Category: Hearing from God

How does Jesus Expect us to Work out Ephesians 4:32 in our Daily Lives?

Lisa M. Price5 Comments

Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also- Colossians 3:12b-13 NASB

Earlier this week as I was scrolling my social media feed I came across a post on boundaries. I know about boundaries. I read the book on boundaries.  I have even taught a couple of classes on boundaries.  I routinely advise folks I work with in ministry settings to set boundaries. I’m not unaware of what boundaries are, nor am I against setting them. Please don’t send me an email explaining boundaries to me. It will just make me feel misunderstood. 

That out of the way, I do feel compelled to share the experience I had with the Holy Spirit this week. I will warn readers ahead of time, this post might be challenging (offensive) to some. 

Okay, so.

I was reading through the post on boundaries and not really thinking too deeply about what I was reading. I certainly wasn’t bothered or offended by what I read. The author did not say anything I hadn’t heard before. Then (out of nowhere) a verse popped into my head. It was word-for-word perfect in the ESV translation:

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you- Ephesians 4:32

 I have been a Christian for a long time.  I know enough about how the Holy Spirit works to know that when a random verse pops into my head as I’m mindlessly reading an article it means something. At the very least, it means I’m supposed to go a little (lot) deeper and figure what God is trying to say (Hebrews 12:25). 

So, I dug deeper.

The word the Holy Spirit impressed on my heart was tenderhearted. So, I whipped out my handy-dandy Greek dictionary and looked it up. The Greek word for “tenderhearted” means to take pity on someone or to show mercy. Then I looked up “kind” in Greek. It means to be gentle, gracious and good natured toward others. At that point, I decided I might as well look up “forgiving” as well. It means not to exact punishment.  I concluded that Ephesians 4:32 could be translated:

Be good natured and gracious toward others. Take pity on people who don’t know better or don’t do better even when they know better.  Do not exact punishment on people because they annoy or hurt you.

I will not lie. I experienced some conviction. 

It occurred to me that people, even church people (me included) talk a lot about empathy, kindness, mercy and compassion. Nonetheless, it’s fair to say we have lost our way when it comes to living out the biblical commands to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving in our day-to-day lives (Luke 6:35, Romans 13:8, Colossians 3:12). Truth-be-told, many believers (me included sometimes) are taking their cues about how to treat people from the world rather than Jesus. The social media post I mentioned earlier serves as a relevant example. The writer (who I do not know) is a professing Christian who basically made a case for boundaries being the ultimate conflict resolution tool. They suggest that if anyone hurts you or even just annoys you, the best solution is to go “no” or “low contact”.  Conflict solved. The poster openly defined boundaries as cutting difficult people out of one’s life (1stJohn 4:1). 

What? 

Here’s the thing: cutting a person out of one’s life is not setting a boundary (John 13:35, John 15:12, 1stCorinthians 13).  God does not call His people to build thick walls to keep annoying people out of their lives (Romans 12:10). Anyone who believes ending a relationship without a really compelling reason (like genuine abuse) is God’s will or a good example of a biblical boundary is just plain wrong. Boundaries are meant to be like fences with gates that swing open on both sides, not walls that block contact with the outside world. God wants us to figure out ways to maintain and heal relationships not obliterate them (Romans 12:16, 2nd Timothy 2:23-25). Boundaries ARE about setting limits concerning what you will or will not do. Boundaries are not meant to punish people for past sins (Romans 2:1).  Unless a person is currently doing something truly egregious and stubbornly unrepentant (being annoying, rude or stupid is not egregious) Christians don’t cut people out of their lives.   Furthermore, cutting contact or even limiting contact with someone is not conflict resolution. Ending the relationship will halt the conflict, but it will never resolve anything. 

Moreover, what if Jesus started treating us the way we treat annoying people? We would be in all kinds of trouble. Every single one of us is annoying in some truly profound way. We are slow to learn, slow to obey and super stupid sometimes, especially if perfection is our standard.  We need Jesus to take pity on us daily and not punish us for our sin and stupidity. 

God commands His people to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14-16). One way to do that is to take pity on others for their lack of consideration, wisdom and social grace. No where in Scripture are we told to view frustrating, rude or even mean people as impediments to our peace or as problems to be eliminated. Oftentimes God uses those very people (warts and all) to grow us and mature us into the image of Jesus.  We must never forget that God the commands to love others in spite of their deficiencies and irritating behaviors (John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:8, 2nd Corinthians 13:11, Ephesians 4:2). 

