Satellite Radio...

I first started listening to Satellite Radio toward the end of 2014 when Piper and I purchased our Mustang GT convertible.  The car was equipped with a satellite antenna and receiver and because of the novelty of it, we decided to try it out and subscribed for the Sirius XM car and home internet package.

Well… it didn’t take me long to see the value of it as it made available a huge variety of music stations, with almost every genre of music available, a broad range of news/talk radio and coverage of just about any professional sports game throughout their various seasons of the year.  SiriusXM also offers live and/or recorded coverage of a wide scope of musical concerts, special events, religious programing and even the live audio for many of the major TV news networks.

A major perk for me was the ability to listen to the stations that I enjoy as I travel about in my car, without the typical fading in and out of the terrestrial AM/FM radio stations.  During the different times I drove from state to state, I was amazed and comforted to know that I could listen to the same station the whole way… or for that matter… to any station that I desired and then be able to flip back to my favorite station, and enjoy the same, strong, consistent reception.

And speaking of enjoying the ‘same, strong and consistent reception,’ I came across a couple of verses that seemed to confirm my thoughts… not only for life in the natural realm, but also in the furtherance of my daily spiritual life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to,

“Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; (and) don't try to figure out everything on your own. (but instead,) Listen (intently and even intimately) for God's VOICE in everything you do, (and in) everywhere you go; (for) He's the One who will keep you on track.” (MSG/TPT personalized) 

The idea of listening intently and even intimately to the VOICE of the Lord from these modern translations definitely arrested my attention.  The more traditional King James Version says “In all thy ways acknowledge” the Lord.  And a quick look at the definition of “ACKNOWLEDGE” in both the Hebrew and Greek informs us that this word is a direct derivative of the Greek word “ginosko” which speaks of having an ‘intimate’ and deeply personal relationship with the VOICE (ie; wisdom) of the Lord!

So… with the thought of intimately listening to His VOICE in “everything we do and in everywhere we go,” I was immediately reminded of a section of Old Testament scripture when the Lord was speaking with Elijah the Prophet and instructed him to go and stand on the top of a mountain.  And thereby… Elijah obeyed… expecting to receive a clear word from the Lord… climbed up the mountain and was immediately inundated with hurricane force winds, that were followed by an earthquake, to which the scripture states that the Lord was not to be found in any of those things… but the natural disasters didn’t stop there as the next verse declares:

“And after the earthquake a FIRE, but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire (finally -whew!) a STILL SMALL VOICE.” (KJV / I Kings 19:11-12)

Over the years, I have personally gotten to know that “STILL SMALL VOICE” of the Holy Spirit speaking to me from the depths (or ‘BOTTOM’*) of my heart quite well!  But it didn’t happen overnight.  I’ve learned from my older teenage years through today, that familiarity with that VOICE increases in degrees the more we “intently and intimately LISTEN” and obey it!

For me it began as a familiar VOICE that I heard coming from somewhere deep inside me the very first week Piper and I started dating, when I heard (or rather “sensed”) it say, “This girl is special and you need treat her with respect and honor… and protect her innocence.”

It was a friendly, familiar but yet gently authoritative VOICE that yes, I had heard before… but in reality… had NO idea who or what it was… just taking for granted, that it was the gentlemanly example of respect, honor and love that my dad always exhibited toward my mom! 

But it was not only that… it was much more!  Through the ensuing months and years, I entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and became increasingly more and more familiar and intimately knowledgeable of that VOICE as the VOICE of the Lord… speaking softly, gently and yet authoritatively to my spirit on the inside of me.

Now… you’ll notice in our verses from I Kings 19:11-12, that when the Lord instructed Elijah to go up to the top of a mountain, Elijah did not immediately get the clear and concise word of direction that he was expecting.  In fact, he got the opposite as he faced all kinds of natural, noisy, destructive and distractive catastrophes before he finally tuned in to the Lord’s STILL, SMALL VOICE speaking to him.

It is pretty clear that listening for and being able to tune in and hear the VOICE of the Lord takes an ever-increasing familiarity with His VOICE and the ability to not be distracted from the things that will try to make us not hear or incorrectly hear and discern His wisdom and/or instruction to us.

