From the whisper of the lover to the lion’s roar
The command of the commander upon the field of war
The instruction of the father, the laughter of the friend
I’ve heard every utterance and I can’t comprehend
Just why I can’t decide, I can’t make the choice
Is it your word that I’m in love with

Or the sound of your voice?
Oh speak, speak to me
Oh speak, speak to me
I’m as quite as I can be
So speak, speak to me

From the Spirit on the water to the splitting of the sea
The beauty of Your form upon a raging Galilee
The cloud that filled the temple, the fire on desert sand
I’ve seen every step and still don’t understand
Why I can’t render a decision, I can’t seem to choose
Is it Your journey I’m in love with

Or just the way You move?
Oh speak, speak to me
Oh speak, speak to me
I’m as quite as I can be
So speak, speak to me

I love the way you speak
In what You say and what You do
Give me ears so I can hear You
I need to hear You

From the burning of the bush that refused to be consumed
To the Spirit on a shepherd boy that ran through every tune
The terror of the King who carries vengeance in His hand
The love of the Messiah dying quite as a lamb

Oh speak, speak to me
Oh speak, speak to me
I’m as quite as I can be
So speak, speak to me

I love the passion in this song. And beyond that, I love the many pictures from scripture that help illuminate the message. Scripture, all of scripture, has something to say to us. It’s God’s voice.

The passage in Deuteronomy that Jesus quoted in Mark 12 (and Matthew 22) is known as the “Shema.” After describing the kind of love that the people should have for God, he tells them the following:

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

God’s word was something to talk about. It was something to be shared moment by moment. It was something to pass down to children and to “decorate” the home. It is a natural extension of loving God with our whole being: hearing and responding to His voice.

Beyond the written word – the commands, the decrees, the prophecies, the teaching – we need to seek his voice through prayer. Prayer is a discipline that every Christian needs to develop. It is our lifeline.

Probably the most fundamental reason to pray is that it was modeled by the Son of God. If Jesus himself found it necessary to pray, we should seriously consider its usefulness in our own lives! Prayer is not a magic power we have over God. It is a tool for sharing our failures, our needs, our lives. The fact that God would choose to have this kind of relationship with us is astounding. And yet we can’t find the time?!

I love the way you speak
In what You say and what You do
Give me ears so I can hear You
I need to hear You…

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17

Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

As my children have grown older with each passing year and are now to the point they have developed friendships that take them beyond the confines of our home and family unit, I have once again been confronted with the importance of how crucial it is to choose one’s friends wisely and selectively. As I think back over my formative years, I recall times when I didn’t make such wise choices in friendships and the consequences I suffered as a result. Now as a parent, I don’t want my children to make the same mistakes; even though I know they probably will. I want to instill in my children an appreciation for surrounding themselves with the right kinds of friends who will be a good and positive influence on them and bring out the best in them. And as I reflect on how I can teach them that truth, I can’t help but wonder if God was looking to do the same thing for us as His children when He inspired the verses above.

The Proverbs 27:17 verse has been one of my favorite verses for years. I have come to realize the invaluable worth of having a friend (or two, etc.) who makes me better just by being around them. God designed us to need each other, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden when He said that it wasn’t good for man to be alone. As humans, we’re not wired to be islands unto ourselves, we’re meant to be in community with others in order to fulfill our purpose in being on earth. If we’re surrounding ourselves with the right people who are like-minded and bear the reflection of Christ, then we will grow in our walk with God and actually be able to help others grow too. If we surround ourselves with questionable or even disreputable people, then we run the risk of becoming like them, or being corrupted by their influence. Does this mean we should never be around worldly people or those who haven’t given their lives to Christ? No! It just means they shouldn’t be our closest friends. In order to set ourselves up for success as followers of Christ and to grow in our walk with Him, we must surround ourselves with people who have the same goal and purpose for their lives.

The old cliché, “Birds of a feather flock together,” comes to mind. That means that you are likely to hang around people who think and act like you and share the same values and worldview as you. It is just a natural gravitational pull. But, it isn’t a pull that is so strong that we don’t have any control over it. We can be proactive in choosing to build relationships with people who will help us achieve the goal of becoming more Christ-like. In fact, in order to love God the way He wants us to, we MUST choose to surround ourselves with those kinds of people! And, we must become that kind of friend for others as well.

If your closest friends don’t challenge you to live more sacrificially for Christ, then I’d suggest it may be time to invest in some other friendships. True, godly friends will not only encourage and support you through the ups and downs of life, but they will motivate you to mature in your faith as well. Real friends won’t just tickle your ears with flattery and tell you only what you want to hear, but they will speak the truth to you in love even when it may hurt a little or sometimes more than a little.

