Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

God Wants Us to Know How to Hear His Voice!

This topic is near and dear to my heart, and interestingly enough, today’s devotional from David Wilkerson is about hearing God’s voice. I believe God is letting us know that this is important to Him, too!

David Wilkerson Today

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010

TO KNOW HIS VOICE

Those who truly know God have learned how to recognize his voice above all others. He wants you to be absolutely convinced that he desires to talk to you—to tell you things you’ve never seen or heard before.

I believe that three things are required of those who would hear God’s voice:

1. An unshakeable confidence that God is wanting to speak to you. You have to be fully persuaded and convinced of this. Indeed, he is a speaking God—and he wants you to know his voice so you can do his will. What God tells you will never go beyond the boundaries of Scripture.

2. Quality time and quietness. You need to be willing to shut yourself in with God and let all other voices hush away. True, God speaks to us all day long. But whenever he has wanted to build something into my life, his voice has come only after I had shut out every other voice but his.

3. Asking in faith. We do not obtain anything from God (including hearing his voice) unless we truly believe that he is able to convey his mind to us—to enable us to understand his perfect will!

God is not a tease! He will not allow the enemy to deceive you. When God speaks, peace follows—and Satan cannot counterfeit that peace!

“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers” (John 10:2-5).

Read this devotion online: http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/devotions/2010/to-know-his-voice

Hearing from God: Knowing the Difference Between Your Spirit’s Voice and Your Soul’s Voice

Gloria Copeland addresses the issue of hearing from God and dividing between soul and spirit in an article in the Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine issue for Oct. 2010.

I wanted to put together some of the highlights from this article that might help you if you’re really trying to learn how to hear from God clearly, like I am!

Gloria says:

Most of the time I would hear my own spirit speaking to my soul, which is my mind, will and emotions. The audible voice of the Lord is rare in most of our lives. Almost every leading we will receive in everyday life will be a prompting, an impression, a thought, an inward witness, a leading or an unction from our spirit.

The reason it sounds like us is because it is ourselves that we hear. The Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit, and our spirit prompts, or enlightens, our mind.

When we start our day by praying the will of God by the Holy Spirit, many times we will have already prayed concerning the problems we will face during the day. We will perceive an interpretation, a prompting, an impression, a word or a sentence that will enlighten us and give us the answer to the situation. It will be so natural to us that we might not even realize it is the Holy Spirit leading and revealing Himself to us. Things that would have been stumbling blocks to us before will now be handled with ease by hearing and obeying the will of God as the Holy Spirit leads us.

I don’t think there is any way to cultivate this communion between the Holy Spirit and our spirit, and between our spirit and our mind, except by spending time in prayer and in the Word of God. Only the Word of God will separate or differentiate between the soul and the spirit. Our soul relies on natural knowledge to form its opinions until natural knowledge is replaced by the supernatural knowledge of God. In Romans 12:2 this process of replacing the thoughts of natural, carnal man with the thoughts of God is called “the renewing of your mind.”

You might be asking, “How can I tell the difference and be sure when it is God or just me?” You will have to begin a quest for the things of God. The Scripture lets us know that if we seek God, we will find Him. Spiritual things do not come without serious effort.

We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” We know that we have to approach God in faith – that is, without being able to see proof in the natural realm. We must learn to believe Him without seeing Him. From that verse we also find another key to knowing God: He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

There is no selfish, easy way to walk with God while we live in the earth and in a natural body. We will do it God’s way or not at all.

Remember, God’s Words comes to us in two ways: (1) by the written Word, and (2) by the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit. We begin with the assurance that God’s written Word is our sure word. The Holy Spirit will never lead you contrary to the written Word of God. If you receive a prompting that is in opposition to the written Word, you will know it is not from the Holy Spirit.

Simply ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to follow Him. Give Him control of your life and He will reveal to you the will of God, step by step. He knows how to bring you to maturity. All He requires of you is your attention and your obedience.

~Excerpts from article entitled “Was that Me, Lord, or was that You?” by Gloria Copeland in BVOV mag. Oct. 2010, pp. 12-13.

