Hindrances to hearing God

On p. 94 of "Starting Well: Building a Strong Foundation for a Lifetime of Ministry," authors Richard Clinton and Paul Leavenworth cite three major hindrances and two additional hindrances to our hearing God:

1. Unbelief -- an unwillingness to trust God and His ability to come through on His promises.

2. An undeveloped spirit -- a lack of sensitivity to the Spirit based in a dependence upon sight rather than faith.

3. A spirit of deafness -- an inability to hear because of unforgiveness in our lives toward self, others, and/or God. Unforgiveness can provide Satan an inroad into our lives for "torment."

The two additional hindrances to our hearing God are:

4. A callused conscience -- a lack of moral sensitivity because of sin and rationalization.

5. Neglect -- an inability to hear because we are not spending time with God.

This list originally comes from chapters 3-4 of Larry Lea's book "The Hearing Ear."

Learning how to hear the voice of God

In my Focus of a Warrior men's group, we currently are reading a book called "Starting Well: Building a Strong Foundation for a Lifetime of Ministry."

There's an entire chapter on hearing and obeying the voice of God. The authors outline on pp.87-92 six basic steps in learning how to hear the voice of God:

1. We need to want to hear the voice of God.
2. We need to get to know Christ through the reading and studying of the word of God.
3. Consistently obey the clear teaching of the Bible.
4. Learn to meditate on the word of God.
5. Learn to discern the Spirit.
6. We need to step out in faith when we are reasonably sure that we have heard from God.

It can be tough for me to step out in faith, yet I find that when I do, my world gets reconciled.

The religion of "B.C."

I always enjoyed the comic strip "B.C." by Johnny Hart. I also enjoyed the "B.C." video game that I played on my cousin's Commodore 64 growing up, although it was a little boring just rolling along on the stone wheel.

I didn't realize, though, the religious influence that Johnny Hart infused into his comic strip. A Religion News Service article includes a bit of the background:

'He wanted people to know that God had a sense of humor,' said his daughter Perri Hart. 'He really always felt that this was what he was called to do.'

Johnny Hart's widow and daughter have compiled the religion-themed "B.C." comics into a new collection, "I Did It His Way."

A tragic plane crash, 10 years later

A prayer service was held on June 1 to mark the 10th anniversary of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Arkansas. Twenty-five members of the Ouachita Singers travel group were on board that flight in 1999, returning from a trip to Europe. Nine people died in the crash; 145 people were on board.

According to an article in Townhall.com, the survivors of Flight 1420 told stories of true heroism, with people risking their lives to save complete strangers.

Charlie Fuller, former dean of Ouachita Baptist University's School of Fine Arts, led the Ouachita Singers on their European tour. He reflected, "How does God give us hope? Through His presence embodied in those who stand with us when we need it."

As you go about your day today, remember to put others first. You are the hands and feet of God.

The depth of worship

In my church small group, we have been talking about what worship is and about the importance of worship. I found an experience by Carol Wimber on pp. 60-61 of Passport: A Believer's Guide to the Kingdom of God fascinating:

In 1976, when Carol Wimber started a fellowship in her home for burned out Christians, she found that the presence of God came when they sang certain songs. These were usually songs that spoke to the Lord rather than about him: 'I love you, Lord!' Then the Lord gave her a word -- literally: It was the word worship. She could 'see' it in her spirit like a newspaper headline. It puzzled her, because in her tradition worship had meant a Sunday church service. Carol began to notice that, when the home group sang songs that addressed God directly and personally, the sense of the Holy Spirit's presence was especially strong. The group also learned that the power of worship reflected the depth of each person's devotional time with God during the week. Worship became much more than a meeting. This early experience placed worship as the cornerstone of their church life.

There are many different ways to worship: standing, singing, dancing, raising hands, silence and more. Which way do you worship most often?

A laughing matter

It's amazing when people find their calling by listening to God. For Daren Streblow, that message was to be a Christian comedian, according to an article in the Monroe News:

A few years after graduating from college and having been married a year, Mr. Streblow said 'he felt God leading him to be a stand-up comedian. He figured this wasn’t something that God regularly leads people to do … but it was a clear message to Daren and he knew he should pay attention,' his Web site says.

He thought about it and realized that God was right - his talents did lie with his comedy, so he started writing and honing his act. In 1998, he became a full-time comedian.

Streblow is originally from Ely, Minn., and has opened for Weird Al Yankovic, James Gregory, Jeff Allen and Brad Stine.

Saved from a kidnapping

The Corvallis Gazette-Times recently included chilling testimony from a trial in which a woman explained how she was kidnapped in 1993, when she was 14 -- and how she escaped:

Tuesday’s witness, who said she had a photographic memory, detailed how a man approached her after he saw her in a northeast Portland grocery store. The man, who said his name was 'Dave,' asked her if she needed help. She was a runaway at the time, and although she said the man seemed nice, she told him that she was just going home.

Not long afterward, the man came sprinting after her, holding a gun. He forced her into his car and drove her to an area away from people. He asked her to take off her clothes, which she started to do, but then told him 'no.'

The woman said she started reciting the Lord’s Prayer aloud and prayed for God to forgive the man. God spoke back to her, she said, telling her to get out of the car.

She ran to a nearby store, where she watched her assailant drive back and forth. Finally, she called a friend.

The woman said she reported the kidnapping to police shortly afterward.

Thank God that she was saved from a worse trauma.