Just like He does with us. 

The “Why” Every Christian to Needs to Understand-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Yet the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us”- 1st Samuel 8:19 NASB

Every once in a while, the good Lord taps me on the shoulder and quietly lets me know that I am not completely finished with something I assumed was over. I know it’s God speaking because I am unable to let the thing (whatever it may be) go mentally or emotionally. 

Such was the case with last week’s blog post. 

I wrote about a rather grim warning Jesus gave regarding the sorry state of Christian leadership in the end times (Matthew 24:48-51). The overall point of the post was that the Church is almost certainly (at least to some degree) walking in the reality of Jesus’ warning. There is a shocking excess of selfish, hurtful and just plain crummy leadership in Christian circles. This is obviously not okay. Christians need to think about this, even if the leadership we are following or practicing is awesome. This is because Christian leadership impacts how unbelievers view both God and the church.  The epidemic of crummy leadership in the Church is without a doubt one of the reasons so many have defected from the church in recent years. 

In my mind the subject was exhausted.  

Nonetheless, Monday I had a niggling sense there was more God wanted me to say on the subject. I prayed about it and by mid-afternoon I understood what was missing from the original post.

The why. 

The why is the reason or reasons hiding behind a problem or issue.  Why’s matter.  Anytime we do not understand the why of something the problems associated with that thing tend to repeat themselves. Such is the case here. Crummy spiritual leadership is not new problem. Bad leadership has been the bane of both Jewish and Christian history. In first Samual eight we see the first recorded occurrence of the problem. 

Most of us are familiar with the story.

The Israelites decided they wanted a king to lead them.  The people longed for a human leader who had all the answers. They wanted someone who was bright and well spoken. Someone who understood what do and how to get it done. Samuel warned them that if they went that route, evil, self-absorbed men would move into that role, and they would pay a heavy price for their choice (1st Samuel 8:11-18).

 In a very real sense, many Christians want the same thing the Israelites wanted. Christians want leaders who look good and represent our churches well. Christians want leaders who will clearly state the will of God for our lives. We want someone to seek God on our behalf and give us moral and spiritual direction. It’s not bad to want leaders. Leaders can be a gift from God unless the desire for a leader is born out of one of the following reasons:

Spiritual laziness (sorry I know this one is harsh)-

God wants all people to seek Him. Once a person gets into relationship with God then He wants His people to want an intimate relationship with Him. One aspect of relationship with God is giving God the praise and honor He deserves (worship). However, another critical aspect of relationship with God is asking Him about stuff. God wants us to get into the Bible and learn it.  He also wants us to ask Him for wisdom and insight into our problems and struggles. When we do these things, we get to know God better and it gives invaluable insight into what we should and shouldn’t do in our particular set of circumstances. When we learn to do these things on a regular basis, it builds relationship with God, it increases our trust in God and it gives us the wisdom we need to do life well (Daniel 12:3, Psalm 37:29-31). Seeking God for ourselves does not end the need for human leadership but it does make us better able to lead ourselves because we are literally getting advice and guidance from the God of the universe. That being said, sometimes people don’t want to do the work necessary to build closeness with God, because it’s hard.

We have forgotten our faith journey is our own-

Every single human being will stand before the judgment seat of God ALONE (Matthew 25:14-29, 2nd Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27). We will not have a spouse or spiritual leader holding our hand for support or taking some of the heat (or praise) for our choices. We are all responsible before God for our own faith journey. This fact makes an overreliance on human leadership foolish at best. 

We don’t want to do the hard work of growth-

No wants to be wrong or make a bad decision. However, personal failure serves a valuable purpose. When we make a bad decision and take responsibility for the choice we grow and learn. When we humble ourselves after a failure, wisdom begins to take root in our hearts (Matthew 23:12, James 4:6-10). When we become overly dependent on human leaders for our spiritual direction, we rarely learn from the mistakes we see others making. Instead, we tend to become judgmental towards their failure and prideful about our own decision making (Matthew 7:1-3). This makes us dumb and lacking in compassion. Not good. It’s better to learn and grow from our own failures. 

The desire for good leadership is not always bad or sinful. Leaders serve a purpose (Hebrews 13:17). However, it is critical we understand Christianity was never meant to have a middleman. When Jesus died the veil in the Temple that separated the most holy place was torn in two, ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This miraculous act signified the end of the middleman and the beginning of a time when all people could communicate with God and learn spiritual truth for themselves. When we are communing with and learning from God, we protect ourselves and those we love from the devastation of bad leaders. 

