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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Seven Truths About God Speaking to Us


Seven Truths
     About God Speaking to Us

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Matthew 11:15 NKJV

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Make no mistakes about God Speaking to us.  
He does speak to us:
  through our Bible Study and daily prayers;  
  through the Holy Spirit in us that we receive
     through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior;  
  through the righteous daily living and influence 
     of people around us;  and
  through our inspired intuition in our humble acceptance 
     of His continuous communications to us.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"*

1.      There can be no mistakes about this, 
          there is absolute Truth in His Word, 
          our failing is
             not seeking His Word,
                not living in the Spirit,
                    resistance to understanding His Truth, and
                       purposely living in avoidance of His will.

2.      God's words, His Truth, His plans speaks to us 
         through the Holy Spirit guiding our Lives in
            our thoughts, speech, behaviors, and actions.
 

          That guidance comes in many different ways,  
               from what you may consider simple nudgings to
                   clear messages from everyday events or 
                       perhaps through just simple
                          comments and behaviors 
                               of friends around us.
          We simply have to be clearly and humbly listening.

3.      God’s words are concise, 
                      to the point, and wholly understandable.  
         We often just fail to listen but 
             He is the master of Communications.
               In His time walking this earth,
                  Jesus was and 
                    still is the "Great Communicator" (*2).

4.      God speaks to us today, everyday.  
    We may hear 

          but sometimes we get in the way of our listening.
           Most people just do not listen because 
                we too much of our time we are
                   telling Him of our plans and of our desires
                          that are focused on our selfish wants.

5.      God speaks to us through his gift of nature around us.
We may find it in quietness as in the eye of a hurricane.
  His word will protect us as 

          He protects nature by His designs.  
              We are inspired by His word and creation
                   as we are inspired by the sights of nature.

6.      God speaks often!  We hear more often 
          when we prepare ourselves to truly hear Him by -
              humbly submitting ourselves to Him,
              getting on our knees,   
                       praying to be forgiven, 
                          actively seeking His word for our lives
                            and just being still... listening.

7.      Sometimes, when we are humble to hear or
     even when we find ourselves in a panic,
         
He speaks to us loudly and
                  we know His Truth through our intuition.
         Intuition that is most often shaped by our attitudes.
 

Now, 
Our biggest problem when God Speaks?  And,
    FOR MANY OF US, WE CLAIM NOT TO HEAR, 
but
It is not so much we do not hear,    
    we do hear Him, and very likely we hear Him often.
The Problem is 
   we often do not like what we hear,
     we do not want what we hear, 
        and we have not prepared ourselves 
            for understanding what we hear,
          and
       in those circumstances and attitudes
         we choose to not listen, act, and/or respond to Him!

This, because, 
we are just too self interested in our own little lives,
   living life in our own little wants, and 
       surviving life in our own selfish little world.
Then we wonder, why does God 
   seems so remote and hard to understand.

In Matthew 6:23  Jesus says:    
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
We better understand God's messages    if we Righteously seek Him,     decide to love Him,        desire to Trust Him, and            drive our lives to Obey Him.
Therefore, do not live "little lives",  Rather, in earnestness, seek the Kingdom, and you will hear our Loving God often  everyday.  
Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill your life and through that you will better Discern His plan for you leading you to have the courage to Follow His truth.   The fullness of the Holy Spirit will change your life  (Acts 4:8).

Choose to Live Big in His Word and His plans for you.  It will be good and His blessings will be in abundance,we just have to "Be Still", talk less, and listen more.
Jeremiah 29:11   For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,    thoughts of peace and not of evil,       to give you a future and a hope.

Thanks be to God,
For God is so Good.                                          Return to Main Menu





(c) Lonnie Coggins


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References *
  • Matthew 11:15 NKJV

    He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
  • Matthew 13:9 NKJV

    He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
  • Matthew 13:43 NKJV

    Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has earsto hear, let him hear!
  • Mark 4:9 NKJV

    And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
  • Luke 8:8 NKJV

    But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
  • Luke 14:35 NKJV

    It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
    -------------------
    *2  The Great Communicator, a video of the       Sermon on the Mount from Matthew's Gospel.
 






(c) Lonnie Coggins


==============================

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You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.


lonnie

Publication  0058


intro
GOD DOES SPEAK TO US.... OUR LISTENING is the issue.  click the link for thoughts on why His voice seems remote and so faint to our ears.      Please share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.  For other messages like this, visit my FB page, or on FB visit-"A Daily Thought Group".
http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2012/09/seven-truths-when-god-speaks-ready.html



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Lessons From Nature Part 3 Seeing the Unseen for the First Time

Lessons From Nature Part 3
Seeing the Unseen for the First Time

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In a college freshman history class a few years ago (about 1966), a student mentioned something about her faith.  Now, we had a professor that had a reputation of being "mean" to students, especially about their faith; plus, he did not like to teach freshman History 101.  After the comment about her faith, Dr. M just tore into her verbally "abusing" her about Jesus and her faith in someone that died a horrible death on a cross claiming to be the Son of Go!  He continued the tirade for about two minutes.  In the beginning the girl looked upset and seemed to desire escaping the room.  

