First-- Listen to His Words.

The first step in following God is to actually listen to His Words.  Reading them works also.

Ways to Listen to God's Words

• Reading the Bible
• Listening to a Preacher of the Bible
• Christian Songs
• Bible CD.
• A Christian book

Of course, the best way is to get the original words of God through the Bible and TESTING everything everyone else says about God... to make sure they're right.

What Does It Mean--To Believe in God?

Believing in God is actually believing.  It takes action... it takes following Him and what He says.

Faith and action go hand in hand.


This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  1 Jn 3:16-18

How to Find Stuff in the Bible

Whenever I want to find what the Bible says about a certain topic, etc, I use a concordance.  A concordance is a list of topics and all the verses in the Bible that relate to that topic.

So if I want to find out what the Bible says about pride, I would look up the word 'pride' in the concordance and view various verses that contain this word.

Not all words or topics are discussed in the Bible explicitly.  But there are also principles that can apply to many situations.  The more we read and meditate on God's Words, the more we'll be able to use it in our daily lives.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17

How Do I Listen to God?

1. The Bible.
• The Bible is God’s Words.  If I want to know what God says about a certain topic or issue, I can read the Scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament) and find out.
• For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Heb 4:12
• After being tempted by the devil, Jesus answered the devil from Scripture (only the Old Testament at that time):  “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Mat 4:4, Jesus was quoting from Deut 8:3.
• “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Mat 7:24
2. Through angels.
• In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1:26
• Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.  Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  Luke 1:8-13
• Okay… thus far in my life, an actual angel has not appeared to me that I know of.  But I believe this can happen as God wills.
3. Through dreams.
• This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”  Matt 1:18-21
• I have dreamt dreams where an angel speaks to me on behalf of God.  It is a very scary experience indeed.  Not because the angels themselves are scary, but because… you know, I don’t even know why I was scared.  I guess I have a certain fear of the unknown and powerful.  I don’t remember all of these dreams—unless I write things down, they get forgotten.  I remember one vaguely, but they’re personal… nothing that pertains to others.  However, I can say that I asked this ‘angel’ a question and I got my answer.  It was one of those moments where if you’re ever in front of God, what would you ask, kind of moment.  For some reason, the answers are always so simple and they’re always in the Bible.  I’ve only shared this with two people in my life before.  Trust me, it’s nothing great about me… it’s how great our God is.

The Danger of “Believing God”

 

Here I go, after this ‘dangerous’ lifestyle.  I’m choosing to follow God no matter the cost.

Danger #1:  There are many out there who hate God and His Words.

This can only mean that there are many out there who are going to hate me.  Ay ay ay!

“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”   Mat 10:22  NIV

“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul (prince of demons), how much more the members of his household!”  Mat 10:24-25  NIV

Well, the first thing I did before writing this article was PRAY.  I prayed for protection from all evil and asked for forgiveness of my sins. 

It’s been a long time since I have truly given my full attention onto God and His Words.  Transitions in my life have made me very ‘busy’, that it can seem as though I have no time for God. 

So, let’s beware of transitions: getting married, having kids, deaths, births, hurts, joys… these things could get us closer to God or separate us from God.  It all depends on our thoughts and beliefs.

My Church by Rene Gonzalez (translated by me)

This is one of my favorite Christian songs... in Spanish.


My Church

It's been a long time since I bought a church,
The price was blood from intense pain.
It's been a long time since I came
to rescue what was lost.

It's been a long time since I've been desiring
that humble surrender from a worshiper,
who only bows down in my presence
not for the offer of a certain role.

It's been a long time since I've been desiring
that you all show my image, which is love,
to not get confused amongst so many people,
to be different, to be only like me;

To not to divide yourselves, as you often do,
getting into quarrels and arguments,
seeking to be greater than others-
if in the universe, the only great one is me.

I want a church that gives me the glory,
and tries to keep unity.

I want a church that heals the wounded,
that breaks the chains and frees the captive,
that clears the confused mind and that speaks TRUTH.
I want a church that with its look
gives hope to the anxious soul.
I want a church that heals the wound of the human race.
I want a flock where my sheep
will feel safe and at peace,
where my Word will be their food,
that's where I want to dwell.

I want a church where its praises
perfume my throne and gives me that place;
a church that knows how to differ
between good and evil.

Where is the church that was forgiven,
and that was saved from the atrocious wrath;
the church that seeing someone fall,
holds out its hand and forgives their mistake.

Awaken Church!
The time of your redemption is here!