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How does God speak to you?  What keeps us from hearing God?  I'm sure there could be a million different things that could get in the way of us hearing God, but all of these things center around the same problem: thorns.  Thorns prevent us from hearing God.  In Mark chapter 4, we are told that three things choke the word: cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in.

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." (Mark 4:3-8, NKJV)

And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (Mark 4:13-20, NKJV)

Dreaming In Vain

Given the correct context, a healthy thing for a Christian to do is dream.  When we dream, we often imagine something beyond our reach.  We imagine something we cannot accomplish on our own.  We dream of something that requires a higher power to carry out.  The problem with dreaming about something is that we must not dream in vain.  When we dream in vain, believing that our dream will have no effect, we disable ourselves from accomplishing that dream.  But there is hope; we don't have to dream in vain, because we have never dreamt anything so extraordinary that God has not first dreamed Himself.

Dream vs. Hope

I began thinking about what the difference might exactly be between a dream and a hope.  Here are a couple definitions I found interesting.

Dream - a wild or vain fancy.
Hope - to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.

This makes it seem like a hope is more realistic - something that is more likely to actually happen and not a wild thought you had in your mind.  In scripture, it seems to be pretty clear that God is a god of hope.  We see this in many different places.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Why is it that we sometimes consistently struggle with the same things over and over again?  Why are we able to consciously make bad decisions, knowing they will be bad, and regret them later multiple times?  We lack discipline.  Discipline is not fun, and it is not easy.  Luckily, discipline produces a harvest.

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7-11, NIV, emphasis added)

Discipline can apply to nearly anything.  Often times while learning discipline, we need to learn how to say no to something, or yes to other things.  It's necessary.  It's hard.  But God promises us that being disciplined by Him is worth it.  One of the most important disciplines you can develop is to spend time with Him daily.  It's surprisingly not the easiest thing to do, but so important.

God Doesn't Want 10% of Your Money

Sometimes today there is a common misconception within the church in regards to money.  Many people think that it is required, or at least a good goal, to "tithe" your money, giving 10% of it to the church.  Although widely practiced today across the world, it may come as a shock to some that God doesn't want 10% of your money.  Let me rephrase that more clearly.  God does not want only 10% of your money.  God wants all of your money.  No, he isn't a greedy God that wants to make you poor because you've given all of your money to Him.  However, on top of all your money, God wants all your time, all your relationships, and every other thing, whether or not it is tangible, in your life.

It's imperative that we give all we have to God.  We can only keep what we give away - an interesting concept, I know.  Personally, I've discovered that although God wants everything in my life, what He always seems to want the most is what I don't want to give up to Him.  This is where the tithe comes in.  Money is an issue for many people, and it's increasingly easy to serve money and not God.  The tithe is a simple, measurable way to at least take a step towards knowing that money doesn't have complete control over us.  If we give the first 10% of everything we make to God, it's certainly a good place to start.  Ideally, we should give as much money to God as we can afford (church, helping the poor, etc.), but what's really important is that money has no control over us.  We need to understand that we wouldn't have it if God didn't first give it to us.

In the gospels, we're told to seek the Lord.  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)  This could be interpreted in a couple of different ways.  We could say that if we sit down for two minutes, ask God for something, seek Him, and knock on a door, then we'll get whatever we ask for, find Him, and have that door opened.  All of this in two minutes.  Is this possible?  Sure it is.  God has no boundaries in which He must work in, but I'm confident that we don't always exactly understand this passage how it is fully intended.  When we're told that he who seeks will find, it's important to note that he who diligently seeks will find.

We must establish a daily seeking of the Lord.  He must always be at the front of everything we do.  I'm convinced that if there was a clock in Heaven, the big hand would be pointing to "time to seek the Lord," and it would not be moving anywhere.

Take a look at your church, your youth group, your fellowship or your small group.  God is among you in these places, and He's searching for one person.  Not hundreds, not the whole church, just one.  One person is all He needs.  Sure, hundreds of strong people can make an impact and God wants them all, but all He needs is one dedicated person.  One person that is available; one person saying, "Here am I, Lord.  Send me."  We often think that we need to get a thousand people together if God is going to answer our prayers.  Large numbers are good, but one prayer of faith will usually do it.

He's looking for the one person that burns for Him.  Not the person that burns for Him during church, or at a worship event with lights and loud music, or in a Bible study with other encouraging Christians around.  God is looking for the one person that burns for him when there are no bright lights; when there is no music; when there is no crowd.  He is looking for the one person that burns for Him when nobody else is around; the person that is on fire for Him when nobody else is watching.

As Christians, we are called to a life of love and service. We are the hands and feet of Jesus on the Earth. We are here to do His work. His gospel is a gospel of action, love and power. We are called to live radical lives of being madly in love with Him, and giving Him what is His; our entire lives and everything in them. Our money and jobs, relationships, time and all other things He has provided for us are ultimately His. Not some things, but all things. Sometimes the things He wants most are the things you don't want to give up to Him; money, time, trust, comfort to name a few.

We're called to make disciples of all nations, but how quickly do we forget this call only to focus on climbing the career ladder, getting perfect grades, or even pouring time into friends and family in a non-purposeful way? How easy is it to become too comfortable with our daily routines and never be pushed beyond our boundaries, beyond what is possible? If we live our lives within the realm of human possibility, much of what Jesus has called us to do has already been discounted and written off. Could you even imagine what your town would look like if every Christian that regularly attended church there lived the life Jesus calls them to? "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8, NKJV) We've received plenty. How much have we given? Surely if we obeyed this call Christianity would be looked at as less hypocritical.