Sunday, November 1, 2009

Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

John 10:1-10 (Click on text to read Scripture)

I don't mean to attack us females, but let us be real... We can be especially bad about excusing spiritual attacks against us as emotions, mood swings, just feeling depressed, hormones, etc. However, anything that comes against you that is not the voice of the Father, is a lie! We must learn to recognize his voice and fight back against the thief.

Satan is tricky. He never walks in through the door (vs.1,5) - or sets out to attack us in the most blatant way. (Although often we leave a door of attack wide open for him to prance into by what we fill our minds with). So often we hear the voice, "you're not good enough, you're not pretty enough, you better watch your weight or those you love will no longer love you, you are not talented enough to do anything really great for God, your house is not big enough or beautiful enough to show hospitality to others, you're not desirable enough for someone to ever choose to marry you, etc." I could go on and on. Satan is tricky because he has women hearing these lies, following his voice, and dwelling on things that do not belong. We are not just having a bad day, being a little hormonal, or overly emotional. We are being attacked at the very core of who God made us to be: His beautiful daughter, His princess, the crown of creation, made in the very likeness of the Father and on whom He lavishes His love (1 John 3:1).

God knows you personally and loves you intimately. God calls you by name. God speaks comfort to you. It is important that we, as His sheep, learn the voice of our shepherd (vs. 2-4). "The thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and life to the full! (vs. 10). THIS is God's will for you! To hear His voice, to dwell on His truth and to live life to the max! By listening to the lies of Satan we can truly be missing out on following God's voice to achieve His great purpose for our lives, and to lead us to the blessings He has prepared for us.

The sheep followed the shepherd... who are you following?