Category: Listening

4/22/2025 0 Comments

Fully Mature

In a conversation bemoaning people's lack of curiosity about others today, 81-year-old Ross shared an interesting observation he learned from someone he respected. “We are high in connectivity and low in connection.” People are more engaged on social media than ever, but they are making fewer connections because most posts are self-focused. He identified this as expressive individualism, where “what I have to say is more important than what I have to hear.”

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9/11/2024 1 Comment

Debating

Meditation
Jude 9--Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

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5/27/2024 1 Comment

When in Doubt, Ask Twice

In God’s Workmanship, Oswald Chambers wrote, “We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” Sometimes, our difficulty surpasses the faith we need to trust God’s voice. In this season of doubt, what are we to do?

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11/30/2023 0 Comments

Taking Blows

Fragile. Thin-skinned. Does it increasingly seem that we live in an age when many Christians cannot take criticism or rebuke of any sort without getting defensive and angry? Try confronting a believer over sin and see how that goes. Observe someone’s attitude or comment on questionable conduct, and be prepared to be attacked or shunned. Myles Munroe wrote in Waiting and Dating, “Being open to correction means making ourselves vulnerable, and many people are not willing to do that.”

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9/30/2023 1 Comment

How Could I Hinder God?

There may come a time when God asks you to do something that takes you out of your comfort zone and violates your religious beliefs. For example, what if you are a pro-life conservative, and God calls you to minister to abortion advocates? Or, perhaps you are a pacifist and democrat, and God leads you to present the gospel to Marines, a group trained and willing to take lives. What will you do? How will you explain to all your friends or those like-minded believers you fellowship with about your actions?

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8/2/2023 0 Comments

Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

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5/28/2023 1 Comment

Listening When We Don't Want To

Mike and Robbie boarded the light rail on their way to a Seattle Mariners game. A few feet from their seats sat a dirty, smelly man suffering from an addiction, mental health challenge, or both. Mike was repulsed and cautious toward this man conversing with an imaginary person. Mike noted, “He rearranged his clothing and belongings continuously and removed and replaced a fake mustache.” Mike prayed that he would not attack them or be a problem. The Holy Spirit had another plan. He whispered in Mike’s ear that this was a man with a name, a man loved by Him, and that Mike should approach and talk to him. But that was not something Mike wanted to do, and for most of the train ride, he resisted listening to persistent promptings.

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4/20/2023 1 Comment

The Critical Importance of Mentoring

Will is a senior at Liberty University and a member of the Army ROTC program. He will commission as an officer in less than a month. I was blessed when he asked me to help him create a sponsorship program for their ROTC department. In this case, sponsors are older men or women who have served in the military as senior officers or NCOs and who are willing to be mentors to any of the cadets who would like to be paired with them to meet and learn and become better prepared to serve as officers. With the help of four mature individuals I was able to recruit, we shared with several cadets who came out on a Monday evening to learn about the critical importance of mentoring.

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1/16/2023 0 Comments

No Choice in the Matter

David & Teresa

Around 2010, David was having his quiet time on his outside patio when the Lord said, “I want you to give me everything.” He responded, “Lord, You have everything . . . we served You on the mission field . . . ” The Holy Spirit then impressed on his heart, “I want everything in your bank accounts.” David’s heart broke, and he began weeping. Then he conceded, “Lord, it’s all yours.” He went to his wife, Teresa, and shared what had happened. She replied that before emptying their bank accounts, she wanted confirmation. After two days of prayer, Teresa heard from God and agreed with her husband. They emptied all their accounts and wrote a check to Eternal Perspectives Ministries. David told me, “It was fun to write that check but very scary.” About two years later, God directed them to move from Indiana to Oregon. Without funding or a job but full of faith, they obeyed. For six months, with two of their children and a dog, they slept on couches in friends’ homes until the time came when God blessed them with provisions to have their own place and ministry.

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10/31/2022 0 Comments

Bad Advice

I walked to a church near my home to learn more about it. The service was attended by about thirteen people. Three of them were wearing masks, and most of them were elderly women. Several of them warmly introduced themselves, and after I sat down, Phyliss* came over and gave me a brief history of the church. “We are very small . . . the church split before Covid and over half of the congregation and the pastor left . . . Covid really did a number on us . . . . many still watch the services online.” At least they were blessed with a Liberty University professor who accurately preached the Word of God.

