Communication

I was reading in my Bible and the story of Elijah, the prophet, (found in 1 Kings). And I came to the part where God had told Elijah to go and hide and then it said something very interesting, it said, “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” 1 Kings 17:4

Notice particularly that Lord said that He had commanded the ravens. The new thought struck me, one that I had never even thought of before and to me it was amazing! God communicates with animals, and there are many instances in the Bible where it talks about such.

There are even stories that didn’t happen too long ago where it talks about God using the animals to reach us human beings.

I believe that the reason why God communicates with the animals is to send a message across to us, different messages, but sometimes God has to communicate with us that way for us to listen and obey.

God’s message to Elijah was that no matter what would happen, God would take care of him, and that he didn’t need to be worried or afraid. God has given us the same message through the story of Elijah; we don’t need to worry about the situations that we are in, because if necessary God will command the birds in heaven to feed us.

There are other instances in the Bible where God spoke to the animal; one of them is the story of Jonah.

When Jonah disobeyed God and went in the opposite direction. The Lord sent a storm so violent that the men of the ship finally agreed to throw him overboard. Well, once they did and Jonah was in the water and God commanded a very great fish to swallow Jonah up.

God was showing mercy to Jonah, He communicated to the fish to swallow Jonah up so that Jonah’s life could be preserved. Then three days later God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah up on dry land and it just so happened to be near the place where God wanted Jonah to go in the first place.

The animals are wiser than us in the fact that they listen to the voice of God speaking to them the first time that He speaks to them.

There is another instance in the Bible where God spoke through an animal. The story of Balaam and the donkey, Balaam was going in direct opposition to the will of God. Balaam was offered a lot of money if he would come and put a curse on the Israelites, and he agreed and went with the messengers even after the Lord had told him not to go.

On the way, God sent an angel to stand in his way and to slay him, but the donkey that Balaam was riding on sensed and knew, he maybe even saw the angel standing in the pathway, and three times he avoided the angel and the more he did it the more upset Balaam became.

So he struck at the donkey, the Bible then tells us the Lord opened the voice of the donkey and the donkey was able to speak to Balaam and tell him why he avoided the road three times.

God is able to speak to and through these animals and the animals listen and obey their Creator’s voice. How much more should we as human beings obey the voice of the Lord?

There are even stories nowadays that take place where God speaks to the animals to do certain things and He has even let the animals speak so His message will be heard and so we will listen and obey. It is sad to think that we are so unwilling to listen and obey the voice of the Lord on our own, but it also reveals the wonderful love of our heavenly Father, that He does not give up on us but that He will, if He needs to, communicate with and through the animals to get the message across to us.

Though sometimes it is to strengthen our faith and trust in God, such as was the case with Elijah and in the case of all those out there who have experienced the power of God through animals bringing them food because they trusted in God and God supplied their needs.

I will close with a story that took place not so long ago, about how the Lord spoke through an animal to give a very special message.

There was a man in a certain village; he was the local pastor to his people. Well, to make a long story short, he heard about the Sabbath somehow and heard that it was the right and true day to worship on. He was confused however and didn’t know what he should do.

So not believing the things that were told to him, he went out the next Saturday to work in his garden. And he and all his family were with him, started on the little path that leads to their garden. They reached the clearing, where there was a field and low and behold and much to their surprise was their cattle all in a line, with the bull in the front.

All of a sudden the huge bull cow spoke up and asked the pastor why he was going to go and work on the Lord’s Day, and the pastor much to his great surprise answered back.

I can’t remember how the full conversation went, but I know that the pastor and his family did not end up working in their garden that day, and from then on they kept the true Sabbath day. And as for their cow, it never spoke again; it didn’t have to, the pastor could speak to his village himself.

I think that it is amazing that God will work in our lives in that way; He loves us so much and wants us to know about His truth and love that He will use every means possible to get that message across to us. But wouldn’t it be even better if we listened to Him the first time? I think it would be! :)

Do you want God to communicate with you like He does the animals? He will if you allow Him to and if you are willing to listen to and obey His voice!

