Day 3: Standing Tall Together

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to visit Redwood National Park in northern California. I remember walking through forests blanketed by lush ferns growing around these gentle giants that seemed to touch the sky. Imagine the Creator of those trees!

Some facts about redwood trees …

·Redwoods can grow as tall as 400 feet.

·The oldest redwood is thought to be over 3,200 years old and is known as the “President.”

·Some are wide enough for a car (like ours) to drive through.

·Redwood roots only go about 7 to 8 feet deep but can be spread out over 100 feet.

·These roots are intertwined with other redwoods, which allows them to remain stable even through strong storms.

·A redwood cone can produce 150 to 250 seeds, with each seed only the size of a tomato seed. That’s about the size of the head of a matchstick.

Like the redwood, our books also begin with a seed idea. God then waters that seed, and it continues to grow into something we could have hardly imagined. 

Redwoods are rugged trees. Some have deep grooves in the bark. Others have been struck by lightning. Many still stand after being partially burned by a fire, while heavy winds have blown over others. 

Kingdom writers are a rugged breed. Many of us have been battered by various life elements, yet we still stand tall with the Lord’s strength. 

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” – 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT) 

Though Peter didn’t have trees in mind when he penned those words, this is what I call redwood faith! 

Within these redwood forests lie trees that have toppled over due to old age. I became a kid again as I jumped on one of these sleeping giants before walking perhaps fifty feet down its aged trunk. 

Many of these fallen trees even have new saplings from hollowed sections. These dead warriors still give life to young redwoods through their decomposed bark. 

There will be a time when you and I will ‘topple over’ due to old age, but we can continue giving life through our books and writings. Imagine God fertilizing the faith of those coming after us with the writings He inspires through us. 

“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.” – Hebrews 13:7 (NLT)

Gazing up at a lone redwood tree can take your breath away by itself, but a forest of these natural skyscrapers is utterly spectacular. Similarly, a lone Christian writer can produce impressive stuff. Still, it’s a beautiful thing to be part of a forest of Kingdom writers with all of our diversity, styles, stories, and varying backgrounds.

We can lean on one another as the storms of life hit. Perhaps our writings will influence others to look up and give glory to our great God!

Reflection: As a Christian author, do you have others to lean on when the storms of life hit? We consider our Christian Book Academy like a redwood forest of Kingdom writers.

**Download our Kingdom Writers Bundle here to learn more about our online community and get access to resources to help you move forward in your call to write.

 

Taken from the Priestly Pens Bible Plan at You Version. 

Kingdom Writers Bundle / Amazon

Written by Shelly Hitz.

Day 2: Unless the Lord Writes the Book

 

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.”—Psalm 127:1-2 (NLT)

Our workaholic society tells us to push, strain, and strive to accomplish our goals. Many books have been written with this method. Ultimately, at what cost and benefit?

We also see many in the world today trying to protect all the work they’ve done in their own human strength. If we’re honest, we’ve all done this as if everything depends on us alone.

It’s interesting to note that Psalm 127 was written by Solomon, who also wrote most of Proverbs – many of which instruct us to work hard and not be lazy. In this Psalm, he’s addressing the issue of working without including God in the picture.

Whether it’s building houses or writing books, both are acceptable enterprises. They serve an important purpose. Our motives behind these things are equally important. Are we doing these things for our glory or God’s glory? In the end, this is why we call ourselves Kingdom writers who join God in building His Kingdom, not some monument unto ourselves.

God makes no distinctions between the sacred and secular. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” (Emphasis mine)

God is interested in ALL our work, including all the words we write. Our books will have more substance when we partner with God, just as families will have more substance in their relationships when they build their homes with the Lord.

Houses are viewed as a symbol of status around the world. We can easily desire a huge, extravagant house to look good in the eyes of others. This can also happen with our books. We can create something that comes off as polished and shiny to seek status. We can place our security in the approval we receive from others, which is here today and gone tomorrow.

