How often have you talked to
yourself, and made statements that you hear, but did not pay much attention to?
Doesn’t it amaze you, that a person does not even pay close attention to their
own thoughts all of the time?
For myself, I can recall asking
God to be a little clearer and concise, on what He would have me do. Looking for God to take me by the hand, and
lead me down this path, so I will not make any mistakes.
Yet, we know that the scriptures
tell us, "Study to show thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed." It also tells us, "To be a doer of the Word, and not
a hearer only." I have to walk the walk, as well as talk the
talk. I have to set an example that people will know is achievable, just
as Jesus of Nazareth did for us. They have to see that they too, are
capable of hearing God, and doing as He asks of us, as
individuals.
For those of you who are around
my age or older, you will remember the radios that we had a few years
ago. They had tubes instead of transistors. You had to be real
exact in setting the tuning, if you wanted to get real clear reception of any
station, without static. If you set it in a hurry, you ran the risk of
having the station fade in and out, or the interference so great,
one could not listen to it for very long. The end results, that you could
miss the most important part of the program that you were listening to.
Christianity - our walk with God, is much the same way. Our relationship with God
is like that tunable radio. It takes a real fine tuning, to hear and
maintain our fellowship with the Father. What we have to take the time to
hear and understand is, what does it take, to keep
ourselves fine tuned to His voice, so that one does not get a garbled message,
just as that old radio produced, if it was not used properly.
First off, we have to remember
that the radio needed a power source, 120 volts. So, you have to be at a
place where a power source is available.
We as Christians, have to
recognize our source. Faith only comes by developing a relationship with
Jesus Christ. The moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are given the measure of faith. (Romans
12:3) We have received the gift of Christ. (Eph. 4:7). We
become a new creation, old things pass away, and I have a new lease on
life. (II Cor. 5:17). Christ, the power
and wisdom of God is now our source.(1Cor
Now that I have a power source
for my radio, I can turn the set on. Since this is a tube radio, it will
take a little time for the tubes to warm up, and become operational, for the
purpose that it was intended.
Now that I am born-again, I too
have a power source for my life. I have the ability to stay plugged into
it at all times. Yet, I also have a free will, so that if I choose to
stray from it, I will come unplugged. The glow of the tubes goes out, and
until I get plugged back into the proper power source, I will no longer be
capable of hearing the instructions that Father has for me.
Once I get plugged back in
again, it takes awhile for the tubes to again get warm, to where the radio will
be operational. It will be a short time until I can again have clear
reception. All because I choose to stray from the power
source.
God's Word (John 6:63), (the
Bible) is my power source. I have the choice to stay plugged into it each
and everyday of my life.
If I choose to walk away from
it, whether for several days, several weeks or several years, the result is
always the same. I have broken the communications link with the
Father. It is not always easy re-establishing that link.
Too often, we have gotten
ourselves in spiritual hot water, and we want an answer right away. We
want immediate results. Yet, we can no longer hear Father's voice as
clear (if at all), since we had been disconnected from "the" power
source.
Faith, my ability to believe the
Message delivered to us by Jesus Christ for Father, is maintained by hearing
and observing Father's Word of life. "Faith is by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God." I have to maintain clear reception on
my radio, so I can always hear Father's instructions and guidance
clearly. Staying in His Word, maintains the power source.
In our society, we have so many
distractions that try to disconnect us from our power source. We have
television, which tells us everything, but what we need to know. It
gives us all kinds of visions of things that satisfy the flesh, but little of
what nourishes the spirit man.
The radio has many stations that
will tell us many things that sound good to us. It will give us
entertainment. But, it will take real fine-tuning to find the station
that will give us what we need to hear. It too, senses mostly signals
that satisfy the flesh.
So, how do we stayed tuned, in a
world that is programmed to lead us astray? How do we stay focused?
How do we stay in tune?
Just as with the radio, where we
have the tuner positioned to, will determine what kind of message we will
receive. Likewise, in our spiritual walk, where we have ourselves hanging
out will be indicative of our spiritual health. If we have ourselves
around loose lips, the evil communications will have an effect on us. (I Cor
Eliminating the interference gives us clearer
reception of the signal. This makes the message more understandable.
As radio's developed, they
learned to design filters for the radios that would filter out a good portion
of the background noise, thus giving us a much better signal, with less static
at the speaker.
As Christian's, as we learn and become effective at
hearing and applying God's Word, it in effect is similar to a filter. As
our knowledge of the "Word" grows, it shines light on the
darkness. In His
love, one is able to overcome fear. God has not given us the spirit of
fear. (II Tim. 1:7). Perfect love casts out fear. (I John
4:18). We have the ability as Christians, to set up filter systems for
our reception. We are able to filter out everything that is not from
above. (James 1:17). But, the choice is ours. No one can
force anything on you.
Also, with our old tube type radios, reception at
times was a little bit perturbing. You would have to turn the radio a
little one way or the other, to get better reception. Or, even where it
was located in the room would raise havoc with the incoming signal.
Sound real similar to our Christian walk?
Where are you facing? Which direction are you
headed? If you are seeking the wealth of the world, which direction are you headed? How clear will the message
of salvation be received?
If all we are seeking, are
signs and wonders, and not a working knowledge of the Word, which direction are
we headed? It says (the Bible), that the
Lord confirmed the Word, with signs following. (Mark
Faith is developed and maintained from the message
heard. Which station you are tuned to, will determine what kind of a
message you will hear.
As for me and my house, we will stay in tune with
the Lord!
That you may know Him
In the service of Jesus Christ
Larry Gazelka
J
Copyright © 2003 Rev Larry Gazelka all rights reserved