We should all be actively cultivating a heightened awareness and receptiveness to God’s guidance. Where we are intentionally open to perceiving subtle impressions, thoughts, or feelings that can be interpreted are messages from God. Hearing God through quiet reflection can lead to a close relationship with Him is essential for His direction in our lives.
Intentional listening is making a conscious effort to quiet our minds and focusing on what God might be saying through prayer, meditation on His Word or simply spending time in quiet reflection.
Regularly reading and meditating on the Bible is considered the primary way God speaks to us.
The more time we spend in prayer and communion with God, the better equipped we become to recognize His voice.
Paying attention to our emotions and impressions regarding feelings and thoughts that could be God nudging us, like a sense of peace, conviction, or a strong inclination can be God speaking to us.
I will never forget one day I had an appointment in the city that was 2 hours away. I was at the gas station filled up my vehicle, and I felt an overwhelming sense of dread that I should call and reschedule, but I brushed it off. I drove the two hours. As I was pulling into the parking lot of the office, my phone began ringing. I answered it and it was the office telling me they needed to cancel my appointment and reschedule. Right then I knew I missed God guiding me in what I should have done.
Listening to differentiate between our own thoughts and desires and what truly comes from God, often by aligning our potential actions with scripture and seeking guidance from God is key.
When our sensitivity is focused on hearing from God, we will hear words from Him that others will not pick up.
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
I have lived near my hometown all my life. Mainly because it’s peaceful. I’m not saying there are not crimes or other troubles, but things are pretty chill here.
One place I haven’t got around to visiting is the Mormon temple. Mainly because only members can go there. And to be a member of their church, you have to dress the way they tell you to, and not drink coffee or tea. You must always and forever wear priesthood garment or underwear, if you want to enter a Mormon temple.
So, it looks like I won’t be visiting a Mormon temple in my life time. And that’s okay, that’s not what following Jesus and having a relationship with His is about.
I do not have any qualms about anyone or any religion, but if you read you’re Bible you will find Jesus was never about rules and regulations or clothing. It is about Loving God enough to follow Him and strive to to be a better person than we were yesterday.
Having written about this before, these might be similar.
I enjoy walking in the hills. It’s very peaceful and helps me process my thoughts and ends my stress. When life gets too much for me, I head to the hills.
I also enjoy photography. I like taking pictures of the beautiful landscapes I have seen. Both for keepsakes and to share with others.
Spending time with animals, their hearts are so much bigger than ours, and their souls so much kinder. Every chance I get to spend time with my daughter’s black mouth curr. He had a rough start in life. And ended up at a shelter for a year. Because his family before didn’t want him anymore. I am unable to have an animal at the time because of extenuating circumstances. So, I spend time with him as much as possible.
I enjoy helping others. There are so many hurting people. Simply helping people with a few groceries or giving them a hand up helps them tremendously.
I enjoy going to lunch with friends or having coffee with them and just forgetting about the stresses of life for a while.
“Worry expects the worse, faith trusts God for His best.” -Shana Schutte
Can any one of us by worrying add a single hour to our lives (Matthew 6:27).
I use to worry all the time, overthinking every situation I could come up with in my mind. I told myself I wanted to be prepared for the worst.
There are seasons in life that are difficult. Troubles press on and threaten to steal our joy. In other seasons everything seems to be pretty well and put hearts are given rest from concern.
One day God brought Matthew 6:27 to my attention. I realized I had no control over most the things I worried about. All the things I worried about never happened.
We can’t add an hour to our lives by worrying. We can add any solutions to our lives by worrying. Worry paralyzes us, it immobilizes us, it’s a peace robber and a joy destroyer.
Worry makes what we focus on expand. It makes those things we worry about seem bigger than they really are.
Worry presumes on the future and assumes the worst. Worry rob our present moments, or joy and our hope.
God does not give us grace where our feet have not walked. He does not provide grace to moments that have not yet been or to our imaginations that have not yet manifested. He is in the business of working on the here and now, and not until our feet have touched the ground of tomorrow will He give light to our paths.
We cannot fix anything by worrying. So, keep your thoughts in the here and now and let gratitude for them moment by your companion. A little gratitude, prayer, and trust in the One who loved you, will shield your heart from fear.
God wants us to,
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” – 1 Peter 5:7
Give all your worries to Jesus and trust Him with your tomorrow and all that concerns you. God will not let you down.
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
Animals get more from our tone of voice and body language than our actual words. They observe our physical clues to determine what we want them to do. They watch our facial expressions, our posture and body movements. They listen to the tone of our voices.
Dogs are pretty in tune to their surroundings. So if we want them to know anything they would know from our actions not our words.
Emotional exhaustion is a real thing that stems from having life draining you of your mental strength and not having the right source refilling you. I have always had multiple parts of my life running full steam ahead. Multi-tasking has always been at maximum capacity. I could keep it all together only by God’s grace. But a person can only go full steam ahead for so long.
