"HIS GENTLE LEADING" & Challenge Answers

Good Evening to All!

He will feed His flock like a shepherd: He will gather the lambs in his arm, He will carry them in His bosom and will gently lead those with young.
(Isaiah 40:11 KJV)

Pictured at right: God raining manna from heaven.

I don't know about the majority of y'all out there, but I KNOW I can be pretty dense sometimes. I have unfortunately never been one to take a "subtle" hint. I cannot count the times when I have made the statement when speaking about God's "still, small voice, that I wish He would hit me over the head with something! Kind of like my post the other night about being hit upside the head with a BRICK! LOL! Yes, my hubby thinks so too.

Anyway, God does not work that way, so we must be on our toes. We have to learn to listen to our spirits and sometimes that is easier said than done. I am a VERY impulsive person. I usually wait until the last minute for everything. As for my blog, I will "start out early trying to think about what God wants me to "bring forth", but it may change 10 times before it gets typed.

I have done that many times also. I will sit down at my computer, already having prayed for God to show me something and will start going through my books to see if a topic nudges my spirit. I have gone as far as to type 2 or 3 paragraphs on a subject, and all of a sudden, get the feeling that this isn't the subject God wants to talk about, so I'll look some more and repeat the process. Like I say I have done this 2 or 3 times in one evening try to figure out what God is wanting me to write about and finally it happens. Everything falls into place, the words start flowing and I feel a "peace" in my spirit about what I need to write.

The thing is, if God would HIT me over the head with what He wants to get across, it would be a much simpler process. This is God's blog and I am just the writer. I don't want to put words in His mouth, or take them away, so I really try and get it right. That is why it takes me anywhere from two to four hours to do my posts. I am praying and researching scriptures and lastly looking for the illustrations to go with the post.

Maybe that is why God is so gentle in His leading. He wants us to take time. He wants to spend time with us, and He knows the way the world is today, with everyone being so busy with their earthly lives ( work, school, sports, hobbies, and just general busyness), that as unfortunate as it is we tend to put Him last. Almost like an after thought. I "can't go to church on Wednesday night, I'm too tired when I get home from work". I'll tell you a little secret! I love going on Wednesdays! It energizes me! Yes, that is the day I clean a "LARGE house" and then come home take a bath, cook supper and get ready for church. Yes, my back usually hurts, and I'm exhausted. When I get to church and I start worshiping the Lord, all that goes away. I'm completely focused on God and He energizes me so that I can stand and praise Him like He deserves to be praised. It's wonderful!

The key is to listen for His leading in your spirit. What does it tell you? Is your spirit telling you you need to take your Bible off the shelf and dust it off so you can read it? I love the still quiet mornings when I can get up and just sit in my chair with my coffee and think about the wonders of God. It's like we are having a coffee break together. Me just sitting there sipping my coffee and feeling my spirit well up inside of me while He talks.

Is your spirit telling you to pray more? That You have not, because you ask not?
Is your spirit telling you you need to quit making excuses like "I don't have nice enough clothes to wear to church. I don't want people looking at me", and go to church? I used to think that way, and finally decided I don't go to church for other people, I go to church to learn about and worship God. As long as I am dressed modestly, with everything that should be covered, covered, and I'm neat and clean, that's what matters. If people look at you in a judgmental way, just think to yourself "go ahead and judge, cause God's watching you". I don't mean that to sound "catty", but I have seen people leave the church for that reason, and it really upsets me. The very people who are suppose to be "Christian" become stumbling blocks for new people right in the very beginning by the way they come across to the visitors or new people. Unfortunately, that happens far too often, so I always tell people "ignore them and just care what God thinks. He's happy you're here and so am I. That seems to put them at ease.

We all need to pay more attention to what our spirit is telling us. God knows what He's doing. I think I kind of reminds me of an example of a dad that screams all the time and one that is firm but soft spoken. When someone screams all the time, it gets to the point where kids do their best to tune them out. If the parent is firm but soft spoken it seems to make more of an impact. Maybe that's what God is thinking also. If we have to listen more closely, maybe we will think about what He is telling us more intensely.

Proverbs 3:6 says: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct they paths. What this says to me is if we will listen to Him and heed what He says, obey His Word and His wishes, then He will guide us. If He does the leading, we can't go wrong. God knows everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. Therefore, He will do what is best for us in the long run, not just at that point and time.

We need to let God know how much we care about Him and His opinion. Actually, opinion is probably the wrong word, because everything God knows or says is actual fact, not just "what He thinks.

He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He knows all and sees all and we belong to Him. We are just "borrowing these bodies" for a short time. He paid a price for us with His life, so we owe it to Him to listen to Him and to obey Him.

The next time you feel a nudge in your spirit to do something, even if it is something you would normally not do, do it. A lot of times God tells us to do things out of the ordinary to get us out of our comfort zones and to see how much we love Him. If you feel uneasy about what you are feeling, be sure and look it up in the Bible. If it doesn't line up with the Word Of God, DON'T DO IT.

Listen for that gentle voice, pay attention to that gentle nudge, and obey, you will get a blessing!

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The answers to the Bible Challenge "Kinfolk of the Old Testament" are as follows:

1. a) Seth (Genesis 4:25)
2. b) grandfather (Genesis 5:25-29)
3. Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:24-26)
4. c) daughter-in-law (Genesis 38:6)
5. Reuben (Genesis 27:21-22)
6. Mahlon and Kilion (Ruth 1:1-2)
7. c) daughter-in-law (Ruth 1:1-4)
8. 7 (1 Samuel 16:10-11)
9. a) nephew (1 Chronicles 2:15-16)
10. b) 42 (Matthew 1:17)

Reference: Challenge taken from "Bible Challenge -Small Facts from the Big Book" by Daniel E. Harmon


Good Night to All and May God Bless!