So Many Voices in My Head

So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.

He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.

Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him.

Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”

Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.

Isaiah 30:18-22 (NLT)

This morning - while sipping coffee and reading through our devotional materials - Missy and I came across a statement that caused us to read it again. You know, when you read something and then read it again just to make sure what you just read is exactly what you just read.

“Even Christian voices can lead me astray, saying, ‘Do this!’ ‘Don’t do that!’ ‘Pray this way!’ ‘Don’t pray that way!’”

“Even Christian voices can lead me astray.”

Now, at first reading, we are sure - like us - you are saying to yourself, “Self, that can’t be true! Christians follow Jesus! They couldn’t lead anyone astray!”

Then what do we do with Paul’s statement: “Follow me…as I follow Christ,” (I Corinthians 11:1). Paul himself is here pointing out the fact that it is possible for him to lead people astray - if he is not following Christ Jesus.

From Jesus: “Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” Matthew 7:15 (Amplified Bible).

This past week at the Mission where Steve works, a person of the community was teaching a Bible class and made the following statement: “When he was forty days in the desert, Jesus wasn’t really tempted by the Devil. What happened was all of these temptations took place in his mind…in his head. You know, he was thinking about killing himself by throwing himself down from the high rock but he knew that if he did kill himself he could just bring himself back to life. It wasn’t the Devil. It was all in Jesus’ head.”

Even Christian voices can lead me astray…indeed.

And the voices just won’t stop…
    Kenneth Copeland says "I am a billionaire, because the assignment that the Lord gave me. I want you to begin to confess the billion flow.'" (Too bad for those disciples in the Bible who forsook everything to follow Jesus.)
    John Hagee stated: ”Jesus did not come to Earth to be the Messiah ... since Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah…” (Whew, and here we thought he came to set the captives free…glad that’s all cleared up!)
    Chuck Smith, of Calvary Chapel, trying to predict the Second Coming of Jesus, in one of his books, End Times: A Report on Future Survival, predicted Jesus' coming claiming 1981 as the date. “From my understanding of biblical prophecies, I'm convinced that the Lord is coming for His Church before the end of 1981…I could be wrong…” (Wait, what year is it?)

The world, it could be argued, is all about one thing: getting its message out. It is always trying to tell you what to do, what to look like, how to behave, how to think, where you should work, and whom you should love. And, unfortunately, there are some Christians who will do the same.

DON’T LISTEN TO ANY OF THEM!

Rather, like Elijah, stand and listen to that One voice. “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper,” I Kings 19:11-12 (NLT).

God is whispering. You know that, right? As Jesus claims in John 10: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” There’s a lot of wind, but only One voice.

Can you hear him speaking to you? If not, why? What changes do you need to make in order to “drown out” the world, and listen to that small, gentle, yet life-changing whisper which echoes from heaven to your heart.

As Sarah Young prays: “When I listen to all of those voices, I become increasingly confused. Please help me be content to be a simple ‘sheep,’ listening for Your voice and following You - my faithful Shepherd. You lead me beside quiet waters and make me lie down in green pastures. You guide me in paths of righteousness.”

Guide us, oh God, by You voice this day and always.

The Blame Game

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself.

You are not that important.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. (Galatians 6:1-10 NLT)

GK Chesterson, that wonderful theologian from days now long past, was an outspoken - yet practical - defender of the Christian faith. One time, a local newspaper ran an editorial which simply asked:

"What's wrong with the world?"  G.K. Chesterton’s response? "I am."

In a society and world bent on blaming everyone else - and none of us are exempt from that truth - the Christian faith (above all other belief systems) demands that each person be held responsible for their own sin…while simultaneously helping those around us who are caught up in sin - while never judging them.

That’s a pretty tall order, if you ask us.

Why? Because it is always easier to place the blame for our shortcomings on someone else. It soothes the soul to say, “Well, I wouldn’t have done that if that person didn’t do what they did!” Or, “I would never have said what I said…IF THEY DIDN’T talk to me that way!”

Blame everyone else. Never accept our own faults. Always look at the wrong in everyone else. 

It’s the way of the world, but it is not the way of the Word.

In his letter to the fellowship of believers at Galatia, Paul offers very practical information on how we should each deal with sin - as followers of Jesus.

1. Help those who are caught/trapped in sin.

2. Don’t allow temptation to cause you to fall into the same trap they are caught in.

3. By helping that person you are obeying the law of Christ to love God and love others.

4. By not judging another, you are remembering - in humility - that you are in need of grace as well.

5. By helping someone else in need of mercy and grace you will be reminded to take care of your own self and not live a life of comparison with others.

6. By living a life of mercy you will harvest mercy in your own life.

7. If we keep planting mercy in the lives of others - there will be a time when we reap a harvest of blessing in our own lives.

8. This life of mercy should be lived everywhere and with everyone - BUT ESPECIALLY with those who are our sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus. 

What’s wrong with the world?

It’s not drugs.

It’s not guns.

It’s not drag queens.

It’s not conservatives.

It’s not liberals.

It’s not racism.

It’s not social media.

It’s not the government.

It’s not your neighbor.

It’s me. It’s you. It’s us.

Perhaps if we lived by Paul’s words in Galatians we would be in a better place - literally and spiritually. 

Maybe if we heeded the words of Micah 6:8 - “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” - our lives would be filled with more joy. 

Certainly, if we took to heart the words of Jesus from Luke 17:3-4 - “So watch yourselves! If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive” - we wouldn’t be consumed with blaming others, but rather sharing with them the mercy and grace which has been given to us. 

What a wonderful world it would be…