Category Archives: Listening to His Voice

Hidden in plain sight.

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It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Loving the word prompt today, HIDDEN. Hope you enjoy my true story of something I thought I had lost. Join others who are writing on the same thing today by clicking here!

Hidden in plain sight.

Have you ever lost something that you thought was gone forever? I have a couple of times. Once, 35 years ago, I lost my engagement ring and wedding band. We searched high and low, you can read the funny, or not so funny story here.

I have moved another eight times since that loss that was never found. In this latest move, my sons were helping us load a truck and go through boxes at the same time (I do not suggest this) and they opened a box that literally brought tears to my eyes. When we sold our home in Missouri, and moved to the country of Latvia in Eastern Europe in 2010, I sold almost every thing I owned to be able to pay, and stay, for the duration of our commitment. From Longaberger to Hoosier cabinets, I parted with treasures. But ever since that move, I could not remember what I had done with our china. I had never seen it again and yet did not remember selling it. Did it get left behind in the old house? That was a possibility because the storage room there was endless and complicated. Regardless, the beloved pattern that I had picked out with The Sweetheart some 40+ years ago, was gone.

So, back to the story…Kris and Korey came upon a box marked fragile and there it was. Every single piece, including the crystal stemware, was in perfect shape, no chips, no cracks, nothing was broken.

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Hidden. For years, something that meant so much to me was hidden from me and yet I had probably touched it, brushed by it, stacked other things on it, etc. It was right in the room with me and I never saw it!

I felt a whisper from the Lord about that. Is He so near at times that we could reach out and touch Him but we do not even realize He is in the room? Do we brush by Him, too busy to really dig deep and get to know Him, too careless with other things that we stack on top of Him, pushing Him to the bottom of the heap?

It happens. He is hidden from us and we do not realize it. We are busy, we are rushed, we are sidetracked with LIFE and yet there He is…waiting to be unpacked, to be used, to be glorified in our lives so that we might lift Him higher for others to see!

We aren’t perfect. We stumble, we fall, we get back up again. We strive for perfection but we will not be perfect in this life. Yet, we don’t have to be!

The Christian isn’t supposed to be perfect, he is to point others to the One who is!

As I unwrapped my china, washed it, dried it and put it in a cabinet that was easy to get to, and something I would see every day, I noticed the insignia on the bottom.

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Treasure Chest. I had a treasure hidden from me for years, wishing I knew where it was at times, remembering it when special occasions rolled around and wondering if it would ever be a part of my life again. Would I be able to leave this treasure, special to me, for my children or grandchildren?

When Kris and Korey saw the china that had made me tear up they made the comment that not only did they not remember it but they did not remember ever having a meal with it on the table. Yikes. Treasures are not meant to be hidden! I promised the next meal they have at my house will be eaten on china even if it’s Papa John’s. I’m going to use it.

Even more important than 40 year old china is this One we call Jesus, the lover of our souls. Don’t let Him be hidden from you, don’t just bring Him out for special occasions or spend your life wondering if you will ever truly know Him. Take Him out of His box and use Him today. He is waiting to be unwrapped.

I am the Door Keeper. I am the Door! Part 5

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This is the last post in The Door Keeper Mini-Series! You can read Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four by clicking on the links. Feel free to share your impressions or memories of a Door Keeper!

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10

The flock of sheep on the hillside would answer to one voice; that of their Shepherd.

He was so acquainted with his flock of fluffy creatures that each one knew his particular voice and would ignore all others.
The shepherd had two choices of where to bed down his sheep for the night, depending on where they were at the time. The public sheepfold was in the city and villages and it would hold several flocks of sheep at once. This sheepfold was guarded by a porter or Door Keeper. His duty was to make sure that the sheep didn’t get out at night and to let in the other shepherds in the morning. The shepherds would then come, one by one, and call for their sheep. Amazingly, each little lamb knew the voice of his own shepherd and followed him out to pasture.

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.” Psalm 120:8.

The other sheepfold was out in the fields. This pen was simply a circle, a fold, which they made with rocks piled into a tiny wall with one small space to come and go. There was no gate so how did he keep them in? The shepherd would literally stretch himself out at the opening of the pen and go to sleep…he became the Door Keeper.
Pastors are oftentimes referred to as shepherds today and even in the Old Testament, “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15 NIV.
And this one, “…they shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” Numbers 27:17.
They are Door Keepers! “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit [to them]: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this [were] unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:17 ASV.
A pastor guards the door to the sheepfold, they protect, lead and guide the flock, or the Church, for they will stand and give an account for our souls.
“This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’” John 10.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” John 10:18 NLT.
Not only does The Good Shepherd provide for His flock but He goes so far as to lay down His life! Jesus GAVE His life, no one took it from Him. He did it for all of us.

The Lord God, “…tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young…” Isaiah 40:11.

“We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3.

There is only one Door to eternal life and salvation for our souls. Only one Door into the Kingdom of God.

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Jesus is that Door! In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Shepherd of the Church and the only Door Keeper to eternal life! He took off His crown of royalty and laid down, literally, in the gap, the opening, the only way in and out, for each one of us, His sheep.
This week we have met Door Keepers in the temple; they lived there and were responsible for the day-to-day activities and care for the house of God. They decided who could enter and who could not.
We met Obed-Edom who was privileged to care for the Presence of God…the Ark of the Covenant and his entire household was blessed because of this Door Keeper.
We met Jacob, a.k.a. Door as we referred to his name-tag. He is an overcomer, a humble example of what a Door Keeper looks like today: one who aspires to be like Christ, welcoming, inviting and loving.
Yesterday I introduced you to my first recollection of a Door Keeper in the little church I grew up in. He reminds me even today to keep striving for the goal, with a smile on my face.
Today?