The Bible Story Everyone Loves to Hate-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?”  “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”- Job 38:4 and Job 40:2 NASB

Okay, so. 

There this incident in Scripture people (both Christian and non-Christian) love to question. Frequently, the questioning leads to accusing God of some pretty horrific things, including being a moral monster and a baby killer. Some even claim they just up and quit Christianity because they were so deeply offended by the details of the story.

Yikes. 

God does not need me to defend Him (as if). However. I would like to make a couple of points concerning this passage of Scripture. Then I will give some personal opinions I have developed concerning how modern-day Christians view their relationship with God. 

First the story.  

The incident in question is found in Genesis 22:1-19. It’s the one where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice His son Isaac as an offering. This was a super big deal for a couple of key reasons. First, Abraham loved Isaac a lot, like a lot, a lot. Second, Isaac was a miracle child (his Mom was 90 when he was conceived). Isaac’s existence came about as a result of a promise God made to Abraham and his wife Sarah. And finally, if Isaac had died before having children all the promises God made to Abraham concerning Isaac would be null and void. 

Nevertheless. 

 Abraham obediently packed up a donkey, rounded up Isaac and a couple of trusty servants and headed to Mount Moriah with all the equipment necessary to make a human sacrifice. Just as Abraham gets to the point where he is about plunge the knife into Isaac, an angel of the Lord appears and firmly orders Abraham to abort mission. God then says something key: 

For now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.

Then a goat appears in a thicket near Isaac and Abraham. They sacrifice the goat, meet up with the servants and head to Beersheba where Abraham stays. 

The end. 

Well, okay not the end of the whole story but it was the end of the episode.

It’s critical to note Abraham was a really old guy at this point in the Genesis narrative. He was at least 115 and perhaps as old as 125, nor, was Isaac a baby or a toddler or even a little boy. Most scholars believe Isaac was somewhere between 15 and 25. This means Isaac could have jumped off the altar, kicked Abraham’s geriatric butt and put an end to the whole episode if he had been so inclined. 

Apparently, he wasn’t.

Furthermore, the text is clear. This was a test, only a test. No actual humans were sacrificed in the making of this story. God did not permit Abraham to “go there”. Therefore, it is manifestly unjust to accuse God of being a baby killer and a moral monster when there were no babies involved and the monstrous act never actually occurred.  

Also.

The whole notion of fearing God and loving God are inextricably linked in Old Testament times. To love God was to fear Him. No one who claimed to love God treated Him like a bro or a buddy. Nor, did those who claimed to love God question or challenge His authority or goodness. Those who loved God, feared, revered and above all else obeyed Him (Deuteronomy 10:12, Psalm 76:11, Psalm 128:1, Proverbs 1:28-30).  

Period.

Consequently, a reasonable translation of Genesis 22:12 could be: “now I know you really love me because you have not withheld your only son”. 

This matters because it is one of the Old Testament stories intended to point people to Jesus. An Old Testament story that points people to a New Testament truth or to Jesus is called a “typology” or a “foreshadowing”. Just as God knew Abraham really loved Him because He was willing to sacrifice His son for God. We know God really loves us because He sacrificed His son Jesus for us (Hebrews 10:10). When we read the story of Abraham and Isaac we aren’t supposed to scream and yell about what a despicable moral monster God is. Nor, are we supposed to call God a baby-killer on social media or renounce our faith in Jesus (Hebrews 6:4-5). 

That’s just stupid. 

We are supposed to put the puzzle pieces together and rejoice in the fact that our God loves us enough to give His only son for our salvation (John 3:16). 

 In recent years it has become common for Christians to treat God as if He were on the same level as an average Joe. People (even Christians) question God’s wisdom, virtuousness and integrity as if God were just “some guy” rather than the God of the Universe.  

Questions are not wrong. 

However, we ought to recognize our place, watch our tone and check our motives before we fly into drama mode. Are we asking because we genuinely want to increase our understanding of God? Are our questions born out of an earnest desire to learn and grow?  Or, are we simply looking to find fault with God so we can write Him off as a moral monster and move on with our lives unencumbered by His moral directives? 

God is more than capable of withstanding our honest questions. 

