Today while I was at work in my office I could hear a cell phone set to vibrate, buzzing away. I had heard it go off two or three times and then silence and then start again. I got up to go look for it because it was driving me crazy! So I talked to my co-worker and said, "Do you hear that? I think it is in your area."
He replied, "No, I am pretty sure it is in your office." I checked my phone that was in my pocket just in case but it wasn't the culprit. So I decided to get up and go look for it about the fourth time that it started ringing. It started again and then my co-worker said to go look in another office...but to no avail! All of a sudden I heard it ring again and found it! It was in my co-worker's office on his filing cabinet and that is why I could hear it! He was surprised but another co-worker had set it down there and left it. We both got a good chuckle out of the whole situation.
Then I remembered one night while I was in Israel last year. We were spending the night in the middle of the desert. We were staying in a giant tent of the Bedouin people. I mean that this tent was HUGE! It has big wool rugs on the floors and walls to help insulate the tent. They had a giant heater at one end to heat the tent. We had about 48 women sleeping in the tent. One big giant sleep over. It was so much fun. Finally everyone was falling asleep and I would hear this cell phone notification. About every ten minutes this phone would chirp. Well Rebecca Bauer and Kimberly Dirmann were on the opposite wall from me. Rebekah whispered, "Shanin, is that your phone?"
I replied, "No!" We went back and forth for a while like this. I finally had to take my phone out to prove that it was off! I got to laughing. So we got up out of our sleeping bags with our flashlights trying to find the phone in the few chirps it would make before stopping again for another ten or fifteen minutes. Did I mention that this tent was huge? I mean HUGE! LOL Everytime it would go off I would think that the ring was coming from the other side. We searched the entire tent till finally it chirped while we were nearby and we found it! The owner of the phone had her earplugs firmly placed in her ears, eye mask on (not mentioning any names Tracy Barber!) and could not hear the notification. We woke her up so she could turn it off! This sleeping bag was only two bags away from me! I would have never guessed that this phone was nearby because to me it sounded like it was over by Rebecca. I laughed today when this was brought to my memory by that buzzing phone.
The bible talks about a time when there will be people who claim to be Christ and for us not to be fooled. 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. Matthew 24:3 NKJV
We need to know Jesus's voice and to know him so well that we will not be conned! Otherwise if we think that every person that performs a "miracle" or claims to be Christ is over there then we will run over there! All of the time being deceived running back and forth and not following Jesus! We will get lost and confused.
We need to know the Word so that when it is twisted we will be able to recognize a counterfeit. 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:2-4 NIV How will we be able to tell the difference if we don't know the Word of God? I already hear Christians who say, "Well, I know the bible says that but I don't believe that way." How sad. They are changing the Word to fit into their lifestyle or into what their itching ears want to hear. The Word of the Lord says to be discerning! Part of discernment comes from knowing the Word of God.
I know that some of you will say, "Well, I am too busy or I don't like to read or I can't understand it when I read it." When I was younger I used everyone of these excuses. Then one day I prayed that the Lord would help me to grasp, remember and understand what I was reading. I made a decision to read His Word. People, this changed my life! My identity started changing to reflect Christ! I started understanding it...I started grasping it and I started to remember! It is like drinking water. I have heard many people tell me that they hate the taste of water or that they are never thirsty. Do you know that if you are dehydrated that you won't be thirsty? You won't get thirsty until after you start drinking it! After a while it will even taste better! (If not get a filter!lol) Before long your skin will improve and you will wash away toxins that are stored in your body! A lot like the Living Water! Try it! Commit to reading a chapter or two everyday. Before long I am guessing that you will want to read more of the Word! Take one scripture that stands out to you and write about it! We use a bible program call SOAP. Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Write your observation and then how it applys to your life and then write a prayer to the Lord. Lord, help me to implement this in my life or Lord, help me to understand your Word! He will answer you! He will speak to your heart! BTW all of this only takes up about a 5x7 piece of paper. If you make it into a journal you can look back and see how you have grown or what the Lord has spoken to your heart! I even keep track of answered prayers and many days when I have looked back it stirs my faith!
Take the Challenge! Then let me know how it works.
Still Soaping!
Shanin
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