How Can I Understand What The Bible Is Saying?

Is the Bible so hard to understand?

Why is it that I just do not seem to understand the Bible?  Is there some secret to understanding it?

Left alone, our minds remain closed to the Word of God. The scriptures are spiritual, but our nature is not. We need someone spiritual to open our minds. The answer may be in The Gospel of Luke 24:25.

“And he opened their minds that they might comprehend the scriptures.” Luke 24:45.

The verse above is from the passage where the resurrected Christ reveals himself to the disciples. In the midst of his teaching is this statement that he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. These men had been with him for three years, and you would think that if anybody knew the scriptures, it would be the students of Jesus, but they still needed to have their minds opened.

HE OPENED

He opened their minds. Jesus can do this because of who he is; he is the Living Word of God. We cannot open our minds in this way; we can be open to ideas at best. Education, meditation, seminars, books, and every other system and method will fail to open our minds to God's Word- only Jesus can do that.

THAT THEY MIGHT

To say it "might" means possible, but it is not an absolute guarantee of something.  It means the ability is there, but access or use is lacking.

OPEN THEIR MINDS

Our minds are naturally closed to spiritual truth and godly teaching. Our sin has blocked us from receiving it, and our world system has conditioned us against it.

Our minds must not remain closed. In one sense, we must be open and willing to let go of preconceived ideas and old attitudes to receive his teaching.

COMPREHEND

To comprehend is not just a taste or a sample but to fully understand everything. God desires us to know him this way; it is His will that we understand the Bible because it is His will that we understand him.

There are no secret mysteries in the Bible, but there are things that we are not ready for, so they seem mysterious, and those who do not know God say they are mysteries.

THE SCRIPTURES
The scriptures are holy writings, and they come from a holy God whose ways are far above our ways; we cannot understand them alone. We must pray and ask God to open our minds. We must be open and then, in faith, diligently study them.

Understanding the Bible does not come from osmosis. We have to apply ourselves to study the Word with a prayerful attitude, asking Jesus through his Holy Spirit to open our minds.

If you do not have salvation, you will never comprehend the Bible, but God gives you His Holy Spirit to teach you His word when you become born again. To find out more about how to get saved, follow the link to my other blog about the Gospel.

(c) Adron Dozat

6/30/15

How To Be Blessed By God, What the Bible Says, Psalm 1:2

Who doesn't want God's blessing, but how do we get it?

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on is law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:2

THE BLESSED MAN
This verse is part of Psalm 1 which describes the character and habits of the man who is blessed. Beginning with relationships he does not entertain it progresses to the difference in how he thinks and what he thinks about.

HIS DELIGHT
The man blessed by God takes delight in the things of God- it should not surprise us. When you delight in something you...
     * Give it time,
     * Make room for it in your life,
     * Value it,
     * You talk about it,
     * Your thinking becomes consumed with it.

LAW
The law is not so much all the commands and regulations of the Bible but the truths about God, which the laws were to teach us, (Galatians 3:24).

MEDITATES
The man blessed by God has the Word of God on his mind. He ponders it and turns it over in his mind. This blessed man is always thinking about the scriptures. He must memorize much of it, spend time reading it, and studying it.

DAY AND NIGHT
Clearly, the Word of the Lord has a place in every part of his day. The day and night suggest that the Law of God is constant in his thoughts.

BLESSING
No doubt his decisions and actions will be filtered by God's commands he will be careful to do what pleases the Lord and his life will be in tune with the will of the Father.

Find ways to put God's Word in all the parts of your day and your life, there are many resources around today to help you.

To learn more about finding salvation and eternal life see my other blog.

(c)Adron Dozat 11/26/13

Why Are There So Many Different Interpretations to the Bible?

Why is the Bible hard to understand? Why are there many different ideas about God?

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1st Corinthians 2:14, NIV.

This scripture teaches that you must have God’s Spirit to understand the things of God. The things of God are unnatural to us, they go against our logic. The things of God are unpopular to the man of the world, since “they are foolishness to him.” Foolish things seem juvenile, not thought out, or just plain stupid.

We are not equipped to understand the things of God. “Because they are spiritually discerned." We need God’s Spirit to show us. Instead, we take what small light we have and mix it with the ideological fog around us and come up with a wrong idea of God.

