The Personal Carpenter

National radio story-teller, Paul Harvey used to lead into the second and final part of his stories with "and now, the rest of the story." Or he would wait till the end of his story and say, "and now you know, the rest of the story." I have found many Christians that Do Not read the "rest of the story" to 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. Pastors, teachers and many others will quote verse nine 'till the Rapture, but I have never heard them continue to verse ten. Here are the verses - 

"However, as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived' — the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit."

Verse nine is - "However, as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived' — the things God has prepared for those who love him".

Verse ten, the one people either forget, ignore, don't memorize or don't know about is - "these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit."

The whole context of this passage is speaking to being in tune with God's Holy Spirit in order to know God's mind, His plans. Verse ten states those things that the eye has not seen, ear has not heard and mind has not conceived - "God has revealed to us by His Spirit".

I desire to emphasize that the Christian has this capability by continually walking faithfully with the Holy Spirit. And when we use this vision and auditory aide to know God's mind and plans by His Spirit, some of the things we will see are Him as Creator God, how creative He is, that He has placed creativeness within us, and His eternal inventiveness is for all of us.

Two such glimpses at how God's eternal and supreme ingenuity is playing out are nature and the forever dwelling place for believers. 

Romans 1:20 states the irrefutable evidence of Creator God in nature, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

As Creator, before visiting the earth as Jesus the Messiah, the Word of God made the tree He would be crucified on and the rock-hewn tomb that He would be placed in for burial.

I find of all occupations that Christ Jesus could have been born into, His earthly father and therefore Jesus was a Carpenter. While Jesus was and is the Word of Father God, the creative agent that formed everything, He also took on the creative human job of Carpenter until the moment came for Him to begin teaching.

Then in John 14:2-3, Jesus states, "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Since Christ ascended to the right hand of Father God, He has been preparing a place for each individual believer for the day when He decides to Rapture His believers home to Heaven. That is a long time for a place to be "Under Construction" - what a place, indeed!

To help the believer's imagination get started with the new heavenly digs - picture the most luxurious, expensive, largest, well serviced, well furnished, well kept property and house in the world that you can think of. 

Now, because that structure and property is man-made, it will have some flaws and limitations. But what The Carpenter is building for His family in Heaven will make the most elaborate thing on earth look like a trashy outhouse. And I believe all of Heaven and each individual's place will not only deliver a shock and awe due to the materials like gold as transparent as glass (Rev. 21:21) but as a direct co-relation to the believer's relationship with Christ - The Personal Carpenter.

Three Is Not Quickly Broken

This world is too difficult to tackle solo. Ecclesiastes 4:9 states, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor." However, that same author continues to instruct - 

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

The two for me for a while in my life was me and God. Then the Lord placed my path across my to-be wife's path. 

Proverbs 18:22 says, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord." 

I certainly can attest to that in my marriage. However, I desire to answer two questions in my marriage to Tanya and my relationship with God.

1. How can I improve my marriage with my wife?
2. How can I use our marriage to bring glory to God?

Many Christian marriage counselors would go straight to the Ephesians 6 role descriptions for the husband and wife and begin from there. This is valid and is wonderful to keep in mind, especially for my first question or concern - my improvement within my marriage. 

However, to answer these questions, especially - how our marriage can bring glory to God? - I will be observing and researching the marriages of well-known Biblical couples. Hopefully from this breakdown some good qualities to model and bad qualities to avoid will be revealed.

Adam and Eve. Who knows how long they had it perfect, BUT both were present when they messed up for all humanity - "She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Gen. 3:6) However, even though they messed up royally - they stayed together and started humanity. Important to note is that God stayed with them also. He did not abandon them, although by the time Noah's generation came, He felt like it and expressed it, God worked with us throughout history.

Job and his wife. This is not a good example of what to say in the middle of a crisis. At this point in the story of Job, Satan was allowed to inflict sores on Job's body from head to toe. The interaction went as follows -

"Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." (Job 2:8-10)

In Genesis 17 and 18 Abraham and Sarah both laughed at God about their physical limitations in childbirth and God's provisional help, but God came through on His promise and honored His Covenant. Yes, both laughed at God. In fact I don't hear many sermons preached or lessons taught about Abraham being the first to laugh at God (Gen. 17:17). Many know of the laughter of Sarah toward the notion of having a child with her condition of bareness in Genesis 18: 10-15, but do not know of Abraham's account beforehand. Thank God, that He doesn't take it personally when we doubt Him and laugh in His face. I love the answer a father had to Jesus about his own lack of faith concerning the healing of his son - "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." (Mark 9:24). Jesus will work through our doubts and fears and honor His promises to us as single believers and married couples.

