Next 40 Days: Removing Noise from our Lives

Wednesday marked the beginning of a 40-day fast, in preparation for 24-hour prayer at ASU (if you didn't get an email, sign up to receive updates). Even if you didn't start on Wed, you can still start now!

Here's the story: I was sitting in church a few weeks ago. During the testimony and sharing time, a woman was singing a spontaneous song from God...or trying to. I was having a hard time understanding, because there was a lot of distortion and noise coming through the mic. Unexpectedly at that moment, as I'm trying to focus on the words, the Lord speaks to me: "Chris, you have noise in your life."

God brought to mind a picture of a High-Definition TV. I was informed that HD-TV's are so clear that actors and actresses are actually upset, because you can see the pores on their skin! Contrast that with the old black and white TV's (or even the grainy techni-color ones), and there's almost no comparison in terms of picture quality and clarity. Think about the radio. How many times have we tried to tune in to certain stations, but have been frustrated by the noise interfering the message that was trying to come across?

We are called to be messengers, through which God is clearly seen and clearly heard (like an HD TV). We are not just called to tell our generation a message about God, but to lead them to an encounter WITH Jesus! The only way we can do that clearly is if we are perfectly in tune with our source, like Jesus was. He only spoke what He heard the Father saying, and He only did what He saw the Father doing. Everywhere He went, He changed history. Why? He was perfectly in tune with the Father, and as a result the Father could be perfectly seen through Jesus!

"God, what is the noise in my life?" He began to show me: YouTube. Craigslist. Ebay. Internet surfing in general. Movies. TV. Music. Snacking. In different combinations at different times, they all have distracted me from fully pursuing the one thing that is absolutely necessary, the thing that my soul ACHES for: God alone! What is the noise in your life, and will you join in consecration for the next 40 days?