How to Get Spiritual Direction. Acts 16:9

We all want to do good things with our lives and there are many needs around us, but how do we choose where to serve and where to give our time and resources? The Bible gives a little help in Acts 16:9.

"During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Acts 16:9. NIV *.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
Paul and Silas were on a missionary journey. They wanted to go to one place but were called through a vision to go to another. They followed the vision and went resulting in many good acts.

Compass Illustration, Spiritual Direction.

VISION:
Vision is like the opening of the eyes. God opened their eyes to the direction he wanted them to go. We may not have a vision like the Apostles did since the needs of the times were different than ours, we may simply have our eyes open by a comment from a person who knows a need.

I wonder at the point that the vision came in the night. Could it be that they had some all-night prayer meeting and God spoke to Paul then? We just don't know, but it is quiet at night, it is the still time when business is over and we stop focusing on chores.  We need to be diligent to observe our times of quiet devotion for that maybe the times when God may speak to our hearts.

SPECIFICS OF THE VISION:
The words of the vision were, "Come... help us." Much of what God wants us to do is just that- to help out. God did not call Paul to be a superstar but to be a helper. His words to us are often, "Come, help." Where we see the need for help just maybe our vision.

THE MISSION:
Paul and Silas were already serving and doing the will of God, they were already on a mission trip. They were doing the work at hand and not sitting around longing for direction in their lives. We often fall into the trap of thinking "I'll just sit here and wait for a leading," while the church bulletin is full of requests for nursery workers, ushers, and people to visit the poor and needy. When we do the will of God that is already given that we are given the direction we need.

* To read this verse in other translations click on this link: Online Parallel Bible

(c)Adron Dozat 8/12/12

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 

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