ROAD REMINDERS!

ROAD REMINDERS......seen coming and going as we drive to our ridge of the mountain!

TRUST JESUS COMING!

TRUST JESUS GOING!

"Pithy with a Punch" at its best!

Trust Jesus---enough said!

LOST VOICE!

This morning I awakened with NO voice?

Sometimes in a group I might sense I have "no voice" in certain discussions. 

This new voice omission is not social; it's physical.

Today, long-time friends had "lunch and love" at Beth's. I couldn't even squeak out much that was discernible, so I laughed and  "listened."

 

LISTENING! Understanding dawned! 

Listening was the answer, literally.

Be still....listen to God and others had been a heart prayer of mine recently.

Quietude.

Faith strengthening increases as one seeks to listen the Lord in order to know him better. (Romans 10:17) Evidence of the strengthening in that relationship is seen as one chooses to listen! To God first and then to others.....looking not only to his/her own interest, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

A "lost voice" was the perfect answer to my prayer! A blessing for me!

Mys-TEA-ry of Prayer

My sheep listen to my voice; (John 10:27, NIV)

It's been said that the only way to really get to know some one is to "shut-up and listen." At our house "shut-up" is considered an "S" word, so we say "hush" or in this context, "Be quiet and listen." 

I think that bodes well for our prayer times as well. God already knows us---inside and out. But, if we want to really know Him, maybe we need to say less and listen more.

Prayertime isn't just some grocery list where we go thru the quick check with our items---cross them off our list and hurry on to "our" real agenda. 

God's children have ears to hear---the question is, "Will they use those ears to hear the voice (Word) of God? (Amos 8:11-12)

Listening requires one to "tune in" to Him, which for me means "tuning out" the audible distractions of the world (“Take heed what ye hear.”--Mark 4:24-25) & even the whirring thoughts that can creep into my thinking. Thus an open Bible--a tool used to keep me focused on His word as I meditate and pray. 

Meditation helps this sheep stayed "tuned in" to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who will enable me to hear the very, and often exact, word I need to help get through my day. Mysterious, I know......but when God's Spirit speaks, we need to be still and "tuned in" in order to truly listen.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)

As I sip my cuppa, filled with the beauty and mys-TEA-ry of prayer, I pray “give me, thy servant a hearing heart,” just as Solomon prayed.* (1 Kings 3:9)

*In the Hebrew, "understanding heart" is literally translated as "a hearing heart."

Faith Fodder

5/1 Faith facts to feed on----

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight—(2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB)

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (James 1:2-3 NASB)

• Has someone ever told you to put on a "happy faith?" Did you try to conjure it up?
• Has anyone ever said, I wish that I had the faith that you have? How would you tell them to go about getting it?
• Have you ever heard people pray for more faith? Do you wonder if what they really want is something very visible?
• How do you factor faith into life’s struggles or dark times? Do you have faith in your faith or in Him?