TODAY'S BIBLE QUOTE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay. com    

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters;

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak,

and slow to get angry.  Human anger does not

produce the righteousness God desires."

(James 1:19,20 NLT)   

OUT OF FOCUS

OUT OF FOCUS

I am not young, spry, strong, stable, and smart like you.

The photo above was taken hand held.

The photo below was taken with the same camera.  Of

the same object, in the same light, only a couple of 

minutes earlier.  BUT,  on a tripod.

THE DIFFERENCE IS HOLDING STILL.

Life is like that.

I know a "person" [Perhaps several] like that.  This 

person will not hold still long enough to truly hear.

Oh, this "person" says "Go on talking, I'm listening."

BUT,  latter it comes out that person did not hear 

what I was saying.  What this person was clearly

told, was totally unknown to them later.

Are we like that with life?

So engrossed with what we are doing, or want to

do, that we do not know where we are going?

God said;

"Be still, and know that I am God."

(Psalms 46:10 RSV)

"Be still before the Lord, and wait

patiently for him;"

.......

"Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."

(Psalms 37:7 and 8 RSV)

Have you taken time to hold still and 

take stock of yourself to see where your

life is taking you??

IT'S ALL JUST TALK

(All images courtesy of:www.Pixabay.com)

You hear them too.

Friends, relatives or neighbors who are constantly telling

you what they are going to do - but it never happens.  It is

just so much talk.  You have heard it so many times that

you could recite it just as well as they do.

And even more in the political realm.

ALL the politicians are telling you what they are going 

to do for you.  How they are going to clean up corruption

or bad situtions and so forth.  But it never happens.  The 

only thing that happens is that you lose more of your 

freedoms and your taxes increase.

Our words do us no good if they are not backed

up by action.  St. James when talking about faith

said what could just as well apply to words we talk.

"My friends, what good is it for one of you to

say that you have faith if your actions do not

prove it? ...... So it is with faith: if it is alone

and includes no actions, then it is dead."

(James 2:14,17 GNT)

Talk is cheap.  Or is it.

Consider this.  One day both you and I are going to 

stand before the God who created us - whether we 

like it or not. Then we are going to give an account of 

our lives.  Every bit of it.

The one who created the heavens and the earth, and gives you life it's self said,

"You can be sure that on the Judgment Day

you will have to give account of every useless

word you have ever spoken.  Your words will

be used to judge you - to declare you either

innocent or guilty."

(Matthew 12:36,37 GNT)

All of that cheap talk may end up coming

at a very high price.

"Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry"

(James 1:19 GNT)

Solomon the wisest man who ever lived 

gave this advice,

"Think before you speak, and don't

make any rash promises to God.  He

is in heaven and your are on earth,

so don't say any more than you have to."

(Ecclesiastes 5:2 GNT)

Someone said,

"Wisdom has two parts:

1.  Having a lot to say.

2. Not saying it.

Rochefoucauld said,
"As it is the characteristic of great
wits to say much in few words, so 
it is of small wits to talk much and
say nothing."

ARE YOU LISTENING?

There is someone I have known for years.

We have a very good relationship that I want

  to continue.

However.

You know how life is.

This person has one annoying habit.

And has had it for as long as I can remember.

Were it not for this one annoying habit, 

this person would no doubt be perfect.

Well, almost.

We can be within talking distance of one another,

not even saying or doing anything. And all I have 

to do is open my mouth and start to say something.

I will not even have my first sentence finished 

until this person has "butted" in and started 

talking about who knows what.

Starting to talk is like waving a red flag

in front of a bull.

Now that's not too bad, but it can be several

times during the same conversation.   If you

can call a one sided conversation a conversation.

This only takes two or three times until I shut

up and do not even try to tell them what I started

too.

I suppose it was while thinking about this that 

the Lord let a thought come into my mind.

When God is trying to speak to me, do I start

talking to him instead of listening to him.

When the Holy Spirit is "trying" to minister

to me, do I start reciting my "give me" list?

