Good morning and give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, yes He is good. The meal today is one that I have probably touched on before but bares repeating at this point in time. Please share it with those who may not know the Lord.
Today’s prayer
Father, My heart is heavy over the lifestyle choices and sinful patterns of some of the people that I’ve Loved dearly on this earth. Your Word says that “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity” (Proverbs 28:13-14). Father, I am concerned for them. You know who they are. You know their sins and their hearts. Please, prick their hearts, stir their consciences, and awaken their spirits so that they will come to a point of making a decision to confess those sins. Please send the thing, the circumstances, the person–whatever it takes–to show them their condition. Give them the strength to turn again to You and forsake the lifestyle that makes Satan so happy and their families so hurt. Soften their hearts and give them wisdom. I pray that they will not have to fall into calamity, but will repent and live happily in Your will for their lives. Please help them, and help their families who are touched by their actions. And by the way, continue to work on my heart also because I need a nudge every once and awhile too. Thank You, Father. In Jesus’ name I come to You in faith, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Hearing His Voice
He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. – John 8:47
Jesus said that the key to being able to hear God’s voice is first to be one of His children. One of the great mysteries of the universe to our logical minds is how God can communicate with six billion or so people on the earth at the same time. Excuse me but I’m a computer geek so I’m going to inject some computer analogies here. It is one of those mysteries we must let go of because our “hard drives” would crash if we had to explain and understand this before we believed and trusted in Him. It is as though God places a computer chip in each human being, and when we place our faith and trust in Him, it becomes activated. We begin to communicate with Him. Jesus says that if we are children of God, then we can hear God’s voice. He further explains this relationship in the following parable:
”I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice “ (John 10:1-5).
The Shepherd is always representative of Christ. Sheep are representative of God’s children. This passage tells us that the Shepherd communicates with His children. We are called by name and we can listen to our Shepherd’s voice. There is another comforting aspect to this relationship. The Shepherd goes before the sheep to prepare the way. Jesus has already gone before us today to prepare our way.
Knowing the Shepherd and His voice allows us to have the assurance that we will not be fooled by another shepherd’s voice. The sheep know His voice. It is only when we are dull of hearing that we mistakenly hear another’s voice and follow it. Sin can create a poor frequency in our communication with the Shepherd. Make sure your frequency is free of static (sin) today so that the Shepherd can lead you and go before you.
Finally, distractions can also keep us from hearing our Shepherd’s voice. When the sheep get entangled in the fence or wander off, they get too far away to hear the Shepherd’s voice. We must stay in close proximity to the Shepherd to hear His voice. Stay close to the Shepherd today. Listen and follow. He wants to lead you.
If you don’t know Him, introduce yourself to Him today. If you don’t know how, call me @ (708) 426-3144 and I will help you out.
Quote of the Day
It is a precious thing beyond all words – especially in the hour of death – that we have a God whose nature is such that what pleases Him is not our work for Him but our need for Him.
John Piper
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Rev. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION