God Still Speaks (Part 2)

READ: 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17; HEBREWS 1:1-4; 4:14-16 Wouldn’t it be great to have God speak to you today as He did to Elijah in 1 Kings 19? Sometimes, when I have a particularly pressing concern, I just want God to speak audibly to me so I can know exactly what He wants me to do. A gigantic, neon sign—instead of earthquakes or fire—would suffice. Although God may not speak to me in the dramatic ways I would like Him to, He does still speak. In fact, God wants so much to speak to His people that He came to earth and lived among us. When Jesus spoke to us, He taught us that God created us for relationship with Himself, but then our sin separated us from God. Jesus came so we could be close to God again. He was willing to suffer and die on a gruesome cross so we could be with Him forever. But what about after Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven? Jesus explained in John 14, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (verses 24-26). Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus as our Savior, we can know that we have access to God Himself, always. The Spirit of Christ lives in us! Hebrews 1:1-3 really gets to the heart of the matter: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [Jesus]…The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” How incredible that we can listen to the God of the Universe through His Word, the Bible, and that we can talk with Him any time through prayer! In the Old Testament, God spoke to the prophets and His people in various ways. When God the Father sent God the Son to us, He spoke in the most powerful way of all: showering upon us His mercy, grace, and unfailing love. In Christ, God speaks. • Savannah Coleman • The same God who created the world and spoke with Adam and Eve wants to speak to us too. Even before sin entered the world, God had a plan to bring us back to Himself. Through Jesus, God made the way for us to have fellowship with Him and receive the forgiveness we desperately needed. How could you set aside time to listen to God in His Word and in prayer? The Son [Jesus] is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)