The world cannot understand the things of God such as:

• God is love.
• God would become a man.
• God would condemn sinners for their sin.
• God would die on the cross to pay for our sins.
• God gives man free will to choose Him.
• God waits for us to seek Him before He reveals himself to us.
• God gives free eternal life to those who receive Him.
• God rejects good works as terms of salvation and honors the act of faith in Jesus instead.
• God wants us to have a relationship with him instead of a religion.

To the worldly-minded these are foolish, but these are the truths God has chosen to reveal.

We can’t understand God without His help. We must be open to what He shows us of Himself. We must accept the things of God though they seem foolish and reject the world’s wisdom. We must come to God and agree to His terms.

Pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you, invite God into your life, and be open to His Spirit. Accept His plan of salvation.

I would rather be a fool for Jesus than wise for everybody else.


My Prayer for Understanding

Dear God, You are the All-Wise Lord of All, seen and unseen

I know You want to reveal Yourself to me with truth.
I confess I tried to conceive You on my own,
And build a concept of You out of cheap stuff.
My best ideas are far short of the Infinite You.
Forgive the idolatry and vain pride of my efforts.
My sin has quenched Your Spirit’s sweet voice in my heart.
Help me to cast away my lowly man made concepts.
Enter my life, and fill me with your Holy Spirit.
I pray that You reveal Yourself to me in pure truth.
Help me to be humble, help me to understand You.

Thank you, Father, for this new beginning with You

To learn more about how to understand God's plan for you click here to see my other blog.

(c) Adron 11/2/13

What Is The Key To Solving Problems? Zechariah 4: 6

What does the Bible say about solving personal problems? We all have problems such as debts, woes, worries, and fears. We try different things like education, money, bigger guns, or a louder voice, but nothing works.

"So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, 'Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty.'" Zechariah 4: 6, NIV.  (Link to See other Translations).

The quote above is from the vision of the Prophet Zechariah, in which he is given a message for the governor of Jerusalem to not lose heart in rebuilding the destroyed temple. It was an awesome and overwhelming project, opposed by the enemies of Israel and discouraging since it had been languishing for forty years.

THE WORD OF THE LORD
The word may not seem like much to go on. We would rather trust in might and power, but the word of God is trustworthy. God always keeps his word and never breaks a promise. The prophet's statement implies that the Word of the Lord is not only instruction but also God's promise. It is an echo of the Genesis account, where God performed acts of creation by speaking the universe into existence.

MIGHT AND POWER
As Governor Zerubbabel would have understood, might and power were essential to ruling a city or nation. We seek our own might and power; we look for the strongest, smartest, and most advanced thing to solve our problems. God has a different way he wants us to allow his Spirit.

MY SPIRIT
God's Spirit is not something we cannot see or feel. We turn from what we can do to fix our problem to faith in God. His Spirit is not a force or positive influence, but God speaks here of his personal divine self. "My Spirit" is God saying he is the one, not us, so we must do away with our efforts and allow God to build.

SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY
We need to remember the source—this is the word spoken by the Lord Almighty, the all-powerful, all-controlling, all-loving, all-knowing creator and sustainer of the universe who holds every molecule together. He is not random but deliberate in his actions and has a loving plan.

The building's completion was a guarantee. Zerubbabel needed to believe God and trust in his word, for God said it would happen. For our problems, we need to remember that God gives us many promises in His Word, the Bible. We need to trust God, believe his Word, and allow his Spirit to work.

© Adron 11/20/12

Does Anybody Know the Future? Revelation 1:7

What does the Bible say about the future of humanity? It would be exciting to know the details of tomorrow or next year, but for most of us, it is not possible. However, it is possible to know the most important future event of the human race.

Look he is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen." Revelation 1:7, NIV.

These words are from the book of the Revelation of Jesus, often referred to as the Apocalypse. The opening statement is that Jesus is coming back wonderfully, and for most of us, it will not be a good thing.

ALL WILL SEE
Every eye will see Jesus. His coming is not just to a nation or a people or a church. It will not be spiritual or cultural, but in a way that every person will be aware of it. The words "All peoples" are universally inclusive. Not a single human being will escape the event.