I believe with all my heart He has nothing but love and compassion for an honest seeker who just wants to know and understand. However, acting as if we know more than or are morally superior to God is just dumb and dangerously sinful.

How Normal People Hear From God-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears- Psalm 37:17 NASB 

Hearing from God.

It’s a bit of a controversial subject. 

Even amongst Christians.  Most non-Christians and some Christians believe only really weird people actually hear from God. Others (both Christian and non-Christian) believe they hear from God all the time concerning every imaginable subject. However, it could be argued some of those messages are questionable at best. 

Sigh. 

God does speak. 

God speaks most often, most directly and most clearly through His word (Hebrews 4:12, 2nd Kings 22:8-11). God frequently speaks through His people (Acts 2:18, Psalm 37:30). Sometimes God speaks in a still small voice that pierces our heart and makes us aware of His leading in a particular area (1st Kings 19:12). Occasionally, God still speaks through dreams (Daniel 2:1-3, Acts 2:17), and every once in a while, God speaks audibly (Luke 3:22, Genesis 16:13).   However, even in the Bible the audible voice of God seems to be more of an exception to how God speaks than the rule. Nonetheless, it does still happen. 

All that being said. 

For all sorts of reasons, most Christians would like to hear God’s voice a little more often.  Hearing from God is how we get direction. It’s how we know we are on the right path and doing the right thing. When we hear the voice of God we feel seen and loved by God. The Bible is unequivocal: God speaks to all His people, not just the weird ones. Sometimes, God even speaks to people who aren’t His people.

The question for those of us who want to hear Him is “what can I do to better hear His voice?”. 

Thankfully, God wants us to hear Him so He doesn’t overcomplicate the process. Following are four simple, basic things anyone can do to get in better tune with God so we hear His voice more often and more clearly. 

It all starts with:

Nurturing and growing our faith-

Believing in God is not requirement for hearing from God. God speaks to atheists, agnostics, heathens and pagans (Genesis 31:34, Jonah 3:3-5, Acts 2:36-38). If He didn’t no one would ever come to know God. That said, believing in God ups the odds of hearing from God substantially. The more faith we have in God the more likely we are to hear God when He does speak. A foundation of faith also helps us to understand what is directing us to do when He speaks. We grow our faith by becoming rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:7). Spiritual roots grow deep through the regular practice of hearing and reading the word of God (Romans 10:27) and through regular prayer. The more we know the Bible and spend time with God the better acquainted we become with Him. Once we are personally familiar with God and how He operates it is much easier to discern what He’s saying and what He wants us to do with His message.  

Wanting to- 

Okay, so, admittedly this one is bit of a given, however it’s worth stating anyway. God will only speak in an intimate, friendly way to those who sincerely want to hear from Him. If we want clear communication with God we have to keep our hearts open to God. It is possible for our heart to close God without our knowledge or awareness because humans are often self-deceived (Obadiah 1:3, Zechariah 7:12). The best way to keep self-deception at bay and our hearts open to God is to practice regular self-examination and deal with our sin decisively (2nd Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 5:29-31).

Fostering fear of God- 

In the ESV version of the Bible Psalm 25:14 says that “friendship with God is for those who fear Him. He makes His covenant (promises) known to them”. Other versions say God “confides in those who fear Him”, still others say “the secrets of God are for those who fear Him”. They all means the same thing: God speaks most clearly and most intimately to those fear Him. Fearing God doesn’t mean we cower in dread of Him. It does mean we believe what He says enough to do what He tells us to do.  Fearing God also means we understand and embrace the “otherness” of God. Much of today’s teaching concerning God makes Him out to be a slightly bigger, smarter human. This teaching makes God out to be a really nice guy who never gets worked-up about anything. It’s true, God is kind. Kindness is fundamental aspect of His character. However, God is more than just nice. He is also holy, just and righteous. People who fear God embrace all aspects of God’s character not just the ones that give us good feels.  

And finally:

We must obey what we do hear. 

The speediest most effective way to get God to stop talking is for us to ignore His instruction and choose to do our own thing for our own glory. When we quit obeying, the Bible no longer make sense and the still small voice of God goes from still and small to radio silence. Thankfully all we have to do to get God talking again is go back to the same obedience we practiced in the beginning of relationship with God (Revelation 2:4-5). The simple act of repentance brings immediate joy, reopens the channels of communication with God and reestablishes closeness with God (Acts 3:19).