// February 22nd, 2009 // 3 Comments » // My God
This process…”The Unplugging” I call it… is at times an excruciating process.
Several weeks ago we cut our cable TV back to 19! channels…
This week we are getting rid of the Xbox 360 and cut off the cable tv completely!!!
I determined several months back that I was not convinced that I could truly “hear” God. It often felt more like bad lip-reading than hearing. I talked to others about this perception and they assured me that I could hear from God but that it was an “imperfect science” so to speak.
I mulled it over and I have this whole thing about what I call “exception based religion” basically when we read something in the bible that seems to be pretty literal… and we cannot explain it… and we have no idea how to apply it… and we have never experienced it… we make an exception! we set it aside and determine that it obviously means something figurative or has a hidden meaning. We form our theory about what it means and add that “exception” into our doctrine and from now on… anything that vaguely calls upon that verse is easily handled. Thus our doctrine becomes dumbed down to near uselessness.. it becomes traditions and Pharisaical blather that is useless for improving our relationship with a God that we refuse to seek because we have finally “figured it all out”
Well I don’t buy it! I believe that if it doesn’t make sense… I need to explore it! so back to the “Hearing God” discussion… so almost everyone I have spoken to has told me that they believe they can “hear from God” but…” well It’s not like an audible voice… and I am not always sure if it is not me just thinking” in- fact I have experienced many that felt like they were speaking something that was from God for me only to attach a disclaimer “test it to see if it is from God… if not just disregard it”
Now I look back through all of history and the men and women that have heard from God, none of them even flinched about whether God spoke to them or not… in fact Samuel thought that someone, possibly the high priest was calling for him!
then there is Elijah!
1 Kings 19 (New King James Version)
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
God’s Revelation to Elijah
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
alright… To me… whether loud or quiet there is no mistaking when God is talking!… so if he is talking… and I cannot hear him… my assumption is that the problem is mine. not his!
so call me crazy… but I can only guess that I have filled my ears for so long with noise from TV, video games, movies,music…etc. that it is impossible to hear God unless he hits me with a hurricane! (an ironic observation seeing that has actually happened)
So Kimberly and I talked about it and… we ripped it out! the silence is deafening… and it is excruciating! but soon… we might hear from God.. and be changed forever!
Jason the bald guy
jasonthebaldguy.com
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Religion,
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