Why is ‘the work of the builders wasted?’ It’s wasted when we trade the eternal for the temporal.

We also see in this Psalm that God gives rest to His loved ones. Our work becomes a problem when it goes beyond the limits God has set for it. Those who undergo tough physical training understand the benefits of rest and recovery. As writers, our times of prayerful rest can create space for us to hear what God might have in mind for our books.

King Solomon tells us, “There is a time for everything,” including rest. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

We believe our best books will be birthed from a place of rest as we pause to seek the Lord. He’ll supply the substance rather than us trying to gut it out and quickly exhausting our strength.

Every book, article, or blog post of eternal value results from God’s grace when we include Him.

Reflection: Read John 15:1-11. What is the key to producing lasting fruit? Before sitting down for your next writing session, play a soft worship song and prayerfully invite the Lord into every aspect of your writing.

Taken from the Priestly Pens Bible Plan at You Version. 

Kingdom Writers Bundle / Amazon

Written by Shelly Hitz.

Fourth Principle of Creativity: We are, ourselves, creations. It means that we should continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

Studying a river, you will notice the ease it flows with. Flowing over and around obstacles as if they don’t exist. Why? They’re in the habit of creating. They do it without thought. A natural phenomenon which we admire.

In the week I saw three people, on inflatable mattresses, drifting off on a stream through a forest. Now and then you notice they bump against something and their course changes. It is so slight that it goes unnoticed by them as they follow the flow and enjoy the view. The treetops waving in the slight breeze and while enjoying the wonderous spectacle.

A fun way of relaxing and appreciating nature while you become one with yourself.

Likewise, our creativity should pour from us with an ease and comfort. It is not a strenuous task we have to think too much about.

Take, for instance, a dancing couple. Each step is perfectly coordinated to sync with each other because they have taken the time to practise. I believe the dancing gene was already within them. The flawless movements were already alive within their bones as they glide across the floor. The gentle sway of the hips, the graceful lifting of an arm or leg already brimming with energy earmarked their passion.

I envy people that can move like that. I love to dance. Alone, I can glide over the floor with relative ease, but when a man asks me to dance, I tense up. Why? Because I don’t know him, nor have I ever danced with him. Basically, it comes down to trust.

A dancing couple trust each other. When the woman turns away, she trust that the man will bring her back fluently and will bring her no harm. Likewise, a man will walk away in a sassy swagger because he knows the woman will not leave him on the dancefloor. They are both invested into that routine.

That is how we should be with our creativity. Like dance partners, we should trust in our ability to bring out the best in us. To trust ourselves is to allow devoted time for play/practise. Without adding time into the routine, your creativity will come to naught. Then you will lose the free flow of the river-like movements which promise to take you to a restful place.

The more we create, the more we trust the process. The more we create, the more we become invested into our creations. Like a couple that takes the floor, we trust each other. It becomes an investment we pour ourselves into and we continue to become better at our craft.

When your body, soul and spirit operate as one, your creativity flows with a river-like ease. Any obstacle you might encounter becomes an opportunity to grow, to change direction, to tweak and grow some more. A dynamic duo exists between our body and spirit, and we pour our very heart within its recesses to become bigger than us. So big that it becomes a legacy which last forever.

Your thoughts are always welcome, so add it in the comments.

Let the river flow.

©Lynelle Clark 2023

https://linktr.ee/AuthorLynelle

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Creativity 101: What is a holistic platform?

Creativity 101

My intent with this blog /group is twofold:

     To bring like-minded people together who have a passion or drive to create and to show it off in a safe environment without ridicule or judgement.
And to help people to get unlocked, unblocked, unsecured, unfastened, and connected with the well of creativity that is within each of us. Whether or not you use it at this stage, you are a creative being with the ability to create.

With each part I will go deeper into it but for now I will give the absolute necessities to understand what it means.

The things we experience within that continue feeling that something is amiss is, in fact, your creativity that is looking for an escape. It is so integrally part of you that you cannot be alive without expressing it through some sort of creativity.