5 Essential Ingredients to Homeschooling Success

5 Essential Ingredients to Homeschooling Success

By Terri Johnson – co-author of Homeschooling ABCs 5 Essential Ingredients to Homeschooling Success

Homeschooling ABCs – an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers

We’ve all seen it… or, at least, heard about it… the homeschooled child who wins the geography bee, or the one who graduates at the age of 15, or the one who excels in musical accomplishments…

Now, obviously, a student does not have to be homeschooled in order to accomplish one of the feats above, nor does every homeschooled child excel in such notable ways. However, every homeschooling parent desires for success in teaching their children at home and launching them into the world to become all that God has intended for them to be.

The flipside to this statement is that no one wants to fail when it comes to teaching their children at home. So, what are the five necessary ingredients to homeschooling success?

The first one is the desire to foster a closer relationship with each of your children and your kids with one another. If you don’t want to spend more time together and deepen these relationships (or, at least, want to want to spend more time together), then homeschooling may not be the best choice for you. However, I am sure that you have heard it said before that at the end of the day, no one is going to say, “I wish that I had spent more time at work… or by myself… or with my canary…” No, the universal regret that aging and dying people declare is their sadness over not spending enough time with their loved ones. Teaching your children at home is an amazing opportunity to spend more time with your dearest loved ones and have no regrets.

The second ingredient to homeschooling success is a teachable spirit on the part of the parent. This is essential because, like it or not, you will learn so much more teaching your own children than you ever did in school the first time around. So, you might as well like to learn.

On that same note, the third essential ingredient to successful homeschooling is creating a home environment that is conducive to learning. This may show itself differently in each of our homes, but the result is the same – a place where kids can learn and enjoy it.

A home that is conducive to learning may have quiet and cozy reading nooks, bookshelves crammed with great books, a listening corner complete with headphones and a beanbag chair, uncluttered smooth surfaces for writing, stacks of coloring/activity books and colored pencils, a place to gather together and talk about the day’s events. You get the idea… Create centers in your home that make learning fun and accessible.

The fourth ingredient for a successful homeschool is 2 hours of your time to devote to your children’s studies. Truly, when the one-on-one teaching method is employed in your home, you do not need all day in order to get things done. In fact, a child in K-2 grades might be finished with her schoolwork in as few as 45 minutes (of course, that probably does not include the time that you spend reading together because who can get enough of that!).

At the other end of the spectrum, you might not need that much time with your middle schooler or high schooler either, because they become such independent learners by this age. The kids that will need the majority of that time that you have designated for school – those full 2 hours – would be your students in 3-6 grades as math and grammar assignments might get a little more involved.

The final ingredient for homeschooling success is a library card. That’s right! With access to a huge roomful of books, a world of learning opportunities is at your doorstep. Let’s say that your child is interested in insects or flowers, electricity or magnetism, transportation or inventions… check out as many books as he can devour on the subject and then some more. Watch your child light up with the delight of learning.

With these 5 essential ingredients incorporated into your homeschool, you will experience successful learning in the lives of your children, because this is the measure of success – children that love to learn!

Enjoy those learning moments…

Terri Johnson

Co-author of Homeschooling ABCs – an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers. Don’t let self-doubt, or lack of experience, rob you of the best first year possible! Sign up for class at Homeschooling ABCs.

Best of Success to you,

Todd and Terri Johnson

Knowledge Quest, Inc.

P.S. – Need to contact us? Just send an email to terri@knowledgequestmaps.com

Knowledge Quest, Inc.

P.O. Box 789

Boring, OR 97009

877.697.8611

Meet With the Beloved of Your Soul

This comes from an explanation of the Feasts that God instituted for His people which Keren Hannah Pryor wrote in her email series, Appointments With God. The Feasts are appointed times for us to come to God and “meet with the Beloved of our soul”. They are His call to holiness. I loved the way she described the cycles of times and seasons and the unchanging nature of celebrating the Feasts every year.

As we walk in His cycles we do not find ourselves spinning giddily round in circles getting nowhere. Rather, we discover that we gradually spiral upward, ever higher and stronger. Our spirits grow according to our Father’s design and draw closer and closer to His Presence.

At the conclusion of each annual cycle we should not be where we were, or even who we were, at the start. On a spiritual journey it is the person who changes, not necessarily the scenery. When we have accepted His invitation, kept the appointment, and met with the Beloved of our soul, we should be moving steadily nearer to our destination and accomplishing more fully our purpose of being the unique and precious person He created us to be. We will then shine forth more of His image, for His Name’s sake.

