The Still Small Voice

Listening to the winds of Sandy brought this to mind just now. When Elijah was on the mountain in the cave hiding out of fear of Jezebel and her forces, a very tired possibly discouraged or despairing Elijah needed the reassurance that his God was more than a word on a scroll, greater than a hero in a story.

Elijah didn't seek out this reassurance, but his all knowing God in heaven knew Elijah's true need at that moment. It wasn't a hiding place from evil people - what he needed was a confirmation that his life spent as a prophet of God wasn't for nothin'. Wasn't just another life to be snuffed out by an enemy of Jehovah. Not a dot on the immensity of time, nor a mindless tool of a puppeteer god. No, an A grade was not what Elijah needed. God wanted Elijah to know that he was of more worth to God than all the rubies, gems, precious metals, any and all treasures ever to be seen by man. God gave him a gift of Himself. And this gift was given in an extraordinary way.

God brought him out onto the face of the mountain - an experience which was incredible in its own way - man against a mountain. Then God passed by Elijah! The New American Standard Version actually includes an exclamation point after that sentence - underscoring the significance of that moment. There was a great wind that ripped by Elijah - who was no doubt being protected in a supernatural way by God from this windstorm - it was so fierce it must have sounded like 10 x 10 times squared the roar I'm hearing outside my window now. The wind shattered and imploded parts of the rock face all around Elijah. He already knew God to be of infinite power and yet it was being demonstrated again. Then an earthquake occurred that shook the very foundation of the huge mountain, and still Elijah is protected and sees and experiences God's omnipotence first hand without a single bone being damaged! After the earthquake, a fire - a consuming force that could 'eat' its victims in a moment. God must have pushed Elijah back away from the fire into the mouth of the cave, for we next read that Elijah emerges from the cave again. Yet God did not make Himself known to Elijah in any of these all powerful occurrences. These were God's calling card, so to speak, to get Elijah's attention for the real encounter God would have with him. It was in an intimate whisper - a still small voice - that God made himself known to Elijah. God brought Elijah into a personal relationship with Himself, a moment in time like no other Elijah had known where he - a mere man - was allowed to commune with God. God saw through Elijah's fear, frustration, and despair, transporting him to a place of complete contentment that he would experience with God. From that point forward Elijah would grow in relationship with God in a special way until the time he would be taken up into heaven to never experience death like every other human has.

We often want God to make Himself known to us in big ways - a huge material blessing or a huge healing. And He may do that if that is His will and method for getting our attention. A whisper, though, requires one to get close enough to utter it and the hearer close enough to hear it. God chose to make Himself known to Elijah at this time in his life in such a way. It is always in a personal way that we come to best know God and experience who He truly is. We can experience the omnipotence of God in glorious and wondrous ways, yet the encounter God knows we need is a personal one with Him. So God still speaks in a 'still small voice, in a whisper', to his servants. He still sets as His ultimate goal for us a close, personal relationship with Him. His Spirit in us testifies to us of this intimacy. He whispers to us through His Word, in silent moments of meditation and prayer in which we are reassured of His presence in our life and circumstances. Obviously, His omnipotence is certainly representative in the thrashing of the winds and the copious downpours. Yet, it is the intimacy with Him that He seeks with us where we really 'see' God and know His love for us. A close and trusting relationship that we can count on for the rest of our lives. A true peace and joy that knows I am His and that I can enjoy His best for me forever.

God, I will praise you in this storm, for I know You and You know who I am. (borrowed from the hymn by Casting Crowns "Praise You in This Storm")

John 10: The Shepherd, the Sheep - and the Door!

Greetings.

In John 10 Jesus speaks to his disciples and those in the crowds about the only way to God and Salvation. For different reasons, many people hearing Jesus say this in the first century--in person--had just as much trouble hearing it and accepting it then as people hearing his voice today through the written Word have hearing and accepting it now. Many church leaders are not preaching or teaching this message. They are offering a softer approach - that it is ok to believe that there are other paths to salvation, of which Christianity is one and that you can determine how to be a Christian - as long as you believe in something and call it God. Do you know how appealing that statement is to any human in bondage to original sin??

It is very appealing – it is like saying that anything our ‘conscience’ says is ok is ok. Or that as long as I do not hurt anyone it is ok. It also is appealing because quite frankly we don’t want anyone dictating to us that we are wrong to choose to live our lives the way we do – we’ll work it out and it will be all right in the end. It’s un-American. Didn’t the Bible say that there is freedom because of Christ?

  

Hitler had a conscience. Qaddafi has a conscience. Until a short while ago, Bin Laden had a conscience. They all considered or consider their way to salvation correct!

  

Well, maybe these examples are too extreme. Let’s go to the other side and consider these:

• Mr. and Mrs. Beentrue have been attending church for years, contribute regularly, and have been involved in many church activities. They believe Jesus died on the cross, that he was born on earth, and he rose on Easter. They consult their horoscopes and toy with mysticism and are liberal minded when it comes to personal morality.
• Mr. Neighbor. He will not darken a church door, he says – too many hypocrites. He’s a good neighbor, though, watches out for his neighbors, does good deeds for other people, and volunteers as a tutor.   
• Ms. YoungAdult was a regular churchgoer, involved with youth group. After college, she has been involved in other pursuits – getting a life as she calls it - e.g., getting a good job, buying a condo, social life with her friends – and attends church when she can. She believes that women should have the right to choose abortion if they think it is right for them, and that there is nothing wrong with being gay – it doesn’t hurt anybody. She gives to charity and to 'street' people.  
• Miss Teen spends her time studying, is determined to remain an A student. She’s involved with a couple of clubs at school, and plays soccer with the community team, where she mentors young girls. She acolytes at church and sometimes sings with the choir. Her friends are into wicca.  
• Mr. Athlete is a young man in high school who has made both basketball and track teams during his time at school. He’s a B student, outgoing, volunteers with his church in outreach projects, and is part of the landscape and garden guild at church. He has been accepted into a Christian college, where he plans to study to become a minister.  
• Miss What was an A student, attended church regularly, served in the Altar Guild and choir, and was active in outreach activities. She led junior Bible study. Her first year in college was a whirlwind; by the second term she found herself pregnant. Despite her friends’ advice, she did not have an abortion, but instead had the baby.  
• Mr. Ohmy fell into bad company when he was a young teen. His parents used to take him to church, but he was bored he said. He was hanging with a group of boys when they encountered some folks that were the ‘enemy’, a fight ensued, and he was shot – not fatally. A couple of years later, he retaliated and killed one of the people who was with the other gang. He was sent to jail for life. After being there several years, he ventured in one day to a room where a Bible study was taking place, and questioned everything. But he kept going back because he liked to question the teacher.

These stories are composites of true stories. One wonders, which of these people are sheep who hear the voice of Jesus?

I don’t ask the question to be judgmental – and I want to make that very clear - but rather, I ask for the purpose of being thought-provoking. For example, have you ever seen someone who is very hungry eat? They don’t question the food if it looks familiar - they just eat it and then maybe question it later if it doesn’t set well. So, at some point, we really may need to think about the big question: what does it really mean to be one of Jesus’ sheep? How well do you have to know the Shepherd? How well does the Shepherd have to know you? What does it really mean to enter into the gate or door? Did Jesus really mean that there was only one way to God and salvation—isn’t that a narrow-minded view? What about those good friends who are Buddhist, or who follow Islam – they are good people – are you trying to say that God condemns them? What about my family members – they’re pretty good, but just don’t want to belong to any religion. Are you saying that they are not saved?

Matthew’s Gospel puts it this way:

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

May God open our eyes and hearts so that we will make wise choices.