"He who has an ear, 

let him hear what the Spirit says....."

(Revelation 3:22 GNT)

HARD WAY TO LEARN

That's Taylor. 

He is one of my great grandchildren.

Taylor is a great little guy.  He is not a spoiled brat

like so many kids.  All around, he is obedient, kind, happy

and fun to be around.

However,

Taylor is a kid.  A boy.

Taylor's grandmother, my daughter, has a treadmill.

A treadmill with a motor on it.  Can you beat that.  I 

thought the idea was to get exercise, and it has a motor

to do the work for you!  What will they think of next?

Now Taylor has been wanting to use that treadmill for 

some time.  But "Nana" has been refusing to let him.

Apparently Taylor can be persistent.  So his grandmother

relented and let him use it.

After showing him how to use it, and the proper settings,

Taylor took off.  After a bit Taylor made a mistake and 

turned the speed the wrong way.  Then Taylor found out 

that the treadmill could out run him.  The treadmill tumbled

Taylor around and then threw him against the wall hard

enough to put a hole in the wall.

Thank God there were no broken bones.  But there are

large abrasions all over Taylor's body.  He can stand up 

with out being on an abrasion.  But he cannot set down

or lay down with out being on one.  The last time I 

talked to him - yesterday - he was standing up - in the

car.

Taylor has learned why his grandmother said no.

But hey!

How about you and I.

God our creator and life giver has given us a some

 "do's" and "don'ts" for our own good.

Are we listening?

HEARING FROM GOD

HEY! Be quiet. I can't
hear.

You have either said it,
or had it yelled at you.
When you want to hear
something you quit talking.
You do, don't you.
 Or you may turn off an appliance
or lower the volume on the T.V. You minimize any
distracting noise or influence you can so you can hear.

In an upholstery shop in Pomona, California I saw
a sign that said, "You can't learn anything while
you are talking." That is still true today.

The Scriptures say,
There is "a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak;" -Ecclesiastes 3:7 RSV

We all know about the speaking out part. At
least about the things we are interested in.
And that we should for the Lord. But do we
know how to be silent - so we can hear?

The most powerful church service I was ever in
was in one of the local churches. The
visiting evangelist was there with a musical team.
The presence of God was so real and close you could
feel it. You did not want to move or do any
thing that would disturb the way God was working
in our midst.

When the evangelist finished he turned it over
to the local pastor. Even the pastor was moved. The
pastor appreciated the service so much that he spent
the next 20 minutes telling how much he
appreciated the service.

He killed it. Literally killed the service dead. You
could not have killed it any "deader" with a shot
gun. The time to be silent was lost. The moving
of God's Spirit was gone.

I do not know how many services I have been in
where the preacher preaches a great sermon. Then
kills it himself.
He preaches till the sermon is finished. He knows it.
The congregation knows it. God knows it.
But he is enjoying preaching. Especially if the Holy
Spirit has been moving. He does not want to stop.
So he goes on and on killing his own sermon and the
moving of God.

Currently I attend one of those churches where
for some unfathomable reason they think some body's
mouth has to be going all the time. Numbers of times
the Holy Spirit has been ministering to me. But
some one thinks they have to say something. Maybe
in between the verses of a song or just at a pause. And
it quenches the working of the Spirit.

Jim Cymbala said it so well when he said,
"We must quickly be delivered from the delusion
that someone always has to be talking, teaching,
'sharing' or singing; that to keep the crowd interested
we have got to keep things 'moving' lest there be a
lull where God might actually draw us out of
ourselves into real spiritual communion."
-From, Whatever Happened To The Prayer Meeting?
in July 2009 Herald of His Coming, page 3.

God said, "Be still, and know that I am God."
-Psalms 46:10. RSV
Even for Elijah the Spirit of God did not minister
to him in the earthquake or the fire. But in "a
still small voice."

With God's help I want to quiet down and listen
for his "still small voice". How about you?