Are You Positioned to Hear From God?
What do people mean when they say they âhear Godâs voice?â Can everyone hear God? Do people have the same capacity and/or ability to hear the Lord? Does the Lord âspeakâ more often or more clearly in some places and at some times than others?
The book of 1 Samuel notes, âIn those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.â (1 Sam. 3:1). Apparently, there are different dispensations regarding the frequency and clarity of God's communication. Approximately 3,100 years ago the people of God were not experiencing much of the revelation of God. Then Samuel was born, and God started communicating boldly through the prophets.
In the New Testament, the book of Hebrews begins, âIn the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe.â (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecy. It all...
What Do You Want and How Much Do You Want It?
How can you tell how badly someone wants something? There seem to be two primary indicators. First, how hard are they trying to get what they want? Second, how long are they willing to keep trying?  How much someone wants something is often a function of both factors â intensity and perseverance.
Once, when I arrived at Logan airport late for my flight, the passion with which I pleaded for mercy and help from the airline administrator indicated that I wanted very badly to be placed on that plane immediately. Passion, intensity and the exertion of energy often indicate deep desire. Sometimes, however, shear hard work is not enough to get what you want; it requires sustained effort over a long period of time.  Lincoln demonstrated, through his unwillingness to give up after repeated political losses and failures, that he really wanted to become president of the United States. From time to time a wall must be struck repeatedly, over a long period of time, before it finally gives way.
...Does Your House Need A Clean Up?
Sometimes the things that seem like they will make our lives easier and more efficient are the very things that can steal our purpose and passion right out from under us.
Godâs desire has always been to draw people from all nations into His eternal household. But, âdoing churchâ (or, in this case, "doing temple") got in the way of that purpose in the lives and practice of the people of God. Addressing the people in Jerusalem, Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah and said, âIs it not written: âMy house will be called a house of prayer for all nationsâ? But you have made it a den of robbers.ââ (Mark 11:17) When the people came to make sacrifices at the temple they had to bring animals, or grain or whatever was needed. This proved to be quite an inconvenience for those who had a long way to travel, so they developed a system of exchange right at the temple. People could simply bring money and âbuyâ what they needed for sacrifice âonsite.â This made things much easier for many people, Â bu...
What To Do When Life Gets Rough
He wants to break you out of the prison of a closed-system mindset, freeing you toperceive and rely upon the resources of heaven. This is often a painful and scaryprocess, and it seems new and insurmountable each time it occurs. The faith-fruit, however, that grows through such trials is incredible and expansive.  Paul wanted the believers in Corinth to know just how stretching such an experience was for him, and how prayer and partnership play a crucial role in heavenly faith breakthrough. He wrote,âWe do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had r...
Expand Your Capacity to Be With God
God wants to be with you in increasingly deep and meaningful ways.
You can Be With Him more tangibly and significantly. It starts with you wanting to be with Him ... or at least wanting to want to be with Him.
If you look for the Lord (Psalm 105:4), you will find Him. "You will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13).
A few tools or springboards to the process of Being With God are ...
* Scripture ... 2 Timothy 3:16
* Prayer ... beyond petitioning, beyond intercession, into communion
* Stillness and Silence ... simply being with Him without demand
* Waiting Upon the Lord ... deepening and growing in faith, as we hope in Him
Do you Want to Want to Be With God?Â
Which one of the above disciplines is being highlighted within you right now?
What might be a good plan/step to exercise the particular discipline which God may be using to invite you deeper into His presence.
~ Coach Tonm
