How Does God Speak To Me Today?

Have you been asking yourself that question this week after Lee's message? An article showed up on my Google Reader this week that addressed the same question.

The following excerpt is by Tim Challies (original content from challies.com)

"In these last days, today, he has spoken to us by his Son. He has spoken and is speaking through Jesus. This is not meant to be past tense but present. And how has God spoken to us through Jesus? He has revealed himself, his own character and glory, in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus God has spoken to us about his plan of salvation—of the way he has chosen to redeem sinners to himself.

The man who wrote Hebrews is very careful to distinguish between these two types of revelation, between how God used to speak and how God speaks today. If you have studied the letter to the Hebrews, you know that it is a long discourse that continually shows how Jesus Christ is superior to anything in the Old Testament​. That means, of course, that the revelation in Jesus Christ, is better than anything that came before. God used to speak in these ways, but today, even better, he speaks through his Son.

This raises the question of how Jesus speaks to us. I haven’t ever heard the voice of Jesus coming from the skies and I haven’t ever met him face-to-face so he could tell me what to do. How does God speak by Jesus?"

You can read the entire article here.

Life is an incremental series of becoming what you are in Christ

The following is an excerpt from John Piper's message on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and his exhortation to his congregation to join small groups. However, I find his exhortation holds equally true to call every believer to give in the larger context of church.

"God is calling us into these relationships not primarily because of what you need to get from the group but because of what you need to give to the group. To give yourselves."

1. To take a risk of sharing your soul,
2. to put away all deceit and exploitation,
3. to renounce man-pleasing,
4. to be done with flattery and covetousness,
5. to feel tender, mother-like affections for people,
6. to be holy, righteous, and blameless in our conduct,
7. and to feel father-like desires to encourage and lead others into God-centered legacy.

You say you have nothing to give? Then you must listen to his conclusion below (3:31).