Category: Jesus’s Communication

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Conversation with God Jesus's Communication Ministry Presence of God

Manifest Presence is Relational Presence

Jesus Reaches Out to You – photograph is by Jackson David on Unslpash.com

I can ask for more of the Manifest Presence of God for healing. Help. And fellowship! This changes everything, and we know we are not alone.

Manifest Presence is relational Presence

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Do you love to experience the Presence of God as much as I?

Why?

I hunger and want to relate to Jesus. To his Holy Spirit.

To the Presence of God.

When I experience God’s holy Presence, I am comforted. Not alone. I end up being stronger. Better able to hear from God.

It is far easier to have a good two-way conversation with God when I experience and communicate with the Living Presence of God.

How about you?

The truth is that Jesus is reaching out to you, at this very moment: now.

God is talking with you now, and you can relate. It is harder to relate when we are not experiencing the Manifest Presence of God.

There are places where this is easier to experience. Nature, a church, looking at a new-born baby or someone we love. Where is it easier for you?

Because his holy Presence is Manifest, it is easier to relate to him.

It can be hard to relate to the invisible.

Ask and seek to relate to the Manifest Presence of God. Put to use each opportunity experience or intuition opens up to you good possibilities of really relating to God. The Creator of our Universe.

When the Hebrews left Egypt they followed a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud during the day.

You know how to experience a person who is present to you. In a particular place, at a particular time. Our Lord wants to related to you. Right now.

You are loved and we learn to love because we are first loved.

The Manifest Presence of God is also the Loving Presence of God, as our Lord relates to us. This is a gift that is already given.

Receive.

I talk to Jesus and receive a response through Holy Spirit. At a particular place and time. I ask, and I receive in faith. Knowing he is so good to me, so full of love, I can hardly begin to comprehend.

You can do the same.

Ask for and receive the experience of the Manifest Presence of God. Relate to him. Talk with him. Listen to him. Enjoy his holy Presence – which is a way of how he is talking with you, a friend pointed out to me.

It is in the context of experiencing the Manifest Presence of God that conversation is easier. Ministry is easier. Confidence, trust and faith come to us more easily. Miracles happen more often.

All because you choose to relate to our Lord. Our Lord is always eager to relate to you. And his gift of the Manifest Presence of God makes all this easier for us.

Enjoy his Manifest Presence. Give thanks.

Rejoice; our Lord is near. Rejoice!

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Conversation with God Friendship Hearing God Holy Spirit Jesus Jesus's Communication Ministry Prayer

Hearing and Seeing What God has to Say with a Spiritual Director

Help Hearing God

A Spiritual Director or spiritual friend has a simple job: to help you hear God for yourself, with greater confidence and clarity, joining in a conversation that God is already having with you.

When you want to receive what God has to “say” (it’s not always in words), a spiritual director can sometimes be mighty helpful. I know, because I’ve been helped this way. Often.

Why and how can this be? What goes on? I’m still figuring this out, but my current understanding is something like this:

“Hearing” God can be hard, because:

-Our own opinions, beliefs, personal history and other “stuff” can sometimes make it harder to hear God by ourselves.

-A lot of us still need a lot more practice trying to hear from God. (Hearing is a metaphor that can include words, still knowing that is pre-verbal, seeing or feeling something, noticing thoughts in our mind that might be from God, and lots more. Whew! No wonder we can use help!)

-There are many ways God “speaks” to us, and the methods God uses have useful side effects to help us. For more on this, see: https://ministermorelikejesus.com/voices-of-god/

A Spiritual Director or spiritual friend can sometimes help:

-Your issues are not felt so deeply by another person, are not so personal, making hearing easier.

-Someone with practice hearing from God, and whose abilities complement yours can be a wonderful partner. Especially when

-They care. When you and they have a “heart connection”, connect well.

-Having someone who listens deeply and well, with their heart, helps us all clarify issues and be clearer and more ready for fresh insight.

A Spiritual Director of spiritual friend has a Helper, Holy Spirit, who

-Is the same Helper and Comforter who is helping you! We have Someone in common.

-The two humans can have a conversation, which is private and aimed at helping, and both of us have the same Holy Spirit who is communicating with you.

