)  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  John 14:16, 26

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Acts 2:38

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  Romans 8:26

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of salvation.  When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.  2 Timothy 1:7

“Mary are you still looking up scriptures on the Holy Spirit?”

Yes.  The Holy Spirit is a powerful weapon against lies and sin and gives us directions, but it is not a secret weapon.  There are a whole lot of verses on the Holy Spirit!!  I did find the perfect one to close the blog.

“You certainly did.  Maybe you do listen.”

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  2 Corinthians 13:14

 FEAR

Our daughter’s family has been devastated by the sudden death of Ann, a mother, a mother-in-law and a grandmother.  It happened on a Sunday two weeks ago.  But that Sunday is where this blog on fear began.

The family business is an antique store and they were having their annual yard sale.  (This is a very big deal.) We got a call early saying Ann had been taken to the hospital.  We got another call saying her husband, Ann's son, had been called to come to the hospital and they were on the way.  The next call was to ask if I would go to the house because they didn’t want their youngest son to be there by himself.  18 year old Tim had put on his “I am okay” face and had stayed to work in the store.  He worked until 4:00 and then came into the house.  He was worried and glad I was there.

As we waited, we began to talk.  This very compassionate young man asked me about my last surgery.  I assured him that the lymph node report had come back negative for cancer.  It was then that Tim asked the question.  Looking me in the eyes, he said, “Is this the type of breast cancer that will pass to my mother?”  FEAR!!  And this fear had been inside him since June.

I quickly told him that was one of the first questions we had asked the doctor.  There is no way to guarantee that his mother would never get cancer, but my cancer is NOT a genetic cancer and would not be passed to his mother.  He asked another question and continued to ask questions as I started with the original mammogram and ended with the lymph node report.  And it was only then that the fear for his mother went away.

His fear went away because the fear came out of the dark of his worry and was brought into the light of truth and understanding.  Isn’t that the same for us — no matter how old or young we are?  Fear grows as it is kept in the dark.  Fear gets stronger when we hid it.  Fear.  Fear.

FEAR -- but the scriptures have always told us we are not to fear. 

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalms 34:4

For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,

Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

Isaiah 41:13

Facing our fears and bringing those fears into the light does not mean our trials just magically go away. Instead, facing our fears and bringing those fears into the light of God’s truth and wisdom means we can be strong and have courage because God is with us.  When we seek the LORD, He will hear us, hold our right hand, and deliver us from our fears. 

I like Philippians 4:6-7 from The Message:

Don’t fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Do not hide your fear.  As a song says:  Have a Little Talk With Jesus.  And when you have this talk, His truth and wisdom will deliver you from your fear.

PS – BUT YOU HAVE TO LET THE FEAR GO WHEN YOU LEARN THE TRUTH AND GAIN WISDOM FROM THAT TRUTH.  IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD TO HAVE THAT TALK WITH JESUS AND THEN TAKE YOUR FEAR BACK.

THEY KNOW BEST

LIFE ADVICE FROM SPAM EMAIL

Instead of just deleting the spam mail, I scanned the list and was totally surprised how many things I am missing out on.  Apparently, many people know what I need.

There must be someone looking in my windows because they believe I ---

• Am old
• Definitely need to go on a diet
• Need a whole lot of pain medication for my joints
• Have blurry vision
• Could improve my love life

Okay, I am older and … we will stop there.

When I continue to scan (NOT OPEN!!) those spam emails, I am missing out on ---

• New windows
• An absolutely astonishing drone
• A new shower
• A Stanley tool set
• A $500 gift card from Shell
• CBD gummies

Also, Jake, from State Farm, and PayPal would like to have a conversation with me.  Wow.  A conversation with Jake -- I would be so honored.  The spam from a “font no one can read” must really contain life changing advice.  They send numerous emails.  Thank goodness for a spam filter.  There are so many people willing to tell me how to improve my life and what I need to possess to enjoy my life.

I DIDN’T KNOW

The night before the cruise, we stayed at a hotel in Miami.  Sitting around the pool, we noticed a number of Iguanas going here and there.  They were fun to watch and I loved it when one stood on its back legs and ran.  The people around the pool were feeding the Iguanas pieces of fruit.  They were enjoying every bite.  All you had to do was put a piece of pineapple on the ground and one would grab it.  Now, for a girl from the land of corn and beans, Iguanas were a change from watching corn grow.

We thought about going back to the pool, oh say, around midnight.  We wondered how the Iguanas were feeling.  Why would we wonder?  The fruit they had been eating all day – was from those fancy fruit drinks made with rum, whiskey, and vodka.  We wondered if the Iguanas were drunk.  But – if they were, they could always point out, “I didn’t know there was alcohol in the fruit.  I just thought those people were being nice.”

THE TAKE-AWAY

I do have to be careful where I get advice and who I listen to.

Opening one of those emails could mean my life would change.  And it would!!  My life would become focused on canceling every credit card, changing my email address, and my computer would blow up with even more spam. 

Not being aware or blindly trusting those around me might change my life too.  Those around me can lead me in a wrong direction without me even realizing it.  Then I would be like the Iguanas and say, “I didn’t know.”

WHAT AM I TO DO?  WHAT AM I TO DO?

The first thing is to NOT open those spam emails.  I cannot let curiosity get the better of me.  No matter how fun it would be to have a really cool, new technology, easy to use drone or be tempted by a $500 gift card for gas.  I mean gas is so high… No!  I will not fall for that one either. 

The second thing is to make sure people I associate with have my back.  I need to know I can trust my friends.  My friends would not give me fruit from that rum drink without my knowledge.  Nope.  My friends would give me the whole drink.  My friends would not put me into a situation where the outcome required me to say, “I didn’t know.”

TAKE-AWAY TWO

This applies to you also.  Have wisdom when you are online and do not open those emails.  They can be a big temptation!  Learn a lesson from Eve – Do not be tempted by a sneaky Satan in the form of an apple called spam.

Enjoy your friends.  Friends are so valuable!  Definitely make our lives better.  But sneaky Satan can come disguised as a stranger sitting around the pool, being friendly, as they feed you spiked fruit or as someone you call friend who thinks you should join in their questionable activities.

THE POWER OF THE POINTED FINGER

Three weeks ago I wrote on the power of words.  This week it is the finger that has power.  Now.  Now.  NOT that finger.  This finger:

The ever present pointing finger.  A finger, in this position, has been around a very long time.  It started in a garden.

The man said, “The woman you put here with me –

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The power of finger pointing continued. 

“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered.

“You know how prone these people are to evil.

They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. ……

 Then they gave me the gold and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Aaron not only pointed his finger at everyone else, he said the calf just came out of the gold tossed into the fire. 

But sometimes, the finger is pointed by someone and is aimed at you.

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him.

 

“You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

With an accusing finger pointed at him, Peter answered,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yes, finger pointing has been around since that apple was plucked from the tree.  

THE COMBINED POWER OF THE POINTED FINGER AND WORDS

 When combined with words, the pointed finger has the power to damage the soul --

It is your fault.

If you had only done a better job.

You are no good.

AND THIS DAMAGE STAYS IN THE SOUL FOREVER!

When combined with words, the pointed finger has the power to bring joy to the soul --

You have a beautiful smile.

What a great job you did.

You are so kind.

AND THIS JOY STAYS IN THE SOUL FOREVER!

THE COMBINED POWER OF THE POINTED FINGER AND WORDS

The question is:  Will your words and pointed finger be used to damage a soul or to bring joy to a soul?