I Can Talk To God
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:17
It was almost 20 years ago that God began talking to me. No, I did not hear his booming voice come down from heaven, but heard Him through gentle whispers. These gentle whispers were enough, however, to get my attention and want to know more about what He was saying to me. Although God was placing His vision in my heart, I hesitated for several years before succumbing to Him and what He was saying. As this time passed I could more clearly see what God wanted me to do, and as this vision became more engrained in my mind and thoughts, I began questioning why God had chosen me to do His work. I had never had thoughts before of what God was asking me to do, and this was completely out of my comfort zone. However, as I began to read and study my Bible I became more at ease as my faith and trust in God began to grow and the task did not seem as large. God continued to talk to me, and still does, in these gentle whispers and continues to lead me and direct me in the fulfillment of my tasks. So often I do not know how these tasks will be carried out, but in all circumstances, as I have forged ahead everything falls into place. Many times I press and push for these tasks to be completed in a time frame I establish, and many times I can become frustrated as God knows when the time is right, and without fail He has always allowed them to be completed. When I now hear these gentle whispers I rush forward without any hesitation to answer God’s call to me, and in all situations God allows these gentle whispers to come to pass. Hearing God’s voice is such an important part of my life now, and I can hardly contain myself as He talks to me and I can talk to Him and get help and answers to any of my problems.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
My Daily Devotional
The Vision of Noah
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4
Having spent the past decade trying to implement a ministry that God has placed on my heart to implement, one of my largest hurdles has been to communicate my vision to my family and have them behind me 100%. Although God has allowed all aspects of my ministry to succeed and grow much greater than I ever envisioned, this hurdle has gnawed at me all during this time. I have done much research on how God worked in the life of many of the chosen in the Bible. The best example I have discovered is of Noah’s wife, whose name may not be recorded in Scripture, but evidently caught Noah’s vision. Here was a woman whose husband told her that God wanted him to spend a good part of his life building a huge boat in the desert, one large enough to load with thousands of animals, that she would have to live with for over a year. Noah’s wife must have been a woman of great faith in both her husband and also in God. While Noah was urging his neighbors to repent from their wicked ways, they probably thought he was crazy. His 100-plus year construction project seemed to be a work of insanity. However, I doubt that his wife was one of the people laughing at him. I imagine she was devoted to her husband and her children as they also assisted in this project, and she evidently served her husband and children with love and joy. Marriage provides many opportunities for spouses to lovingly serve each other. This must have been the case with Noah and his wife as they must have had their priorities in order and their priorities must have been aligned with God’s priorities. We must be careful in our lives to recognize the visions that God gives to others and assist in any way in the fulfillment of these visions.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4
Having spent the past decade trying to implement a ministry that God has placed on my heart to implement, one of my largest hurdles has been to communicate my vision to my family and have them behind me 100%. Although God has allowed all aspects of my ministry to succeed and grow much greater than I ever envisioned, this hurdle has gnawed at me all during this time. I have done much research on how God worked in the life of many of the chosen in the Bible. The best example I have discovered is of Noah’s wife, whose name may not be recorded in Scripture, but evidently caught Noah’s vision. Here was a woman whose husband told her that God wanted him to spend a good part of his life building a huge boat in the desert, one large enough to load with thousands of animals, that she would have to live with for over a year. Noah’s wife must have been a woman of great faith in both her husband and also in God. While Noah was urging his neighbors to repent from their wicked ways, they probably thought he was crazy. His 100-plus year construction project seemed to be a work of insanity. However, I doubt that his wife was one of the people laughing at him. I imagine she was devoted to her husband and her children as they also assisted in this project, and she evidently served her husband and children with love and joy. Marriage provides many opportunities for spouses to lovingly serve each other. This must have been the case with Noah and his wife as they must have had their priorities in order and their priorities must have been aligned with God’s priorities. We must be careful in our lives to recognize the visions that God gives to others and assist in any way in the fulfillment of these visions.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
My Daily Devotional
Our Prayer Time
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