HE BRINGS

What Is In The Future?

Mankind will grieve and mourn at his coming. It will be because of our sins, guilt, and missed opportunities to enter into a loving relationship with our creator and redeemer.  The chance to come to Jesus is not extended past the grave; the Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation now is the acceptable time."*. Those who mourn are those who missed the opportunity to come to his love.

THE GOSPEL
In the same book of Revelation, Jesus later declares an invitation. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me."**  Jesus invites us to a relationship based on his redeeming act on the cross where he took our sins upon himself and bore our punishment. He asks us to respond to his invitation to fellowship with him.

THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH VS THE PEOPLE OF?
Once we come to Jesus, we are no longer part of the world's system of allegiances. We are no longer people of the world; we become members of the Kingdom of God, we become the people of God, and the people of God will not be part of those who mourn.

JOY
Those who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior will have peace with God. For those who come to God, the fear of judgment is cast out by the love shown on the cross.

To learn more about coming to Jesus, follow this link: Click Here.

* 2 Corinthians 6:2, **Revelation 3:20
To read Revelation 1:7 in other translations, follow this link: Online Parallel Bible.

(c)Adron Dozat 10/11/12

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Can We Please God? Hebrews 11:6

Is it possible to please God? If you are asking that question, then this scripture will help. 

Can God, who is so holy and shrouded in mystery that he is hidden from the human view, be pleased by anything sinful fallen human beings do?

"And without faith is it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6, NIV.

There are many things that people do to try to please God.

• Some try good deeds.
• Some try religion.
• Some try prayer or meditation.
• Some try mystical disciplines.
• Some try penance or self-punishment.
• Some try self-denial, such as fasting.
• Some try sacrificial giving of time, money, or other things.

Some give up because they feel the impossibility of pleasing God is like chasing butterflies, it is a pretty thing but a waste of time.

It is possible!
If we say it is impossible to please God without faith, then the other side of the matter is that with faith, it is possible to please God. The Bible gives many examples of people who were unlikely to be accepted by God yet were made right with God by their faith...

• Noah made wine, got drunk, and cursed his son.
• Abraham was a liar concerning his wife.
• Moses was a murderer of the Egyptian taskmaster.
• Rahab was a harlot.
• David was an adulterer.
• Isaiah confessed his unclean lips.
• Jonah ran from obedience.

To list a few.

These patriarchs fell far short of perfection, but each one pleased God because they expressed faith in God's promise either in word or deed. Each found acceptance with God.

When God looks for faith, what is He looking for?
God honors the smallest seed of faith. He wants us to believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him. He promises that if we seek him with all our hearts, we will find him. (Jeremiah 29:13).

What is faith for me?
Faith is paramount; we come to God through faith, and it is by the same faith that we live our lives. Just as we trust God to give us salvation because of his work through his Son on the cross, we trust him to give us blessings through the same work of his Son on the cross.

Where do I find faith?
Faith comes through the Word of God. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17.) We must experience God's Word, the Bible, by reading it faithfully and daily, find a community of faith who live the Gospel, and who participate and practice the discipline of prayer. These things build our faith.

Grace and Peace
(c)Adron Dozat 6/21/12

Where To Look When You Need Personal Guidance.Psalm 119:105

Our world is a complicated place full of traps and opponents who would love to see our downfall. Where can a person get solid, trustworthy advice?

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105, NIV.

People say, "OK, that's the verse that says we need to read the bible or memorize scripture, and it will help us to live a good life," but remember, "familiarity breeds contempt." This verse says more than what we heard in our childhood Sunday lesson. The Word of God is not metaphysical. It is living and active; it responds to our lives through its relationship and will guide us if we embrace it.

THE WORD
The word referred to is God's Word, called the Bible or scripture; it is not man's word or the words of philosophers or teachers; it is the Word spoken by God. God is big enough to communicate to man, and he is powerful enough to preserve and protect the integrity of its message.

LAMP
A lamp is the source of light, and the word of God brings light to our lives. Light reveals things around us, and God's word certainly does that, but it also reveals things in us, too; it puts light on our sins and personal evils. God's word will not let us off the hook; it will make us deal with our hearts to change us from the inside out. It is constant and untiring, though slow the Word of God will change us.

