April 2011 – Page 2

Never underestimate your impact for God!

2 Comments / Holy Spirit Aha's, News & Reflections / Tom Stuart

But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8 NLT)

Never underestimate the difference your life can make if it is available to be used by God. Even the act of opening your home to His work could change multitudes of lives and have an eternal impact far exceeding your imagination.

This past Saturday I went to the funeral of a dear saint named Lenore Hagen who passed away at age 85. I had known her and her husband Walt for many years when they were active members in the 1970s and 1980s of the Way of the Cross Church, where I spent my early Christian years and served as a pastor.

In our start-up phase of Bridgewood Community Church in 1994, to my surprise, the Hagens joined us and served as a great encouragement. I can still remember what a great sport Walt was in volunteering to be part of a drama team skit at one of our first services. Although they were with us for a brief time we kept in touch over the years and when Walt died seven years ago, Lenore asked me to officiate at his funeral.

They were both very simple, unassuming people; the kind of people who could have posed for Grant Wood’s American Gothic. But both of them had a deep abiding faith in God’s Word and a zeal to make themselves available to serve God.

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The danger of insisting on your own way

Growth & Development, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

“Woe to them . . . they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error.” (Jude 11 NIV)

Every time I read the story of Balaam it reminds me of the grave danger in insisting on my own way with God. He might give in to me but it may not be His perfect will. There are different measures of “God’s will.” There is the “good, pleasing and perfect will of God,” which of course all Christ followers are encouraged to pursue. (Romans 12:2) But there is also the permissive will of God with its variations which would be best to avoid.

I have learned this the hard way, and so in some measure can understand Balaam’s plight. On several occasions in my life I have committed to doing something I thought was God’s will only to find in the end it was really religious self-deception and fueled by a stubborn pursuit of my own desires. Even though I “prayed” about it and asked for God’s “perfect” will, my heart was so set on what I wanted that God gave me His “permissive” will instead and off I went to do my own thing.

Those decisions led to some very painful experiences. Through them I have learned more about God’s ways. Most importantly I have realized the necessity of checking the motivations of my heart as I seek His will. The clarity with which a person can discover God’s will for their life is directly proportional to their commitment to doing what He reveals. Nobody says this more clearly than Jesus. “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God.” (John 7:17 ESV)

The study of the false prophet Balaam illustrates this important lesson for everyone who genuinely wants to hear God’s voice and do His will. It pulls back the covers on hypocritical prayers desiring God’s will, and reveals a religious veneer covering up a stubborn heart that really wants its own will.

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3 secrets to hearing God’s voice

3 Comments / Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

I recently had a breakthrough in hearing God’s voice. With my wife leaving on a weeklong winter getaway with some family members, I decided that I would set aside that time to focus on my relationship with the Lord. There have been several big rock items in my life that I have been wrestling with for some time regarding God’s will and I determined to press into Him for some answers.

Originally I thought I would take a few days to get away by myself at a silent retreat center in the woods, but then was inspired instead to dedicate my home as my own silent retreat center. Basically I declared it a no media zone, simplified my schedule and spent my non-working hours in the morning and the evenings spending time in His presence.

For the Christian, one of the biggest challenges is developing the ability to tune into and listen to the Holy Spirit. God wants us to know His will for our lives through having full access to the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. I established that in my last blog post entitled “Limitless, beyond the movie.”

Since God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than our own we desperately need help to access and understand them. (Isaiah 55:8-9) In the New Testament we are told that the mind of Christ is revealed by the Holy Spirit. “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” He helps us to “understand what God has freely given us” by revealing “the mind of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 2:11-13) That is “full access’ and is meant to be the norm for every believer and follower of Christ.

Setting aside my retreat week reconfirmed this truth for me and also reinforced the fact that there are things every believer can do to increase their ability to access the mind of Christ.

Here is my list of the top three things I did to position myself to hear God’s voice. When God chooses to speak, these three things will insure that you hear Him.

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