Psalm 68:19
Do you pray daily? This is an important question to ask yourself. Each of us needs to set aside time in our daily routine to pray to God. I know that with the pressures on our lives that prayer of any significance beyond the “bless me today” kind of prayer may seem not to be doable in your schedule. However, I believe that God wants us to give Him our tithes in our time as well as our money. This means that we need to spend at least a tenth of our waking time worshiping God. We are to spend time praying, and spend time reading and studying the Bible. Part of this time could be spent on helping others that are in need. Our days should not consist of all our time spent on ourselves and our needs, as God commanded us to love others as we love ourselves. This means our time should not be spent entirely on our pleasures, but some time should be spent to assist, encourage or help someone other than ourselves. But a good part of our worship time should be spent in prayer. During our prayer time we need to thank God for all the blessings that He gives us daily, and also ask Him to give us guidance and wisdom that we can use to better understand and follow what He wants us to do in fulfilling the purpose He has for our lives. Our prayer time should include the Lord’s Prayer as it encompasses all of the things that God tells us are important. We need to pray to the Lord who bears our burdens, about our burdens, for the necessities of life and for mutual encouragement with other believers. We need to always offer praise, affection and love for the God who loves you. We need to understand that God loves to hear the voices of His people, and that He also loves the sound of your voice.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
Psalm 68:19
Do you pray daily? This is an important question to ask yourself. Each of us needs to set aside time in our daily routine to pray to God. I know that with the pressures on our lives that prayer of any significance beyond the “bless me today” kind of prayer may seem not to be doable in your schedule. However, I believe that God wants us to give Him our tithes in our time as well as our money. This means that we need to spend at least a tenth of our waking time worshiping God. We are to spend time praying, and spend time reading and studying the Bible. Part of this time could be spent on helping others that are in need. Our days should not consist of all our time spent on ourselves and our needs, as God commanded us to love others as we love ourselves. This means our time should not be spent entirely on our pleasures, but some time should be spent to assist, encourage or help someone other than ourselves. But a good part of our worship time should be spent in prayer. During our prayer time we need to thank God for all the blessings that He gives us daily, and also ask Him to give us guidance and wisdom that we can use to better understand and follow what He wants us to do in fulfilling the purpose He has for our lives. Our prayer time should include the Lord’s Prayer as it encompasses all of the things that God tells us are important. We need to pray to the Lord who bears our burdens, about our burdens, for the necessities of life and for mutual encouragement with other believers. We need to always offer praise, affection and love for the God who loves you. We need to understand that God loves to hear the voices of His people, and that He also loves the sound of your voice.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Friday, November 12, 2010
My Daily Devotional
Fathers Love Your Children
“The father of a righteous man has great joy, he who has a wise son delights in him.”
Proverbs 23:24
This devotional is dedicated to the many fathers that receive my devotionals, and the importance your role is in your family. Various studies conducted by Yale, Johns Hopkins and other groups have documented that the absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency. In forty eight cultures around the world crime rates were highest among adults who, as children, had been raised solely by women. A lack of closeness with fathers was the common factor in hypertension, coronary heart disease, malignant tumors, mental illness and suicide. A study of thirty-nine teenage girls suffering from anorexia showed that thirty-six of them had one common denominator, a lack of closeness with their fathers. It is a fact that an emotionally or physically absent father contributes to a child’s low motivation, low self-esteem and susceptibility to group influence and juvenile delinquency. It is clear, fathers are important in the lives of their children, and they need to be there not just physically, but emotionally as well. Being a father myself, I sometimes do not come up to the standard I set for myself, nevertheless, through the years of raising three wonderful children, God has continued to remind me that God’s standard for fatherhood is not perfection, it is love. And although I may have failed in some respect it was not in my love for each of them as this has always been the most important thing in my life. I would encourage each father to make sure that your children see the love you have for them, and demonstrate this to them each and every day during the time you have them. There is not a greater heritage that you can pass on to them than to show them love.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“The father of a righteous man has great joy, he who has a wise son delights in him.”
