I Hear You, But I'm Not Listening

A concerned husband went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I think my wife is going deaf. What can I do?" The doctor replies: “Go home and stand 15 feet from her and speak to her. If she doesn’t reply, move 5 feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so we’ll get an idea about the severity of her deafness.” The man goes home and does as directed. He starts off standing 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping vegetables and says, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” He hears no response. He moves 5 feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves 5 feet closer. Still no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and asks loudly, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” She replies, “For the fourth time, vegetable stew!”

I thought about that story this weekend when I was in a prayer team (common to a Holy Spirit 101 retreat or healing night) of four people. I noticed a man continuing to turn his left ear in the direction of the person who was speaking, time and time again. After we had individually prayed for each one in this group, I asked the man if he’d like prayer for his hearing. He quickly said, “I don’t have a problem with hearing, but my wife thinks I do. Actually, the problem isn’t hearing – it’s listening.” He amused us enough for each of us to compare notes on how well we listen – especially to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

I think this cartoon best describes why we're not hearing. The message is clear and true to our lives. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:" (John 10:27). I wonder if He had in mind how difficult "listening for His voice" would be in 2019? Of course, He did. And, if ever we needed to hear His voice, it is in this day and time. So many voices chiming in, so many distractions each and every day and being pulled by our social media apps and electronics that keep us nose-dived into content overload.

We need the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, comfort, guidance, peace, and direction. Of course, we long to hear His voice, but in the busy-ness, the clamor and the many, many activities and distractions of everyday life, oftentimes, we may be hard-pressed to find that quiet PLACE where we can go for solace, rest and peace, and hear the voice of our Shepherd. And, even when we manage to find that place, like in this cartoon, the noise of our cell phones, radios, computers, TV, etc. -- keeps us distracted from hearing our Shepherd's voice.

We need to find that place where His voice comes through loud and clear to us. Oh, He has that place -- and we can find it, but it's up to us to disregard the distractions to "Be still (that’s a feat in itself) to hear and know our God." And, I'm not referring to a far-away island in the middle of no-where. It's possible to find that place if only for a few minutes in our day, to "Come away with Him"!

Matthew 13:13 -- Jesus said, “This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’”

She's a Looney-Toon

Remember those wacky, wild, half-witted Looney Tunes characters? We laughed at their shenanigans. They gave us plenty of comedy relief. We often think the same thing about overzealous Christians. They are the ones who stand on a street corner waving some kind of "Jesus" sign and yelling “Do you love Jesus?” They are the ones who call attending church, small groups and Bible studies as a fun night out!

I saw a man joyfully dancing down the street and waving a sign that said, "TRUST GOD" on it. The first impression of those passing by was probably "That guy's a 'looney-tune’!" But, he inspired me. I gave him a big thumbs up as I passed him. I recognized his joy. Maybe he was deliriously happy because of an answered prayer and he wanted everyone to experience his joy, too! On the other hand, maybe he was acting in faith, simply trusting God for something that seemed almost impossible in the natural. Either way, he had the "goods" on trusting.

My own daughter can be seen as a Looney Tune because her eyes are always open for someone to encourage and bring hope to their life. Her line is usually “Is there something I can pray with you about?” And, most people are quick to say "yes". On our recent trip to Tulsa, I had to hold her at bey because we were on a time crunch for an appointment, so she kept her head down when we stopped at a service station. Seriously, I want to be more like her – bold, unafraid and unashamed of what people think, and letting my little light shine.

What causes some folks to live with such unabandoned devotion to God? I'd like to suggest that they are the ones who once were lost and now they’re found; they were on their death bed and now they’re healed and whole; they were once lonely, but now they are secure in knowing how loved and cared for by God they are; they were once an alcoholic or drug addict and now they’re free; they were once homeless and now they have a home, a job, and a family and friends.

Think about what a "looney-tune" Noah must have been to those who watched him building the ark when it had never rained before. And, here we are living in this 21st Century and many of us have become bold and fanatical in our faith and devotion to God, so much so that we wear "Victory in Jesus" t-shirts or other slogans that reference God and other branded items that makes others refer to “those Looney-Tune people”. We’re those people who are radical enough to defend the unborn; who love our Country, and those who believe nothing is impossible with God. We're those Looney Tunes who attend church regularly, read our Bibles, and share God’s good news wherever we go.

But most importantly we enjoy being referred to as Looney Tunes. We've trusted God in the storms of life and we came through it all. Actually, maybe it’s the people who don’t trust in God that are the real "Looney Tunes". Maybe people who never take a risk, never face their fears, and those who don't know how to dance in the storms are the real "LooneyTunes".

Honestly, there are days that I am so profoundly overjoyed at the answers to prayer, the blessings that come my way, and sheer delight in my relationship with God -- that I could be that guy in my desire for others to see that TRUSTING GOD truly pays off! Yes, there are prayers that don't get answered the way we'd like them to. Often we get a "No" or a "Not yet" answer, and, even so, we learn that total TRUST with complete certainty that He will work it ALL for our good, just becomes our way of life. So when others point to us as Looney Tunes – let’s own up to it. After all, we're in good company with Jesus. No feedback necessary. No need to be concerned. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. Now from Looney Tunes' Porky Pig: "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!"

Why Are We Poor Little Lambs Who Have Lost Our Way?

Remember singing "We're poor little lambs who have lost our way. Baa, baa, baa"? That little song represents many of us who wander off from their shepherd.
The cartoon here is funny but, the message is clear and VERY real to our lives. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" John 10:27. Wonder if He had in mind how difficult "listening for His voice" would be in 2017, and especially at this time of the year? More than ever, we really need to hear His voice. We need His wisdom, comfort, guidance, peace, and direction. Of course, we long to hear His voice, but in the busy-ness, the clamor and the many activities and distractions of everyday life, we may often, be hard-pressed to find that quiet PLACE to hear the voice of our Shepherd. Even when we manage to find that place, "noise" -- our cell phones, emails (so many advertisements that beckon us to call now, buy now, order now), radios, computers, TV, etc. -- keep us distracted from hearing our Shepherd's voice.

It's time to find that place where His voice comes through loud and clear to us. He has that place -- and we can find it, but it's up to us, to disregard the distractions to "Be still -- to hear and know our God." I'm not referring to a far off island in the middle of no-where. It's possible to find that place, if only for a few minutes in our day, to "Come away with Him"!

What if everything we're needing -- the decisions we need to make, what job we should take; what school our kids should go to; what diet or fitness routine we should be on; what part of town we should live in, etc. All of these answers, and more, are found and answered by our Shepherd. If "The Lord is my Shepherd, He promised, I would never want." so maybe we need to "tune-in" to our Shepherd, and "tune-out" what's NOT!

Before the little shepherd boy David became King David, he wrote Psalm 23. He was where there were no distractions, other than the lion and the bear, but because he had been in the quiet green pastures with HIS Shepherd, he could take on the distractions with a fervor and defeat them. What if we hung out in the "green pastures" of our Good Shepherd? If we did, the distractions and the opposing forces that come to defeat us, would be silenced and rendered "null and void". We would sing with David "The Lord is MY Shepherd. There is NOTHING that I want."