FEET
Feet are the locomotion that gets us through the world. It is in the common everyday living that the Bible guides us not just in the big decisions.

LIGHT
Light comes out of the lamp; it shines ahead, exposing the pits and stumbling places. Light not only enables us to see, but it also reveals what it is we see. The shape in the dark may be a bump in the road, a large rock, or it may be a predator waiting to attack; physical and moral senses are weak, but God's word searches the path, and if we are sensitive, it will show the pitfalls that await us.

DIRECTION
Without the Word of God, we will drift off and wander into some moral quicksand or spiritual swamp. We are all traveling on a path through this life, and it leads us to an end where we stand before God. Jesus did not teach there are many ways to God but one. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth the life no one comes to the Father except through me." John14:6. If you are not on the path to God through Jesus, you are on a dark path that will lead to eternal separation from God.

To understand what the Bible teaches about getting saved, follow this link: Jesus and Salvation.

(c) Adron 3/26/12

The Bible's Most Sublime Message About God is For Today - 1 John 1:5

Does God have a message for you? Does He have a message of hope for our dark world?

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5.

A MESSAGE
God does have a message for us today. He is communicating to us through creation, conscience, the Scriptures, and ultimately His Son where God revealed the heart of that message through Jesus and preserved that message against all assaults for two thousand years just to deliver that message to us today.

This message is not a bunch of laws with do's and don'ts or about some system of living but it is a message about the person of God. We do not need more rules or programs we need more of God and the message is the most foundational truth about God that there is.

LIGHT
It is the message we need to hear today, "God is light..." The light is good. It reveals things, shows things; it gives color, depth, value, hue, and a million things. The light goes where nothing else can. Light drives the darkness away. God is all this and more. People need light and thrive in light. Our world today needs light- we need God.

     * Light gives hope.
     * Light reveals,
     * Light comforts.
     * Light heals.

NOT ONLY LIGHT BUT...
Not only is God light but just in case we had any doubt we are reassured that in him is "no darkness at all." Here is about the only time you should get excited about the word "NO." darkness is scary and if God had any spot of darkness it would be a bad precedence.  The God of the Bible does not have a dual nature like other religions were good and bad live together in a tense harmony. The slightest compromise of light in God would be the precedence for all darkness.

ALL
God is light and there is not even a hint of evil, or sin, or wickedness in Him. He is ALL good. He has NO darkness AT ALL. That means he will not respond to the allurements of darkness like pride, anger, vanity, greed, sin. Our dealings with God will be in the light. On the other hand, His light will illuminate any darkness in our hearts. He sees our hearts in his light. he sees the struggles, trials and hurts we go through; because of his light, he sees them truly and clearly.

We find confidence knowing He is good, He is light, and He is holy. Every time we come to Him we can be sure He is acting from a basis of light, never of darkness. He sees our hearts in His light.

To come to God is to leave the darkness behind and become a messenger of light.

If you want to know more about how to find God's light in your life CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron Dozat 

What Will Last Forever? 1 Peter 1:23-24

Here is a beautiful passage of scripture and at first glance, it looks like pure poetry but when you start to think about it then you see that it is much more than pretty words.

"For you have been born again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God, For ‘all men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever.’" 1Peter 1:23-24, NIV.

NOT OF...BUT OF...
Eternal salvation cannot be based on our earthly efforts but on the "Living and enduring Word of God." Nothing that we can do will last eternally or is good enough to merit salvation because we are of that “perishable seed,” anything we do will reflect the limits of our perishable origins, but eternal salvation must be from imperishable seed or else it will not endure for eternity.

No human effort or good deed could ever equal God's standard so salvation could only be a gift of God based on His Word of promise. God’s word endures and the promise of salvation is based on His word so we can have confidence in an enduring salvation.

PERISHABLE
God gives us eternal life but we focus much of our lives on passing things such as TV, hobbies, job, housework, and driving the kids to places. If we had a life full of achievements, awards, success, possessing fame and fortune- what will it matter in eternity? Like the flowers of the field, and all the monuments of mankind, our trophies will crumble into dust but “the word of the Lord stands forever.”

