Post # 14 - CHRISTMAS 2011 – GOD IS SPEAKING, BUT ARE WE LISTENING?

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts …” (Heb. 3:7-8 NIV).

Jesus said: “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them’” (Matthew 14:13-14 & Isaiah 6:9-10 NASB).

Life in our 21^st century is stressful, complex, and exceedingly noisy. We live in a world with more voices crying out to us than any other generation in all of human history. Email, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging, Skype, text messaging, television, books, movies, universities, blogs, … the list of competing voices that cry out to us on a daily basis is overwhelming. We are besieged, inundated, beleaguered, and drowning!

At the same time, we may also be the generation of humanity that listens to God and our hearts the least.  It’s as though the most important voices that we need to listen to are obscured and deadened by all of the competing noise, chatter, and diversions.

More than 2,000 years ago, God the Father made a wonderful invitation to us through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: “Come to Me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake” (Isaiah 55:3 NLT).

Jesus reinforced this message when He said: "My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27 WEY).

Hearing from God takes place in our hearts. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and reside in the “innermost being” of those who place their trust in Him (John 7:38 NASB). But many of us live primarily in our heads and have become detached from our hearts and deadened deep within.

If we are able to strip away all of the commercialism and Santa Clause hype, Christmas is an invitation to a people who are being suffocated by sound bites to tune into our hearts and listen to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is much nearer to us than we may think.

Can you hear the bells of Christmas calling out “Peace on earth, good will to men?” Or are you allowing the clamor, despair, and pressures of our current age deaden your heart. Take a look at this wonderful song by Casting Crowns. Pay close attention to God and your heart as you watch and listen to “I Heard the Bells.”

Before you move on, take five minutes to ask God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Jesus, what word, thought, or picture would you like to communicate with me to breathe new life into me this Christmas season?

I'd  love to hear what you sense God is communicating with you. The easiest way to do this is by double clicking on the title "Post #14..." and returning to the bottom of the page to write in the white box that should appear. If that doesn't work, drop me an email at rustybach@gmail.com. May you have a blessed and Christ-filled Christmas!