Whether you bake, knit, sing, write, dance, paint… you create.

Within the comments, let me know your thoughts and struggles. Your input is valuable.

For us, to understand what KreativPreneurs are, we must begin at the beginning.

Why do I say this is a holistic platform?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Holistic means:

Adjective

characterized by the belief that the parts of something are interconnected and can be explained only by reference to the whole:

"the solution demands a holistic approach and a strategic vision of what can be achieved" · "poverty will need to be addressed holistically."

Medicine

characterized by the treatment of the whole person, considering mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of an illness:

"many people conclude holistic medicines are beneficial" · "a truly alternative holistic medical practice" · "a holistic therapist"

 

According to YourDictionary.com, it means:

As an adjective

1.      Of or relating to holism. Webster's New World.

Similar definitions:

2. Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts. American Heritage Medicine.

3.   Off, concerned with, or dealing with wholes or integrated systems rather than with their parts. Webster's New World.

    Similar definitions

4.   Designating or of healthcare that takes a patient's nutritional, environmental, and psychological factors into account. Webster's New World.

5.    Incorporating unconventional treatment, as, variously, folk medicine, yoga, acupuncture, massage, etc.

 

General Systems Theory, a related modern concept [to holism], says that each variable in any system interacts with the other variables so thoroughly that cause and effect cannot be separated. A simple variable can be both cause and effect. Reality will not be still. And it cannot be taken apart! You cannot understand a cell, a rat, a brain structure, a family, a culture if you isolate it from its context. Relationship is everything.”

Marilyn Ferguson The Aquarian Conspiracy

 

We are all students of life:

Holistic education (also: holistic learning) is an approach to education that involves educating a person so that they will become a well-rounded and confident being who contributes productively to their community (in serving and being a solution when it is called for). It focuses on developing care for others and respect for the environment. It pays equal respect to the emotional, social, and cognitive wellbeing of the learner. ChrisDrew (PhD)

 

Another scholarly definition, from Marshman (2010, p. 3):

“Holistic education focuses on the fullest possible development of the person, encouraging

individuals to become the very best or finest that they can be and enabling them to experience all they can from life and reach their goals.”

Is that not what we all want? To be fully developed, to serve those with our talents and reach our goals. I know I am. As you, I learn with each new information I receive.

 

A Holistic Writer (artist)…

1. Sees their work from the outside in.

2. Understand their work as the sum of its parts.

3. Sees those parts only in relation to each other and the whole.

4. Sees their fiction in relation to their person.

5. Cannot separate their writing life and their everyday life, because they are the same.

 

What the Bible says:

We are earthen vessels that need to be filled.

Streams of living water will pour from us once we connect with God.

We are created in the image of God. 

He is the Creator, and we have His DNA. Therefore, we can create.

 

Next time, we will look further into ourselves. What it means when we hear: body, soul and mind. 

Release your Creativity: Ditching the Junk

 

Free Download: Introduction Release Your Creative Manual 

If we are in control of our thoughts, we can achieve just about anything. It sounds simple, and we’ve all heard this many times before, and wondered why we still cannot achieve what we want.

However, there’s more to it than a simplistic belief that ‘you can achieve anything you want in life’... right?

Most of us don't have control over our thoughts. Taking control of our thought life is the first step towards genuine progress.

Everything we think, every attitude we adopt, every position we assume, every angle we see things from, it all makes a tremendous difference.

So, you might think something like, ‘Here we go again, think happy thoughts and everything will turn out shiny and perfect. Is it all you have to do? 

Well, no. That’s not all. Not quite. Think clearly, without the attendant positive action, we’re wasting time. But if we have a positive attitude, it puts us in the mood to take decisive action. It makes the world of difference.

 STOP AND TAKE STOCK. 

Stop, and view your state and actions. You are defining your current situation by continually thinking the same way and doing the same things that have always brought you all the negatives you don’t want.