THE WORD OF THE LORD
Our generation lives with constant change. Governments change, business policies change, laws get struck down and we feel uncertain of our place in the world, but God's Word never changes. We see things moving in cycles, but that is not how God’s Word is- it is always the same and true. Our lives may change, we may have failure and loss but God’s living Word is not affected by it. Every time we open His Word its timeless truths are still relevant to guide and comfort us.

A WORD FOR US
We must not neglect God’s Word. It is living and has an agenda to make us more like Christ. We must keep the Word of the Lord in our activities, our decisions, and base our actions on the Bible.  If our daily choices are founded on Scripture that day will have eternity in it and the good will last forever.

One of the most loving things God has done is to give us His Eternal Word. One of the wisest things we can do is to embrace it, learn its truths and make them our own.

To learn more about how to have eternal life in God read this other post. CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 2/23/11

A Christianity that is un-American. Philippians 3:7-9

There are a few teachings of the Bible that stand in defiance of modern views.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” Philippians 3:7-9.

Ours is a consumer-driven materialistic generation. We quickly acquire the newest technology, the latest electronics, and the most up to date toys. How different we are from our Lord who was a homeless traveling teacher possessing only the clothes on his torn back the day he was crucified.

THINGS LOSS
Why are we not like the Apostle who considered “everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus?” We have to know Christ, seek him, become intimate with his words and teaching. Intimacy with Jesus will keep us from being allured by advertisements that call us from the Lord and enslave us to the idea that possessions give meaning. Jesus has been out-marketed by TV commercials, junk mail, billboards, digital media and all the weapons of advertisers.

GREATNESS
The Apostle Paul considered knowing Jesus to have “surpassing greatness.” The surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus was a fact to him. Knowing Jesus was so much more, above, and ahead of anything else he could do, be, or possess. To Paul all profit gain, possessions, status, wealth, and treasures did not compare to Jesus; Jesus was the greater treasure to Paul.

FOR THE SAKE OF...
How could he consider “all things loss for the sake of Christ?” Did he know something we don’t? Do we not know the same Christ? The Jesus we hear taught about today is a watered-down and sterilized from the dynamic world-changing Jesus whose followers brought down empires. Our Jesus is the helpless baby in a manger, or the misunderstood teacher, or the abandoned martyr on the cross.

GREATER WORTH
Paul had a vision of who Jesus was, and his Jesus was worth all things; status, reputation, finical security, future plans, friendships, wealth, and whatever you name. Let’s find that Jesus. It takes time, time in the Word, prayer, communion, service, and fellowship, but we can do it; when we do we again will turn the world upside down.

MODERN PAULS
If Paul lost all things to know Christ what can we moderns point to and say, "I have counted this as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ?" After all, what is there that really does compare to knowing Jesus? Let’s not spend our time and resources gaining more things- instead, let’s rediscover Jesus.

Thank you for visiting and reading my blog. I sincerely hope this post is helpful and is an encouragement.  For more like this see the most popular post in the left sidebar, or use the search box above. 

(c)Adron Dozat 11/26/10

Finding Acceptance : Romans 15:7

One of mankind’s deepest desires is to be accepted. Christians should champion this, but we often fail. The church should be a place of ultimate acceptance, yet the church struggled with acceptance even in ancient times.

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7. NIV

AN HONEST NEED
We know acceptance is essential, and we all want approval. We grow up longing for it, and our adult lives still need it. To be accepted is to be free of criticism and judgment, to be embraced as you are without any requirement.

JESUS' EXAMPLE
We think of acceptance as tolerance glorified. Biblical acceptance not just tolerating someone without criticism, but it is to be the same way Christ ultimately accepted us. God takes us even with all the trashy stuff we bring along. We don’t need to become saints to be accepted by God; instead, we assume that we are saints and sons. We don’t need to give up eating meat, pray for an hour a day, do penance, change our hair, or perform miracles, but when we come to God through Jesus, we are accepted based on Jesus' righteousness, not our own. Biblical acceptance is an adoption where we are welcomed with all rights and privileges to a family.