As Dr. M finished, he barked at her, "Why do you even believe Jesus ever walked the earth!"  She sat there a few seconds, and then her face seem to clear of her stress and as she looked at Dr. M and asked him, "Why do you believe George Washington ever walked the face of the earth?"  Before Dr. M could respond, she continued, "I first believed in Jesus because of what I read in a book and what someone taught me."  You could hear a pin drop as Dr. M stood over her in a hard stare.  He grimaced his lips, and with a ever so slight smile that few people noticed, turned around and resumed his lecture.

Just as there are many people of history, we first believe the message and Truth of Jesus because of what we are taught and what we read.  As we develop our faith and a Personal Relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit we come to believe in Him because of personal experience through our prayers and in our Bible Study.  We must remember, developing a Personal Relationship with the Trinity is not a goal, it is a journey.

However, this is not the end of the story.  Most all of us have had the experience of looking at object for years and then suddenly see something new within the object we had never seen.  Seeing the Unseen for the First Time is for us a magical experience, an aaha moment; much like the student had with her statement to Dr. M.  

As the following four minute video explains, God has put His unseen footprint on many things we see everyday or just time to time.  We look at daisy petals rarely thinking about the number or consistent pattern of petals in the different kinds of daises.  The same is true with shells from the ocean, sunflowers, pineapple swirls of the outer cover, the petals of a pine cone, the swirls in our ear, the length of segments in our bodies, the swirl of the galaxies above our head....  There is a simple, similar common repeatable pattern in all of these and more items.  But, as you watch the video, do not be amazed at what God has done in nature for us, rather feel Glorious that we can find great hidden treasures in His creation He made for us! 

 Just as the number sequence presented in this video was a hidden treasure, we must realize there so much more to discover about our Loving, Saving God and His creation.  Reading a book and learning about nature is always just a beginning to a small understanding our Creator; in our temporal existence, experiencing God through our Prayers and Bible Study is our Greatest Experience of Understanding our Creator.  

Just as an understanding of nature will never be complete, neither will our understanding about our wonderfully Awesome God..

    Click Here>>>>  The Fingerprint of God


Finally, and Dr. M? he was/is a great teacher, not mean.  He was a fabulous teacher because of great knowledge and communication skills.  At the time he taught Sunday School in a large church in Charlotte, NC and was/is a man of great faith.  He just wanted the young lady to stand up for what she believed.  Her exchange with Dr. M serve to cause more than one person to think.  I wonder how many of us could withstand that challenge at age 18...... or even today.  And that "ever so slight smile that few people noticed", Dr M. knew he had accomplished his mission with the thinking faithful young lady.  Getting people to think is the mission of a teacher.




An After Thought,

This  past week in preparing for the website publication for Sunday, I was in a struggle.  With some of the stresses in my daily life, I just could not seem to make anything of my thoughts and ideas fit and feel right.  Driving to school one morning, just as I always do, I prayed; and prayed about my struggles this particular week.  Then, I prayed about the writing for the week.  God knew my struggles but, I have learned we should pray about them and we hear hear from him more often.  I very humbly prayed for direction about my distractions and in humility prayed for God to lead me in what to write.  I am not amazed at what came next.  As soon as I finished that prayer, within seconds the answer came concerning what to write- it was this, what you just read above.

I had thought about this story about my professor many times over the years and how to fit it into a publication; then, I was sent this video last week.  In those seconds after my prayer, all of this came together, in an instant.  Where do you think that connection came from?  I know it came through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For several days, I considered not sharing this "after thought".  But, a comment from a friend who is reserved about praying for themselves convinced me to include this afterthought.  We have to know that in God's Love He wants us in humility to pray for our needs; humility authenticates our prayers, especially when we pray for ourselves.  God wants to hear from us!  And, He will respond.... if we listen.

When we humbly pray, prayers are truly most powerful, when we listen, hear, see and understand the results, our faith builds, even when His answer is accepted as "no".  "Father Knows Best."

Praise God for the nudgings of the Holy Spirit.


Lessons From Nature Part 1



lonnie


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Sharing these messages

You are welcome to share these messages.  You can send the links to your friends,  copy and insert the link on FB or Christian.com or you can print the message and share it with your friends.

You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.


Lessons from Nature Part 1

 Lessons from Nature
Part 1 of 4

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God presents many opportunities to know about Him, and to Know Him.  As an observer of God's creation, we often fail to see the lessons he presents us.  But, it is so easy to see God in nature, we fail because we do not look.