So, stop. Take a breather and notice your overriding thoughts. You might think thoughts of being useless? Or maybe you’re thinking that you don’t deserve certain things? Maybe you’ve decided that you’ll never make real money, no matter what you do or how many new ventures you try out.

So, why are we thinking this way? Well, not through choice, that’s for sure! It doesn’t take a trained psychologist to know that nobody wants to think destructive, miserable, and unproductive thoughts each day.

No-one chooses to do that. But (and it’s a BIG ‘but’)… we do repeatedly think this way by not choosing to think in a different way. The choices we make will make all the difference.

So back to the question, why do we think this way? Most likely because our culture encourages us to think this way. We are subjected to negative ideas and negative ways of thinking since childhood. We absorbed this in the same way as a sponge absorbs water.

Now, without thinking about it, we just adopt those depressing, negative attitudes, and those negative thinking styles, and we’re off and running. We end up thinking negatively, and we don’t even realise what we’re doing!

So, take stock and decide what it is you’re thinking, and then find out if it’s helping you move towards your goals, or moving away from them in the opposite direction.

Decide what you want. Think about it. Take your time. Attempt to define the precise details of what it is you want.

If there’s something you’re thinking about (for example, if you are continually reliving a negative experience in your mind), then ask yourself, “Is this helping me, or is it just slowing me down?”

If your thinking isn’t helping you, then it’s time to ditch the junk and quench those destructive thought patterns. It might not be easy, but it is achievable with a little self- awareness and a lot of self-control.

Decide on your next course of action (or course of thinking). If you have things that are going on in your life, and they are dragging you down, then you know it’s time to stop doing them, or thinking about them.

HAVE A MENTAL CLEAR-OUT!

Do this regularly. Remove the junk from your mind and get rid of all the emotional trash. Feel the relief as you ‘see’ it floats away on a softly undulating sea of calm thoughts. Isn’t it good to be free from that emotional garbage that’s been dragging you down and pulling you further and further away from what you actually want?

As you become freer and lighter, you’ll be able to put into action all the things you want to do. You’ll find that you can complete them much more easily and more productively now.

It’s much easier to do the correct and the productive thing if you are not weighed down by bags of negativity. It’s like trying to swim with bags of sand attached to your belt.

The moment you ditch your junk thoughts, you will feel lighter! You can move easier! You can move with greater ease towards the things you want in your future. Your actions will be more efficient because you’re no longer being dragged down by rotten, stinking thinking!

BEGIN MAKING REAL PROGRESS

Upon doing this, you’ll see actual progress in your life. Progress in improving your memory, or making more money, or finding romance, or improving your relationships, or building a business. Whatever it is you want, you must be sure of what it is before you move towards it.

This is more easily achieved if you’ve ditched all the rotten thinking that’s been holding you back all this time. The way to do that is to recognise it for what it is, and let it go.

And as you relinquish the negativity, you more easily adopt an attitude of positivity, which helps you move in the right direction, and much more quickly.

COUNTING THE COST

And your cost of achieving all this? A few minutes each day, and a little clear thinking! Some time spent reflecting on the value of certain trains of thought—and the boldness to change direction where necessary.

Commit to your future and devote some quality time each day towards some clear and forward focused thinking. In return for a few minutes of your time, the future rewards can be incredible!

If you have been spending time (and emotional energy) thinking depressing, miserable, and unproductive thoughts, you can change things, and you change them now.

You don’t need to be a psychologist, or even have a psychotherapist to guide you.

You do not need an expensive hour on a consulting room sofa once a week for six months or a life coach. You don’t even need a patient friend to listen to your troubles or a comforting shoulder to cry on.

Generally, you can sort out your own problems, all by yourself, and without any support from therapists or any other type of ‘professional’. In just a few minutes each day, all the benefits of thorough self-reflection are yours!

You’ll feel more at peace within yourself and find your thinking is much clearer. You’ll begin making better decisions. Your goals will become much clearer, and you’ll be moving towards your goals steadily, and with far less effort.