In the book of Numbers, chapter 12 Moses, his wife Zipporah and sister Miriam had a situation that involved Aaron, brother of Moses. The marriage between Moses and Zipporah was fine. Within these family dynamics Miriam and Aaron were found talking against Moses because of his Cushite wife. This brought out the discipline of God. The Lord called a meeting of Moses, Miriam and Aaron at The Tent of the Meeting and told Miriam her offense, sentenced her to seven days outside camp because He punished her with leprosy until the end of those days - a next level Time Out! Watch what you say. Be a blessing with your words. Trust God in other people's relationships, especially your family's. 

Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1-4). Ruth's husband died and Ruth was a Moabite who adopted the family, culture and faith of believers in Yahweh. Ruth's mother-n-law, Naomi, was being taken care of by Boaz, a kindred-redeemer. Through a few well placed encounters not only did Boaz do the right thing, but He showed kindness and consideration toward Ruth and Naomi throughout courtship and eventual marriage to Ruth. Boaz reminds me of a chivalry type of guy that loved God, his family and was well respected within his community. Add to that Boaz was a fairly wealthy man but that was not the main focus and you have the making of a Hallmark movie for sure.   

David and Bathsheba. Here is a rough start. King David had Bathsheba's true husband killed by making sure he was placed in harm's way in battle so that he could marry her and have sons by her. Later, David acquired forgiveness for this treachery and would have his successor, King Solomon, born by union with Bathsheba. Not the way to start a relationship or marriage, but don't knock rough starts, they can be fruitful.

Mary and Joseph. I believe a lot can be said about a marriage during courtship or dating or being engaged. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, there was just one thing - Mary got pregnant. Mary did a great job in hiding this pregnancy for a while, but eventually Joseph found out. 

Whether Mary told Joseph about the encounter with Gabriel, I am not sure. However, Scripture says, "but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit." This alludes to a conversation with Joseph where Mary would have told him the details.

Holy Spirit pregnancy or human pregnancy, all Joseph knew was the baby was not his. So, this is what I like about Joseph - "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." (Matt. 1:19) Even in a crisis that he did not understand, even in a supernatural dilemma, Joseph acted with integrity.

I believe God rewarded Joseph and protected all involved by sending another angel, perhaps Gabriel again, in a dream to Joseph verifying the decision to take Mary as his wife within this situation (Matt. 1:20-21).

The rest of that story and the rest of their lives were a matter of trusting each other and trusting God with the plan He had started that holy day.

In Acts 18, the husband and wife team of Priscilla and Aquila was a treasured couple by Paul and a credit to those looking for a Godly pair to emulate. This union was so tight-nit with God and His Word that they were able to help adjust another brother's doctrine who was based in John the Baptist's preachings to properly align with Christ's completed work. This other brother, Apollos, became more powerfully effective for the Lord because of their tutelage. 

So traits to take away and start using or magnify in my marriage and any marriage are cohesiveness, encouragement, trust, positivity, integrity and centeredness on God's Word together. I believe if I can excel with her in these areas then I will have a great start at not only being a great husband and dynamic duo but proving Three Is Not Quickly Broken.

Reconciled, Redeemed and Restored

Reconcile means to make-up for, seek peace and/or harmony concerning a wrong that was performed by one person against another. 

Humanity messed up in the beginning so bad with our relationship with God that our reconciliation is not attainable on our own efforts or strength. Though we are the guilty, the fall was so great, the peace and harmony of our relationship totally depended on God and His plan of reconciliation. 

The Lord was the one who was wronged and has every right to pronounce judgment. And His judgment is already passed upon us, outside a decision to accept Christ as our Savior and lifestyle. God has an abundant amount of grace and mercy to administer to those who have faith in His free gift of salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. 

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17)

Redeem means to purchase back or clear a payment. Humanity's disobedience injected sin or rebellion against God like a pollutant or virus not only on all people but all of creation. The enemy, The Father of Lies, passed off a lie for the truth and we bought it - hook, line and sinker. This lie imprisoned humanity in the slave market of sin until our Great Redeemer, Christ Jesus arrived and paid our ransom - His life-blood. 

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:17-19) 

"God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) 

Restore means to bring back to the original condition or status. However, Yahweh is a God of abundance and when He restores, much more goodness is added on to experience with the original restoration. 

