That still, small voice of God is not always easy to hear.  We know it is there because we learn about it in church and Bible study, but listening to it takes some practice.  Some people are better at it than others.  Some can hear it no matter the din that is going on around them, while others have to sit quietly and wait for it.  I'm one of those people that occasionally has to just sit and wait for it, and I have done so over the past couple of weeks. 

For anyone who spends a lot of time telling others about the faith or is in a leadership position, we talk about God a lot.  We study the Word searching for lessons, listen to favorite pastors for nuggets of wisdom we can build on, and tell people we meet about our work and how we try to reach people.  Sometimes, though, you can spend so much time talking about, at and around God, you forget to talk to God.  Or better yet, with Him.

When you find yourself talking about, at and around, it is time to stop and renew your own spirit.  This is what I have done recently, and it is something that every Christian should do from time to time.  Forget your required reading for Sunday school.  Forget about the vestibule that needs decorating and the class that still needs a teacher and the short list of volunteers for kid's night.  Set aside all of the tasks and obligations that are part of the religion and concentrate on the faith just for a little while. 

Maybe a day is all you need; maybe a week or two; a month.  However long it takes, give your time solely to God and allow him to speak to you without the distractions.  He loves that you want to work for Him and He sees all you do.  He also wants to know you and for you to know Him.  Tell God about your day instead of telling another person the work you did for God.  That is talking about Him instead of to Him.  Find time alone to say that prayer that you keep telling your friend you need to pray.  That is talking around God instead of to Him.  And after you tell Him about your day and pray, wait for His answer to you instead of running off to the next meeting.  That is talking at God instead of to Him. 

His still, small voice will tell you what He wants you to know.  It is not an audible sound, but something you feel in your heart.  A thought suddenly comes to your mind that is nowhere near what you had been thinking before.  You feel an urge to read a certain book in the Bible.  You hear a story that tugs at your mind to learn more about a subject you paid little attention to in the past.  Those are the ways that His voice speaks to us, and they come to us through His gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was what God wanted to tell me about the last couple of weeks.  The concept of the Spirit is often the hardest of the Holy Trinity for us to understand.  God took me on a journey to revisit the lessons of the Spirit and to teach me.  Over the next several days, I am going to share some of what the Lord showed me and how my own spirit was renewed by His Spirit.  I hope you will join me and take some time to listen to His voice for yourself.  He is always there and always willing to talk.  We just have to practice listening to the still, small voice.

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We all know that devotional time should be our number one priority each day.  How quickly we forget, though!  We wake up late, rush to get ready or get the kids ready, run out the door to our daily activities, rush home, eat dinner, finish work or homework, and then off to bed.  Somewhere in there comes dinner meetings, sports, school functions, charity work, church attendance, helping friends, visiting family, and a million other little things.  Suddenly, we lie down in bed, close our eyes, sigh, and say, "Oh! God! I'm so sorry; I forgot!" 

Starting your day off with God sure makes it run more smoothly, and brings the peace and organization needed to live at this frantic pace.  Just 5 minutes can get you started on the right track, and ministries have recognized that life is what it is for many of us, and even giving the Lord 5 minutes of devotion is better than nothing at all.  So, on those mornings when is seems you only have time to get out of the shower, pass the coffee pot, and grab your keys on the way out, remember these tips for brief devotionals designed to get your mind headed in the right direction, even if your morning board meeting isn't.

Purchase a morning-evening devotional Bible or book of commentary.  The lesson is broken up into small parts to give you something to think and pray about during the day, then talk to God about at night.  Any bookstore that sells Bibles has these books.  If cost is a prohibitive factor, you can often find morning-evening devotionals in thrift stores or used book stores.  What does it matter if it says 1995 on the cover?  God's Word never changes.

Download brief devotionals to your computer or iPod so you can listen in the car or during your morning break.  These sources have free downloads available each day:

• Deeperdevotion.com
• Lightsource.com
• Words of Hope Daily Devotional

Most national and international ministries have daily devotionals, as well, available either by podcast or e-mail.  If you have a favorite megachurch minister or television preacher, be sure to check their website for downloads or to sign up for daily e-mails.  You can find some of the webpages in the Ministries Directory on this site.

Lastly, if you find it difficult to have a set time for devotions due to work or family schedule, put one of the small pocket Bibles in your bag or your car's glove compartment.  These small Bibles usually contain the New Testament plus Psalms and Proverbs.  If you don't know where to start, ask God.  He has an uncanny knack for leading us exactly where we need to be at a certain point in time. 

Pray before opening your Bible for His blessing on your reading and see where it leads.  You may find a passage you have never heard before; or it may be an old favorite that you need to hear again at that time.  Make time and let Him lead, and your devotional life will become the most important part of your day.

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"Going green" is the new catch phrase.  Individuals, companies, cities, politicians and leaders are encouraged and expected to have policies of environmental concern and protection.  While disagreements rage between scientific schools of thought on exactly what role mankind has played in the decline of our environment, there is no question that it is declining.  Most likely the causes are a combination of human activity and natural earth cycles.  The pressing question of the day is not so much what did we do to bring it about, but what can we do to slow the process.

Do Christians have an obligation to the environment?  Absolutely.  Our responsibility is to the earth as a creation of God and also to the ramifications on people and societies.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:24-31).