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10/24/2022 0 Comments

The Art of Silence

Perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of parenting is knowing when to speak into the lives of our children and when to refrain from doing so. Talking to closed ears is like pouring water on the sidewalk and not on the soil—it does no good. Or consider the coworker who when corrected is appreciative—to be silent in this occasion could be harmful. Some people when frustrated cannot hold back toxic words. Still others withhold thoughts and in quiet feed chaos.

Solomon wrote there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7b). Tony Evans says “We can sin not just with our words but also with our silence. Knowing when to speak and when to withhold something requires wisdom.”[1] Wisdom should not be neglected.

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8/11/2022 1 Comment

As Usual

Mary Geegh is one of my heroes. She wrote a fascinating booklet called God Guides. Mary wrote, “I determined to listen to God for guidance in all matters, and I promised Him I would obey whatever He told me.” Mary had a critical spirit towards a coworker, so, in line with her new conviction, she asked God’s guidance on how to repair the rift between them. God told her to give her colleague a fresh egg. Mary thought that would insult her and resisted God’s prompting. But later, with prodding, she did what God asked, and He used that egg to refresh the woman and to bring new love into Mary’s heart for her—all the friction was gone! Mary created a habit that would change her life and give her countless stories of God miraculously working in her and through her for His Kingdom.

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1/31/2022 0 Comments

Don't Get Agitated!

Do you know someone who constantly bothers you? Are there people who consistently distress your life by their words or actions? If this is your experience it is not unusual. I am pretty sure almost every human on the planet gets agitated—some on a daily or hourly basis! What causes such tension? Immaturity, unnecessary volume, rudeness, dangerous driving habits, failure to learn and correct mistakes, claiming to know what someone thinks, not listening . . . the list can be annoying long.

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5/1/2021 0 Comments

No More Work to Do

Occasionally when I’m reading my Bible a statement will just jump off the pages and grab me. It happened this week while I was studying Romans chapters 13-16. Look at the two verses below and see if anything strikes you.

Meditation
Romans 15:23,24—But now I no longer have any work to do in these provinces, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through, and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while.

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3/29/2021 1 Comment

8 Keys to Better Communication

Have you ever felt any of the following:
“I can’t wait to get my point across!”
“I wish they would quit talking so I could speak!”
“I know what to do, why won’t they listen?”
“Why is it so hard to get them to understand?”
“It’s not worth the effort trying to share.”
“I have no idea what to say or even how to say it.”
“Please, just make your point, I’m busy.”

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3/7/2021 0 Comments

Mama, You're Singing in the Cracks!

Randy told us the following story at our elders’ meeting. A young boy was sitting at the piano playing a well-known song when his mother came up behind him and started singing. The boy stopped playing and looked up at his mother and said, “Mama, you’re singing in the cracks!” The poor woman was off-key and the boy wanted her to know it.

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4/30/2020 0 Comments

Lord God, What Can You Give Me?

Do you ever have times where confusion is far more real than clarity? Has God given you a word in the past that seems impossible to fulfill based on current realities? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, it should not be hard to relate to Abram.

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5/22/2019 1 Comment

If the Trumpet Makes an Unclear Sound

Did you know that bugle calls are sometimes used for giving commands to large formations of soldiers? Rather than have the adjutant or commander of troops yell out the command, a simple bugle call suffices. But if the bugler accidently sounds the wrong tone or series of notes, the formation will be in trouble. They might present arms (salute) instead of coming to attention, or go to parade rest instead of making a facing movement.

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10/9/2018 0 Comments

Heartfelt

Candy and I spent most of the morning writing back and forth about questions regarding the definition of Christians and evangelicals and current events that troubled her. While we may not have the same political leanings that does not prevent us from having honest and prolonged discussion. She ended our time with kind words and greetings to my family. Candy is one of the most warm-hearted persons I know and it is always a privilege to be around her.

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5/21/2017 0 Comments

More Willpower

Meditation
2 John 6—And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love.

The first Biblical reference to love God is recorded in Exodus 20:6. Moses teaches the Israelites to keep God’s commands and thereby demonstrate their love for Him. So, when John defines love in his letter to his readers, he is not sharing with them a new concept. But, as we all know, it is hard to walk in love with God. How do we strengthen willpower to be better God-lovers and, in the process, improve loving others and ourselves?

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