âLearning the Language of the Holy Spiritâ
Are You Drowning in Decisions? Thereâs a Better Way to Be Led.
Do you feel mentally tired before the day even really starts, feel like you are living without traction or sense of growth? You are not alone. We are making far more decisions than any generation before us.
What to buy.
What to say.
How to work.
Where to work.
How to rest.
What to believe.
What to ignore.
The sheer volume is exhaustingâand it quietly erodes clarity. Not because youâre incapable, but because no one was designed to navigate this much noise alone.
Hereâs the good news: youâre not meant to.
God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us.
But clarity requires learning His language.
The Spiritâs Primary Language Is Scripture
The Holy Spirit speaks in many waysâpromptings, convictions, encouragement, restraint.
But His foundational language is Scripture.
Paul puts it plainly:
âAll Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true⌠and to prepare and equip His people to do every good work...
Listen to Learn and Be Changed
- Listening Is the Primary Pathway of Personal Transformation
- God shapes us more through grace than striving, more through reception than toil.
- Listen well to those who are speaking.
- We cannot be formed by what we refuse to hear.
- â⌠Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak âŚâ James 1:19 NIV
- Selective listening leaves us stuck and unchanged.
- Poor Listening Protects the False Self
- We often listen to confirm what we already believe.
- Defensive listening protects what we believe and resists exposure, correction, and growth.
- True listening requires humility and surrender.
- What we wonât hear determines where we wonât grow.
- âYou will be ever hearing but never understandingâŚâ
â Matthew 13:14â15
- Jesus Models Listening as Submission, Not Passivity
- Listening precedes clarity, authority, and fruitfulness.
- Jesus listened to the Father to align His actions.
- Listening is active alignment with Godâs will.
- Listening Requires Slowing, Softening, and St...
Listen Up ... God Still Speaks
Does God Still Speak? ⌠And Can You Hear Him?
Have you ever met someone who says they hear from God?
Maybe they talk about sensing His direction or making decisions based on what they believe Heâs heard Him say.
Sometimes those people feel a little out there.
Other times, they feel intimidatingâas if their closeness to God highlights something youâre missing.
And if youâre honest, you might feel tempted to quietly dismiss the whole idea.
Donât.
Jesus was clear: âMy sheep listen to My voiceâ (John 10:27).
That statement wasnât reserved for prophets, pastors, or the especially spiritual. It was spoken to ordinary followers. To people like you.
God speaks. He always has.
Scripture is filled with His voiceâthundering in Psalm 29, guiding prophets, stirring hearts through dreams, signs, and moments of revelation. Ultimately, He spoke through Jesus and through the written Word. And today, He still speaksâthrough Scripture, people, prayer, worship, images, thoughts, and gentle in...
Practice Discernment and Humility
Have you ever encountered a false prophet?
More searchingâand more uncomfortableâhave you ever been one?
How would you know?
Scripture is clear: Godâs plans for us are good. Yet the path to that good is not always pleasant or easy. The apostle Paul reminds us that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. That does not mean all things are good. Many are not.
We live in a fallen world. Difficulty, loss, confusion, and suffering touch every life.
The good news is this: God is present in it all. When we turn toward Him, we gain wisdom, purpose, discernment, help, peace, and joyâoften right in the middle of the struggle. He deepens our faith. He forms our character. He builds our lives as we learn to prize relationship with Him above outcomes. He is with us.
False prophets, however, tend to promise positive futures while missing what God is actually doing now. They say what people want to hear. They aim for affirmation rather...
Whatâs In Your Wallet?
This time of year has a way of stretching us, doesnât it? Our time, energy, relationships, and even our finances can feel pulled thin. And when weâre stretched, whatâs really in our hearts often rises to the surface. Weâre given countless opportunities to give, but the truth is simple: you can only give what you truly possessâand you can only give as the person you truly are.re
If you are a person who is generous of heart, you will be able to give generously. And Scripture is clear, âGod loves a cheerful giver.â (2 Corinthians 9:7) Though you may not be able to give much, your abundant heart will carry the gift â and it will minister joy to others.
But if your mindset is shaped by scarcityâif your heart feels tight, protective, or fearfulâthen giving can feel more like a loss than a blessing. Proverbs warns us that a stingy heart clouds even good actions. (Proverbs 23:6â7)
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So while this is often called a cheerful season, itâs also a revealing one. It exposes the longings, hurts, ...
