The Still Small Voice

Come out of the city and worship Me in the fields.
Praise Me in the quiet places;
Away from man-made intentions.
Come to the desert places and be with Me there alone,
For I desire to speak with you. I delight in your songs.
And you shall hear Me sing over you My reply;
Come away My love, come out of the city
And worship Me in the fields.

Called to the Mountain
Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. - Genesis 19:17

    My people, I am calling you to the mountain. I am calling you to a higher place in Me. Do not be like ancient Israel who professed to know Me with their lips, but their hearts belonged to their pagan idols. I require worship that encompasses every aspect of your lives, not just in formal ceremony.
     Do you love Me enough to come out of Sodom and not look back? Can you turn your eyes away from beholding lying vanities? (Psalm 119:37, Jonah 2:8) from pleasing yourselves in the children of strangers? (Isaiah 2:6). Can you move away from an environment of complicated distractions and dwell in simplicity with Me? Can you separate your spirits from the attractions of this life, or do you prefer to swim in these polluted waters?
     The environment I choose for you to dwell in is called holiness. Its waters are clean, its air is pure. It is a dwelling place of lush, flower perfumed fields and orchards of delight. Everything outside its glory is tainted with foul smelling decay. For this present world is dying in its sin. I choose for you not to die with it.
     Separate yourselves, in your hearts, minds and spirits. Hear My voice in the silence and follow Me. My mountain will never be a lonely place, for I am always with you. You shall feel Me there more intimately, and in the safety of these new heights you shall be preserved.
     Come to the mountain of My holiness and Rejoice!

Children,
Eat and drink of My wounds and let them heal you. Did you know that your life is sustained by a piece of Bread and a cup of Wine? And yet, look at all those things you think you need to survive. My children, they shall all pass away in a twinkling of My eye, and all that will remain is the soul sustained by My Bread and Wine.

Love Not the World

My Children,
     love not the world, neither the things that are in the world (I John 2:15). Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32). If you turn back when I have called you forward, you shall share in her sins, you shall receive of her plagues (Revelation 18:4).
     Oh, My children, I have not called you to have a love affair with the world, its things, its illusions of success and its vanities; but I have called you to love Me, rapturously, passionately - for this is how I love thee.
     Some of you find this embarrassing, this intimacy with holiness. I warn you, you shall not be found in the arms of another who allures you with worldly passions. I am a jealous husband. I leave no room for compromise, and in My wrath its bed of false comforts I shall overturn.
     Rest in My love, My delicate bride, and let not your eyes be turned away from Me. My passion is a fire that consumes all loves that are not of Me. Dance into My arms, My beloved, and keep your back turned to the world. Your eyes then shall behold My life, and you shall never see destruction.

Dance with Me
Will you dance with Me, My bride?
Will you rejoice with Me
That you are here and we are together?
You have left those solemn, straight-rowed pews behind to dance with Me,
For you are not afraid to move with My Spirit, no matter where I lead you.
Oh, what joy and delight it is for Me
To dance with you!

Put Away Your Idols

     I would ask of you the same thing I asked of the rich, young ruler when he came to Me seeking the way of eternal life; would you be willing to come to Me as a pauper? Am I truly all you need? Abraham, will you give Me your son? Peter, do you love Me more than these?
     Then feed My sheep.
     Child, do you love Me enough to let Me change you into the person I want you to be?
     Your hands are clinging to a string of clay beads. Do you love Me more than these? If you let them go, are you afraid that I would leave you empty? My precious child, you must trust Me. Give Me your beads of clay and believe that I will fill your hands with diamonds.
     Put away your idols. I want to be close to you. I want you to understand how much I cherish you. Do not be afraid to let Me touch you. Yes, I bring with Me the staff of correction; I shall carry it in one hand as I carry you in the other, and you shall learn to cherish the value of My chastening, for it is through My discipline that you draw nearer to My will and purpose for your life.
     Seek to do My will, child, and you shall see our garden blossom.