Share your lessons from nature with me at the end of this article in the comments section.

  1. A river without borders becomes just another swamp.
    A life without God, like a river without borders,
            becomes the same.

  1. Plants are like people, wither without the Good Water that will keep them nourished.

  1. Plants are like people, need the Son to grow strong.

  1. Plants are like people, too much of a good thing can hurt you.    Too much water, too much food, too much fun    Too much of anything earthly can hurt or even kill you.

  1. God and the Holy Spirit is like vegetation holding the ground in place.

    If people do not have God to hold them together
      
    Their life becomes like dirt in the rain,
          flowing to the lowest of depths in the valley of life.

    If a church does not exist in the Holy Spirit,    Its Holy people scatter until they find it.
Thanks be to God
(c) Lonnie Coggins


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Other links to "Lessons from Nature":

Lessons From Nature Part 1     Simple Signs from Nature

Lessons From Nature Part 2     How Light holds us together

Lessons From Nature Part 3 -  The Fingerprint of God

Lessons From Natrure Part 4- Five More Simple Observations

(c) Lonnie Coggins

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Sharing these messages

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You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.


lonnie 

God in His creation, gave/gives us many lessons in nature to learn for our lives.  Click the link for some short thoughts on lessons nature can teach us.   You can share the message on your Fb page as you like, and if you like, click the FB 'Follow' button to have notifications of these publications.
http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2011/07/lessons-from-nature-part-1.html

Jesus- The Master of Relationships

 Jesus- The Master of  Relationships


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Old Testament Relationship:     Proverbs: 25 :18 RVS….. Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law.     


Jeremiah 29:11….. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

New Testament Relationship:  Matthew 22:36-40 …..Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He said to him,  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

For Christians, we rarely think, talk, or consider the Perfectness of Jesus, we just accept it; yet we sometimes find passages that show His behavior seemingly unlike what He taught. Discussed in the writing "Meekness or Boldness" is the fact that in Matthew 5:5 Jesus speaks of meekness, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth". Yet, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus seems neither meek or mild-mannered, and neither does He seem comprising in the ‘Woes’ to the “Pharisees and teachers of the law” in Matthew 23*1. He seems the opposite of what He taught! Cleansing the Temple and other behaviors in His last week does not seem like one who could be called Perfect or even in Control. But, there was The Plan! It was because in God’s Plan there was a transition from the OT Relationships to the NT Relationships! The Plan to which Jesus was always obedient!

Life is a progression from one stage to the next. We are not upset because a baby will not respond on command at two weeks old for we know that the baby has to be trained. For us, it is a different story. In our own lives we are trained in new things at school in our growing years and learning continues through our lives; when that growth stops, our minds wither. Similarly, when our Spiritual training, questioning, and learning stops, we begin to wither in our Jesus provided faith and falter in our Trusting God. To be the person God wants us to be, in our Spiritual journey we must continue to study, grow, pray, and ask questions to truly understand His plan for us. We may question as to what we understand about God's plan for us, but in those questions we humbly ask, we find greater understanding. In our Journey, to humbly question the Master, especially while in submission to His Will, simply leads to greater faith and belief, and encouraging our need to submit to His Will. In this submission, our relationship with God grows stronger!

Even in Jesus’ last moments, He humbly submitted, and recognized God’s Power in His life. But, even then He questioned if “this cup” (His crucifixion) was necessary and asked the coming pain to be removed. But, in the same breath, submitted with “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NRS).
Our submission is our part of God’ Plan. We often seem just like the many Hebrews of old, casting off restraint and selfishly going our way! Choosing God’s Way, God’s Plan is a eternal choice we have to make. When we choose God’s Plan, knowing of and responding to the Challenges we face, then God is most happy for our desire to submit, live, and choose as Jesus did!

The Challenge of our Spiritual Journey is not difficult to understand.

We must as Jesus:
submit to God’s Will and His

   Plan for us whatever it may be, then,
      Seek to understand God’s Plan and
          Pray daily to be in God’s Plan and as Jesus did
                Strive daily to Live Gods’s Plan for us.


It is then in this submission that 
     we come into God’s Blessings and Intentional Will for us,
             a greater Righteous Relationship with Him.


Praise God that He Knows our Needs, and 
    Has His Plan for our Spiritual Journey.

Thanks be to God

© lonnie coggins


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Sharing these messages

You are welcome to share these messages.  You can send the links to your friends,  copy and insert the link on FB or you can print the message and share it with your friends.

You can print the message including this sharing message only for your friends and for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins
ldcoggins@gmail.com

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.


lonnie

Publication  0000


In your life, you plan.  As we plan there are always goals to achieve, otherwise we would not plan.  I hope that in your planning you Seek God's plan for your life.  Otherwise, it just maybe "Much Ado About Nothing".  Click the link for more on His Plans.

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2011/10/jesus-master-of-submission-and.html