Jesus gives us an example of having and ever-increasing familiarity with His VOICE, when a blind man with whom He had healed, came back and inquired of Jesus saying,

“Sir, tell me who He is so that I can believe in him.” (John 9:36 / God’s Word ©)

And Jesus replied, (This response hit me as a somewhat humorous answer… who says Jesus doesn’t have a sense of humor…):

"You're looking right at Him. Don't you recognize My VOICE?" (John 9:37 / MSG)

I’m pretty sure that the healed man’s life changed that day, after his introduction to the man behind the VOICE of his healing.  I would imagine that he made it a point to hear and become a lot more familiar with that VOICE over the following years of his life… and in turn, be a walking and talking, fervently vocal disciple of Jesus, spreading the word of that VOICE in everything he did and in everywhere he went.*  And you know… that’s exactly the person that I believe God wants you and me to become!

But be aware… One thing that I have noticed since listening to Satellite Radio is that now that I’ve had it for a few years… it is easy for me to tune it out as simply background noise… with all the distractions around me in the house or car… due to its ‘same, strong and consistent reception!” 

I tended to be more alert to and aware of the music or talk that was coming from the radio when I was listened to the old terrestrial AM/FM radio stations… with their occasional atmospheric static and loss of reception.  When the program got fuzzy, I would take immediate notice and attempt to fine tune the frequency so that I could hear it better… 

Humm… I betcha that I sometimes do the same thing when God is trying to speak to me… and my familiarity and level of comfort with His VOICE causes me to lose the urgency of staying tuned in to His VOICE… What about you?

Have a great week and weekend ahead.  We’ve been under Extreme Heat Warnings for a week or so… but it broke yesterday with a high forecast of only 87… PHEW – PTL! 

But… out here one always needs to stay alert to sudden weather changes… like the potential of a stray TORNADO tonight that I just heard about! 

I pray that your weather is pleasant so that you can go out and enjoy nature while sharing your knowledge and intimate relationship with the VOICE of God with those around you!

 

 

*See Proverbs 3:5-6 above…

Trust Anticipates…

After spending a lot of time with my older son a few weeks back on our trip to California, I decided to take a leap of faith and significantly upgrade my coffee drinking experience.  As a kid and young man, I used to enjoy the smell of my parent’s coffee brewing in their old stove top percolator in their kitchen at home, or on the camp stove in the beautiful Redwoods at Richardson Grove State Park each summer.  The only downside though… was that I didn’t enjoy the taste… even with a few teaspoons of sugar added to the steaming hot beverage.

Well, that all changed after Piper and I got married and I began to cultivate a taste for hot coffee in the morning with a dash of cream.  I had always thought that it would be cool to be able to serve her a cup of hot coffee in bed on Saturday mornings… but over the years she never developed a palette for it.  So occasionally I’d surprise her with a cup of hot cocoa… but it never seemed to be the same to me!

But back to my original story here… over the years, as an adult, I found particular brands that I preferred as well as certain coffee beans that I enjoyed.  I even purchased an inexpensive coffee grinder that I used occasionally but never felt the need to delve into the new sensation of preparing gourmet coffee from home… which seems to be more of the norm in today’s culture. 

For me, it was a big deal just to have a new Mr. Coffee brewer and the ability to grind my own fresh beans (when I felt like it… but usually going for the ground coffees from some of the new upscale coffee companies) that tended to satisfy me and keep me happy with my first cup of coffee in the early mornings! 

All that seemed to be working for me until a few months ago… when I found that it wasn’t working for me anymore!  I began to realize that I was not enjoying my coffee like I used to.  So, my first thought was that I’d get another new drip coffee maker and that I’d ask Josh… my gourmet coffee connoisseur son for some suggestions. 

Well, that was a few weeks before our trip and by the time we got on the first plane, he was passionately regaling me with his extensive knowledge and experience of the whole coffee process from where the beans are grown, how and where they are roasted and finally, the various ways in which the beans can be ground and the cup of coffee brewed!

So, what originated as a clueless request for a better cup of coffee… turned into a precise coffee (bean) scale, an Encore adjustable burr grinder and a professional quality Bonavita Enthusiast 8 Cup Coffee Brewer with a Stainless-Steel Carafe… and then to top it off… we made a recent trip to his favorite coffee house on the outskirts of Nashville for just the “right” bag of freshly roasted beans grown in Burundi, a landlocked country in East Africa.

