Pastor's Pen
by Pastor Jimmy Sharp
August 2004
"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us
rejoice and be glad in it." The Word of God for the people of God, glory be to
God. The Bible tells us "He who has an ear to hear let him hear." How are you
hearing right now? You are reading these words and audible sound is not part
of this message. Can you 'hear' a message that is not spoken?
The Scripture that we began with, "This is
the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." is from Psalm
118. Our attempt to communicate is not through a spoken median. So how do you
hear these words? Many times when we hear words or a spoken message we listen
out of curiosity or maybe because of the messenger doing the speaking. But in
the written word we more often than not 'hear' the words with our own voice.
How does the 'Word of God' sound in your own voice? How do you 'hear' the
message when the voice you hear is your own?
I have come to understand in my own
experience with God of the authority and comfort received from the 'Word of
God.' I remember when I came to first know that there was a God. I was 26
Years old and married with two small babies. God was leading me through some
unique experiences, at least for me they were unique. My first remembered
experience was not audible as I remember. It was a sensation of peace in the
midst of the calamity of circumstances, I was in a foreign place, Utah, my
wife was very unhappy with me and the foreign country we were in, my job was a
real pressure, my social life did not include my wife, and so on, and so on. I
have come to understand that God communicates in many ways to you and me and
peace in the midst of the storm of life is the first "Word" I received from
God. If you are on the 'sea of life' and the winds are bellowing and the waves
are roaring it is hard to hear any sound other than the wind and waves. It is
not when you cry out with your mouth that God hears you. It is when you cry
out with your heart that God hears you. God communicates through the heart,
not the beating muscle in your chest, but the very depths of who you are.
God's communication is heart to heart. God's heart to your heart, your heart
to God's heart. The language of God is love!! God in Jesus, the Christ,
experienced this life with it's winds and waves and the ultimate fear of many,
death, and has brought peace in the middle of the storm and a door through
death called salvation.
God communicates with us in many different
ways. When I read these words or when you read these words you hear them with
your own voice in your head but how do you hear them in your heart?