Acts 3:21 says, "Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets." 

The rendering of restore here is a restitution of loss, damage or injury. I believe all the promises not yet fully manifested to national Israel fall in this restoration as well as a further restoration of the earth.

Luke is inspired to communicate that Jesus must remain physically in Heaven until the proper time comes for Him to rule, reign and restore things from His millennial throne on earth.

Before this restoration of all things arrives, the time of faith that we are currently in must transpire. We live by faith, not by sight now. Later, all will perceive clearly the truth, Jesus Christ and His Word to the glory of Father God.

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, Lord and lifestyle - then I encourage you to stop and consider Him now. I am not the one who claims that Jesus is Lord, Son of God, Emmanuel - God in flesh. I am one who believes that Jesus is all of that and more. Jesus is the one who claimed this about Himself according to John 14:6 when Jesus said out loud to be remembered and recorded,

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus, loved all of us so much that He gave His life that we may have not only an eternal relationship with Him but have eternal life with Him. I pray, if you have not made this decision, you will today choose through Christ Jesus to be Reconciled, Redeemed and Restored.

God In The Details

We have a stupid saying in our culture - "The devil is in the details." Why is God not selected to be in the details, even more, why is the devil? Doing the Biblical research, there is an infinite number of examples or reasons to see God in the details but allow me to highlight a couple.

All the fulfilled prophecies concerning Christ's first visit are proof that God loves details and is in them. 

"An article on BibleTimeLines.net expounds on the fulfillment of Christ's prophecies during His first visitation.

'There are over 300 prophecies that point directly to the Messiah. Here is an example of just 8:

• The time of His birth (see the Daniel 8 and 9 Timeline).
• He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
• He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
• He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12)
• He would be mocked. (Psalm 22: 7-8)
• He would be crucified. (John 3:14)
• He would be pierced. (Psalm 22:16)
• He would die with the wicked, but He would be buried with the rich. (Isaiah 53:9)

Mathematics and Astronomy Professor Peter W. Stoner has made the statement that the chance of just 8 prophecies (like these) coming true by sheer chance is 1 in 10 to the 17th power (100, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000).

That would be equivalent to covering the whole state of Texas (about 268, 597 square miles) with silver dollars two feet deep and then expecting a blindfolded man to walk across the state and on the very first try find the ONE coin you marked."

(https://www.bibletimelines.net/articles/is-jesus-really-the-messiah) [pages 38-39, Ready Or Not Here He Comes, Pritchard]

When we take a look at the story of Job, the devil is in the telling, but God oversees the details. Later on in Job, when God is describing the Behemoth and Leviathan - God calls attention to not only His supreme creativeness, but how much He loves detail as God described each beast - in detail.

Jesus emphasized He was a God of detail in His lesson on worry.

"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!" (Luke 12:24-28)

Jumping on that last sentence of Jesus - since God is highly into the details of His nature, how much more then His own image, especially those that believe in Him through Christ Jesus.

Another example of God in the details is His Passover command to not break the bones of the sacrificial lamb. The command became prophetic as soon as God uttered it - speaking of this in Numbers 9:12, the Scripture reads -

"They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations."

The disciple John cited in his Gospel that John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) and that when the soldiers came to do as usual and break the legs of those on the cross to speed death's arrival, they saw Jesus was already dead and pierced His side instead (John 19:31-34). After seeing and hearing these things lining up with the commands of God - John says in John 19:36 - “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken’”

Even the crucifixion itself arranged for this prophetic command to be fulfilled. The hand by the Romans was considered to include the wrist, therefore the nail was most likely placed between the Radius and Ulna bones. 

If the nail had been centered in the palm of Christ's hand, the hammer strike would have shattered His bones and if that did not occur then His weight from hanging on the cross would have torn Him off of the nail.

The same concern applies with the feet of Jesus. The nail, therefore, most likely came in from the side, through the heel bone or Achilles Heel area.

There are times in our lives when it is appropriate to credit the devil with a particular detail or two. There are times to ascribe us as being in the details and/or the world. But to give "stupid" or the devil the whole ball of wax, to attribute to him all the details goes too far. 

As I have made known, God loves details and is in them. He is the one we should always look for first, in the challenges of life and to give praise for the victories. When I meditate and/or reflect on my past, present and future - I really don't concentrate on seeing the world, myself and certainly not the devil in the details - I see God In The Details.