I think about Elijah in the Bible and how God took care of him when we ran into the wilderness sat under the broom tree and was so tired that he prayed for death. He ran himself ragged until he couldn’t take anymore. Exhausted he falls asleep and an angel comes and feeds him.
Elijah was a mighty prophet for God during a turbulent time when Israel had turned away from God to worship Baal, and King Ahab allied with Sidon by marrying their princess, Jezebel. Elijah was sent to show Israel the evil of their ways and encourage them to return to God. When Jezebel threatens him with death he runs away. He had reached his limit, he was exhausted.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” -Matthew 11:28
God helped Elijah in three distinct ways by providing him with food and water and offering him a message of reassurance and renewed purpose. Essentially, providing physical sustenance, a moment of respite and spiritual encouragement to continue his journey.
An angel appeared to Elijah and provided a meal for him, allowing him to regain his strength.
The broom tree offered a place for Elijah to rest and recover from his exhaustion.
God spoke to Elijah, reminding him that he was not alone and giving him a new perspective on his mission.
When Elijah sat under the broom tree he thought his task was done, he thought it was over. He was ready to meet God and asked for death. But God had other plans.
Elijah traveled 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb to a cave where God challenged him to return to his mission. During the 40-day walk, God gave Elijah peace, and His presence and restored his passion.
I think this 40-day journey helped Elijah reflect on who he was as a person, his skills, and his abilities. This is not in biblical teaching though, it’s just my opinion.
I know reflecting on my life helped me rethink why I started my journey to become a strong follower of Jesus.
When I’ve felt like I’m too exhausted to fight, God has helped me to realize my journey is not finished. There is still more to be done. Asking God to restore the joy of my salvation and everything else. Everything that had made my life, my life.
God’s peace, His presence and my passion are my three elements of a happy, fulfilled life.
If you’re feeling emotionally exhausted maybe it’s time to take a break. Stop, take a pause, relax, reevaluate, and recharge. Spend time with God and pray for His peace and strength to walk away from anything stealing your peace.
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
The meaning of my name is “pure” in the Bible and comes from the Greek word Katharos. It became associated with the Greek word during the early Christian era.
Kathrine was a name to signify purity and innocence n ancient times.
According to Hebrew text the name. Since I go by Kathy my destiny should include:
K = Kaph – To bless, anoint, tame, and protect.
A = Aleph – Gentle strength, leader
T = Tet – To contain, or surround
H = Hey – Revelation, and divine breath and light
Y = Yod – Strength, worship, work, welcome
This shows some destiny in life from what my parents named called me.
In the Bible God sometimes changed people names to reflect their destiny. The names of people in the Bible defined their character or events in their lives.
Destiny is God’s plan and purpose for each person.
Destiny is God’s ordained future for each person.
Each person is destined to play a specific role in the world.
Feeling overwhelmed is a natural response when we have too many demands and responsibilities or are in tough situations. We may feel like giving up.
If you are feeling overwhelmed Psalm 61 is a powerful scripture to turn to, because it speaks directly to us as to what to do. God reminds us when we cry out to Him we are essentially seeking His refuge and strength when we feel burdened beyond our capacity.
“From the end of the earth, I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I” -Psalm 61:2
When we are feeling overwhelmed, we shouldn’t hesitate to openly express our distress and cry out to God.
God is a strong, stable “rock’ that can provide safety and security when we feel unstable.
The imagery in the scripture of “the rock” signifies that God is above our challenges and provides a perspective beyond our current situation.
We can understand why David wrote this Psalm when he was overwhelmed. We all face seasons in, life when we feel overwhelmed. This Psalm reminds us that God is our refuge and a strong tower against our troubles and enemies.
God wants us to have confidence in His faithfulness and that He is an ever-present help for us in times of trouble.
The Psalms are an honest look at how we experience life, and they do not disguise the pain and sorrow we will endure. They also remind us that there is hope in God because He hears our prayers, is our protection, and is worthy of our praise.
My dream job would be anything to do with the psychology.
What causes people to become criminals? It’s easy to say that person “snapped” or is just “crazy.” But why, what caused that? Is it substance abuse, their income level, peer pressure, or something else.
Why do people abuse others, rape, murder, domestic violence? There are so many variables in life that must be taken to define or obtain an understanding.
What is the root cause of it. It is not until we find the root cause of any problems in life that we will have a chance to fix it.
Over the last few years the world has seen a lawlessness like never before. From the lock downs to gender mutilation of children. The Bible defines lawlessness as acting without regard to the law or in opposition to it. It’s often translated as “iniquity” and isa rejection of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 describes the “lawless one” who will appear before Jesus’s return. The lawless one will be empowered by Satan and will deceive people by making unrighteousness seem pleasurable.
I was wondering why the “lawless one” has not shown up, because of all the people rejecting God and their progressive movements. I thought I would share what I learned.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul referred to the revelation of “the man of sin.”
“Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion comes first. and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.”
