How miracles occur – Faith which casts mountains into the sea and brings forth a child at 100 years of age is conceived by a rhema and vision from God, which when incubated through pondering, speaking and acting, births a miracle in the fullness of time.
I devoured Neil Miller’s book, What If Listening to God Was Easy? The theme of this book has been my heart's passion for 40 years, and it is enjoyable, fun, and easy to read as it is filled with stories, just as Jesus’ teaching was.
How do you perceive the passage of time? Have you heard that time flies when you are having fun? Have you found this to be true? Have you found that a lack of engagement causes time to drag on? Time is the most precious gift you have because it is the stuff life is made of and you want to use it wisely rather than having it be a burden to you. Don’t kill time, put it to good use. When you do so it will seem to disappear quickly, but this just means you have fully spent it well.
Have you ever changed your mind? Do you see the ambiguity in this question? It could mean that you have used your existing mind to reach a different opinion on some question, but it could also mean that you have acquired a new mind, which is a much more substantial change. My word refers to putting on the mind of Christ, and to being transformed by the renewing of your mind. These are big changes. Have you experienced them? How would you know? Do you live with a conscious awareness that your view of reality has undergone a radical shift and there is no going back?
If you have a passionate desire for a change in life direction and your friends all advise against it, should you deny your passion or get new friends? You should not lightly disregard wise counsel, for there is safety in a consensus, but not all people are capable of giving wise counsel, and the final choice is yours. Do you live with the assumption that the same friends will always be a part of your life? But if your life changes direction then it is appropriate to change the company you keep.
God’s infinite love for us is the source of true living, and without it we are living an incomplete life – really only just existing. That is why pursuing God‘s love with all of our heart is the most worthy endeavor, because then we will find life to the fullest - the abundant life Jesus came for us to have. Through communion with God, we can fill our deepest need to be perfectly loved through intimacy with our Creator, who knows our deepest secrets, yet is still forever crazy about us!
Psalm 63:3 says, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”
Do you prefer things that are mass produced and sold in stores, or things that are home-made? There are valid arguments for both. Do you receive an adequate amount of honor? Are you recognized and appreciated for the things you do? Does anyone think they get too much of this? Yet it comes with a price. Those who admire you hold influence over you, for you will seek to please them, and they will affect your direction. But honor is something you can create for yourself, by your own character and conduct, whether or not anyone else approves or even notices.
Have you ever been lonely? Have you ever been alone? Are these the same thing? You can go for a walk in the woods by yourself and experience solitude without loneliness, but you can also be lonely in a crowd. Loneliness is a product of disconnection, alienation, and isolation. It is a lack of connection that produces the pain of loneliness. If your connections are intact they will endure times when you are not physically present together.
Do you have a desire to improve? Are you aware of the areas in your life where improvement is necessary? Do you engage in the activities that will bring about the changes you desire? Do you engage in regular practices of your faith? Do you see a cause and effect connection of improvement in yourself because of these activities or even a correlation? There is a direct linkage between study and acquiring knowledge, but this linkage is less obvious when it comes to acquiring character traits. This is still a worthwhile question to ponder.
About 11 years ago I ministered in the church of a pastor in Kenya. At that time, I would leave with them your teaching materials on “4 Keys to Hear God’s Voice, Counseled by God, and Prayers that Heal the Heart.” I am not sure how much he really applied them at that time, but I know he did read them and still has them as a reference. He has apostolic and prophetic giftings. I have mentored him over the years and there have been times in his own life where he has dealt with depression and other life stresses, as most of us do.
