Biblical perspective on Active Listening (Luke 6:27-49, 8:8,18)

Active Listening helps us understand and demonstrate compassion towards obstinate people. Active listening helps us see clearly and truly help people. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart. Obeying Jesus in relationships puts us on firm ground and leads to greater understanding.

Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” - Luke 8:8

“So pay attention to HOW you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Luke 8:18

Luke 6:27-49

• But to you who are willing to listen (or who are listening NIV), I say, love your enemies!...You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. (or Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. NIV) Luke 6:27,36
• Don't judge, give and receive...then you will see well enough (then you will see clearly NIV) to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Luke 6:37,42
• ...What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45
• ...comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it...stands firm - Luke 6:47-48

Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”  - Luke 9:35

“Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.”  - Luke 9:44

Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. - Luke 10:39

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In the silence of the heart God speaks

 I enjoyed theprayercourse on contemplation yesterday at work. We all yearn for contemplation, in music, movies, and many other experiences. They had this wonder quote from Mother Teresa and we discussed time when prayer went from me and God, to God and me to just God. 

“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.

To make possible true inner silence, practice:

Silence of the eyes, by seeking always the beauty and goodness of God everywhere, and closing them to the faults of others and to all that is sinful and disturbing to the soul.

Silence of the ears, by listening always to the voice of God and to the cry of the poor and the needy, and closing them to all other voices that come from fallen human nature, such as gossip, tale bearing, and uncharitable words.

Silence of the tongue, by praising God and speaking the life-giving Word of God that is the truth, that enlightens and inspires, brings peace, hope, and joy; and by refraining from self-defense and every word that causes darkness, turmoil, pain, and death.

Silence of the mind, by opening it to the truth and knowledge of God in prayer and contemplation, like Mary who pondered the marvels of the Lord in her heart, and by closing it to all untruths, distractions, destructive thoughts, rash judgments, false suspicions of others, vengeful thoughts, and desires.

Silence of the heart, by loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength; loving one another as God loves; and avoiding all selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy, and greed.

I shall keep the silence of my heart with greater care, so that in the silence of my heart I hear His words of comfort, and from the fullness of my heart I comfort Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. For in the silence and purity of the heart God speaks.”

― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

I experienced this after talking with Dave and Dan and talking with my wife about accepting the Online Trainer position at BSF as I was driving and talking to Kim on why 62 and portland was the largest rainbow I've ever seen. It was completely full and was actually a double rainbow.It was perfect. As I prepare for our first training tonight I know my answer and God's answer is yes and amen. 

John 17:14,17;Matthew 4:4, 5:18, 7:24, 24:35

https://www.openbible.info/topics/bible

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When you face temptation remember Jesus (Matt 4)

Jesus shows that temptation doesn't need to dominate humanity.

Jesus and Moses life contrasted. 40 days versus 40 years.
1. Temptation to distrust God's care and take matters into your own hands

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Matthew 4:1-4 NIV

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord .
Deuteronomy 8:2‭-‬3 NIV

2. Temptation to live foolishly, with presumptuous trust and tempt God (v6). Don't put yourself into a bad position and presume God will help. God won't be forced into performing for us. He's not an overprotective parent bailing out his spoiled child.

3. Temptation to give your life for fame and fortune rather than giving your life to God. Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:1-5

Son of God continued to rely on the written word of God. 2 Tim 3:16-17, Heb 4:12-16

Satan tactic is to play on our strengths right after our high points.

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See serving people in need as serving God (Matthew 25:31-46)

Matt 25:31-46, Jesus explains how He looks at the service we do. First thing we can do
1) See serving people in need as serving God if as though He has the need. Jesus said "I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me."
2) Physical daily need (food, drink)
3) emotional needs (stranger, a personal invitation in the home - hospitality)
4) naked, giving clothes
5)  sick, met with caring
6) prison, met with visiting

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Righteousness defined by acts of compassion, not cold-hearted ritual observance

I was reading David's flight and Saul's revenge (1 Samuel 21-22) this morning where we see how the priest showed kindness to David and his men. Jesus mentions this event directly in Matthew 12:1-8 and combines it with the principle of "Mercy, not sacrifice (Micah 6:8)". Last night I did a podcast with Working for our father and highlighted some experiences I've with sharing my faith at work and hearing about other people's faiths as well. Sharing our faith with people according to their needs is an act of kindness.

Over the past few weeks, I've been meditating on Ephesians 4:29

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." NIV

When we focus on other people's needs, we are able to use our words to build them up. The success criteria, "it may benefit those who listen." Jesus practice this principle when talking with the devil who was trying to trap him, he conversed with him with the truth of God's word Matthew 4:4. He also rebuked others whom he loved deeply including Peter, the people of Jerusalem and religious leaders. But he did so in a way that was wholesome, helpful for building them up and according to their needs.