I want the Lord to communicate with me, don’t you? 

Invisible Armies

I read this in CM Pg. 111 - 119 (Chapters 17 and 18) and I wanted to share it with you guys, I hope that it blesses you and touches your life like it did mine! :)

Ministry of Holy Angels—We need to understand better than we do the mission of the angels. It would be well to remember that every true child of God has the co-operation of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. Cherubim and seraphim, and angels that excel in strength, stand at God’s right hand, “All ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”

Thousands of Angels—In working for perishing souls you have the companionship of angels. Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels are waiting to co-operate with members of our churches in communicating the light that God has generously given, that a people may be prepared for the coming of Christ.

They Are Ever Near—Those who labor for the good of others are working in union with the heavenly angels. They have their constant companionship, their unceasing ministry. Angels of light and power are ever near to protect, to comfort, to heal, to instruct, to inspire. The highest education, the truest culture, and the most exalted service possible to human beings in this world are theirs.

Sent to Help Us—Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of such a one, rather than allow him to be overcome.

Our canvassers are having marked success. And why should they not? The heavenly angels are working with them. Hundreds of those who believe the truth will, if they keep their hearts humble, do a good work, in the companionship of heavenly angels. God will use those who humble the heart before him, and sanctify themselves in faith and humility, following the example of the Great Teacher, and speaking words that will enlighten those not of our faith. We are to work patiently and disinterestedly, as the servants of the Lord, opening the Scriptures to others.

Angels Give Words—Much responsibility rests upon the canvasser. He should go to his work prepared to explain the Scriptures. If he puts his trust in the Lord as he travels from place to place, angels of God will be round about him, giving him words to speak that will bring light and hope and courage to many souls.

They Come to Soften Hearts—God will impress those whose hearts are open to truth, and who are longing for guidance. He will say to His human agent, “Speak to this one or to that one of the love of Jesus.” No sooner is the name of Jesus mentioned in love and tenderness than angels of God draw near, to soften and subdue the heart.

They Give Instruction—Every canvasser has positive and constant need of the angelic ministration; for he has an important work to do, a work that he cannot do in his own strength. Those who are born again, who are willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit, doing in Christ’s way that which they can do, those who will work as if they could see the heavenly universe watching them, will be accompanied and instructed by holy angels, who will go before them to the dwellings of the people, preparing the way for them. Such help is far above all the advantages which expensive embellishments are supposed to give.

They Give Success—When men realize the times in which we are living, they will work as in the sight of heaven. The canvasser will handle those books that bring light and strength to the soul. He will drink in the spirit of those books and will put his whole soul into the work of presenting them to the people. His strength, his courage, his success, will depend on how fully the truth presented in the books is woven into his own experience and developed in his character. When his own life is thus molded, he can go forward, representing to others the sacred truth he is handling. Imbued with the Spirit of God he will gain a deep, rich experience, and heavenly angels will give him success in the work.

Jesus and holy angels will give success to the efforts of intelligent, God-fearing men who do all in their power to save souls. Quietly, modestly, with a heart overflowing with love, let them seek to win minds to investigate the truth, engaging in Bible readings when they can. By so doing they will be sowing the seed of truth beside all waters, showing forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Those who are doing this work from right motives are doing an important work of ministering. They will manifest no feeble, undecided character. Their minds are enlarging, their manners are becoming more refined. They should place no bounds to their improvement, but every day be better fitted to do good work.

A Thousand Ways—Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.

Results Not Measured by Apparent Success—We are to be sincere, earnest Christians, doing faithfully the duties placed in our hands, and looking ever to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Our reward is not dependent upon our seeming success, but upon the spirit in which our work is done. As canvassers or evangelists, you may not have had the success you prayed for, but remember that you do not know and cannot measure the result of faithful effort.

No Need for Discouragement—When there is a continual reliance upon God, a continual practice of self-denial, the workers will not sink into discouragement. They will not worry. They will remember that in every place there are souls of whom the Lord has need, and whom the devil is seeking, that he may bind them fast in the slavery of sin, of disregard for the law of God.

