Deal Or No Deal

Have You had a chance to see the sort of new TV show Called Deal Or No Deal? Our family loves watching this show when we get the chance. I suppose it's the intensity of the show that keeps us coming back.

The crazy thing is that when we watch , we find ourselves yelling at the players to take the deal or not. Most of the time I want them to keep going and say "No Deal".

When it comes to someone else's losses it's easy to say go for it, but when it gets personal, I guess we're be more cautious - if I were the one on the show I know I might be a bit more of a wimp if the leftside of the board has more than the right.

The players on the show have one advantage. They get to have friends and family to help them make choices on which case to reveal or whether to keep going or take the money.

On tonight's episode one of the contestants picked her first case based on her sister-in-law's advice. She described her as bit of a psychic. Her sister-in-law told her which case to pick. Even though the lady walked away with $264,000. The original case she chose on the advice of her sister-in-law-psychic had only a measly $400. Some psychic.

But let's imagine that our life is a game of deal or no deal. We have friends and family that care about us and give us advice about lots of the decisions we make. Some are tough and some are easy. Sometimes we take their advice and sometimes we go with our gut feelings.

When we become believers, the game changes. We still have to make all the same tough decisions, but this time we have the Holy Spirit of God in the gallery giving us advice. Now lets be honest. If we are believers, we do have the Holy Spirit in our gallery, but do we always seek His advice or take it when He offers it? Do we tend to go with our gut feeling too often?

Hmmm? If so - then why? What's Up With That?

I think it has everything to do with knowing His voice. The more we know what His voice sounds like, the easier it is to follow. The way we learn what His voice sounds like, is by listening to it all the time. We do this primarily by reading and studying His Word. It's here that we learn what He would and would'nt say; Thus, we know His voice. When we pray and listen duirng that time, we give Him opportunities to speak to us.

From time to time, when I am out on a walk with my dog Coda, I will actually let him off the leash when it's appropriate, and let him run as he pleases. But when I need him back. I give him stern command of "Coda - Come!" When he hears my voice, he runs back to me. (most of the time)

He has learned to know my voice over other voices, When the girls take him for a walk, He responds to them at the same command, but when we are all out on a walk together, Coda will always come to my call inspite of the girls calling him. He knows the his voice of authority.

Do we know our voice of authority? .. 2. "The man who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of his sheep. 3. The watchman opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. 4. When he has brought out all his sheep, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice, 5. but they will never follow a stranger, in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a strangers voice." John 10: 2-5

So here's the question: "Deal or No Deal?"

John Martinez