Prayer: Let my words be compassionate and wholesome, that they may benefit those who listen.

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Appreciative Inquiry A Positive Revolution in Change

I'm listening to Appreciative Inquiry A Positive Revolution in Change and thinking about Appreciating One Another from a Biblical perspective. In the process of making a positive change it's always good to keep in mind the character traits of a Christian (John 13:34-35, John 15:13, Eph 4:32, 1 Thes 5:11). Love one another, be kind, forgiving and encouraging.
Appreciative Inquiry has a four D process:

• Discovery: Root cause of success, start with successes. Open-ended questions, tell me about a time when you felt the team was at it's best. What did that look like?
• Dream: Where do we want to be? How would Bill Gates handle your responsibilities?
• Design: Maximize the value of everyone's contribution, Shorten the time to the finish line, Simplicity wins: Clarity begets unity.  
• Destiny: Organization's collective wisdom. Direction, not intention leads to the destination. When you're lost it's not because you don't know where you are, it's that you don't know how to get to where you're going.

The big idea is to move from problem-solving to Appreciative Inquiry. We don't ignore the problem we just come at it from the positive/future/opportunity perspective.

• Start with an affirmative topic
• Describe your high points, what made it great?
• Ten years from now what does your dream org look like?
• Engage your team in the four D's (Discovery, Dream, Design, Destiny) 

affirmative topics  characteristics

• Positively stated, about where you want to get to - rather than away from. WDYWFY
• Relevant and engaging, for all people involved
• Open to many possible ways to the desired result, won't presuppose a solution

example

• Culture - What would it look like if the best Enterprise Architect in the world were to conduct this meeting? What would the agenda, participation, and follow-up look like? How could we put these ideas into practice?
• Agenda topic would be objective focused, ten words or less and define success criteria for the topic. Begin with verbs like Align, Decide, Draft, Review, Complete, Evaluate. Time-bound topics, assign responsibility to each topic, provide prereading for participants. Prepare to call out members in the meeting to gain their insight.
• Innovation, What's new in the marketplace? How are other companies winning with these innovations?

Lord thank you for all the people you bring into my life, help me to appreciate everyone's contribution and bring the best out of those I encounter, in Jesus Name - AMEN

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Awesome how God cares for us, when we care to tell him our desires

Last Friday I visited Jason, it was good to see him and we talked about how God was working in our lives. He was surprised to still be in St. Cloud but thought God has me here as long as he wants. Normally he would have been transferred in the first 3 weeks, it's been 3 months. I told him God wants us to bring our desires to him. How I've realized this so clearly this year personally with family and friends.

I told him about my desire for work opportunities to open, that I would be used to my fullest. So we prayed about it, I prayed for him and he prayed for me. The results this week are clear, he was transferred on Monday to Moose Lake and I've had a wonderfully productive week and connected with new people and opportunities to showcase my talents.

Awesome how God cares for us, when we care to tell him our desires. Praise the Lord!

Then Saturday, my brother brought up something neet.
July
August
September
October
November

Spells JASON, the next time I see him will be July so I'll have to share that with him. And that my cousin Jason had told me that his name means, healer.
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

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Biblical hospitality, the church is a hospital, we are the church

Main way to grow the church is via Biblical Hospitality

Man plan plunder & tax
God welcome and protect leviticus 19:33-34

God is the first, last and greatest host
Gen 18:2-8, 19:1-8
Job 31:16-23,31-32

Duet 16:10-14

Why don't we practice Biblical Hospitality?
- economic
- buy it, stay at hotels.
- outsourcing, hospitals
- my house is a refuge
- entertain to impress rather than hospitality to bless

Invite yourself over like Jesus did.

1 Peter 4:7-11, show hospitality without grumbling.
Thanks giving us the cure

1 Tim 3:1-7, tell me about a time you showed hospitality
5:3-10, has shown hospitality

Hebrew 13, don't neglect hospitality to strangers.
1. Love

James, 1-2, how to become unstained.
- go to prison,
- we honor the athletes, what about the homeless person

Marks of a Christian Romans 12:13 "contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."

You tube czeck "embassy of the kingdom of heaven"
- the kingdom of heaven is...my home open to people in need, anytime.

"Do not be afraid, do not fear" 385 times in the Bible

We are ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven.
- ask God for a list of people he wants you to show hospitality to
- simple meal plan, easy crowd-pleasing, sensitive to allergies, restrictions
- ready the home and family,  like Vantrap family. Always pray ahead of time. Prepare with crockpot or instapot. Meat ready to be cooked.

Todd Larson CFAN

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