His Master's Voice---How God Talks to You--Part 1

I usually put in this blog things that I discover on my own in the Word.  But Saturday I heard a message that I thought was so helpful, I thought I would summarize it here.  It's something that I really need right now since my sister, Chris, passed away.  Death, especially sudden death, throws you into a storm of emotions and thoughts.  This message really gave me the tools I need to sort out my thoughts and find out which ones to focus on.

The guest speaker at our church was Emily Valler--an ER trauma nurse who is leaving everything to become a YWAM missionary.  Her topic was:  How God Talks to You. She identified three sources that speak to our soul, and then seven ways that God speaks to us.

The first source she identified was the way the Devil speaks to you.  She said the voice of the Enemy will bring Obsession (a thought you can't get away from), Condemnation(feeling like there is no way out, hopeless) Discouragement (lack of courage and strength) Guilt (guilt should go once it is confessed and repented of--the Enemy's guilt will not relent) Shame (a feeling of being unloveable or unworthy).  The voice of the Enemy will be pushy--urgent and demanding.  It will make you feel as if there is no room for error or mercy for mistakes.   The voice of the Enemy will question and contradict scripture.  He will twist what people say, and isolate you.

I hadn't started writing down her scripture references at that point in the message but I did find one on my own:   1Pe 5:8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
 1Pe 5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
His primary attack is to speak into people's minds and get them away from the love of God.

Emily stated that we need to be aware that we have an Enemy, acknowledge that he has demonic forces who seek to destroy us.  If we know we have an enemy, we can learn to recognizet his warfare against us and learn to reject it.

This message is so good, and so helpful because I don't aways consider WHY I feel down or discouraged or examine my thought process to see if in fact I am thinking true things.

I am going to share the rest of the message in installments because it is so good!