A Spiritual Director or spiritual friend has had lots of experience receiving such help. Knows what it’s like. Can be sensitive to issues about spiritual direction and to what may matter to you.

A Spiritual Director or spiritual friend has a simple job: to help you hear God for yourself, with greater confidence and clarity, joining in a conversation that God is already having with you.

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Conversation with God Discipleship Hearing God Jesus's Communication Prayer

The Voice of Jesus Plays “Hide & Seek”

You hear the voice of Jesus. You may not always recognize that it’s his voice. Part of the maturing process is learning to hear his voice in more ways – and recognizing that it is his voice you are hearing. That may sound a bit odd. Let me explain.

Jesus says that his sheep hear his voice. That’s us: we hear him.

The paradox is that he speaks in many ways.

And we hear his voice. And we don’t always recognize that it is Jesus who is speaking to us. And there’s more.

The more we learn to hear his voice in more ways, the more often we know we are hearing him.

A result is that we recognize we are hearing Jesus more, and we discover he is already speaking to us in more ways and more often than we had previously realized.

We are learning to recognize our Appointed Lessons.

There’s more.

He continues to surprise us, as we learn not only to hear him, but to recognize that it is him talking to us – and talking to us in more and different ways.

It’s almost like a game: There’s more.

“Hide and Go Seek” – is Jesus playing with us this way? Hiding and challenging us to find him?

Yes!!

Jesus speaks to us in a stream of surprises. His answers often surprise us. His methods of speaking and answering us often surprise us.

We are being drawn in to look and listen in more and more ways, more and more deeply. And our relationship with God is always deepening.

Always becoming…something more.

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Conversation with God Discipleship Jesus's Communication Leadership Learning Ministry Success

Jesus Was Never Boring

Jesus Invites – by Sitara

Jesus never taught a class. You will find no classes taught by Jesus in Scriptures. He did not teach in a linear way. What he did was something far better.

Jesus had conversations. He responded to questions or things said by people he wanted to disciple or teach. He responded to what they were interested in.

Or he showed something, told stories or parables: he gave interesting, attention grabbing examples. Then continued the mutual conversation.

Sometimes he answered questions. Sometimes he changed the conversation – such as about not being so happy that even demons obey you – don’t lose perspective: what’s important is that your name is written in heaven. Notice that the starting point for changing a conversation or introducing a new idea begins with what the disciple, the person who is learning – what they are saying.

When I mistakenly try to teach people things, they resist – covertly, usually. Sometimes overtly. It does not work out well. And I have tried to do this too often. Too often I have been slow to learn.

But, when I respond to something that someone says or asks, I am building on what they are already interested in. Their motivation is already present. I even build on their metaphors: I use them or change them, or use them as an agent of change (when I transform a metaphor someone identifies with, they may also change.) Or I tell stories or parables or in other ways give examples, just like Jesus did.

This works out very well, I have their attention, interest and motivation: I am talking about things they are already interested in. Much more effective than talking about things I am interested in. Tremendous difference!

Have conversations. Start with where the disciple or the person who is learning already is. Build on or transform their ideas. Like Jesus does. He did it in Scripture, and he still does this in our hearts. You can join with Jesus and do this too.

Disciples and other people will learn more easily, learn better, and are more likely to remain interested and motivated.

If you want to have class outlines of what you want to teach, that’s fine for you. And you can use these powerful points in conversations, demonstrations, examples, stories and parables. Teaching more like Jesus. And teaching less like boring people who are trying to force their ideas onto someone else who is not yet ready, nor yet deeply interested.

Teach more like Jesus. You can do this!

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Conversation with God Hearing God Holy Spirit Jesus's Communication Learning Success Worship

I’m a Christian & I have a Spirit Guide

Courtesy of christian-wallpapers.blogspot.com

Yes, I have a Spirit Guide.

When I pay attention, ask, listen and do as shown or told, I do extremely well in life and in ministry.

When I do things on my own, sometimes things go well. Sometimes not. Sometimes I am smart and effective. Sometimes I am, by hindsight, incapable of doing smart things on my own. So I need help.