Victory Will Be Given—The canvasser need not be discouraged if he is called to encounter difficulties in his work; let him work in faith, and victory will be given. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Whenever a book is presented that will expose error, Satan is close by the side of the one to whom it is offered, and urges reasons why it should not be accepted. But a divine agency is at work to influence minds in favor of the light. Ministering angels will oppose their power to that of Satan. And when through the influence of the Holy Spirit the truth is received into the mind and heart, it will have a transforming power upon the character.

Look Heavenward in Faith—Take the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you to come unto Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do, you will lose much. By looking at appearances, and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith. Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency.

Believe God’s Promise—Those who work for God will meet with discouragement, but the promise is always theirs: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. God will give a most wonderful experience to those who will say: “I believe Thy promise; I will not fail nor become discouraged.”

The Saviour Will Send Help—The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear, He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace.

He Uplifts the Distressed—Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father’s heart.... God is bending from His throne to hear the cry of the oppressed. To every sincere prayer He answers, “Here am I.” He uplifts the distressed and downtrodden. In all our afflictions He is afflicted. In every temptation and every trial the Angel of His presence is near to deliver.

Danger of Hesitating and Doubting—As the prophet [Jonah] thought of the difficulties and seeming impossibilities of this commission, he was tempted to question the wisdom of the call.... While he hesitated, still doubting, Satan overwhelmed him with discouragement.... In the charge given him, Jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility; yet He who had bidden him go was able to sustain His servant and grant him success.

Let Courage Fail Not—Never let your courage fail. Never talk unbelief because appearances are against you. As you work for the Master you will feel pressure for want of means, but the Lord will hear and answer your petitions for help. Let your language be: “The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7.

Let us be hopeful and courageous. Despondency in God’s service is sinful and unreasonable. He knows our every necessity. He has all power. He can bestow upon His servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands.

Be strong, and talk hope. Press your way through obstacles. You are in spiritual wedlock with Jesus Christ. The word is your assurance. Approach your Saviour with the full confidence of living faith, joining your hands with His. Go where He leads the way. Whatsoever He says to you, do. He will teach you just as willingly as He will teach someone else.

Exercise Faith of Caleb—It was Caleb’s faith in God that gave him courage; that kept him from the fear of man, even the mighty giants, the sons of Anak, and enabled him to stand boldly and unflinchingly in defense of the right. From the same exalted source, the mighty General of the armies of heaven, every true soldier of the cross of Christ must receive strength and courage to overcome obstacles that often seem insurmountable.... We want Calebs now ... who with courageous words will make a strong report in favor of immediate action.

Work With Determination—Those in the service of God must show animation and determination in the work of winning souls. Remember that there are those who will perish unless we as God’s instrumentalities work with a determination that will not fail nor become discouraged. The throne of grace is to be our continual dependence.

Face Difficulties Bravely—Difficulties will arise that will try your faith and patience. Face them bravely. Look on the bright side. If the work is hindered, be sure that it is not your fault, and then go forward, rejoicing in the Lord.

Trials Mean Benefit—But when tribulation comes upon us, how many of us are like Jacob! We think it the hand of an enemy; and in the darkness we wrestle blindly until our strength is spent, and we find no comfort or deliverance.... We also need to learn that trials mean benefit, and not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when we are rebuked of Him.

The Lord Jesus Our Efficiency—Workers for Christ are never to think, much less to speak, of failure in their work. The Lord Jesus is our efficiency in all things; His Spirit is to be our inspiration; and as we place ourselves in His hands, to be channels of light, our means of doing good will never be exhausted. We may draw upon His fullness, and receive of that grace which has no limit.

Expect Great Things—It is not the capabilities you now possess, or ever will have, that will give you success. It is that which the Lord can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what man can do, and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul. He longs to have you reach after Him by faith. He longs to have you expect great things from Him. He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you.

All Difficulties Removed—If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day; if you will of your own spiritual choice be free and joyous in God; if with gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call, you come wearing the yoke of Christ,—the yoke of obedience and service,—all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved.

Through most wonderful workings of divine providence, mountains of difficulty will be removed and cast into the sea.