And well… what can I say?  I’ve had it all for almost a month now and so far… it seems to be well worth the investment I made… and I’m still experimenting with the vast array of variables that go into a great cup of coffee… that tends to be unique with the unique qualities of almost every bean growing region in the world.

I will openly admit that I have had some fairly high expectations for the cups of java that are brewed through this fancy set-up… and as of yet, I have not been disappointed.  My TRUST in my son’s passionate expertise, the proven track record of the equipment purchased, the positive reviews of the many product videos I watched… and… to be perfectly honest… the financial outlay for the products… has paid off and I now approach each morning’s fresh, hot cup of coffee brewed with this system… with a definite, exciting level of highly expectant ANTICIPATION!

And speaking of living in an exciting level of expectant ANTICIPATION, King Solomon encouraged us Believers today saying,

“Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on Him to guide you, and He will lead you in every decision you make.  Become intimate with Him in whatever you do, and He will lead you wherever you go.” (The Passion Translation) 

As I studied this verse over the weekend and again today, I came across a theological explanation of the teaching Solomon puts forth when he called for us to ‘Trust in the Lord completely’ (or in the KJV – ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart’) written in the 1871 Speaker’s Commentary by Thomas Lumisden Strange. 

The author wrote,

“This teaching of trust in God, “ANTICIPATES” the doctrine of faith.”

In other words… this Old Testament scripture actually prophecies Hebrews 11:1 where the New Testament writer defined the power, purpose and place of FAITH in the life of a modern-day Christian by explaining,

“Faith assures us of things we expect (or anticipate) and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.” (God’s Word ©) 

So… the writers of both Proverbs 3:5-6 and Hebrews 11:1 tell us the same exact thing when it comes to putting our “TRUST in the Lord COMPLETELY”  When you and I make the specific, determined and single-minded decision to TRUST in the LORD and the truth of His Word… with all of our hearts, and not allow ourselves to be dissuaded by anyone else’s disagreement with us or by what physical evidence may be telling us at the moment… we engage the power, purpose and place of the Biblical doctrine of FAITH in our lives - and thereby open the door for the Lord to work supernaturally (or as my Pastor in Oklahoma would say… add His Supernatural to our natural!) in the midst of our need.

And so again… When I take the extra time and dedicated effort to prepare for a good cup of coffee on my new equipment in the morning… I am fully expecting and ANTICIPATING to get what I was promised by the manufactures and the professional Baristas who recommend and use the equipment… just as I expectantly ANTICIPATE my belief and corresponding actions of FAITH to produce the results that Jesus promises me in His Word!

Wouldn’t you agree?

This… to me… is what makes the Christian walk and the possibility of the power, purpose and place of Faith in God and His Word… working in my life SO EXCITING!

So… I not only get up each morning now… with an expectant ANTICIPATION of my first cup of gourmet coffee… but also with a highly expectant ANTICIPATION of seeing my faith in Christ and His Word open doors to the miraculous in my life… fresh and anew TODAY!

Have a terrific week.  We’ve got more hot weather and the possibilities of a summer storm tonight… but whatever the weather… I am enjoying my new home here in Tennessee!  Until next time…

CHALLENGE the CALL…

Being as I lived over two thirds of my life in northern California, it is easy to deduce that I am a San Franciso Giants baseball team fan.  I even decorated our guest bath in our homes in North Carolina and Oklahoma in the team’s colors, merchandise and memorabilia, and to a lesser degree (due to room constraints) here in my apartment in Tennessee.

I have fond memories of my dad listening to the Giants games on his transistor radio… which was propped up on the fence… while he worked around the yard each weekend during the baseball season.  And now, both my boys and especially Josh, are die-hard Giants fans.  So, even though none of us live in California anymore, the family tradition along with the Giant’s flag, caps, hoodies… and in Josh’s case… a tattoo on his forearm… continues wherever any of us call home!

I will admit though, that while I still do enjoy the game, I am not a big fan of the extended use of Instant Replay.  I guess that I’m a little old-fashioned and liked it better when the umpire’s call was the law and whether a mis-call was made or not, the game moved faster and there was only one individual to hate rather than every official at the game and/or in the Replay Command Center in New York!

