Can't Not

November 8th

Today's Bible Reading

Can’t Not

Acts 4:20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

The disciples in our text were so overjoyed by what the Lord had done in their life, that everyone heard about it. They were arrested and told to refrain from proclaiming Christ. They could not. What they saw and what they heard of Christ could not be contained. They could not help but express what they experienced.

Yet this kind of enthusiastic evangelism is lacking in our modern times. We live among apathetic believers. Those whose eyes are closed and whose ears are shut to the word and workings of God. They miss the moments of God’s marvelous manifestation. They are those who see nothing and so they say nothing.

But like the time of the first disciples, God is speaking. He is showing Himself in our midst just as He did then. Yet many don’t hear His voice or recognize His presence. They miss His movements. But He is engaged on the earth. He is actively moving among us. He is making Himself know in His word and through His workings. His presence is present. It is unheard and unseen by some, yet seen and heard by those who are looking and listening.

Perhaps that’s why some don’t speak of Him. They don’t see Him and they don’t hear Him. His marvel no longer is marvelous to them. Their curiosity about Him has ceased. Their excitement for Him has been extinguished. The mystery of His manifestations is missing. They have stopped listening for His voice by no longer looking at His word. His word has become archaic and His works seem to be absent. No wonder they are silent. They have no story to tell as they rely on past experiences rather than present encounters. There is no freshness to their faith. They have lost the joy of His presence and no longer are looking for His movements. Theirs is a God of the past, not the Lord of the present.

But there is a path to the present. A place to begin again. There is a starting point. It begins by simply opening His word and asking Him to speak to you. It starts when you spend time with Him and listen to what He says. Receive it. Hold to it. Let it reside in the depths of your soul. Let what He says resonate in your being. Then speak to Him and lay forth your concerns. Place your petition in His presence. Acknowledge that He hears and will respond. Look for Him to move in your life and the lives of those around you. Anticipate His response to your request. Watch for Him to work.

Today let His word reignite your interest, let it rekindle the spark and help you to

marvel again. Expect an encounter with Him. Listen to what He says in His word and look for His workings around you. Report what you hear. Recount what you see. As you go speak what He has spoken. Share what you see. Tell of His word. Testify of His works. Like the apostles, you won’t be able to contain yourself for, . . . “you cannot but speak what you have seen and heard.”