We see Jesus.

The Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. That means you. That means me. All who desire to enter into the Kingdom are welcomed…through the Door.

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DF cover side viewThe Daniel Fast Devotional is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon! Great for ANY FAST, it is full of great devotions about fasting in the Bible. Did you know even Jezebel fasted?? So much to learn and so helpful when trying to draw closer to God. Get yours today! 

Feelings! Whoa, whoa, whoa…

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Feelings.

Anxiety.
Worry.
Fear.
Panic.
Nervousness.
Peace.
Joy.
Excitement.
Anticipation.
Hope.
Feelings. We rely on them to be certain. “I’m gonna go with my gut.” “I feel like I am making the right decision.”
And if things don’t feel right, we might not pursue a real estate deal, take a new job, or go on a trip.
Feelings involve our heart.

Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

But our feelings can also keep us from excelling, from pursuing, from stepping out in faith.
Our feelings can also get in the way of the voice of God and His Word.
Look at Isaac, Jacob and Esau.
Jacob, with the help of his mother Rebekah, easily deceived his father into thinking he was actually his twin brother Esau, and in the process stole his blessing of receiving a double portion of his father’s inheritance. That meant that when the father, or patriarch, died that all of his property, everything he owned and all of his money was given to his family. But the son who held the birthright, the eldest, would receive twice as much as the other sons.
Jacob had already stolen his brother’s birthright by tempting him with a bowl of stew after he had been out hunting. Esau forfeited his birthright and the blessing by giving it away to his brother Jacob and by marrying foreign wives. “And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.” Genesis 26:34, 35.
So Isaac had sent Esau, a hunter, out to get some game, bring it back and fix him some dinner. After that, he would bestow the blessing of the firstborn upon Esau before he died. “Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” Genesis 27:4 NIV.
While the twin boys were still in their mother’s womb the Lord had spoken to Rebekah and said, “Two nations are in your body. Two tribes that are now inside you will be separated. One nation will be stronger than the other. The older son will serve the younger one.” Genesis 25:23 NKJV.     Rebekah was listening and as soon as Esau left she began to connive with Jacob, her favorite son, to receive the blessing instead of his older brother.  “And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Genesis 25:28.     Esau’s name means hairy, and the name Jacob means heel holder, or one who takes the place of another. Some definitions also say it stands for Deceiver!
Jacob wasn’t so sure about the Great Deception and pleaded with his mother,  “’But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.’ His mother said to him, ‘My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say…’”
Isaac was very old; his eyesight was not good at all so Jacob and Rebekah decided to make Jacob smell and feel like his brother, Esau. Jacob, on the other hand, was fair skinned. Rebekah prepared the food just as Isaac like it; she also borrowed Esau’s clothes and put them on Jacob. Then she took the skins of the goats and somehow attached them to Jacob’s hands and neck. They prepared, connived and worked together to pull off one of the greatest (and most heartbreaking) rip-offs in Biblical history…
When a person has lost their eyesight, they will then rely on other senses to see for them. Jacob went in to his father and Isaac immediately sensed something was not right. He HEARD Jacob’s voice, not Esau’s. Look at what he said to Jacob as soon as he walked in the tent:
“How did you find it so quickly, my son?” Jacob was quick with a reply, “The LORD your God gave me success.”
Isaac needed more assurance that it was his firstborn. “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
Finally he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” The Bible says he didn’t recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brothers so he began to bless him. He must have been uneasy because he stopped and said one more time, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He smelled Esau on his clothes, he felt Esau on the goatskins made to feel like his son but he didn’t listen to the voice…Jacob obviously wasn’t doing a good impression of his brother!
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We all do it. We think we know what is best, perhaps we even desire a different outcome than what we think the Lord will give us through prayer so we connive and deceive to get what we want, just like Jacob and Rebekah.

Was this God’s plan or did Jacob and Rebekah decide to help God along?

History reveals Isaac to have been about 135-137 years old at the time but that he lived another 40+ years!
Other times we want to believe, we trust and rely on our feelings, our situations, or our surroundings to confirm to us that we are in God’s will or are doing the right thing at the time.
But we ignore the Voice of God or His Word.
The Will of God never contradicts the Word of God!

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The Lord had promised Rebekah that the elder would serve the younger but she took matters into her own hands instead of reminding Isaac of the Lord’s promise. We know Isaac preferred Esau and either went along with the deception so he could blame it on Jacob or was so set on giving the blessing to his firstborn in spite of what the Lord had said. (Even though he knew he had married outside of the faith and had given away his birthright). This trick caused Jacob to have to move far, far away from his family because Esau was determined to take his life.
Our feelings can get in the way of our faith. Faith is just what Hebrews says it is, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.
The English Standard Version says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Feelings will fail us but faith will sustain us even in the darkest of times!

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The Bible reminds us that we walk by faith, not by sight; not by how we feel. If our relationship with God was based on feelings…what a mess! As humans, we are up one minute and down the next, and it doesn’t have to be that way. We can put our full confidence in the Word of God and know that in every situation, even when we can’t SEE the outcome, the reasoning, etc., we KNOW that God is in control.
It doesn’t matter what you feel or what I feel, what matters is the Word of God and in that, my friend, we can put our trust.

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Sharing with Sunday Stillness, Inspire Me Monday, Amaze Me Monday, Making your home sing, Motivation Monday, Modest Monday, Mama Moments Monday, Sharing His Beauty, Monday Musings, Treasure Box Tuesday, Titus 2sdays, UNITE, Testimony Tuesday