Another thing that godly friends will do is help you reach beyond yourself and learn how to be a help to those in need around you. Some of the most memorable and impacting ministry opportunities I’ve ever had in my life were arm in arm, side by side with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Whether on the mission field, at church, or in the community, some of the most impacting times of worship and ministry in my life have occurred when I was “loving God” while connecting with others.

I count myself extremely blessed to have found some incredible men and women of God to surround myself with. They are tremendous sources of encouragement, support, and challenge in my daily walk and I could never express enough gratitude to God for them. I know that I am who I am largely because of the impact they have on me and how God regularly uses them in my life. I wouldn’t even want to imagine living without them!! I hope you have friends like that in your life, and that you, too, are that kind of friend to others.

application

Take stock of who your closest friends are. Whoever they may be, ask yourself these questions about them:

• Do they live a life of godly integrity through their actions and their speech?
• When is the last time they prayed with you?
• Have they recently spoken with you about something they learned from God through His Word or prayer, etc.?
• Can you trust them to be real with you? Do they speak the truth to you in a compassionate manner?
• Do they demonstrate a genuine love for you?
• Can you honestly say that you have grown and matured in your faith and relationship with Jesus as a result of their

presence in your life?

prayer

Lord, thank You for being such a wonderful Friend to me. Thank You for knowing me inside and out and yet still choosing to love me! I pray that You would constantly help me to be wise in my relationships with others and help me to constantly be surrounding myself with people who will help deepen my walk with You. May I also be that kind of person in the lives of others.

In Jesus’ name I ask, Amen.

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you!
I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest of foods.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.
I think how much you have helped me;
I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings.
I follow close behind you; your strong right hand holds me securely.

Psalm 63:1-8

Do you long for God in this way?

I know that I often just get busy. I forget to take the time to seek after God passionately, with all that I am. That’s not a good thing! When we live our lives separated from God, we become weak.

Our culture doesn’t make this any easier. We live with the expectation that there is no stopping. If you are finished with one task, then it’s on to the next. Time is money, as they say, and if you can’t show the dollar value of something, then why are you wasting your time on it?

Maybe that’s a little cynical, but we truly do fail to worship God regularly. And we think we can make up for it one day a week. Let me be upfront. If you aren’t finding time to worship God personally, throughout the week, then you are probably not giving God the worship he deserves on Sunday. And you probably aren’t growing the way you need to be to accomplish God’s purpose in your life.

Okay, that out of the way, what does personal worship look like? Well… what do you think it looks like?

There are a lot of ways that we can worship God. Through prayer we can tell him what we think of Him. We can recognize Him for all that he had done and continues to do for us, our families, and our friends. This might be done standing, sitting, face down, or lying on a float in the pool.

Maybe you reserve it for the car or the shower, but a little “joyful noise” never hurt anyone either. Singing and shouting is liberating; it lifts our faith beyond the regular dreariness of work and life. It’s usually not our normal voice, so it causes us to have to break down some of the barriers we put up.

You may find that worship for you involves finding a quiet place. A place where you can be alone and still. That might be just the place to have a close and personal conversation with God, one where you can acknowledge your sinfulness, or praise Him for His greatness.

I am not going to give you a definitive guide to personally worshiping God. The avenues to worship are endless, bounded only by your creativity, and your determination to make worship a priority.

That’s really what it comes down to. At the end of the day, when you ask yourself, “Did I spend time with God?” you are essentially asking yourself if you have put something in front of Him. It doesn’t matter if it is work, the house, or one of a thousand other potential distractions. It screams loudly where our priorities are.

prayer

God, thank your for what you are doing in my life. Help me to seek you with the kind of longing from Psalm 63. Help me to raise my voice to worship you. Help me to lose sleep to build pour relationship! Teach me to desire you more than food, more than money, more than fame. You are so awesome.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us.

But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. These things I have told you are all true. I want you to insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be careful to do good deeds all the time. These things are good and beneficial for everyone.

Titus 3:3-8 NLT

Our past failures, now forgiven, are put in stark contrast against the character God has given us. God’s kindness and love have given us salvation. He washed away our sins. He replaced the old life with a new life – the Holy Spirit as proof. No longer held guilty, we have been assured of a permanent relationship with Christ.

Paul tells Titus to insist that all believers understand this, so that they might constantly please God by their actions. The transformation God has accomplished motivates the believer to grow closer to Christ. The transformation encourages and emboldens others, as well.

We haven’t been given a “hallway pass” allowing us to do whatever, whenever. Instead, God has implanted his own heart into us. We want to please God. And coming from the desperate condition we were in, that is no small accomplishment.

reflect

We have been given a new life, and God is developing in us his own character. With that in mind, ask yourself the following:

• Who have I failed to show God’s love and kindness to recently?
• What can I do to correct this today?