But, on the other hand… I do enjoy the drama that ensues when a team manager will come out in support of his players and give his impassioned plea of disagreement to the umpire for what he believed was a bad call.  You would have to admit that some of those interactions are downright funny as the two individuals will stand nose to nose and CHALLENGE each other’s positions on the play.

Well… I got to thinking the other day, about the idea of CHALLENGING the calls on the plays that occur in the daily activities of our lives.  At some time in our existence on this earth, each of us will be faced with situations that are called in such a way that we may not agree with the ruling.  Maybe it’s a diagnosis of sickness, a financial crisis or the need for wisdom, physical strength, favor or assistance in any other negative event that occurs in our lives.

Like the manager of a professional baseball team who is well-steeped in the rules of the game… can you give a legitimate CHALLENGE to what you consider a bad call? Whose words, rules and directions are you going to listen to for guidance on how to handle your needful situation?

I recently saw a very heart-felt and emotion-tugging TV advertisement requesting monthly donations to the Alzheimer’s Association of America that instantly brought back floods of memories of when I was caring for my wife before she succumbed to the effects of the awful disease.  But what was most prevalent in my thoughts was how impossibly difficult it must be for families that face the disease without a strong faith in Jesus Christ.

I was telling my oldest daughter Saturday, as we traversed the aisles for groceries together at our local Super-Walmart, that one of the most difficult and surprising things that I was forced to handle when Piper was sick, was the constant bombardment of anxiety coming from individuals outside of our immediate family. 

It became quickly obvious to me that these people only had only one voice that they were listening to… and that was the voice of FEAR.  They seemed to have no knowledge and/or working trust in the powerful voice of the Word of God in order to CHALLENGE the FEAR that was calling their plays on the subject of Alzheimer’s… or any other need in their lives for that matter!

In John 15:7 Jesus tells us that,

“As you continue to abide and live in life-union with Me and My Words continue to abide and live POWERFULLY within you – THEN – you can be sure that when you ask for something that you desire… that it will be listened to, acted upon and completed for you.” (personal rendition from EMTV/TPT/MSG)

As Christians, Jesus says that when we make the decision to abide in Him and actively allow His Words to abide in us… that we can be assured of a positive answer to our requests in times of need… that is directly in line with His powerful and masterful Word… period!  End of story - PTL!! 

And His words are the only ones that can successfully CHALLENGE, silence and change any word of FEAR, doubt or unbelief. People without a personal and active faith in Jesus and His infallible Word do not have access to any words that will CHALLENGE the tremendous, fear-driven hopelessness that seems to come to them from every direction… and thereby they lack the peace that “passes all understanding”* that only an active faith in Jesus can provide!

So… While a major league baseball team manager can go out to the plate and yell and scream at the Homeplate umpire… their words have no real power to change the call…  But as Christians… who study and know the Word and abide in it with Christ… you and I have the right words… Christ’s Words… that when spoken out in faith with authority** will successfully CHALLENGE the words of FEAR, doubt and unbelief that may attempt to bombard us whenever tough situations arrive in our lives!  In fact… Paul tells us through His knowledge of God’s WORD and with lots of personal experience to back it up – that,

“God did not give us a spirit and character of insecurity, doubt and fear, but a spirit, mind and character of confidence, power in the truth (ie; the WORD***), love, and self-control.”

And then knowing that we might feel a little intimidated to speak out Jesus’ Words in order to CHALLENGE a wrong call given by the enemy of our faith, Paul went on to say,

“Don’t ever be embarrassed to speak boldly about our Lord…” (2 Timothy 1:7-8A - God’s Word © / The Remedy New Testament)

So… What’s holding you back?  Grab your favorite baseball team’s cap off the hat rack next to your front door and step BOLDLY out with the Word of God on your lips… and CHALLENGE any wrong calls the enemy of our faith tries to trick you with today!

And believe-you-me… you’ll notice an instant - POSITIVE change in the atmosphere around your life… from insecurity, doubt and FEAR… to one of PEACE, JOY, CONFIDENCE and LOVE!

Have a great week!  We’ve had lots of periods of heavy rain over the weekend… but there is a hope for some sunshine ahead this week! WHEW!

 

 

*Philippians 4:7

**See Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:14-20 where Jesus told of the authority that He had following His death, burial and resurrection and then… conferred that authority to all of us who actively believe in Him and His Word to GO and DO the ministry of his Word!

***John 17:17 (KJV)