Why I Should Care

Allow me to take a Scrooge perspective for a moment - "If all that is certain in life is death and taxes, then let me pay my dues and die. Why should I give a flip?"

This kind of view is very limited, not to mention pessimistic, and only takes in the present, embracing the negative, not giving hope a chance, while accepting oblivion as the end escape. Not even the devil subscribes to nothing after death - hence the lie of it from The Father of Lies.

What your view is of the afterlife will extremely influence your present lifestyle or should. We are all waiting to die but should be living in the meantime. We do not get the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years known as time - back. Therefore, we must capitalize on every opportunity that presents itself.

As we live, there is no ignoring all the challenges life throws our way. But as we live, taking advantage of our opportunities, Christ promises the Holy Spirit will lead believers throughout their lives in all truth. His Word or instructions is good for our present situations and vision for the future.

I strongly believe that vision for the future must include the believer's active view of a physical, mental and spiritual relationship with their Savior - Christ Jesus - in Heaven, soon.

Since all of the prophecies concerning the first visitation of Christ were fulfilled, I have no hesitation in accepting He will return just as He promised.

In John 14:2-3, Jesus said, 

"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

And in Matthew 24:39-41 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Jesus and Paul respectfully describe how Jesus will return.

The structure of vision into future plans is to have some sort of goal/reward system in place. If you play the part of Scrooge or worse in life and do not establish this system, then there is no appreciation or possible acceptance of an afterlife, even one with Christ.

However, if you engage the aspects of faith, hope and love within a Christian lifestyle, you are on your way to valuing that which Christ values - relationships.

When Christians begin to implement this mindset as a permanent fixture in their lives, then their priorities will change to that of more relationship-based goals and their rewards will change along with it to that of the same.

Jesus has promised five crowns that are possible for being rewarded to the believer after Christ returns for His bride, the church. The crowns are - the Imperishable Crown (1 Cor. 9:24-25), Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thess. 2:19), Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8), Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4) and Crown of Life (Rev. 2:10). All of these will be distributed appropriately and all are based on relationship.

Why should I care? Contrary to the Scrooges of life and the lie that - all there is to life is death and taxes - there is more to this life than living and dying, than just trying to make it through the day. Jesus came and through faith in Him, hope in Him and love by Him our lives not only matter now but for eternity with relationships being our proof. This is Why I Should Care.

God's Giver And Bringer

From birth, all of us are about ourselves. Being considerate, sharing, giving, loving and bringing are not automatic qualities within us, we have to be taught them and practice them regularly. However, even when we have mastered the head knowledge on what these terms mean and seen them in action, our part in living them out can be another story.

Today I would like to challenge us, me included, to not only develop our giving and bringing skills, but incorporate these so much  into our lives that we continually become better givers and bringers. 

In Scripture, there is a difference between these two, givers and bringers, but both come with blessings as encouragements to adopt these qualities as lifestyles or at least part of your lifestyle.

Giving many times has the expectation of receiving a return either voluntarily or directly. There are instances of unconditional giving also and those are the highest forms of giving to pursue. 

An example of what I am calling voluntary giving would be when one provides help for another, supplies a gift or the like and either appreciation is returned by the receiver to the giver or the giver is helped in like manner later on - fulfilling the law of sowing and reaping.

An example of direct giving is a seed placed in the ground and one receives the plant expected.

Giving has more of a personal, on-your-own-initiative characteristic. One might be persuaded to give, but nobody forces one to give. With what the believer has determined to give, I desire for us to fulfill the giver's forever- attitude of the heart and mind mentioned in 2 Corinthians 9:7  - 

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

The act of bringing, in Scripture, has the notion of possessing something but ownership of that something is already God's and He is requesting you bring it back to Him for whatever reason.

An example of this is honoring God by praising Him through accepting one another just as Christ accepted you - this brings what is already God's properly before Him. Romans 15:7 says it like this - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

Another example is the bringing of the believer's tithe, the first ten percent of income. By honoring God this way and the way just mentioned, Christians are living in obedience. When obedience is maintained so is God's blessing. 

Like mentioned before, the blessed life is encouraged by both being a giver and a bringer. Listen to Jesus as Luke records just how much a giver will be blessed - 

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)

Three keys here to grasp -

1. Give ("Give")
2. Give generously as possible ("A good measure")
3. Watch your measuring parameters ("For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.")

