Geoff's Journal Volume 01 No 02

“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.” (Matt 10:27 NASB)
It’s Sunday morning, I’m in my car and being a golf enthusiast I’m listening to the final round of the 138th British Open on satellite radio.

The announcers are quick to point out that not only is the radio broadcast available on satellite radio but it is also available on their website along with a link so that you can email them while you’re listening.

There’s also another link (because you can’t ever have too many links) to a discussion site where you can discuss the Open with other fellow golfers.
You can also Twitter, or Tweet (I have no idea what the difference is) and if that doesn’t provide enough stimulation there’s another link to their Facebook page where you can get behind the scenes information along with the latest gossip. All this for a golf tournament that’s been played 137 times.
I know we live in the information age but we are being bombarded by so much data that trying to keep up is not only impossible, it can be wearying. Whenever I’m in an airport it seems I’m surrounded by members of my species (they could be aliens but I don’t think so) who are on their Blackberrys, checking their emails on a continuous basis. Many others are either on their cellphones, texting or listening to their ipods.

While all this is going on, it seems that we run the very real risk of listening to everyone but the one that matters most, our Heavenly Father. The very fact that God gave us His Word, sent the Holy Spirit to lead us and invites us to commune with Him through prayer is proof that He desires to have an ongoing communication with His children. However, He does not communicate to us through email, twitter, cell phones or the latest podcast. In 1Kings 19, God tells Elijah to stand on the mountain while He passes by. Elijah then sees a strong wind, but the Bible tells us that God was not in the wind. Then an earthquake followed by a fire but God was not in either of them. God then spoke to Elijah, not through the wind or the earthquake or the fire but through a gentle blowing, what one translation calls a still small voice.

Matt 10:27 tells us that God will speak to us and what he speaks is to be proclaimed, to be shouted from the housetops. But these vital truths are spoken to us in the darkness, meaning the secret place where we shut out the world and get alone with our God. They are not shouted to us, but they are whispered in our ears. God is speaking, but are we listening? In the midst of the cacophony of our world can you hear Him whispering in your ear? If you’re discouraged, He has words of encouragement. If you’re confused He has words of wisdom. If you’ve lost your way He’s promised to lead us on the path. God is speaking and what He is saying is there to bless you and those around you. One Word from God can truly change the entire course of your life. God is speaking. But we need to quiet our hearts and our minds to hear what He is saying.

I’m inviting you to go on a journey, a journey to that secret place where you quiet your heart and your mind and sit in your Father’s presence. The Bible says we are to “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:10). It is in that quiet place, when we commune with God that we truly get to know Him, not just as God but as our Loving Heavenly Father. Take the time each day to shut out the world and tune in to God and I promise you that you will begin to experience a hope, a joy, a peace that you cannot experience any other way. Jehovah radio, broadcasting 24/7 in that still small voice.

Geoff's Journal Volume 01 No. 01

Welcome to our blogspot - here is Geoff Wattoff's first journal entry from January. Entry two will be posted soon. Enjoy and come back often.    dcb =)
In Me You May Have Peace

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33 NAS)

“In Me you have peace…in the world you will have tribulation (trouble)”. What a contrast!
As I read this verse, I heard the Lord speak to me saying: “Stop trying to get peace from the world’s system. There isn’t any peace to be found there, but there’s peace in Me. My kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy" (Rom 14:17). The world promises peace but it can’t deliver. You will never find peace through the world’s methods because Satan is the god of this world (2Co 4:4) and he doesn’t have any peace to give. But Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He comes from a kingdom of peace and wherever He went, He released Kingdom life and Kingdom realities to whoever would receive it (see Mark 4:35-39).
How do we appropriate this peace? How do we live in peace in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the stresses of this life? A key lies in the first part of this verse. Jesus said that the words He spoke would bring peace. His Words contain the very peace of God. The key is for us to take His Words to heart as if He were speaking to each one of us personally. Then as we act on His Words, we release His very peace into our lives.
Many times I have reached a place of stress and anxiety in my life. In the midst of it, I stopped and took a few moments to pray, to worship God, to meditate on what He promised. At first I didn’t feel like doing it. We can get so caught up in the things of this life that it seems that the last thing we can afford to do is to stop and pray, stop and worship, stop and hear His voice. But that is the very thing we need to do. We need to stop and change our focus from this world, which is full of stress, to His kingdom -- where true peace dwells. Try it. The next time you feel stressed, feel anxious, stop and spend just a few minutes with your Lord, the Prince of Peace. If you do, the stress will fade away and His peace will envelope your life.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." -- John 14:27

Geoff's Journal Volume 01 No. 01