God, A Best Friend but not a Buddy

By Jill Krueger Wagner

God is my best friend. He loves me unconditionally. He shows me how to live a good life. He comforts me when life gets hard. He disciplines me when I need it. He shows me truth. He warns me when things aren’t as they seem. He’s my best friend but He is not my buddy. He is the God of the universe, the Holy One of Israel. He is the Creator, Redeemer, and the judge of all the earth. I am just a human being, as was Moses.

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Exodus 33:11. But the Lord wasn’t a man like Moses. God is holy. God expects us to do as His says. Moses learned that the hard way. Moses was God’s friend and God used him in mighty ways but Moses overstepped his bounds. He didn’t follow God’s instructions then he claimed that he and Aaron would bring water out of a rock – but it was God who did that. Furthermore God had told him to speak to the rock to get the water but instead he struck it with his rod. God still graciously gave the Israeli’s the water they needed but as a result of not following God’s directions, both Moses and Aaron were not permitted to go into the Promise Land. What a hard lesson.

I have overstepped my bounds in ignorance and God has graciously forgiven me. Even the Apostle Paul was shown mercy for persecuting the church before his Damascus Road conversion. He explained in 1 Timothy 1:13 that he, too, did it in ignorance. But we must not presume on God’s forgiveness. We need to check our attitudes toward God. 

A perusal of His qualities can help remind us who we serve. He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, sovereign, and majestic. He is immortal, invisible, truth, light, and exalted. He is glorious, mighty, powerful, and worthy of reverential fear. And we are just dust.

Do you hear from God?

By Jill Krueger Wagner

Hearing voices can be a sign of a mental disorder like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Supposedly, normal people just don’t hear voices in their heads so what are we to think when someone claims to hear from God? Are they unbalanced?

I remember when some new women started coming to my church and one of them talked like she had running conversations with the Lord. She’d say, “The Lord said this or I heard from the Lord…” My first thought was, “say what?” I thought she had a screw loose but there was something very winsome about her. I was intrigued so when she invited me to a Bible study, I went.

There I learned how God generally talks to people – through the written word of the Bible. I came to understand that this was no ordinary book but a library of books all pointing to God’s ultimate purpose for us all – salvation. The Old Testament showed that we can’t live up to God’s demands and the New Testament showed his solution – Jesus. I also learned that in that book, in both testaments, God spoke to people. So my question then was, “Does He still speak?”

Well, personally, I have heard His voice and that is in accord to what Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice.” I’ve discovered that most often He speaks to me when I read my Bible. But I’ve had times when I’ve had an issue and I’ve heard Him give me a Scripture reference that I had to look up.

Once I was extremely frustrated. I felt I was doing everything I knew to do yet things were not working well for me. I literally looked up at the ceiling and screamed, “What do you want from me.” I clearly heard “Micah 6:8.” I turned to my Bible and read, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Yep – I definitely heard God speak.

God isn’t like the media

By Jill Kruger Wagner

            I’m very glad that God isn’t like the news media. The media seems to delight to pounce on any mistake a person makes and broadcast it all over the world. They will dig into a person’s background to find something damning to publish. They will attempt to portray a person negatively by thoughtless word or deed – even if those happened decades before. They seem to see people only as good or bad – nothing in between. Can you remember anything in your past that would taint who you are today? I can.

            But God… He desires for us to repent of our sins because He wants us to live up to our full potential and sin prevents that. He lovingly will point the way to a clean life, a fulfilling life, a life free from guilt and condemnation. His Word says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9. But that isn’t all. In Micah 7:19 it says …he “will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” A friend of mine used to say, “And then he puts up a no fishing sign.” Why? Because “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

            God doesn’t need to sell papers and He doesn’t make money from your clicks on Internet stories. He wants to give you the life Jesus died to give you, a fulfilling life in which you live up to your potential. Jesus came that you “Might have life and have it to the full” John 10:10.

            I am super glad that God isn’t like the media.

Live a life worthy of your calling

“I then as a prisoner of the Lord urge you to live a life worthy of your calling.” Ephesians 4:1

All your life God has been preparing you for your calling. He knit you together in your mother’s womb with just the right DNA for the task, custom designed you, and fitted you with all the tools you would need. Then He allowed you to go through various trials and experiences in this fallen world to train you on handling obstacles. Why? So that you might pass along comfort and coping skills to others to help them.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-4

Who better than a woman who was abused to pass along to another woman the hard lesson of standing up for herself, moving on, and forgiving? Who better than a quadriplegic to impart knowledge of following God from a wheelchair? Who better than a successful businesswoman to pass along to another raising star how to navigate the business world successfully without losing her soul? Who better than someone who has been knocked down again and again to show another how to repeatedly get up in the power of the Lord?

We all have gifts that play into our calling. If you are unsure of your calling, pray and ask God to show you your passion – for surely that is where your calling lies. If you are still unsure ask a friend, pastor or family member. They probably know. Then live a life worthy!