In fact, you’ll be closing in on your goals so fast it’ll make your world spin!

Release your Creativity: Part 5: Action

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Free Download: Introduction Release Your Creative Manual 

 The smallest of actions, even the insignificant, can lead to great success. It’s been said that actions, like pictures, are worth a thousand words. We could have the best idea and the greatest plan, but without action, we would still fail.

Each step leads into the right direction. We call it action.

When you stand still, you don’t apply action. You are unmovable and will stay put. It is only when you lift your foot and put it down a little further that you move. Each step gives you confidence and boldness to go further. Reach higher.

When you have a desire to bake a cake and you don’t visit the shop to buy the ingredients, it will remain a desire. Even if you bought the ingredients and don’t bake it, it will remain a desire.

Desire is born from a deep-seated dream that wants to push you forward.

A dream can only come forward once you put it on a vision board. It applies to everything you want to do. The book you want to write. Being a full-time actor, movie producer, etc. Hang it somewhere where it is visible every day. Behind the toilet door, inside your bedroom cupboard; any place where you will see it. A vision board doesn’t help if you hide it away. It needs to be in the open.  

Do you want to travel? Create a vision board of all the places you would like to visit. Read about them in your spare time.

This all has to do with action. Preparation and action equals results.

Each action step propels you closer to the dream, builds desire, and opens doors in the most unusual ways.

At times, we can take the wrong step, but you have learned from it. Never think that a mistake is a negative. No, a mistake is part of the lessons we learn. School money. Knowledge is part of the formula to move. Knowledge is always tested. Sometimes, you learn the wrong skill; or is it? No skill is wrong. You never know what the future holds; It may come in handy when life turns on you.

Be active in action.

©Lynelle Clark 2022

Speaking voice by A.W. Tozer

 Taken from the PURSUIT OF GOD by A.W.Tozer

Aiden Wilson Tozer

A word is a medium by which thoughts are expressed, and the application of the term to the eternal Son leads us to believe that self-expression is inherent in the Godhead, that God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation.

God is speaking. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking voice.

The Why of Natural Law is the Living Voice of God Immanent in His Creation. And This Word of God Which Brought All Worlds Into Being Cannot Be Understood to Mean The Bible, For It Is Not A Written Or Printed Word At All, But The Expression Of The Will Of God Spoken Into The Structure Of All Things. 

This Word of God Is the Breath of God Filling the World with Living Potentiality. The Voice of God Is the Most Powerful Force in Nature; Indeed, It Is the Only Force in Nature, For All Energy Is Here Only Because the Power-Filled Word Is Being Spoken. 

The Bible Is the Written Word of God, And Because It Is Written, It Is Confined and Limited by The Necessities of Ink and Paper. The Voice of God, However, Is Alive and Free as The Sovereign God Is Free. 

"The Words That I Have Spoken unto You, They Are Spirit and They Are Life." The Life Is in The Speaking Words. God's Word in The Bible Can Have Power Only Because It Corresponds to God's Word in The Universe. It Is the Present Voice Which Makes the Written Word All-Powerful. Otherwise, It Would Lie Locked in Slumber Within the Covers of a Book. 

We Take A Low and Primitive View of Things When We Conceive of God at The Creation Coming Into Physical Contact With Things, Shaping And Fitting And Building Like A Carpenter. The Bible Teaches Otherwise: By the Word of The Lord Were the Heavens Made, And All the Host of Them by The Breath of His Mouth. . .  For He Spoke, And It Was Done; He Commanded, And It Came into Being. And Through Faith We Understand That the Ages Were Framed by The Word of God. 

Again, We Must Remember That God Is Referring Here Not to His Written Word, But to His Speaking Voice. His World-Filling Voice Is Meant, That Voice Which Predates the Bible by Uncounted Centuries, That Voice Which Has Not Been Silent Since the Dawn of Creation but Is Sounding Still Throughout the Far Reaches of The Universe. The Word of God Is Quick and Powerful. In the Beginning He Spoke to Nothing, And It Became Something. Chaos Heard It and Became Order; Darkness Heard It and Became Light. And God Said. And It Was So These Twin Phrases, As Cause and Effect, Occur Throughout the Genesis Story of The Creation. 

