The Voice of the Herald

By Laura Adams

Every time I put my thoughts and convictions down for others to read, it is an agonizing process. I must fight the desire to be winsome and write soothing words in order to “win” my reader. I fight this because I believe I am accountable for what I say and whatever influence I may have. Words have power. And persuasion is a stewardship.

For me, writing isn’t a hobby… it is a calling.  Words are streaming through my mind constantly, even when I sleep. I write everywhere and all the time. Yet, only a small portion of what I write is seen by others. Writing is how I wrestle out what I believe to be True, or better yet, Whose Words I will believe and obey…

I try to use my words to help others wrestle also…

The fact is that there are many voices in our heads!  But thankfully one of those Voices is The Living God.

It would be much simpler if His were the only Voice I heard. But my flesh, the Enemy, and the cares of this world are also shouting at me. The soft whispering Voice of The Father could easily be drowned out in the outcry within my heart.

Today, I thought, “what if this little blog was that last thing I wrote?”
What would be the main thing I would want to say?
Choosing the appropriate word to make a point is not a hard thing to do. A creative author does not need to live out the words she pens. Just as in the dialog of a movie, it is easier to play a part, than live it out.

Yet, this is a forum for challenge and change. This is a place for both honesty and humility.

These are hard days…

As a woman, I am called by God to be a helper…
I am given the great responsibility to nurture life.
Yet even within my own heart I know that there are two lives fighting to be fed, the life of the flesh, and the life of the Spirit. I understand that I cannot nurture Eternal life with fleshly food.

We have seen a lot of “death” in these last days. Our American Christian culture as well as the way of this world is dying…  There are certainly those who make their stand on those issues. But allow me to suggest this thought…
What if we allowed the dead to bury their own dead, and we intentionally followed Jesus instead?

After all, how did Jesus respond to the issues of His time?
He always chose to direct His attention and the attention of those who followed Him on the Eternal reality.
His is a “Living Hope.”
His “food” was to do the will of His Father…

There was never a circumstance that He couldn’t use to display the Truth of God’s character or His confidence in the Kingdom that is… and is to come.
He was never distracted from this mission…

As Jesus lived perfectly, we can only follow progressively. We can aim High, and rest in Grace when we fail to meet that standard. Yet how many of us actually try to imitate our Master?

I feel we are crossing into a new season of faith. I believe it will require a deeper dependence on the true Jesus and a lesser attachment to the things of this world… Even good things.

Many of us can read “The Word” in the morning and yet still offer our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to man rather than to God…

Many of us do not know the deep intimacy of praying and interceding. We just throw our blemished leftovers on the Altar of our Crisis.

Many feel quite content to “go” to church and not “be” the church.
Some of us don’t even know the difference.

If these were my last words I would make an appeal…
We need each other more now than ever to stand faithfully in these perilous times.
I need other genuine believers who are filled with the Life giving Spirit of God to help me be faithful to His Word… so that His LIFE in me may flourish!

Some of us are sacrificing “That Table,” for this table…
Some of us are honoring family relationships more than we honor God.
Are we compromising Truth in order not to offend our loved ones?

On the other hand, are we defending the “Christian Principles” to the degree that no one could recognize the Person of Christ behind it?

My soul is at stake… and so is yours.
I feel the pull to quit.
I hear the other voices try to soothe my conscience with their lies…
I do not want to be deceived!
I want my heart to be “good ground.”
I want the Life of the Seed of Christ (in and through me) to produce much fruit…
I want to learn what it truly means to “abide…”

Although it is God who works in me… it is me who is responsible to respond in obedience and faith.

We are told we must finish this race in order to win the prize!
We must endure our hardship as a good solder…
We must wait patiently for the harvest that is promised…
And we must strive to fight against the sin that so easily entangles our feet.

And we really do need each other to finish well…
What I am saying is that I believe it is time for genuine intimate intentional discipleship.

What if we no longer just “did” our “Quiet Time,” but rather made time to walk out our faith together; Wrestling and Waiting, Praying For God to be more real than anything else around us?

We are already living a “life on mission…”
We are “sending” out a message about what is of most importance to us…
We are nurturing life, either for this age or the age to come.

Let’s ask ourselves some hard questions…

Is my life truly sending God’s message?”

Do I care more about the things of God, than the things I can have, or do or want?

In what ways is my marriage “missional?”

Do we focus on each other, (for good or bad) more than we focus on declaring the Gospel reality through our covenant relationship?

Does my family reflect a Kingdom focus, or are we busy with making our family the focus?

Do we train our kids to respect and love us more than we train them towards a love and respect for God?

What does my work say about my faith in God?

Do I work to gain approval, money, or power? Or do I see the workplace as an opportunity to partner in the Great Commission?

What “Life” are we really living?

We are women.
We are already nurturing the life we love the most…
Let us “cultivate” the Life that is Eternal…
Let us “help” each other LIVE in order to glorify God and display the gospel.

We cannot sacrifice the permanent on the Altar of the immediate and expect our “Christianity” to flourish.

It is getting harder…
Let us help each other follow Jesus…
And truly Walk Alongside one another