Let's shine our light for Christ, enjoy some good exercise on the first day of Spring, and relax with good food and good
friends! ....Sounds to me like an offer you can't refuse!!!! See ya at Minor Lane campus before 10:00am (bus leaves at 10 and returns around noon). We will get in cars and ride to Sake Blue for 1:00pm lunch reservations (not expensive...some will even want to split a meal with someone....American and Japanese food available.) Sake Blue is in shopping strip with Norton Immediate Care center, Moe's...behind Applebees near Walmart on Bardstown Road and Gene Snyder. Easy to find...or car pool with someone.
"Not Seeing is Believing"
read pages 93-97 Priscilla Shirer "One in a Million"
Which is true?: "Seeing is Believing" or "Not seeing is believing"?
It seems that walking with God involves the second choice.
Read Ex. 19:18-19
God wanted to gain the trust of the people and He did it in two ways: by letting the people see Him and by letting the people hear Him.
On Hearing God.......
Do you believe God audibly spoke only in biblical times, speaks through His living Word, speaks through our hearts through His Spirit,....some of these ways...other ways...none of these ways?
Perhaps the point of the Israelites' encounter aat Sinai is not HOW they heard God but THAT they heard Him.
Read Ex. 19 and think about why God chose to let the Israelites hear Him while in the wilderness so far away from the promised land?
Are you a better listener when someone has your full attention because of a difficult circumstance or challenge?
Perhaps God knew that their hearts were tender and their spiritual ears were sensitive.
Think about this: The Israelites did not have access to God's written Word. In fact, most of it was not written yet. With this in mind, what advantages or disadvantages did the ancient Hebrews have over modern believers in regards to discerning the voice of God?
For years God's words had reached their ears through Moses. Perhaps they could have received God's word for themselves but they didn't want to receive it personally. Does the idea of hearing God for yourself: scare you; overwhelm you; excite you; seem impossible to you; interest you?
Read Ex. 20:18-19 How did the people respond to their opportunity to hear from God personally?
The author points out that when God pitched His tent at the top of the mountain, His people pitched theirs at the bottom. There they grew accustomed to having Moses meet with God in their stead. Satisfied with the safe distance between them and the cloud of God's glory, they settled for less than a face-to-face encounter with their mighty Deliverer. Do you think Christians my tend to "stand at a distance" today and wait to hear from God through pastors and leaders instead of seeking a more personal encounter with God? Why? read John 16:13 John 10:27 Did you know that when a shepherd found that a particular lamb refused to obey him, he would break the rebellious lamb's leg so that it would need to be carried. As the lamb became accustomed to the shepherd's voice as he was being carried on his shoulders, he would follow without question after he was healed. It seems that during a season of pain, the lamb became acquainted with the voice of the one who loved him and knew what was best for him.
God wants obedience first and foremost.
Ex. 19:8 John 20:29
The more fully we set our hearts to follow Him the clearer His voice will become.
"Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
Let's walk a life of obedience and "believing without seeing". God has promised to speak to us and reveal Himself to us!
What an exciting journey!
Becky
See ya Thursday for Source and Saturday for fellowship!
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