The Most Important Voice Of All

NOISE. It's everywhere!

Have you ever noticed how noise fills our lives? We wake to music or alarms. We get in the car and what's the first thing we do? We slip in a CD, plug in an iPod, or turn on the radio. When we walk into the house or even our offices, the first thing we do is turn on the TV. It seems that, with noise, we just don't feel so alone. Sometimes, we use the noise as a buffer to keep from thinking about our problems or doing things we know we should do.

In the midst of all of this noise, are you missing the most important voice of all?

God still speaks in a still, small voice. In the busyness and noisiness of our lives, it's easy to miss Him. The only way to hear Him is to make an intentional effort to quiet the noise of our lives and spend some time listening, through prayer and reading His Word. You will never get a more important phone call or crucial message.

Find some time each day to be alone and quiet, and listen to the most important voice of all. It will enrich your life tremendously.

Still Hungry?  Isaiah 32:9

To Get or to Give

During Jesus' ministry the crowds around Him were even greater than football fans around Peyton Manning...and that's a lot of people!

Jesus was coming to his town and there was a short man named Zaccheus who was determined to see Him; so he climbed a tree to get a better look. (Not every day does the richest and most despised man in town climb a tree to do anything, much less to see someone like Jesus!) Of course, Jesus saw him and knew he was searching - looking for meaning - something that money and power just can't bring. So, Jesus walked over to the tree, looked up and asked ole' Zach if He could come to his house for lunch. Can you imagine how surprised he was?

The crowds were appalled, because Zach was such a well-known and hated man. They considered him to be evil and rich from the money they worked hard to earn. Yet, Jesus had other plans and meeting Jesus changed Zach's life forever. He not only recognized that Jesus was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, but he knew he needed to make restitution and paid back all those he had defrauded and even gave money to the poor. What a change! He went from a desire to get, to a desire to give.

Jesus told the crowd that He had come to seek and save those who were spiritually lost. Zaccheus was definitely spiritually lost. That's mighty good news for those of you who feel far from God, for whom money or power has left you feeling empty and alone. Jesus came for people like Zach. And He came for people like you and like me. Invite Him in and you, too, will discover the true meaning of life.

Still hungry?  Ezekiel 34:12, John 3:17

The Power of Forgivness

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14

Have you ever noticed the presence of that little two-letter word in the Lord's prayer? It says "And forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Did you catch that? The word "as" implies that we cannot be forgiven until we offer that same forgiveness to others. In case we miss the "as," Jesus makes it very clear in the next verse: "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15)

Forgiving someone who has treated you poorly, said evil things about you, even broken up your family, is a very difficult thing to do. It takes Godly intervention to truly offer forgiveness to people who have deeply wounded you. But God commands us to do so, and God would never command us to do anything that He wouldn't provide the ability to do.

Right now, pray for God to give you the strength to forgive those who have hurt you. Not only will God give you the power to do so, but He will also empower you supernaturally to love them, even though you hate what they did. Remember, bitterness is the poison we swallow, hoping the other person dies. Enjoy the release of this terrible burden by experiencing the cleansing power of forgiveness.

Still Hungry? Matthew 18:35, Mark 11:25, Ephesians 4:32