Smoke Signals, Learning to hear others better!

Our Life Group had a grand time sitting on the patio and eating some outrageously good food together this last Thursday: here's a review and some added notes from our time sharing about the challenge of great communication.

Question:  Who is the hardest person for you to co

mmunicate with on a regular basis?  Why?

Why wouldn't you want to communicate well with someone?

If I hate someone or want to hurt them then I don't care how well I listen, open my heart, and come closer in my friendship with them.  We love, I John 4:19, because God loved us FIRST!

Question: What does great communication look like?

1.  It hears the heart (intent) of the person

2.  Defensiveness is very low or non-existent

3.  A natural result of great communication is we care more!

Question: Do you know how good your doing communication with those you love, work with, and those "far from God" who need to see His love?  How do you measure your effectiveness?

Bruce and Laura use 3 "C's" to check up on how good their communication 

is with each other. C1 - Do we feel CLOSER as a result of our communication?  

C2 - Do we CARE MORE about each other as a result; and 

C3 - is there greater CLARITY (understanding), we hear better?

Communication includes a blend of words, expressions, tones and actions!

The level of value and commitment are constantly affected by our communication.

A big, bad, very disturbing Scripture we read and discussed (with great gusto):

I Kings 13 (This is NOT a bedtime story . . . caution)

1.  Does God tempt us?  Read James 1

2.  Why doesn't the story beat up on the lying prophet (he gets off scotch free - NOT fair!)

3.  Is is hard to know if it's God, my own self, or Satan speaking to me?

When dealing with difficult stories in the Bible it's good to review some basic principles for the study of God's Word:  1.  Context, Context, Context (read before and after; then know the people this was first written for - Children, abused-barbaric-slaves, the culture.)  We need to remind ourselves - God came down in human skin so we could understand Him - Scripture uses the language of the people to whom it's given! 2.  What's the point (the message)?  What life change is God wanting to bring?  In this scary story God seems to want to say, "Don't listen to other voices when I've made it clear what your to do!"  Balaam's donkey (Numbers 22).  Many weird theologies and misunderstandings come from missing the point (usually there's ONE big one).  3.  Look at the BIG Picture!  How does this match with God's character (what He's like) and very clear stories and Scriptures (for example:  God is Love and perfect love throws out fear - I John 4:18.  When I see fear as motivation in Scripture it's often of human origin.  In the Psalms it often means Awe or deep respect.  When reading "hairy" stories like the one above, look for the cumulative picture of God from the entire Bible.  This is usually best seen when studying with a group of people seeking to come closer to God.  Prayer, a desire to know God's plan, and a willingness to follow help open our eyes to God's way - Read James 1:5 and I Peter 1:3-7.  

Who do you need to reach out to, in their "language,"  and share Jesus with?  We are God's LIGHT on a hill so those in darkness can clearly understand and accept God's forever-love!