Going Against the Pricks

There are times in all of our lives that we go against what the Lord is calling us to do. We hear distinctly what God would have us to do, and yet because of our selfish inclinations we don’t want to do it. There are many types of examples, but I will give you one from the Bible.

Saul was in the counsel among the other Pharisee’s and they were all listening to a young man talk about his belief. The counsel was upset; this young man named Stephen was telling them about the very man they had murdered not too long before, a name in which they had wanted to forget.

The counsel finally got so upset with what the young man was saying that they decided to stone him, so they dragged him out and took him to the place where they stoned people. Saul went with and took the coats of the men who stoned Stephen.

He witnessed how the men acted and how Stephen acted; he heard Stephen pray for his murderer's forgiveness and saw the peace, light, and joy that was on his face when he died.

It left a strong imprint on his mind, one which would stay with him for the rest of his life.

In spite of that fact, Saul turned right around and started to persecute more and more Christians. He was relentless in his cause and in his zeal; he thought that we was doing it for the glory of God.

He got letters of approval from the counsel to carry out the same persecution in a city called Damascus and so he started his journey and headed there.

They soon came out of the desert that they were traveling in and reached a beautiful fertile land, they were not far from Damascus now, their eyes rested upon the lushes grass and trees, their ears enjoying the sweet sounds of nature.

All of a sudden a bright light came down from heaven and shone on Saul and a voice was heard by Saul saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? “ Saul was amazed, and trembling he asked, “Lord, who are you?” Then the voice answered and said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, it is hard for you to kick against the prick.”

He then asked what he should do, and it was told to him that he should go into the city and it would be shown to him what he should do next. The light was gone and with it his vision, he was totally and utterly blind. The people who were with him were amazed they wondered what had happened, they had seen the light and heard what sounded like thunder, and now here was their leader, blind!

They lead Saul into the city unto a certain house, and there Saul fasted and prayed for 3 days and nights. There was a righteous man living in Damascus and the Lord appeared unto him and told him to go into the street called straight and to go and heal Saul’s eyesight and tell him to be baptized. Now Ananias, the righteous man, was shocked, he heard about Saul and the great persecutions he had done, and he questioned God and wondered if he had heard right. The Lord told him once again to go unto to Saul for he was going to be a chosen vessel to unto the Gentiles.

So Ananias arose and went unto Saul and prayed over him, and scales fell from off his eyes and he could see. He arose and asked for baptism. His name was changed from Saul to Paul and he became a great apostle for the Lord and used the same kind of zeal that he had used when he was going against the Christian church.

We can learn so much from Paul’s conversion story. For instance, we may believe that we are doing right and may even think that we are serving God, but then God somehow in some way wakes us up to the fact that we are doing the total opposite of what the Lord would have us do.

The Lord calls each of us to a different job, and sometimes we are so adamant against doing it that we turn all of our energy on something else. We make excuses and reasons why we are not doing what the Lord has specifically called us to do. Even though we think we are serving God in another area, we are not doing what He has asked us to.

God sometimes has to use extreme measures to get the message across to our minds. For Paul, God used a bright light to shine across his path. So with us God will shine the light of knowledge across our paths. It may happen in different ways and at different times, and God may try several different times to get it across our minds.

The Lord will do this to us until we have decided one way or the other. If we constantly reject God there may come a point where He draws back. And sometimes by drawing back we often discover that we are headed down the wrong course of action and we turn around. Unfortunately, there are others who never do turn around, and then they die and it is too late.

We must hearken unto the voice of the Lord while He may be found. That means total surrender of ourselves to Him, not just once, but each and every single day.

We should not question or doubt God, but we can ask for confirmation that it is indeed Him that is speaking to us and not another voice. When we receive that confirmation we must act upon it immediately and do what God has said with no hesitation or fear of what may come upon us, just like Ananias did when the Lord appeared unto him and told him to go before Saul.

We must come and do what the Lord has bidden us, before it is too late. Time is running out and Jesus will soon be here, and I want to be ready when He comes, don’t you?

I don’t want to kick against the pricks anymore, do you?