The Voice of Jesus

The world has so many voices speaking to us today. Through books, newspapers, radio, television, the internet, telephones, iPhones, facebook, tweets, etc. We are being constantly bombarded with information.  If we don’t hear the voice of Jesus through the din, then the enemy will distract us from God’s purposes and His Eternal Kingdom. Our lives can become cluttered with useless activity, and fear of the unknown can rob us of the faith and joy God wants us to have. 

We must learn to base our lives not on the words of men, but on the Word of God.  According to John 1 Jesus is the Word come to earth in the flesh.  His is the only voice we should be listening to.  The voice of Jesus is the only thing that can save, heal, deliver and guide us in the right direction. Proverbs 4:20-27 says: 

      ²⁰ My son, give attention to my words; 
      Incline your ear to my sayings. 
       ²¹ Do not let them depart from your eyes; 
      Keep them in the midst of your heart; 
       ²² For they are life to those who find them, 
      And health to all their flesh. 
       ²³ Keep your heart with all diligence, 
      For out of it spring the issues of life. 
       ²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth, 
      And put perverse lips far from you. 
       ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead, 
      And your eyelids look right before you. 
       ²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet, 
      And let all your ways be established. 
       ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; 
      Remove your foot from evil.  NKJV

How can we hear the voice of Jesus?  To hear His voice we must first seek His Kingdom.  This means our greatest desires must be that His will be done in our lives and the lives of those around us.  We must love Him more than any other person. Our goals and ambitions must be based on the things He has spoken to our hearts during our times of studying The Word and prayer.  We must see everything we posses as a gift from Him that He gave to us to be used for His purposes.  

We must know His Word, The Bible.  This means we must read The Bible all the way through.  If you read three (3) chapters a day you can read it through in a year.  If you read it with a heart that is fully surrendered you will hear His voice and He will show you how it applies to your life.  Often times He will speak His word to us through other people.  If your heart is not surrendered, you may not hear what He’s trying to say to you.

One thing that can hinder us from hearing God’s voice is disobedience.  When we are not obedient to His Spirit, He may stop speaking until we have done what He told us to do.  The more obedient we are the more He will speak and tell us the things we need to know.

If we don’t learn to hear the voice of Jesus, we will be led astray into the traps of the enemy.  The result will be wasted lives and broken homes.  We will look to men, political leaders, famous individuals, and our own resources to meet our needs.  These will fail and we will wonder what happened.  Jesus is our only hope.  We must listen only to His voice if we are to be successful on our journey through life.

SCRIPTURES:  Matthew 4:4, 6:33; Luke 14:26,27&33; Psalms 119:11&105; Jeremiah 7:28;        Isaiah 59:1-2

BUCKET LIST FOR THE KINGDOM

There is a lot of talk lately about a bucket list.  That is the things you would like to do before you die, or in the English vernacular, “kick the bucket.”

Our bucket list has only one thing on it.  That is, fulfill God’s eternal purpose for our lives.

Hope this is on your list because when it’s all been said and done it is the only thing that will matter.

Henry & Rita Pulsifer

YOUR HOME A LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE KINGDOM

Part of being the “preacher” in the neighborhood is that you know people are watching you.  It makes you keenly aware that the things you do affect their thinking about God and His Kingdom.

To be sure we’ve made mistakes over the years, but hopefully we’ve learned a few things also.  One of the things we’ve learned is that if people know you’re a follower of Jesus your home is a lighthouse for The Kingdom.  The question is, what kind of light is shining from it?

Some of the things we’ve found that can help your home shine for Jesus are:

1. Husbands and fathers pastoring their homes and leading the family members to find and fulfill their eternal destiny.

2. Fathers learning, living, and teaching the other family members God’s basic principles of personal life, family life, church life, evangelism and discipleship.

3. Fathers leading their families in daily fellowship time together sharing the word, praying for each other, and praying for other things God puts on their heart.

4. As they have opportunity family members sharing with people in the neighborhood about Jesus.

(Where there is no father, mothers can lead in doing these things)

It is our prayer that as you put these principles into practice your home will become a lighthouse for The Kingdom.  God put you where you are for this purpose.

Doing Great Things for God

To do great things for God takes great faith.¹

To have great faith our hearts must be totally surrendered to God.²

To be totally surrendered to God we must love Him more than any person, or anything we possess.  

His perfect will must be our life’s ambition.³

 Scripture References:

¹   Matthew 8:26 & 14:31

²  Acts 6:8

³  Luke 14:26,27 & 33

Your Eternal Purpose

Before time began, before you were born, God had a purpose for your life.  There is only one way to find and fulfill that purpose; by living in daily fellowship with Jesus.¹ When it has all been said and done there is just one thing that will matter.  Does God say to you, “Well done, you fulfilled my purpose for you.” Or does He say, “Leave!  You did what YOU wanted to do with your life.”

You need to ask yourself, “Am I spending time fellow-shipping with God by meditating on His Word, the Bible, and praying?  Am I seeking to listen to and obey His Spirit?”   Only as you spend time with God will you find true success in life.

¹2 Timothy 1:9

Maturity

Maturity is when you are so secure in your relationship with The Lord that you are more concerned about the needs of others than you are about yourself.

What God Wants Us To Do in 2011

BE A DISCIPLE, MAKE DISCIPLES
In our Christmas letter we had a poem

As we come to this time of giving we need to ask ourselves.
Have we given our lives to do God’s will?
To win the lost no matter what the cost.
For that is His desire as we near the wire
of the end of the age. As He writes the final page
of History it is no mystery
what we should do.
This is the question He’s asking you.

What do you hope to do in 2011? If winning the lost no matter what the cost is God's agenda then shouldn't it be part of ours? Some are looking for world peace, some for justice, others are looking for the blessings of God. All these things will come not by seeking them but seeking the only one who can give them, God. Jesus said the greatest thing we can do is love God with all our heart, soul and mind. If we are truly a disciple (follower of Jesus) we will do this. Not only will we do this, but we will also lead others to do this. Jesus last command was “go and make disciples.” Not converts, but disciples; people who will follow God with an obedient heart because they love Him. To do this we must realize the only thing that can save us and the planet is what God did on The Cross for our sins. We must believe with all our heart Jesus rose from the dead and is coming back again to establish His Eternal Kingdom on the Earth in the hearts of men. We must turn from all we know offends Him, and love Him more than any person, anything we have, and anything we desire to do. Seeking to live in obedience to His Spirit every day must be our greatest priority. Not only must we do this but we must seek to help others do this by the way we live; by our attitude, and the things we do and say.

What does God want us to do in 2011? Be a disciple and make disciples. If we don’t do this it will be a wasted year.