Now listen to Malachi 3:10 as he states - 

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Notice that this is one of, if not the only thing in Scripture that the Lord says believers may "test" Him in. Note that He is concerned about enough food being present in His house. He knows even the tithe will be a challenge at times, but if we bring "the whole tithe" we will not be able to contain the blessing that He sends us personally.

Giving from the heart needs to become a lifestyle and it comes with tremendous blessing - "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." The act of bringing back to God what is already His needs to become a lifestyle and it comes with tremendous blessing - "see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." This is what it means to be God's Giver And Bringer.

The "Living Hope" Lifestyle

I think there is an expectation of sorts that at midnight on New Year's Eve, all of last year's mistakes, troubles and trials are erased and we are allowed to hit the reset button as we look ahead. 

We call it a "new" year, but many times the only thing really new is just the number of the year. The same problems exist, same challenges and issues persist through the switch-over to the "new" year. What do we have to look forward to? What do we do, how do we respond when we see that the same-ole-same-ole did not go away but simply remained or changed form?

What happens when our remedies, including faith, fails or does not seem to function as we believed it would? As we age a big concern to our minds, bodies and faith is healing. Whether it be the timing of the healing or the issue itself, many times the remedy leaves mores questions than answers than the challenge.

We need to continue to place one foot in front of the other. The alternative is grim. Besides death, where does the motivation come from in the requirement to move? Year after year the motivation seems less and less, unless you have Hope.

I heard a quote by John Maxwell recently where he said, "Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present." I agree and would add - if there is no hope, the present is useless, the past has no meaning and the future is non-existent.

Christians have as their God, the God of Hope. God desires His believers to not only know Him as this and be filled with hope but overflow with hope also.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13

Paul, when he wrote to the believers in Corinth the first time, mentioned the three lifestyles Christians should pursue. 

"And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor. 13:13

Even with "love" being "the greatest of these" hope is listed as a lifestyle to pursue alongside love and faith.

God is not stagnant. God is continually moving in the believer's favor. God did not stop at The Cross, otherwise Christ would be only a martyr that died for a great cause. God did not leave Jesus in the tomb, otherwise the believer's faith would be meaningless. God did not stop at The Ascension, otherwise the believer would not be empowered and inspired by the Holy Spirit daily. Look how 1 Peter 1:3-5 states this - 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

Our new birth into Christ's lifestyle is a "living hope" because of His resurrection and guarantees an inheritance in heaven for the believer in Christ - incredible expectation, incredible Hope.

Paul continues to dispel the doom and gloom of carry-over problems from year-to-year and injects new life into the believer by saying - 

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12

Notice the descriptive words and what they are linked to.

• Joyfulness with hope
• Patience with afflictions or issues
• Faithfulness with prayer or time with God

Paul recognized that year after year many things in life will not change. Problems will persist, but so will God and so will we if we live joyfully in hope, patiently in problems and faithfully in prayer - The "Living Hope" Lifestyle.

Disguising, Distorting and Destroying God's Voice

The method of God speaking and humanity hearing and understanding God's voice and words clearly has changed over the years. From walking face-to-face in Eden, to speaking to people from burning bushes, clouds or from a visit from the Son of God Himself, to now following the prompting of the Holy Spirit's inspiration - God's voice has not changed, just the transport. 

Another thing that has not changed is the effort of the enemy of our souls to either disguise, distort and/or destroy God's voice. From Genesis to Revelation, from the beginning of our lives to the end - the Accuser is trying to capitalize on opportunities to kill God's voice in your life, steal God's voice out of your life or from ever reaching your life and destroy God's voice by implementing many tactics to compete with God's voice or even usurp it.

In order to know that God's Voice is under attack in your life and act on that attack, one has to know the sound of God's Voice. When I was growing up, I could tell you without looking, who was walking from one room to the other because of their cadence and who was literally talking behind my back because of their voice. All the times I have been on a team, in a job or part of a church family for an extended period of time - I knew them. Because I shared so much time in my relationships, I could distinguish the many voices in my life from one another – seen or unseen.

That is familiarity based on an established bond. This only comes with time spent with that person. Many instances the time is just the quantity that determines the familiarity of the bond, like going to work everyday therefore knowing your coworkers. Many more instances knowing someone’s voice, cadence, posture and the like come from quality time with that individual.

I have heard many pastors and teachers of the Bible say something like – “I heard God say to me…. Or God said to me….” I desire to interview those people and ask, “Really? You heard God speak? What did He sound like?” I have often pondered – what does the actual voice of God sound like? Many of us have associated The Voice of God with a good baritone or smooth bass voice, compliments of movies and t.v. with James Earl Jones and the like.