You can join her email list and get her weekly teachings at jcstudies.com.

I believe we can live this kind of growing, changing life without celebrating the Feasts the way God called the Jews to celebrate them, but I believe it helps us to pull our focus onto the things of God and off of the ordinary things of life when we acknowledge the time and the season that God ordained for His chosen people to observe. And it is good for our children to hear us rehearse the mighty acts of God in our own lives.

Update from 40 Days for Life – Changed By Love

Before I share the update, I want to comment that in the same way that I have been Changed By Love, we should pray for the abortion workers to be changed by love. I admire the leadership of 40 Days and believe that God gave them this strategy of praying and sharing the love of Jesus instead of being confrontational or aggressive. There have been several abortion workers whose hearts have been touched and they are leaving their jobs. Let’s pray that God would bless them and help them find new jobs and bring them into a close relationship with Himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is October 5. It may be just another day to
you, but not for me — and most certainly not for
Abby Johnson.

It was one year ago today that I walked into my old
office at the Coalition for Life in Bryan/College
Station, Texas and discovered that Abby Johnson was
there.

We had been on opposite sides of the fence for years
and at that moment we found ourselves together —
her crying and me trying to grasp what the Holy
Spirit was unraveling before my eyes.

To see Abby Johnson, the regional Planned Parenthood
affiliate’s employee of the year, in my office —
in tears — was … a miracle!

Abby had seen an abortion on an ultrasound — for the
first time — and was overcome by the reality of what
actually happens during an abortion. She knew she was
watching a helpless human being die. And she also
knew immediately she could NEVER do it again.

A few days later, Abby and I posed for a picture at
the birthplace of 40 Days for Life — her former
abortion center!

We had been on opposite sides of this fence for
8 years as volunteers and then employees. She
admitted it felt better to be on our side of the
fence!

To see that picture, go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1202

Fast forward just a few months to Abby standing in
front of the abortion facility she had run for years
kicking off the spring 40 Days for Life in Bryan/
College Station, Texas.

To see a video of her comments, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=1202

This is truly a testimony of what God can — and
WILL — do in answer to prayer.

We know of 37 abortion center employees — including
Abby — who have left their jobs during 40 Days for
Life campaigns.

I didn’t know this would happen to me last year
and you don’t know what can happen to YOU during
your campaign!

This fall remember to pray for the staff along
with the moms and the babies. Many of them are
looking for a way out — pray they will have the
courage to take that step.

Right now there is one employee in particular who
really needs prayer because this person saw another
employee quit the center and want to do likewise.

I continue to be amazed this fall of the employees
who are coming to 40 Days for Life and wanting out
of the abortion industry but after all…

…as I learned last fall firsthand, the God who
convinced Abby Johnson to quit Planned Parenthood
can do ANYTHING!

Here’s today’s devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, the
national director of Priests for Life…

—————————————————–
DAY 14 INTENTION
—————————————————–

Abortion is the great “no.” May all of God’s people
have the freedom and grace to say “yes” to His
marvelous plans.

—————————————————–
SCRIPTURE
—————————————————–

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my
mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and
that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden
from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes
saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book
they all were written, The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

— Psalm 139:13-16

—————————————————–
REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
—————————————————–

Unlike the rest of creation, we are capable of a
personal relationship with God. Not only did God
create us, but created us according to a plan devised
from all eternity. No matter how far back we go in
our imagination, there was never a time when God did
not know each of us, in every detail of our being.

There was not a particular time when God decided to
make us. The decision to make us has been in the mind
of God from all eternity. All our days were written
in His book.

To dare to say that a human being, developing in the
womb, should not be born is as wrong as to say that a
born person should not continue to grow and live. In
each case, an attack on human life is an attack on
the God who formed and made us. Jesus Christ is the
great “yes” to the promises of God; abortion is the
great “no.”

—————————————————–
PRAYER
—————————————————–

Lord, I pray today for every unborn child. The beauty
of the bodies and souls of these children flows from
your hands and your eternal plan.

Awaken in every human conscience a profound reverence
for human life, and grant us grace to defend our
smallest and most defenseless brothers and sisters,
those still being formed in the secret places of
their mothers’ womb. We ask this through Christ our
Lord, Amen.