The Said Accounts for The So the So Is the Said Put into The Continuous Present. That God Is Here and That He Is Speaking—These Truths Are The Backing For All Other Bible Truths; Without Them There Could Be No Revelation At All. God Did Not Write A Book And Send It By Messenger To Be Read At A Distance By Unaided Minds. He Spoke A Book And Lives In His Spoken Words, Constantly Speaking His Words And Causing The Power Of Them To Persist Across The Years. 

God Breathed On Clay And It Became A Man; He Breathes On Men And They Become Clay. “Return Ye Children Of Men,” Was The Word Spoken At The Fall, By Which God Decreed The Death Of Every Man And No Added Word Has He Needed To Speak. 

The Sad Procession Of Mankind Across The Face Of The Earth From Birth To The Grave Is Proof That His Original Word Was Enough. We Have Not Given Sufficient Attention To That Deep Utterance In The Gospel Of John: That Word Was The True Light, Which Lightens Every Man That Comes Into This World. Shift The Punctuation Around As We Will, And The Truth Is Still There: The Word Of God Affects The Hearts Of All Men As Light In The Soul. In The Hearts Of All Men The Light Shines, The Word Sounds, And There Is No Escaping Them. Something Like This Would Of Necessity Be So If God Is Alive And In His World. And John Says That It Is So Even Those Individuals Who Have Never Heard Of The Bible Have Still Been Preached To With Sufficient Clarity To Remove Every Excuse From Their Hearts Forever, Which Show The Work Of The Law Written In Their Hearts, Their Conscience Also Bearing Witness, Accusing And Also Excusing Their Reasonings One With Another. 

For The Invisible Things Of Him, His Eternal Power And Divinity, Are Clearly Understood By The Creation Of The World And By The Things That Are Made So That There Is No Excuse. This Universal Voice Of God Was By The Ancient Hebrews Often Called Wisdom And Was Said To Be Everywhere Sounding And Searching Throughout The Earth, Seeking Some Response From The Sons Of Men. 

The Eighth Chapter Of The Book Of Proverbs Begins: "Doth Not Wisdom Cry, And Give Her Voice To Intelligence?" The Writer Then Pictures Wisdom As A Beautiful Woman Standing In The Top Of The High Places, By The Way At The Crossroads Of The Paths. She Sounds Her Voice From Every Quarter So That No One May Miss Hearing It. "Unto You, O Men, I Call; And My Voice Is To The Sons Of Men." Then She Pleads For The Simple And The Foolish To Give Ear To Her Words. It Is A Spiritual Response For Which This Wisdom Of God Is Pleading, A Response Which She Has Always Sought And Is But Rarely Able To Secure. 

The Tragedy Is That Our Eternal Welfare Depends Upon Our Hearing, And We Have Trained Our Ears Not To Hear. This Universal Voice Has Ever Sounded, And It Has Often Troubled Men Even When They Did Not Understand The Source Of Their Fears. Could It Be That This Voice Distilling Like A Living Mist Upon The Hearts Of Men Has Been The Undiscovered Cause Of The Troubled Conscience And The Longing For Immortality Confessed By Millions Since The Dawn Of Recorded History? 

We Need Not Fear To Face Up To This. The Speaking Voice Is A Fact. How Men Have Reacted To It Is For Any Observer To Note. When God Spoke Out Of Heaven To Our Lord, Self-Centred Men Who Heard It Explained It By Natural Causes: They Said, It Thundered. This Habit Of Explaining The Voice By Appeals To Natural Law Is At The Very Root Of Modern Science. 