The man of sin literally is translated means lawlessness. It’s a general state of wickedness. And this person will be controlled and characterized by a spirit of lawlessness.
Paul emphasized this fact in 2 Thessalonians 8, by calling him “the wicked one.” Paul’s use of the definite expression implies this person will be the epitome of human lawlessness. He will oppose and reject all governing authority and laws except what he approves or establishes.
Since God is the ultimate authority, the man of lawlessness will make God and Jesus objects of his rejection of governing authority. He will deny God, the Father, and the Son” 1 John 2:22) and the truth that Jesus is God’s Son come in the flesh” (1 John 4:3, 7) and the Messiah -Jesus (1 John 2:22). He will deny these truths because God’s Son came into the world through incarnation in human flesh to crush satan’s man of lawlessness and restore God’s authoritative rule to the world system (1 John 3:8). Because of these denials John called him “antichrist” (1 John 2:18, 22, 4:3; 2John 7).
Several things helps identify the person who will reveal the Antichrist. The antichrist will not reveal himself through action that he performs, but another person will reveal him,
Paul said that the antichrist will be revealed “in his time” 2 Thessalonians 2:6. time refers to a definite, fixed time. It refers to the specific and decisive point, and strongly emphasizes that God is the one who determines that definite, fixed and decisive time,
Jesus asserted that the authority to determine such times belongs exclusively to God (Acts 1:7). The time of antichrist’s revelation has been determined by God, not by antichrist or satan.
God declared that He will raise up a “foolish” and “idol” shepherd (Zechariah 11:15-17). The word foolish refers to a person who is morally perverted, arrogant, impatient man who does not fear God, feels that his own way is without error, and is overbearing in his attitude because he thinks he has all the answers.
This shepherd will be an idol shepherd (Zechariah 11:17). The word idol means “something worthless” (particularly as an object of worship) The Bible describes “idol” as vain objects of worship, the gods of this world. These gods even included people in who men trusted but were deceitful and of no value (Job 13:4. Isaiah 19:3: Zechariah 12:17). This shepherd will be a person who through deceit will convince people to put their trust in him as god.
1 John 2:18, 4:3 stated that the spirit of antichrist was already operating in the world during the first century. Antichrist is human form will not be revealed until the restrainer is removed.
God will sovereignly stop the restraint of antichrist by removing the restrainer at the appropriate time.
The Bible reveals that God has had a restrainer restraining the spirit of lawlessness during history. Genesis 6:3 tells us,
“The Lord said, My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh, so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”
This tells us that the Holy Spirit strive with lawless mankind in the days before the time of the flood (Genesis 6:3). The word “strove” means to govern. It embodies the idea of government, in whatever realm.
What if the power of the Spirit of God was suddenly removed from earth. It would be on,y s brief time before Satan quickly consummated his dream of world domination.
It’s the Holy Spirit that lives in believers that is holding back this evil from coming to pass in the world today.
Peter in 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is,
“The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but it patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the world that are in it will be burned up. Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness” -2 Peter 3:10-11.
Once the restrainer is gone, the antichrist will be revealed.
Rick Renner tells us the word “revealed” is the word apokalupto. The Greek word apo means away, and the word kalupto refers to someone that is veiled, covered, concealed, or hidden. When these two words are compounded, it depicts a veil that had been removed, exposing what I’d behind the veil. The Holy Spirits power will be withdrawn, there will no longer be any force present to hold back through evil forces. Therefore this evil leader who had been concealed and hidden from public view will suddenly appear.”
It will be as if a stage curtain has been pulled out of the way so that he can make his grand appearance to the world.
If you’ve been paying attention you should be able to see that there is a supernatural force at work preventing the materialization of this person and the disclosure of his identity.
The restraining force is so strong that it is currently putting on the brakes and holding back the unveiling of this wicked person, stalling and postponing his manifestation.
The when the right moment comes, this evil one will emerge on the world scene.
A good leader is someone who inspires and motivates others toward a shared vision, communicates effectively, empowers others to make responsible decisions, and demonstrates integrity while adapting to the changing world around them.
A good leader can be trusted. And while doing all this, never becomes a a complete jerk.
Focusing on light and salvation actively directs our attention towards hope, and guidance and ultimately rescue in times of difficulty. Which essentially is trusting in God’s power to saves us and leads us through challenges.
This point comes from Psalm 27,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?”
Light is a symbol that often represents God’s presence, truth, and goodness, which contrasts darkness which symbolizes evil and ignorance.
By focusing on the “light” (God). We are encouraged to trust in God’s power to deliver us from any situation, overcoming fear and doubt.
When we apply this in prayer and meditation we can focus on God’s goodness and promises. We are able to read and speak Bible verses about light and salvation which allows them to guide our thoughts.
Repeating God’s positive statements helps us to feel His presence and power in our lives,
We should always strive to connect with other believers who can encourage us to focus on God’s light.
From Pity to Praise 