Israel

Israel, My Israel, you say you believe in Me, but you live as though I didn’t exist. You praise Me with your mouth, yet, indeed, your heart is far from Me. You seek your survival from the world you can see, and faith is something you have buried in “religion.”
     Israel, My Israel, did you know that it is My Breath that keeps you alive? You refuse to eat My words, and in this famine you are dying. Israel, Oh My Israel, your candle is dimming. The world you love cannot save you. Hear, Oh, Israel, the time for harvest is nearing. My field is sown with nettles and you are found clinging to the thorns. Oh My Israel, you are pierced with labor. Your blood spills into the earth never to live again. My blood has been spilled for you bringing new life to all who can hear. Israel, My Israel, can you hear?
     You are like an arm of My body that has long been asleep. Israel, if I shake you, will you then awake?

Born Again - A Riddle Explained

I have written many parables and riddles into My word. I am going to explain one of them to you now. In My book of Revelation, the collection of visions and teachings that illuminate the past, present and future, I mention the Jews who say they are Jews and are not (Revelation 2:9, 3:9). I’m going to explain who they are, and why you need to know who they are.
     I will begin by asking you the question, “Who is a Jew?” To answer this question, we must return to Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. I called him out of humankind and he heard Me. This was the first step. Then he came; that was the second step. He obeyed Me. Then I separated him to Myself. I instigated the custom of circumcision; the physical sign that he was separated to Me. I gave his seed a new name - Israel. Prior to that time, prior to the instigation of circumcision, Abraham was just like any other man. What made him a Jew was his separation to Me.
     So out of Abraham I raised a nation of separated, chosen people for the purpose of making them the womb through which I would birth deliverance for the entire world. Through the Jewish seed was born the Messiah - Yeshua, Jesus. Through Him I have instigated the spiritual sign that separates the chosen who believe in Me. By faith in what I have accomplished through Him by His death and resurrection, the chosen receive circumcision of the heart. They are born again. They are separated unto Me, grafted into the Holy Vine by faith. So you see, this is what makes a Jew, a Jew. A true Jew, whether he bears the name Moshe or Mike, is the one who has separated himself to Me through the circumcision of the Cross. He belongs to Me by obedience; first by the obedience of faith, secondly by the obedience of action by yielding himself to Me resulting in a changed life.
     There are Jews who say they are Jews and are not, just as there are Christians who say they are Christians and are not. The difference is the circumcision of the heart, the spiritual severing of the flesh that results in the New Birth that ultimately produces a life of obedience to Me.
     I have said in My Word that there are those who honor Me with their lips, but not with their hearts (Matthew 15:8, Isaiah 29:13). I have said this because I can see if the interaction between words, faith and obedience has made the incision, the hole in the heart that allows Me to enter, influence and move through the one who has become a child of Mine - a true Jew. You need to know this now, because I am coming to gather My own to Me. I am looking on the hearts and peering into the souls of men. And the difference is whether I can see them from the outside looking in, or from the inside where I have been asked to live.

Relationship

     Noah built a relationship with Me he could hide in when the floods came. In contrast, Samson, although he was anointed with great power, dissipated and distracted himself with lust and the lure of the things of this world. As a result, he died in his tribulation, though I restored him through his repentance.
     Children, observe the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) and keep your lights burning. Build your ark through obedience to My word and find your shelter there, for there are those that I shall keep from the hour of testing (Revelation 3:10). My bride willingly prepares herself and eagerly looks forward to My coming. When I come I shall find her gazing upward. Like Abraham, I need you to be willing to lay all that is dear to you on the altar of sacrifice. By this you shall be assured of deliverance.
     Remember also, there will never be a time in your relationship with Me, that I will not respond to a cry for mercy.

Cafe Logos Home Page | Contents | Previous | Continue

Art copyright 1991 by J. Shively text copyright 1991 from The Still Small Voice by H.D. Shively