Quick To Listen

 

"My sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them, and they are following Me"

John 10: 27, Concordant New Testament 

Much of what I learned about God early on I learned in the halls of the institutional church.  Therefore, when someone tasked me with listening to God, I figured that it would be a long, drawn out process.  After all, there was a lot that went into listening for the Lords voice.  Just the phrase "listening for the Lord" can indicate that it might be awhile before one hears from God.  Yet, this is what those engulfed in Christian religion are all too often told when it comes to hearing the Lord.  What would you expect from a system which preaches the separation of the Father and His children?  Of course, this is about as far from the reality of God as one could get.  Jesus tells us that His sheep are hearing His voice {John 10:27}.  So, obviously those who follow Jesus have come to know His voice.  How does that work?  Well, I believe that instead of "listening for the Lord" that we should listen TO the Lord.  I don't believe that we will be required to wait for an agonizing time when we truly wait upon the Lords voice.  I'm not saying not to be patient, but too many times we make listening to God harder than it needs to be.  First off, lets get rid of the religion created idea that we are separated from the Father.  That automatically puts a barrier between ourselves and the Lord.  This has never been what the Lord has desired for us.  From the beginning, God has desired to be among His children {John 17:21}.  We see this in the beginning of creation before Satan spoke the lie which was, of course, accepted as true by Adam and Eve {Genesis 3:4-6}.  This is the birth of the separation theology which the mainstream church continues to speak today.  From scripture, we know that the Father has provided for the redemption of His children through the death of His Son on the cross.  Despite some misguided teachings speaking the opposite of the truth.  God has never been separated from His children.  

Lo!  I stand at the door and am knocking.  If ever anyone should be hearing My voice and opening the door, I will also be coming in to him and dining with him, and he with Me. 

The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 3: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I don't believe that the Father intended our conversations with Him to be a long process.  But how is it that we view the Father?  The apostle Paul spoke to the truth that in him, only Christ Jesus remains {Galatians 2:20}.  Paul knew that the man, the individual, was dead and gone.  What remains is Christ.  Therefore, we are absolutely able to have a conversation with the Father.  For it is the Father who resides in us.  It is the Father who, through Christ, has made us one with Him.  Dare I say that talking with God can be as simple as speaking to someone next to you.  It was never intended to be rocket science.  It was not Gods intent to overcomplicate things.  When the Father is revealed in us, a conversation is something which comes naturally.  We know Him, and we speak with Him.  The author of Hebrews calls upon us to speak with confidence with God {Hebrews 4:16}.  In my own life, I have daily conversations with the Father.  Why wouldn't I, who knows me better than He?  He has been with me from the beginning and will be with me for time eternal.  I know His voice, and I follow Him.  

~Scott~