GOD'S VIEW
When God sees those who have received Jesus, He does not know the garbage of our lives; when God sees us, He sees the credited righteousness of Jesus put over us. So our reaction to another who is different should not be to see them as problems or lowlifes, but ones for whom Jesus died. God accepts us only based on receiving the gospel; as debtors to Him, we should look with the same attitude of grace to others.

OUR PRACTICE
When we see someone different in our community, we should not make that mental inventory of the differences between them and us; we should only see one thing- Jesus in that person. Forget accent, custom, tradition or clothing, taste, or lifestyle- if God accepts that person the way they are, how can we not? Are we better than God? Is it possible our standards are higher than His? If God sees that person as beautiful and worthy of the death of his Son, so should we. And if God accepts that person as His child, I insult His choice when I fail to treat that person as my own brother.

God accepts you only because of Jesus, and you can give this liberty to others who call on the Name of the same Lord. It is one of the most Christ-like things you can do.

To learn more about how to be accepted by God, follow THIS LINK.

(c) Adron 8/29/10

The Word Will Achieve its Purpose: Isaiah 55:10-11.

God has a purpose for every word in the Bible, but often it is not what we think it is.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11. NIV.

A POPULAR VERSE
You might quote this verse in a prayer meeting or for some outreach, or you give someone a gospel tract and say to yourselves, “God's word will not return empty.”

ABUSE
Though it is a promise you can claim you must beware of thinking it justifies our own agenda. This verse should challenge us to read the Bible daily and thoughtfully. We need to get God’s Word in our hearts and mind. We need a positive change it brings in our own lives. The word of God is not to be a tool to nag someone to our fussy way of thinking, but the Word of God is to turn us to God’s way of thinking.

RAIN
Rain has an effect, it will soak into the soil at least a little, and rain on the seed will bud and offer the potential of a harvest. The Word of God has and effect too. To thoughtfully read the Bible is better than any college course, or mantra, or rosary, it is better than therapy and counselors. It will change our lives, convincing us of sin and the need for renewal. God’s word reveals the truth about the reader and the truth about the Son of God. The Bible WILL bring change in you. It will make you a better person; (it may first make you miserable about your wrongdoing so you will stop doing wrong). God’s word offers forgiveness, joy, the ability to love, it causes us to be hopeful, and empowers us to do good to others.

HARMONY
It is wise to be in harmony with the purposes of God. He has a purpose for His Word and a purpose for you; neither will be accomplished without the other. Whatever specific purpose God has for your life you need to be immersed in the Scriptures to prepare for it.

PURPOSE
The word “Purpose” can mean agenda. God's agenda for the Bible is not so you can use it to change another person but for God to use the Bible to change you. Every time you read the Bible you may experience afresh His purpose.

IT WILL NOT
God says it wit emphasis. like a guarantee and a warning. One thing you need never doubt is that God's Word will not come back empty-handed.

Let us read the scriptures often, for our own sake, and find its purpose for us today.

(c)Adron Dozat

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Adron

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Do People Hear God Speak Today? Psalm 95:7B-9

In ancient times, the prophets heard the voice of the Lord. But is He silent today, or are there some of us who still hear Him speak? Is there some reason we cannot hear Him speak?

THE BIBLE GIVES US SOME ANSWERS

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where you tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did." Psalm 95:7b-9. NIV.

IF

The Bible answers the question, 'Does God Speak today?' with the word "if." If sounds like it may or may not happen. We can't make demands on God; it is for Him to decide if He is going to speak or not.

HOW

God may speak in many ways, such as the prompting of the heart, conscience, a sermon, a Bible passage, an opportunity to do good, or the counsel of a godly mentor. (Beware of false "voices" that imitate God's voice. Knowing God's Word keeps us straight since He will never go against His Holy Bible).

THE BIGGER QUESTION

The bigger question is not, "Does God speak to us," but "What do we do with what we have heard?" That answer makes all the difference! We choose either to yield our obedience or to harden our hearts by refusal. If God prompts us to do good work, we should do it. If scripture speaks to give or serve, we should. If we rebel and hold back our tithe or refuse to teach Sunday School when offered or work in the church nursery, then we have begun to harden our hearts.