In The Living, Breathing Cosmos, There Is A Mysterious Something, Too Wonderful, Too Awful For Any Mind To Understand. The Believing Man Does Not Claim To Understand. He Falls To His Knees And Whispers, “God.” The Man Of Earth Kneels Also, But Not To Worship. He Kneels To Examine, To Search, To Find The Cause And The How Of Things. Just Now We Happen To Be Living In A Secular Age. Our Thought Habits Are Those Of The Scientist, Not Those Of The Worshipper. We Are More Likely To Explain Than To Adore. “It Thundered,” We Exclaim, And Go Our Earthly Way. But Still The Voice Sounds And Searches. The Order And Life Of The World Depend Upon That Voice, But Men Are Mostly Too Busy Or Too Stubborn To Give Attention. 

Every One Of Us Has Had Experiences Which We Have Not Been Able To Explain: A Sudden Sense Of Loneliness, Or A Feeling Of Wonder Or Awe In The Face Of The Universal Vastness. Or We Have Had A Fleeting Visitation Of Light Like An Illumination From Some Other Sun, Giving Us In A Quick Flash An Assurance That We Are From Another World, That Our Origins Are Divine. What We Saw There, Or Felt, Or Heard, May Have Been Contrary To All That We Had Been Taught In The Schools And At Wide Variance With All Our Former Beliefs And Opinions. We Were Forced To Suspend Our Acquired Doubts While, For A Moment, The Clouds Were Rolled Back, And We Saw And Heard For Ourselves. 

Explain Such Things As We Will, I Think We Have Not Been Fair To The Facts Until We Allow At Least The Possibility That Such Experiences May Arise From The Presence Of God In The World And His Persistent Effort To Communicate With Mankind. Let Us Not Dismiss Such A Hypothesis Too Flippantly. 

It Is My Own Belief (And Here I Shall Not Feel Bad If No One Follows Me) That Every Good And Beautiful Thing Which Man Has Produced In The World Has Been The Result Of His Faulty And Sin-Blocked Response To The Creative Voice Sounding Over The Earth. The Moral Philosophers Who Dreamed Their High Dreams Of Virtue, The Religious Thinkers Who Speculated About God And Immortality, The Poets And Artists Who Created Out Of Common Stuff Pure And Lasting Beauty—How Can We Explain Them? It Is Not Enough To Say Simply, “It Was Genius.” 

What Then Is Genius? Could It Be That A Genius Is A Man Haunted By The Speaking Voice, Labouring, And Striving Like One Possessed To Achieve Ends Which He Only Vaguely Understands? That The Great Man May Have Missed God In His Labours, That He May Have Even Spoken Or Written Against God, Does Not Destroy The Idea I Am Advancing. God’s Redemptive Revelation In The Holy Scriptures Is Necessary To Saving Faith And Peace With God. Faith In A Risen Saviour Is Necessary If The Vague Stirrings Toward Immortality Are To Bring Us To Restful And Satisfying Communion With God. To Me, This Is A Plausible Explanation of All That Is Best Out Of Christ. But You Can Be A Good Christian And Not Accept My Thesis. 

The Voice Of God Is A Friendly Voice. No One Need Fear To Listen To It Unless He Has Already Made Up His Mind To Resist It. The Blood of Jesus Has Covered Not Only the Human Race But All Creation As Well. Having Made Peace Through The Blood Of His Cross, Whether They Are The Things In The Earth Or The Things In The Heavens. We May Safely Preach A Friendly Heaven. 

The Heavens as Well As The Earth Are Filled With The Good Will Of Him That Dwelt In The Bush. The Perfect Blood Of Atonement Secures This Forever. Whoever Will Listen Will Hear The Speaking Heaven. This Is Definitely Not The Hour When Men Take Kindly To An Exhortation To Listen, For Listening Is Not Today A Part Of Popular Religion. We Are At The Opposite End Of The Pole From There. Religion Has Accepted The Monstrous Heresy That Noise, Size, Activity, And Bluster Make A Man Dear To God. But We May Take Heart. To A People Caught In The Tempest Of The Last Great Conflict, God Says, Be Still, And Know That  I Am God, And Still He Says It, As If He Means To Tell Us That Our Strength And Safety Lie Not In Noise But In Silence. 