If only I could reach Jesus and get the help I need.

My Spirit Guide tells me what Jesus has to say to me, now.

Is this wrong, do you think?

Am I misled? Is this more foolishness in my life? Or am I perhaps beginning to touch wisdom, at least a bit?

Do you have The Spirit Guide? Do you want him?

If you have The Spirit Guide, do you pay close attention, often?

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Discipleship Getting Help Jesus's Communication Joy Kingdom of God Prayer

Weary? A Slightly Surprising Answer

Rest in Christ

28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30; https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11&version=NRSV

When you are weary, rest and relief is available. It may be a little different than expected, though; Jesus is often surprising.

I’ll get right to it, no fooling around and being careful and slow. Here it is: he will give us rest. Especially as we add to ourselves some of his qualities. Such as being gentle and humble of heart.

When we are learning from Jesus and allowing him to take our (heavy) yoke, not only is he stronger than we, he is also being gentle and humble of heart.

Which means we are not being proud, when we ask him like this. Not being proud, when we are being gentle and humble of heart.

I don’t know about you, but when I am weary and find rest, by hindsight is is easy for me to be clear: while I was weary I had been being proud. Carrying a heavy burden and being proud about it.

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Conversation with God Jesus's Communication Joy

A Revelation that Jesus Loves You?

When you get this revelation, what do you look like? How are you looking different?

Would you like to know?

Have a personal revelation from Jesus himself that affects you and transforms you and improves your life. Changes how you experience your universe.

You need to know. You hunger for the truth of this deep on the inside.

You can find out. Have a conversation with Jesus and listen. Ask what you hunger to know so that when you hear this from him, there will be no question in your mind.

When Jesus tells you such a thing as this, you know. You know that you know. You feel it in your heart, soul, and the feeling overflows into your body. So much so it changes you.

I wonder who else will notice the changes in you?

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Discipleship Jesus's Communication Learning

We Miss What Jesus Didn’t Say

In our culture, we notice things thing spoken. This is especially true of the more left-brained among us, the more verbally oriented.

We too often miss things that Jesus shows us but does not put into words.

We need what he speaks about, and we need what he shows us: we need both!

He tells people, not infrequently, that it was their faith that made them whole (healed them). Yet it was their faith touching his Anointing that resulted in the miracle; that’s when miracles often happen.

He shows us exorcism, but does not tell us it’s the same underlying process used in healing!

He tells us to heal when preaching The Good News of the Kingdom. He shows, but does not tell us it’s the same underlying process.

He tells us to free the bound, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and make disciples of all people groups. He shows, but does not tell us it’s the same underlying process.

I believe if the dead were unwilling to be raised, they would not be: it needs agreement.

Miracles involving people being healed or freed seem to require some agreement; it takes some decision.

Miracles involving things such as calming a storm – he commands. Yet we hear not of water being turned into wine – was it implicit? (He told his mother what to do – was that enough? The rest implicit? I wonder….)

He commanded a storm, commands material things & demons – neither of which have their own authority and are under his authority. Now our authority, too. I do not recall him explaining such differences. He showed us differences.

I can’t claim to know every example and that I can even explain every example. What I can tell you is this: watch what Jesus shows us and listen to what he tells us with words. You may learn something new and even something wonderful.

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Hearing God Jesus's Communication

Jesus Confuses on Purpose

It has long been my observation that Jesus would sometimes speak metaphorically, while speaking of it as if he were speaking literally. (See John 3:1-7, for example.) I suspect this is a way of shocking his listeners. This was especially strong when he was saying to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He lost listeners. He had to know what was happening; and he did it anyway.

This has had such a powerful impact that down through the years this still gains great attention and thought. Jesus did this on purpose, I believe. And not infrequently, either. It’s part of the way Jesus surprises us with how he communicates.

Surprising communication gains attention and thought. This is part of how Jesus communicates. On purpose. Even today….

Would you like to learn and practice learning how to communicate like Jesus? (I know I am eager to do this. Easier to say than to do.)

I could have inserted “Sometimes” in the title but did not. How am I doing? A bit of shock and confusion? If I succeed, you will remember this.