Whom Do You Resemble?
Who do you take after in your family? Maybe youâve been told you have your dadâs smile, your grandmotherâs eyes, or your auntâs sense of humor. Itâs always fascinating to see how traitsâboth physical and personalityâtravel through generations. Some show up right where youâd expect, and others seem to skip a branch or two before popping up again.
It makes me wonder: who did Jesus resemble? Did He have Maryâs uncleâs expressions? His great-grandfatherâs laugh? Were there family members who felt especially connected to Him because of some familiar or shared trait?Â
Matthew begins his Gospel by laying out Jesusâ genealogyâAbraham to David, David to Joseph, and ultimately to Jesus. Itâs his way of showing us that Jesus truly came from Israelâs royal line. He was the Son of David, the Lion of Judah. His roots ran deep in the story God had been writing for centuries.
But then comes the surprising part. Joseph wasnât Jesusâ biological father. His role was real, meaningful, and essentialâbut...
A Better Way to Measure
Do you ever catch yourself sizing up your lifeâwondering if you measure up to others, or even to your own expectations?
We all do this. We compare ourselves to people, timelines, and unspoken standards. And honestly, measuring isnât wrong in itself. It can help us grow. But if weâre using bent or broken rulers, the results will always be off.
Scripture is often called the âCanonââthe true rule of faith. It gives us a trustworthy way to understand what really matters. But even then, we can take biblical ideas and twist them into something that misses the heart of the Kingdom.
The disciples did this more than once. In Matthew 18, they were busy ranking themselves, trying to figure out who was the greatest. Jesus interrupted their scorekeeping with a startling correction: âUnless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.â (Matthew 18:3)
He wasnât talking about childishness. He was inviting them into humility, openness, and the simple clari...
When âIllusory Delightsâ Call Your Name
Sometimes we just want a little satisfaction, donât we? A touch of comfort, something that takes the edge off, a moment where we feel filled. But, the real question is: what actually meets us at the deeper level?
Paul hints at this in his letter to the Corinthians:
âYou say, âI have the right to do anything,â but not everything is beneficial. âI have the right to do anythingââbut not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.â (1 Corinthians 10:23â24)
Thereâs an even higher call woven through Scripture: to seek Godâs will and pursue it with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.
And yet, weâre often tempted to meet our own needs firstâand fast. We lean on our own strategies, or we look to others to fill the gaps. At first, that urge can feel almost noble or necessary. But Ignatius of Loyola, writing in the 15th century, named these moments for what they are: âillusory delights.â
Theyâre the offerings that shimmer just enough to catch...
When Life Feels Aimless
 Do you ever feel a little aimlessâlike youâre going through the motions, but the motions no longer mean much? Itâs easy for weeks to blur into months of treadmill living: lots of activity, not much direction. And ⌠wouldnât it be nice if our path was simply marked out for us?
Most of us long for wisdomâthe kind that blends knowledge, experience, discernment, and the ability to put it all into practice. We want to know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it well. We want to be effective and grounded.
But how do we actually get wisdom?
Scripture tells us we begin by believing wisdom exists outside of ourselves. There is a reason, a design, a deeper logic woven into this world and into our lives. And that wisdom isnât hidden. Itâs found in relationship with God.
âThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.â âProverbs 9:10
Wisdom doesnât originate with us. It resides in God. He is its source and author.
Moses understood t...
Whatever You Do: Reclaim the Fullness of Your Spiritual Life
 If I asked you, âHow are you doing spiritually?â you might need a moment to think about it.
Youâd probably start mentally reviewing your Bible reading. Have I been consistent? Did I even open it this week? Do I remember anything I readâand did it make any difference in my life?
Then you might check in on your prayer life. Have I actually been talking to God, or just thinking about prayer? Have I lifted up my family, my work, my community? Have I interceded for anyone at all?
From there, you might evaluate your church involvementâattendance, serving, small group participation.
And after that quick internal survey, youâd likely give yourself some kind of grade⌠then adjust up or down depending on whether youâre wired as an optimist or a realist.
But hereâs the thing:
Your spiritual life is so much bigger than your religious activities. It touches every part of who you are and what you do.
Paul said it this way:
âWHATEVER you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the ...