In 1 Kings 19:11-13 the voice of God is described as "a still small voice" or "a whisper". However, the scale for God’s voice seems to be tipped more to the loud end of the spectrum then that of the whisper mentioned in 1 Kings 19. Such descriptions as thunder and lighting in Psalms 29:7, trumpet blasts in Hebrews 12:19, the Niagara Falls effect of "the roar of rushing waters" in Ezekiel 43:2 and Revelation 1:15, the murmur of a large crowd depicted as "the sound of a multitude" in Daniel 10:6, the breaking of Cedars (Ps. 29:5), the shaking of the desert (Ps. 29:8), the twisting of the oak (Ps. 29:9) and the shattering of Assyria (Isa. 30:31). His voice has been documented as coming from a cloud (Matt. 17:5), speaking from out of the fire (Dt. 4:12) and even reaching the dead and they hear Him in John 5:28; John 11.

The individuals who lived during the time of Christ got to hear the voice of God in human form. They heard the Word of God, the Logos, made flesh, speak. John says in his gospel –

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1) “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (Jn. 1:14) 

That which Father God uttered as words now was flesh and speaking Father God’s very words to us.

After the resurrection, two disciples were walking on the Road to Emmaus contemplating the events that just transpired in Jerusalem around Jesus when Christ Himself appeared with them and walked with them to their destination, explaining the life and role of The Messiah and His death and resurrection while the disciples were purposefully oblivious to His identity. Then later, at dinner, when Christ broke the bread, their eyes of perception were opened and they recognized Jesus and the Lord vanished. Then they said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).

Now-a-days I do not claim to hear God’s voice as loud noises, storms or even whispers. So how can John speak about the sheep listening to Christ’s voice as The Great Shepherd in John 10:27? The actual verse reads, 

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” 

I believe identifying the competing voices which include disguised voices, distorting voices and voices bent on destroying God's voice in our lives are crucial in order to single out God's voice, in order to hone-in on the voice of The Great Shepherd.

Disguised voices could be our own thoughts about a matter and/or any source that has its roots somewhere other than The Word of God, like the self, enemy and the world. Distorting voices are those words, speeches, songs and art that convey a twisted view of the original meaning which has been established and known by most if not all the Christian community. Destroying voices piggybacks on both of these, disguised and distorting and uses the venue of choice to totally deny God's voice in any and all situations in life and even replace God's voice with something or someone else.

God has a magnificent voice and has used it many times to acquire the attention and obedience of nature and humanity. Where God's voice was unmistakable in the past, His voice is a matter of faith, diligence in His Word and Godly discernment today. Especially since Christ's visitation, God's voice is built on a relationship with Jesus by accepting His sacrifice for our redemption and trusting in His Holy Spirit to guide believers.

For the Christian today, I believe God's Word and His Holy Spirit within the believer are how Christ mainly speaks. Not that God could not audibly, loudly or softly speak His words to the believer, but for all ages future of Christ’s ascension Jesus stated -

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26).

God’s communication to the Christian is more of a Holy impression, a Holy inspiration based from and on God’s Word. In Paul's second letter to Timothy, the word theopneustos (theh-op-nyoo-stos) is used meaning God-breathed or inspired to describe all Scripture -

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

This listening to and for God’s voice all begins by following Him or spending time in His Word and manifest presence. The original word used for "know" in John 10:27-28 - "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me." - is ginosko, meaning to know absolutely; be sure; to understand in a great variety of applications and with many implications. The word implies an intimate, developing relationship that God knows everything about with the believer's part being to “listen” and “follow”.

God's voice will one day be undeniably unmistakable to all. As Jesus steps down from His throne in Heaven and pierces the thin cloak of invisibility, He will descend with "a loud command" (1 Thess. 4:16). This shout, this resounding utterance, this Voice of Thunder will be enough for all Christians to be transformed or glorified and the dead in Christ will rise first, then the remaining believers will meet them and Christ in the air to go Home.

Meanwhile, God says, if you are part of the family of God, you will want to and need to be listening for God’s impressions, His inspiration and discernments through His Holy Spirit. To help in this effort, remain a man or woman of integrity. Also, continue to pray to Him, allowing for listening time. Permit the Holy Spirit and Word of God to guide you in all truth because this is God’s Voice and there is one whose efforts never cease in Disguising, Distorting and Destroying God's Voice.