"God put it into my heart to..."

Ever heard anyone say something like this? Ever said it yourself?

Some would raise their eyebrows at this, doubting that God interacts with us in this way. Isn't it enough that God revealed Himself to us in His Word?

Well, certainly. What we find in Scripture is plenty, especially when we read...

"So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles..." (Neh 7:5) Nehemiah, a reverent, God-fearing man, referred to this special revelation almost casually.

"The Holy Spirit said..." (Acts 13:2) People (not just apostles) of the early church were gathered, and the Holy Spirit gave them direction.

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?" (Deut 4:7)
Indeed... it is His nearness to His faithful ones that marks them... us...setting us apart in the world.

Now, we must take care of course that not every whim of ours is attributed to God in order for our desires to seem holy. When we looked at this Sunday, Karen pointed out the attitude and behavior of the believers in Acts 13:2. "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said..." When we also consider Nehemiah's consistent attitude of worship, we can see that, truly, according to His Word, He draws near to those who draw near to Him.

The conclusion I draw from all this? If we are living lives of worship and reverence, drawing near to Him, He WILL draw near to us, and there will be times when He WILL put things on our hearts to do and say. Now, I admit, that's a pretty big IF, and there are many who DON'T live this way and claim to hear from God. We need not fear them. But when we ask Him for wisdom (read that somewhere too), ought we not expect to hear from Him?

Is the Word living or active TODAY, or isn't it?