The Spirit calls me today. I am always excited to hear His perspective. I have been spending a lot of time working outside. The land is so beautiful but it is part of my sense of "ownership" to add my own creative touches.
I find myself working on a projects that tax me physically and yet I am compelled each day to push toward the goal even in changing weather from hot to cold and cold to colder..
This morning the Spirit speaks and I understand more about His government over my life. He told me that He has had me in simultaneous drills designed to strengthen me physically as well as Spiritually.
That would explain this inner call to make the forest tidier; to manage it and prayerfully make the land more hospitable. This is also what He is doing through His wake-up call every morning to meet Him for counsel. He is managing my thoughts, my heart, my whole being and making His "Temple" more hospitable.
The discipline was hard at first but the Spirit was unrelenting and persistent in His call. The wisdom I receive in the early morning meetings is far beyond my own thinking. Not that anyone else would necessarily understand because the Holy One speaks to each one of us uniquely and in the specific language of our own individual heart.
There is something so comforting about the voice of the Spirit. It is the voice of my Shepherd. Jesus spoke of it in John 10. Vs 14, "I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. Vs 3, ....the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice."
How many of us can honestly say we "KNOW" the voice of our Shepherd? We place a lot of emphasis on the written Word of God and so we must. But why, then, did Jesus use this analogy for us since sheep cannot read and must rely on their knowledge and understanding of the voice of their Shepherd?
Sheep without a shepherd are a pathetic sight. The shepherd is the only hope for their survival, and yet we are referred to as sheep over and over again. The fact that the Palestinian shepherd leads his sheep is not lost on me. Other shepherds may drive their sheep, but my Shepherd, the Good Shepherd leads His sheep.
With the Holy One out ahead and leading me into each new day, I can follow with a wonderful peace, knowing He will keep me safe all day, every day.
The critical issue to me is knowing His voice. How many other voices call to me in a given day to follow them unto my own destruction?
This is the reason for the "drills". The Holy Spirit is speaking and I must listen and obey. As the Shepherd's voice continues to speak and I tune my ear to the sound of it, I begin to recognize His voice and trust that as I listen and obey, He will keep me safe from all harm. I will have His Wisdom and Grace to deal with any situation I might encounter in any given day.
King David wrote this incredible Psalm about our Good Shepherd.
Psalm 23:
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside quiet waters
He restores my soul
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake
Even though I walk through the valley of the "shadow" of death
I will fear no evil for You are with me
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
With this wonderful picture in my mind, I know I must listen intently to the Voice of my Shepherd and follow Him. I must be still and hear what the Holy One has to say. I must obey and apply each directive spoken. In this way, I will become more and more familiar with the voice of my Shepherd and more and more confident to follow the voice I know is His.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
I find myself working on a projects that tax me physically and yet I am compelled each day to push toward the goal even in changing weather from hot to cold and cold to colder..
This morning the Spirit speaks and I understand more about His government over my life. He told me that He has had me in simultaneous drills designed to strengthen me physically as well as Spiritually.
That would explain this inner call to make the forest tidier; to manage it and prayerfully make the land more hospitable. This is also what He is doing through His wake-up call every morning to meet Him for counsel. He is managing my thoughts, my heart, my whole being and making His "Temple" more hospitable.
The discipline was hard at first but the Spirit was unrelenting and persistent in His call. The wisdom I receive in the early morning meetings is far beyond my own thinking. Not that anyone else would necessarily understand because the Holy One speaks to each one of us uniquely and in the specific language of our own individual heart.
There is something so comforting about the voice of the Spirit. It is the voice of my Shepherd. Jesus spoke of it in John 10. Vs 14, "I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. Vs 3, ....the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice."
How many of us can honestly say we "KNOW" the voice of our Shepherd? We place a lot of emphasis on the written Word of God and so we must. But why, then, did Jesus use this analogy for us since sheep cannot read and must rely on their knowledge and understanding of the voice of their Shepherd?
Sheep without a shepherd are a pathetic sight. The shepherd is the only hope for their survival, and yet we are referred to as sheep over and over again. The fact that the Palestinian shepherd leads his sheep is not lost on me. Other shepherds may drive their sheep, but my Shepherd, the Good Shepherd leads His sheep.
With the Holy One out ahead and leading me into each new day, I can follow with a wonderful peace, knowing He will keep me safe all day, every day.
The critical issue to me is knowing His voice. How many other voices call to me in a given day to follow them unto my own destruction?
This is the reason for the "drills". The Holy Spirit is speaking and I must listen and obey. As the Shepherd's voice continues to speak and I tune my ear to the sound of it, I begin to recognize His voice and trust that as I listen and obey, He will keep me safe from all harm. I will have His Wisdom and Grace to deal with any situation I might encounter in any given day.
King David wrote this incredible Psalm about our Good Shepherd.
Psalm 23:
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside quiet waters
He restores my soul
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake
Even though I walk through the valley of the "shadow" of death
I will fear no evil for You are with me
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
With this wonderful picture in my mind, I know I must listen intently to the Voice of my Shepherd and follow Him. I must be still and hear what the Holy One has to say. I must obey and apply each directive spoken. In this way, I will become more and more familiar with the voice of my Shepherd and more and more confident to follow the voice I know is His.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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