destiny
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"SILENCE is BANISHED - We No Longer Listen"
-by 'The Watchman'
Sitting in traffic at a red light one day I was struck with the surreal
image of almost every driver around my vehicle having a cell phone
attached to the side of their head. The sight of these people
reminded me of an Andy Warhol art display in which the miniscule
parts of life are exaggerated to become the unavoidable focus of
our attention. Each of the phone users was unaware of their
surroundings, least of all the people and automobiles next to them.
Their thoughts were projected to distant places at the other end of
the phone conversation. As I watched this almost comic scene in
amusement, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that
even God could not get their attention. Along with this thought
came a lesson in life from the throne of God.
In Genesis 3:8 we are introduced to another scene which reveals
the human reaction to sin. Adam had sinned against God and
when he heard God’s voice, he hid himself among the trees of the
garden. He was ashamed of his sin and guilt drove him to attempt
to block out that voice. This verse should cause us to ask
questions about what was taking place. Jeremiah 23:24 opens a
window that tells us much about ourselves today; “Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.
Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.â€Â
There is no place God cannot see us and yet in Genesis 3 we read
that God asked Adam where he was. Did God not know? Or could
we ask, “Was God only trying to get Adam’s attention?†God has
not changed since the fall of man. According to Malachi He
changes not. God knew exactly where Adam was but it was Adam
who had attempted to lose himself.
We can see this today if we will but slow down our lives and watch
through the eyes of our Lord. I believe Adam did exactly what we
do today when we experience guilt or shame. We hide among the
trees; only those trees are radios, TV sets, parties, shopping and
phone calls. I once worked with a young lady who was, as it can
only be described, addicted to the phone. She spent all her time
with a telephone attached to her ear. She was late to work because
she sat in the parking lot until she finished her phone call. As soon
as she came through the door she made a phone call. She walked
around trying to wait on customers with a phone against her head.
When she took her lunch break she was constantly on the phone.
One day I asked if she had a telephone problem and her reply was,
“No.†I told her she was afraid of the quiet and challenged her to go
home and spend 2 hours with no noise; no phone, no TV, no radio,
no people. The next day she returned and said she only lasted 15 minutes.
Adam did what we do today and hid among the trees to avoid
hearing God’s voice because he knew he had sinned. Today our
trees are cell phones and any other “tree†that will shelter our
hearts from hearing God’s voice. Sin is running loose in the Body
of Christ and we don’t want to hear God nag us because it harms
our self esteem. That still small voice in the heart of man can be
silenced by hiding among the trees. We race home from work with
cell phones at our ears and turn on Dr. Phil to assuage our
troubled spirit. We fill our hearts and minds with the voice of the
world to block out the voice of God.
The heart of Christians has been so corrupted by the voices of the
world we no longer know sin when it stands at our door and knocks.
We hear the whispering voice that Eve heeded and open the door to
an enemy who only brings and pain. Jesus warned us that
the only purpose Satan has is to kill, steal, and destroy (John
10:10) but we find new and convenient reasonings to avoid conflicts
between right and wrong. Abraham had sin in his house that was
destroying the child of promise and God said to drive Ishmael out.
Abraham had resisted the voice of his wife because it made him feel bad.
The Church has waxed its ears and turned away from the voice of
God. We have hidden among the trees but God sees us and knows
the ‘thoughts and intents of the heart.†The Church listens to the
voice of the serpent but celebrates the cell phones as we block out
that still small voice vying for our attention.
He still calls out to His Church, “He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches.†The light changed at the
intersection that day and all those people drove away with cell
phones still held against their heads. I was broken in spirit
because I knew they could not hear my Savior’s voice.
-by 'The Watchman'
Sitting in traffic at a red light one day I was struck with the surreal
image of almost every driver around my vehicle having a cell phone
attached to the side of their head. The sight of these people
reminded me of an Andy Warhol art display in which the miniscule
parts of life are exaggerated to become the unavoidable focus of
our attention. Each of the phone users was unaware of their
surroundings, least of all the people and automobiles next to them.
Their thoughts were projected to distant places at the other end of
the phone conversation. As I watched this almost comic scene in
amusement, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that
even God could not get their attention. Along with this thought
came a lesson in life from the throne of God.
In Genesis 3:8 we are introduced to another scene which reveals
the human reaction to sin. Adam had sinned against God and
when he heard God’s voice, he hid himself among the trees of the
garden. He was ashamed of his sin and guilt drove him to attempt
to block out that voice. This verse should cause us to ask
questions about what was taking place. Jeremiah 23:24 opens a
window that tells us much about ourselves today; “Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.
Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.â€Â
There is no place God cannot see us and yet in Genesis 3 we read
that God asked Adam where he was. Did God not know? Or could
we ask, “Was God only trying to get Adam’s attention?†God has
not changed since the fall of man. According to Malachi He
changes not. God knew exactly where Adam was but it was Adam
who had attempted to lose himself.
We can see this today if we will but slow down our lives and watch
through the eyes of our Lord. I believe Adam did exactly what we
do today when we experience guilt or shame. We hide among the
trees; only those trees are radios, TV sets, parties, shopping and
phone calls. I once worked with a young lady who was, as it can
only be described, addicted to the phone. She spent all her time
with a telephone attached to her ear. She was late to work because
she sat in the parking lot until she finished her phone call. As soon
as she came through the door she made a phone call. She walked
around trying to wait on customers with a phone against her head.
When she took her lunch break she was constantly on the phone.
One day I asked if she had a telephone problem and her reply was,
“No.†I told her she was afraid of the quiet and challenged her to go
home and spend 2 hours with no noise; no phone, no TV, no radio,
no people. The next day she returned and said she only lasted 15 minutes.
Adam did what we do today and hid among the trees to avoid
hearing God’s voice because he knew he had sinned. Today our
trees are cell phones and any other “tree†that will shelter our
hearts from hearing God’s voice. Sin is running loose in the Body
of Christ and we don’t want to hear God nag us because it harms
our self esteem. That still small voice in the heart of man can be
silenced by hiding among the trees. We race home from work with
cell phones at our ears and turn on Dr. Phil to assuage our
troubled spirit. We fill our hearts and minds with the voice of the
world to block out the voice of God.
The heart of Christians has been so corrupted by the voices of the
world we no longer know sin when it stands at our door and knocks.
We hear the whispering voice that Eve heeded and open the door to
an enemy who only brings and pain. Jesus warned us that
the only purpose Satan has is to kill, steal, and destroy (John
10:10) but we find new and convenient reasonings to avoid conflicts
between right and wrong. Abraham had sin in his house that was
destroying the child of promise and God said to drive Ishmael out.
Abraham had resisted the voice of his wife because it made him feel bad.
The Church has waxed its ears and turned away from the voice of
God. We have hidden among the trees but God sees us and knows
the ‘thoughts and intents of the heart.†The Church listens to the
voice of the serpent but celebrates the cell phones as we block out
that still small voice vying for our attention.
He still calls out to His Church, “He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches.†The light changed at the
intersection that day and all those people drove away with cell
phones still held against their heads. I was broken in spirit
because I knew they could not hear my Savior’s voice.