Proverbs 23:24
This devotional is dedicated to the many fathers that receive my devotionals, and the importance your role is in your family. Various studies conducted by Yale, Johns Hopkins and other groups have documented that the absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency. In forty eight cultures around the world crime rates were highest among adults who, as children, had been raised solely by women. A lack of closeness with fathers was the common factor in hypertension, coronary heart disease, malignant tumors, mental illness and suicide. A study of thirty-nine teenage girls suffering from anorexia showed that thirty-six of them had one common denominator, a lack of closeness with their fathers. It is a fact that an emotionally or physically absent father contributes to a child’s low motivation, low self-esteem and susceptibility to group influence and juvenile delinquency. It is clear, fathers are important in the lives of their children, and they need to be there not just physically, but emotionally as well. Being a father myself, I sometimes do not come up to the standard I set for myself, nevertheless, through the years of raising three wonderful children, God has continued to remind me that God’s standard for fatherhood is not perfection, it is love. And although I may have failed in some respect it was not in my love for each of them as this has always been the most important thing in my life. I would encourage each father to make sure that your children see the love you have for them, and demonstrate this to them each and every day during the time you have them. There is not a greater heritage that you can pass on to them than to show them love.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
My Daily Devotional
Are You Approachable
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
One thing that jumps out at me when I read this scripture is just how approachable Jesus must have been, as He was inviting all that heard him to come to Him and He would give them rest. This makes me think just how approachable are we to the people we meet. Do we make ourselves accessible to others if they want to discuss some issue on their heart? Does that include parents, children, friends, co-workers, clients, students, neighbors and other people in your life? I have seen many people throughout my life that had this gift of being approachable, and also seen others that seemed to push people away from them. I believe that as Christians it is our duty to make ourselves accessible to others that may need to talk to us about issues they may be having. How they seek access, whether face-to-face, or by telephone, or by e-mail or some other avenue is not as significant as whether such access will be granted. I would ask each of you to consider if you are approachable? Jesus gave us many examples such as the leper who found Jesus approachable. The prodigal son found his father approachable. The apostle Paul found the mother of Rufus approachable. If we do not make ourselves accessible to others we are going to miss many opportunities to make an influence, and be a witness for God in the life of others. We need to remember that you and I are created in God’s image, and since our Lord is approachable, we need to be approachable as well. Be sure the people in your life have some way to approach you. At times it may require extra effort on your part and humility of spirit but that is the way of Jesus. We can also use the examples above and call out to others to approach us instead of waiting for them.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
One thing that jumps out at me when I read this scripture is just how approachable Jesus must have been, as He was inviting all that heard him to come to Him and He would give them rest. This makes me think just how approachable are we to the people we meet. Do we make ourselves accessible to others if they want to discuss some issue on their heart? Does that include parents, children, friends, co-workers, clients, students, neighbors and other people in your life? I have seen many people throughout my life that had this gift of being approachable, and also seen others that seemed to push people away from them. I believe that as Christians it is our duty to make ourselves accessible to others that may need to talk to us about issues they may be having. How they seek access, whether face-to-face, or by telephone, or by e-mail or some other avenue is not as significant as whether such access will be granted. I would ask each of you to consider if you are approachable? Jesus gave us many examples such as the leper who found Jesus approachable. The prodigal son found his father approachable. The apostle Paul found the mother of Rufus approachable. If we do not make ourselves accessible to others we are going to miss many opportunities to make an influence, and be a witness for God in the life of others. We need to remember that you and I are created in God’s image, and since our Lord is approachable, we need to be approachable as well. Be sure the people in your life have some way to approach you. At times it may require extra effort on your part and humility of spirit but that is the way of Jesus. We can also use the examples above and call out to others to approach us instead of waiting for them.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
My Daily Devotional
Clear Communications
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
John 3:36
This past week at our weekly food distribution we had the opportunity to talk to a young man about his salvation. He seemed amazed that it was so simple to ask Jesus into his heart, and said if he had known it was so easy he would have done this earlier in his life. This incident reminded me of a story I had read about Dwight L. Moody who approached the president of a large coal mine, and told him about salvation. The man listened patiently and courteously and then said, “It’s too cheap, I can’t believe it’s true. You ask me to do nothing except to accept Christ in order to obtain salvation. It is too cheap. It should cost more than that.” D. L. Moody replied, “Did you go down in the shaft of the coal mine today?” “Yes I did”, said the man, “I pushed a button and the lift came up and took me down, as the company has spent thousands of dollars to construct the lift for our employees.” “That’s it exactly”, said D. L. Moody, “as God has already paid a tremendous price for your salvation. The price God paid was the most expensive thing in the world, yet God offers it to you free.” D. L. Moody was one of the greatest of all American Evangelists, and used this example to demonstrate how easy it was for someone to seek salvation. In this simple encounter we can see a very important component of clearly communicating the Gospel, using illustrations. As Christians we may have many occasions to talk to people about their salvation, and many times we may find that they do not clearly understand how easy it is. Sharing illustrations such as this could go a long way in shedding more light on their understanding that could lead them to God.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