HARD HEART

Hardening your heart is like Russian Roulette, sooner or later God will act with condemnation. In the wilderness, Israel suffered because they hardened their hearts. They didn't plan to, they saw more of the situation than they did of God, and complained. (Exodus 17:5-7). The lives of the Old Testament people serve as an example to us; we presume on God's grace when we rationalize inaction to His voice.

TO HEAR HIM SPEAK

God may speak, but we gag Him. We drown out His voice by crowding our lives with busyness, entertainment, and career; even good things like church service and family may create a volume that deafens us to Him. Jesus' words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," no longer apply to our generation. Let's resolve to live lives free of the complications stifling His voice. Let's seek Him afresh in prayer and His word. May we commit ourselves to obey His still small voice that may whisper in our hearts to do some service, make some sacrifice, or commit some good act in His Name.

(c) Adron 7/28/10

Is looking for God a waste of time?

Our lives are spent searching for something. Can God be known, can we have success in finding him?

“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29.

These words were directed to the people of Israel as part of the dire warnings against rebellion and sin. God said that if Israel disobeys and sins He will withdraw His blessings and they will go into captivity.

BUT IF...

Then after all the doom and gloom, He says “but if from there….” No matter how far we have fallen there is a “but if...,” Though we wander far down the road of rebellion, He can hear us calling from the horizon. If we are in some prison,  confined to a hospital bed, or in the gutter, it is not too far. We can still seek the Lord and seek with hope.

A PROMISE

Yes, the Lord can be found, He is not lost in some cosmic game of hide-and-seek. He wants us to find him, He longs to share himself with us, and to pour out His love on us. He cheers us on by saying “Seek the Lord your God, you will find him.” There is no vagueness of a maybe but a certainty of, "you will find Him.”

SEEK

We must “seek,” and not just look. Both words are used and give double weight to the urgency of finding God. We must be active in the search. We can’t sit on some mountain top or a church pew and thereby think we can find God. We don’t find God by randomly reading some verse in the Bible once in a while. We don’t find God with a sigh and wish.

ALL YOUR HEART

To find God is not for the faint, or weak hearted. He bids us to seek  Him with “all of our heart and all of our soul.” God is worthy of nothing less. The search for God must be passionate even desperate. To search for God with all our heart and soul is to look for Him with every effort of our whole being. This search prepares us for the finding.

Some suggestions:
• Be open to the God of the Bible and the teaching of Jesus.
• Pray often and tell God you are searching, ask him to reveal Himself to you.
• Read the Holy Bible.
• Speak to clergy and those who already know God.
• Repent of those things that keep God from you.

DO NOT GIVE UP

Those who look and seek without giving up will be rewarded. This is a promise from the Holy Scriptures, a directive from the Lord himself that if “You seek the Lord your God, you will find him.”

© Adron 6/9/10

Can We Ever Know What God is Thinking? Amos 4:13

God seems hidden, mysterious, and certainly wonderful. Though we can see his handiwork in creation, can we know His thoughts?

“He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth- the Lord God Almighty is his name.” Amos 4:13, NIV.

God created mountains, whole ranges of them, some of which span continents and ascend a mile into the sky. He created wind, even hurricanes that can destroy cities. He changed the dark to dawn and daylight to night. He treads the high places of the earth where man dare not go as if they were the grit on the floor. He is awesome in every detail and dimension.

The list of His wonders includes the surprise that God “reveals his thoughts to man!” You would think the catalog would continue with God setting stars in orbit, scooping out the depths of the seas, or God being more powerful than millions of atomic bombs, but included with the wonders of God is that He “reveals His thoughts to man.” It becomes equal to the others. For God to honor us so is part of His glory.

The word “Reveal” suggests something hidden that is uncovered. Many truths about God are obvious to the average man, such as His mighty power, but there is more to God. He wants to reveal His thoughts to us; He could withhold them, and it would be to His glory to do so, but it is more glorious of God to reveal His thoughts to us.

But why man? No scripture says that God shares His thoughts with angels or any other beings, yet to rebellious mankind, God deigns to share His thoughts. Only mankind is in the image of God, and so only mankind can begin to understand and share intimacy with the Lord God Almighty. We were made to hear His thoughts.

