Are you there yet?

I used to carry my camera everywhere until I started having kids. Actually, having Ethan propelled me to get my first my digital camera. But three babies and three cameras later; it just became easier to carry less. Not to mention the fact that it had become way too obvious that we were hard on electronics. Scaling back meant that I also started using my phone for pictures. Some of my earlier cell phones have taken decent pictures and so it wasn't a big deal. But I must say the iPhone has sorely disappointed me in this area.

The other night I was walking down the lane behind my house and saw this view. If it wasn't in someone else's yard, I might have sat there all night. You can't tell from the picture but the bottom crescent of the moon was glowing and behind the crescent you could see the remaining full moon shadow. Not only that but the little star to the left is actually Venus and not even a star. It was a pretty proud moment for me.  

It was one thing to be able to say that I took the picture but this shot didn't do it justice. The woods surrounding me were lit with a strange, even pink, hue. The ground was white with snow. In some ways it almost felt like I was on a set for a play. The image really doesn't capture the footage outside or around the frame of the picture. You really had to be there to get it. And I can say that I was! It was enchanting. 

This picture has made me decide that I will start carrying my camera again. Even if it's not top of the line, it might have brought me a picture that I could actually frame. Whereas now, I will only be able to save it here on a blog. As I considered the differences in pictures that I've seen online or in markets verses ones that I've taken; I couldn't help but consider their similarity in hearing the word. 

I have been given some great friends, mentors and even counselors that have had wonderful advice. I was dually blessed when some of them were Christians. I can also say that I have sat in church services with spirit led Pastors that could say the exact thing that hurt-so-good. -Each word FULL of the correction you needed with enough grace to keep you begging for more.

But NOTHING has ever been as satisfying to me as reading the word myself and having it speak directly to me or feeling- knowing that God is with me & giving me the answer that I need right now. -To be able to say "I was there and so was he!" -Like that picture!

I don't know where you are in your walk right now. Maybe you can connect with exactly what I am saying. But if you can't and if you've never "heard God speak" or felt the word, I'd like to try to encourage you today.

So many of us wait [or have waited] for that "thunder booming voice" kind of like when you were in trouble with your parents and they dropped your middle name, or like the voice of the mysterious man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. I don't know that it always happens like that for everyone and I'd hate for you to miss it! 

For me, I can say that I have heard a thunder booming voice once but not with my ears and I am sorry that I just don't know how to elaborate on that. I can only say that I heard it in my heart. I might have even heard the thunder voice a few other times. However, I'd rather say that hearing God speak to me is more like having his entire creation become alive. 

The words most often spoken are usually through you and/or friends and strangers or in books I read. A few little strips twinged with a sudden nearness and connection. And many of the times the words used were not even intended that way by the speaker. They may never know their impact unless I tell them. 

In fact, I feel like the Lord uses my job to teach me about so many other facets of my life but particularly in my spiritual growth. It's a connection that I am not sure I would have noticed if I wasn't already a believer. Other times it's a nudging; a soft prompting that I need to do something or at times even a tension related to decisions. 

I'd like to share a verse with you to meditate on:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).

There is so much en-grained in that little nugget.

1. If you love God -  Love. This is simple. I do not hear as much [even from my surroundings] if I am not spending time in the word. And I am not going to do that if I don't genuinely desire or love him and what I get from it.

2. Obey what I command - Obedience really is a key. I don't want to portray God as the kind to give you a silent treatment. I think that instead he patiently waits for us to catch up. I don't want to overly personalize this and downplay God either but really what is the point of talking to someone who doesn't listen. We want God to give us a testimony but we don't want to tell anyone about it. We want God to change our lives but don't want to do anything different. We also want God to speak to us but then we're so afraid of what he might say that we can't bring ourselves to listen. There really is not a drive thru for spirituality. You will have to discipline yourself to accept change in order to get a different result. If he does meet you where you are and give you an answer, what are you going to do with what comes after?

3. There is a counselor - You have a certified helper available in each moment who knows exactly what you need in any circumstance.

4. To be with you - WITH [Always available] YOU [Not just available to everyone else.]

4. Now this one is important and it might sound offensive or weird and if it does please pray about it. Heck, ask me and I will pray with you. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him or knows him.  I'm just going to give you a handful of verses right here and truthfully they are only a drop in the bucket.

John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, [willing to recognize that he is God and treat him as your Lord] then [it only comes after that first part] you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

In fact you’ve probably heard this verse before “He came so that the blind could see” Maybe you think of the blind beggar that Jesus healed by rubbing mud on his eyes. –Or maybe you think of Saul’s conversion when scales fell from his eyes and SUDDENLY he could see.

Yes, Jesus performed miracles that restored a physical sight but he gives a spiritual sight as well. I don't believe that his miracles were only parables but parables were used throughout the bible. Why could a picture for physical healing not be the exact and obvious image we need for the spiritual vision as well? Something else happened to each recipient as soon as they gained their physical sight. They also gained a recognition or knowledge about Jesus and the God who performed the miracle. There is so much more to see & know than just what is just before us. 

In fact 2 Corinthians talks about a veil, something being lifted so that you can gain this sight, particularly verses 3-4. And just like the veil used when a bride gets married; when God lifts that veil it’s because we have chosen to become his. Not on Sunday. Not on a blog. Not only with our unveiled friends. For life. “Like a bride and groom”. There is a commitment. (I will let you look up passages about that reference.)

And if you don’t think that this is right, check out John 8:47 it plainly says “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” I did not write that! It's scripture. Check it out!

If you feel like you’re not on that hearing side, do not be discouraged John 1:12 also says “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

And finally, if you want to know how to do this, the answer is found in Romans 10:9 - They call it the ABC's of Salvation. Because if you Acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart Believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, [Then you Commit your life to living by and for this] you will be saved. 

If you made it here and are kind of surprised how we got from point A to B, well me too! I really just meant to tell you that there is more to this view than just what you see in the picture. You and I couldn't possibly grasp all that was there unless we were in it. Faith is really no different. If you don't get what someone else has, you're might actually be missing some of the details. I promise you that if you ask to be his and commit yourself to deepening your faith, he will reveal and even fill in what you've been missing.

I hope it doesn't sound too boastful. I am full of mistakes and things that I could certainly do better. -But God loves me and you despite of our flaws. Every time I've challenged myself to get deeper, he has met me where I was. I urge you to just ask yourself if your faith matches up to what you picture that it should be. If it's not, ask yourself what's missing. Then [get the right lens] ask God to show you how to get there and then do all that you can to "capture" what's not in your present setting.

Blessings to you friend!