John 3:36
This past week at our weekly food distribution we had the opportunity to talk to a young man about his salvation. He seemed amazed that it was so simple to ask Jesus into his heart, and said if he had known it was so easy he would have done this earlier in his life. This incident reminded me of a story I had read about Dwight L. Moody who approached the president of a large coal mine, and told him about salvation. The man listened patiently and courteously and then said, “It’s too cheap, I can’t believe it’s true. You ask me to do nothing except to accept Christ in order to obtain salvation. It is too cheap. It should cost more than that.” D. L. Moody replied, “Did you go down in the shaft of the coal mine today?” “Yes I did”, said the man, “I pushed a button and the lift came up and took me down, as the company has spent thousands of dollars to construct the lift for our employees.” “That’s it exactly”, said D. L. Moody, “as God has already paid a tremendous price for your salvation. The price God paid was the most expensive thing in the world, yet God offers it to you free.” D. L. Moody was one of the greatest of all American Evangelists, and used this example to demonstrate how easy it was for someone to seek salvation. In this simple encounter we can see a very important component of clearly communicating the Gospel, using illustrations. As Christians we may have many occasions to talk to people about their salvation, and many times we may find that they do not clearly understand how easy it is. Sharing illustrations such as this could go a long way in shedding more light on their understanding that could lead them to God.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
My Daily Devotional
God Will Never Forsake You
“For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”
Psalm 94:14
There are not many people who go through life without their up’s and down’s. Life is constantly changing, as some days we may be shouting to God, and praising Him for the good things that are happening to us. Then, there will be days where the storm clouds are all around us, and our world seems to be falling apart. We need to have a godly mindset in order to handle these changes, and deal with them properly. If we have our faith and trust in God, and have Him as number one in our lives, we will know that God will never reject us and forsake us. Even when the trials and troubles of life surround us, we will know that God is still there with us. We need to look at each new day, and even each hour, as an opportunity for God to bless us. So often we overlook all the blessings that God sends our way, as we seldom recognize an encouraging word from a friend, or a pat on the back from our boss, or even an unexpected financial blessing, as blessings from God. We can even see the blessings from God by looking at the beautiful blue sky or the large oak tree on our way to work, or the food before us at dinner. God has given us all these blessings, but so often we take them for granted, and do not appreciate them as we should. We need to always remember that God wants the best for us, and even when we may have a trial come our way, God is still there with us. So when we awake each morning we need to look for all the blessings that God has provided, and thank him for these. When our trials come we must not walk in fear, but hold on to the faith and trust that God is with us through all our challenges in life. Look for God’s blessings today and thank Him and trust Him during your challenges, as God will never forsake you.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
“For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”
Psalm 94:14
There are not many people who go through life without their up’s and down’s. Life is constantly changing, as some days we may be shouting to God, and praising Him for the good things that are happening to us. Then, there will be days where the storm clouds are all around us, and our world seems to be falling apart. We need to have a godly mindset in order to handle these changes, and deal with them properly. If we have our faith and trust in God, and have Him as number one in our lives, we will know that God will never reject us and forsake us. Even when the trials and troubles of life surround us, we will know that God is still there with us. We need to look at each new day, and even each hour, as an opportunity for God to bless us. So often we overlook all the blessings that God sends our way, as we seldom recognize an encouraging word from a friend, or a pat on the back from our boss, or even an unexpected financial blessing, as blessings from God. We can even see the blessings from God by looking at the beautiful blue sky or the large oak tree on our way to work, or the food before us at dinner. God has given us all these blessings, but so often we take them for granted, and do not appreciate them as we should. We need to always remember that God wants the best for us, and even when we may have a trial come our way, God is still there with us. So when we awake each morning we need to look for all the blessings that God has provided, and thank him for these. When our trials come we must not walk in fear, but hold on to the faith and trust that God is with us through all our challenges in life. Look for God’s blessings today and thank Him and trust Him during your challenges, as God will never forsake you.
(Many of my readers have asked if my Daily Devotionals have been published and if they could purchase them. The Devotionals I am posting are from My Daily Devotional Volume III which was published in 2009 and can be purchased at amazon.com or from me at robbrock@comcast.net)
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