It Is Important That We Get Still To Wait On God. And It Is Best That We Get Alone, Preferably With Our Bible Outspread Before Us. Then If We Will, We May Draw Near To God And Begin To Hear Him Speak To Us In Our Hearts. I Think That For The Average Person The Progression Will Be Something Like This: First A Sound As Of A Presence Walking In The Garden. Then A Voice, More Intelligible, But Still Far From Clear. Then The Happy Moment When The Spirit Begins To Illuminate The Scriptures, And That Which Had Been Only A Sound, Or At Best A Voice, Now Becomes An Intelligible Word, Warm And Intimate And Clear As The Word Of A Dear Friend. Then Will Come Life And Light, And Best Of All, The Ability To See And Rest In And Embrace Jesus Christ As Saviour And Lord And All. 

The Bible Will Never Be A Living Book to Us Until We Are Convinced That God Is Articulate In His Universe. To Jump from A Dead, Impersonal World to A Dogmatic Bible Is Too Much For Most People. They May Admit That They Should Accept The Bible As The Word Of God, And They May Try To Think Of It As Such, But They Find It Impossible To Believe That The Words There On The Page Are  Actually For Them. A Man May Say, “These Words Are Addressed to Me,” And Yet in His Heart Does Not Feel and Know That They Are. He Is the Victim of a Divided Psychology. He Tries To Think Of God As Mute Everywhere Else And Vocal Only In A Book. 

I Believe That Much Of Our Religious Unbelief Is Due To A Wrong Conception Of And A Wrong Feeling For The Scriptures Of Truth. A Silent God Suddenly Began To Speak In A Book, And When The Book Was Finished, He Lapsed Back Into Silence Again Forever. Now We Read The Book As The Record Of What God Said When He Was For A Brief Time In A Speaking Mood. With Notions Like That In Our Heads, How Can We Believe? 

The Facts Are That God Is Not Silent, Has Never Been Silent. It Is The Nature Of God To Speak. The Second Person Of The Holy Trinity Is Called The Word. The Bible Is The Inevitable Outcome Of God’s Continuous Speech. It Is The Infallible Declaration Of His Mind For Us, Put Into Our Familiar Human Words. I Think A New World Will Arise Out Of The Religious Mists When We Approach Our Bible With The Idea That It Is Not Only A Book Which Was Once Spoken, But It Is Also A Book Which Is Now Speaking. The Prophets Habitually Said, Thus Saith The Lord. They Meant Their Hearers To Understand That God’s Speaking Is In The Continuous Present. 

We May Use The Past Tense Properly To Indicate That At A Certain Time A Certain Word Of God Was Spoken, But A Word Of God Once Spoken Continues To Be Spoken, As A Child Once Born Continues To Be Alive, Or A World Once Created Continues To Exist. And Those Are but Imperfect Illustrations, For Children Die And Worlds Burn Out, But The Word Of Our God Endureth Forever. 

If You Would Follow on To Know the Lord, Come at Once To The Open Bible, Expecting It To Speak To You. Do Not Come with The Notion That It Is A Thing Which You May Push Around at Your Convenience. It Is More Than A Thing; It Is A Voice, A Word, The Very Word Of The Living God.

Prayer

Lord, Teach Me To Listen. The Times Are Noisy, And My Ears Are Weary With The Thousand Raucous Sounds Which Continuously Assault Them. Give Me The Spirit Of The Boy Samuel When He Said To Thee, “Speak, For Thy Servant Heareth.” Let Me Hear Thee Speaking In My Heart. Let Me Get Used To The Sound Of Thy Voice, That Its Tones May Be Familiar When The Sounds Of Earth Die Away, And The Only Sound Will Be The Music Of Thy Speaking Voice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.