God is a communicator and has communication for us.
• He speaks through the creation.
• He speaks in the human conscience.
• He has spoken through his Son, Jesus.
• And he speaks through the written Word.
• And he speaks to us in our personal communion of prayer.
• If we wait in the silence of prayer, we may hear Him communicate in the prompting of our hearts.

I want to know the thoughts of the Lord God Almighty. Thoughts are not just communication. They are the expression of the heart, plans, loves, wisdom, longings, and hurts. To think He “Reveals his thoughts to man,” makes me say WOW!

(c) Adron 4/30/10

What Really Counts Anyway?

We Christians make our lives complicated; we have duties, rules, and sacraments. We need to read the Bible, pray, attend church, do the good works of our Lord. One could make a long list.

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6b. NIV.

What counts before God is faith. He looks at our faith in Him and counts it as righteousness. Faith in God is essential to obtain salvation, faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus is God’s plan for saving us. Faith must have an expression. Faith is not just an idea that we keep in some closet of our philosophy it does us little good.

True faith in God causes us to love God and that love is going to spill over to people who God loves. A faith that does not express itself in love toward others is questionable and possibly not faith at all but only a creed. The love of the early Christians was the super magnet that drew the Roman Empire to Christ. However, the loveless modern Christian is thrusting many who seek to other Gods.

Active faith in God is going to change the believer’s heart. This spiritual change begins with love. Our faith should make us loving people if we do not love people we may not have true faith. If love is not growing in my heart I must consider that something is deeply wrong with my faith.

My Christian experience must bear the hallmark of Love. If my brand of Christianity is theologically correct, full of preaching, gifts, tradition, and organization but loveless it is a sad cold Christianity and does not look like its founder. Without love, our Christianity is only A culture and does not reflect Christ.

God wants us to have loving lives, but love can’t come about by a formula or a course- God's Spirit produces it. Let us daily pray that God's Holy Spirit fills us and brings the fruit of love. May we measure our actions, words, and deeds each day against the standard of love.

If you are loveless maybe your faith is not in the God of the Bible. Seek Him and pray for God to reveal Himself to you and do not give up until you find Him.

(c) Adron 3/11/10

Why is the Bible so dull to me? Jeremiah 15:16

The Bible should be a Christian's joy and heart's delight. Why isn't it?

"When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God almighty." Jeremiah 15:16, NIV.

JEREMIAH
The prophet Jeremiah had a hard time.  The prophecies God gave him were dire and complex, and many times the Word that came to him was bad news for the nation.  Yet he says, "When your words came, I ate them," though the "word" was difficult, hard, and condemning, he treasured it.

THE WORD
The Word of God does not come to us like it did for him, but we have the Bible as God's complete Word.

EAT
Who can say that when God speaks to them through the Bible that they eat it?  The prophet says, "I ate them," he consumed it; it was nourishment for him.  The Bible is spiritual, so it nourishes your soul.  You need to absorb as much of it as possible to stay fit spiritually.

To eat the Word is to give it time and effort. When something is a "joy and a heart's delight," it is something you like thinking about all the time.

We should

• Give God's Word a selected time every day.
• Take ample time to spend in the Word.
• Value the scriptures.
• Repent of sins that deafen you to the Word.
• Resolve to obey the instructions of the Bible.
• Allow the Bible to to get into you- have an effect.
• Meditate on the Word of the Lord.

A DELIGHT
The reason was that the Word was his joy and heart's delight is that he bears the Lord's name.  He carried the name of the Lord before the people and stood up for God's interest.  When the Word came to him, no matter its content, it was a blessing to him since he was serving God.  He loves the Lord. Therefore, he loves the words that come from the Almighty.  Without the Word of God, he could not bear the name.

BEAR THE NAME
The Word stops being a blessing when you fail to bear the name of the Lord before your community and friends.  When you stand for the Lord, His Word becomes effective in your life and becomes sweeter.  Service to the Father and the Word go hand in hand. You cannot be blessed in one without the other.

Think of it as obedience.  If you are not obeying His Word, you will not be blessed by His Word.

May you be blessed as you resolve to obey God's Word and to bear the name of the Lord before men.

If you have not received salvation and are ready to come to Jesus, see my other blog; follow this link: click here.

© Adron 10/3/09