“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 ESV)

I have never heard an audible voice from God, but I’m absolutely sure I’ve heard Him speak to me many times in my thoughts through His Word, the Bible. I read, study the Bible and think deeply (meditate) about what I’ve read. Often His Word speaks very clearly to me as scriptures come to my mind on many things as needed personally. I’m sure His Holy Spirit is at work in my mind making it happen as He brings His Scripture to remembrance.

The Holy Spirit brings His Word to your mind

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV)

Hearing the word of Christ

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17 ESV)

Call on God and He will answer

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jer. 33:3 ESV)

Whoever is of God hears the words of God

“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:47 ESV)

Blessed are those who hear the word of God

“But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28 ESV)

Therefore…

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20 ESV)

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:8 ESV)

The Lord goes before you and will never leave you

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8 ESV)

He is with you in the uttermost parts of the sea

“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:9-10 ESV)

He is with you in the wilderness

“The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’” (Deut. 130:31 ESV)

He will instruct you on the way you should go

“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalms 32:7-8 ESV)

Therefore…

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.” (Psalms 37:23-29 ESV)

“Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” (1Sam. 30:6 (NIV)

From devastation to victory

In the above passage, David and his men had just returned to Ziklag to discover that the Amalekites had raided and burned their homes, taken all their possessions and even taken captive all their women and children, young and old. David and his men were devastated by the great loss and wept aloud until they had no more strength left to weep. “The men then turned against David and threatened to stone him…. But David found strength in the Lord his God.” He then consulted God, rallied his men and then went after the Amalekites. “David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.” (1 30:17-20 NIV)

When you are faced with problems which may seem insurmountable, just like David did, strengthen yourself in the Lord your God!

Don’t fear, God will strengthen you!

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa. 41:10 ESV)

No matter what you may face, you can do all things with God’s strength!

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 ESV)

Therefore…

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chron. 16:11 ESV)

Charlie

“You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16 NIV)

Our family’s sad loss

Our beautiful little dog, Charlie, was hit by a car and was instantly taken from us. It was a terrible shock to us and also to our grandchildren who loved him so dearly. There has been a lot of tears and sadness in our family over the loss. One of the grandchildren asked, “When is Charlie’s funeral?” This made me think about what the Bible says about animals. It says that God has made and knows every creature. He has given them all breath, they are His, He cares about them and knows when they die. It doesn’t say anywhere that they go to heaven, but, it also doesn’t say that they don’t. But, we do know for certain that God has a perfect future planned and we can trust Him totally. As the verse at top says, “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”

Here's some of what we learn from the Bible about animals:

• All animals are His and He knows them

“…for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.” (Psalms 50:10-11)

• God cares for animals and knows when they die

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” (Matt. 10:29)

• Animals and humans have the same breath

“I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” (Eccles. 3:18-21)

• God preserves both people and animals

“Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.” (Psalm 36:6)

• All creatures bring glory to God

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev.  5: 13)

Therefore…

“My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.  Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.” (Psalm 145:21)

“Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Cor. 16:14 ESV)

Love with actions and truth

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 NIV)

Jesus gave us a new commandant, to love others the way He loved us

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34 ESV)

Jesus’ example of how He loved us

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8 ESV)

Keep loving one another!

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV)

Love your enemies

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matt. 5:44 ESV)

Love means speaking the truth with your heart

“The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others.” (Psalm 15:2-3 NIV)

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NIV)

A disciplined follower of Jesus

A Jesus Disciple is defined as a disciplined follower who holds to the teachings of Jesus Christ; a person who accepts and assists Him in spreading His message. In the above passage, Jesus spoke to believers about what it means to really be His disciples and about knowing the truth that will set them free. He said to them, “If you hold to my teaching,” which means that, “if” you do hold to His teaching you will, and “if” you do not hold to His teaching you will not really be His disciple, and therefore, will not know the truth that will set you free. This is a huge statement Jesus made! There are believers who are not really His disciples! This does not mean they aren’t saved, however, because salvation, according to Romans 10:9, comes by believing and confessing some things: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Yes, you can be a believer, but to be a disciple of Jesus means so much more than just being saved. It means to walk in the light of His truth and live daily for Him, actively fellowshipping with Him and actively spreading His message with others.

A disciple trains to be like his teacher

“A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40)

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” (2 Tim. 2:2)

Whoever wants to be His disciple

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1 ESV)

Strain forward to what lies ahead

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:12-14 ESV)

Run with purpose

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:24-27 ESV)

Therefore…

“But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” (Isa. 59:7 ESV)

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,” (Jude 1:20 ESV)

Be strong in the Lord

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”  (Eph. 6:10 ESV)

Humble yourself

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV)

Be strengthened by God’s grace

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” (2 Tim. 2:1 ESV)

Therefore…

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Heb. 12:12-13 ESV)

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thess. 5:11 ESV)

Build up your neighbor

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (Rom. 15:1-4 ESV)

Let all things be done for building each other up

“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” (1 Cor. 14:26 ESV)

Give grace to the hearer

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4:29 ESV)

Encourage one another in love and good works

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb. 10:24-25 ESV)

Sharpen each other up

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17 ESV)

Pursue what makes for peace

“So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”  (Rom. 14:19 ESV)

Therefore…

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16 ESV)