27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30 I and My Father are one."
God calls us to possess a sensitivity to His direction, following the instruction that we find in His Word. Jesus said in John chapter 8:
47 He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
James Wells is a police officer in Nashville. On Christmas morning, he experienced a tragic situation in the city's downtown, and believes he may have been on the receiving end of some divine direction.
Wells and fellow Metro Nashville police officer Amanda Topping were both at the end of their shifts on Christmas morning when fellow cop Tyler Luellen called in for back up to a report of "shots fired."As he recounted his actions at a press conference, Officer Wells described what he felt was another message, a supernatural one. He said, "This might not be politically correct, but this is my truth," adding, "I literally heard God tell me to turn around and go check on Topping, who was by herself down on Broadway." As he walked away from the RV, it detonated, and the officers stayed on their feet until they united with each other.
The officers discovered the RV that blared British singer Petula Clark's 1964 chart-topping song "Downtown." The recreational vehicle also played a chilling audio message that notified people that the camper was going to blow up in 15 minutes, "If you can hear this message, evacuate now."
Wells, who describes himself as a "spiritual" person, said his faith is what safely returned him to his family on Christmas.
"I'm not gonna shy away from that because that's what saved my life," Wells said. "And 'good to see you' has a completely different meaning for me now."
It was certainly an unnerving morning in the Music City, as dozens of buildings in that city block were damaged. The apparent driver of the RV lost his life in the blast, a man who was apparently was concerned with technological advances that he viewed to be a threat.
The message on that Nashville morning was eerie and seemingly out of nowhere, a mysterious RV playing music and evacuation messages. But, police officer James Wells was apparently on a different frequency - he believes he heard direction from the Lord.
This story can remind us to make sure that we are in tune to the voice of God. The world can send messages of fear and desperation and can divert us from the messages that God wants us to hear. We have the authoritative Word of the Father and the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will lead us into the truth God intends for us to follow.
We have to be willing to reject the voices of this world so that we can hear and heed what God has to say to us. We may have our own human ideas that we are prone to follow, but we realize that we belong to our Heavenly Father, who wants to lead us in a way that will bring Him glory.
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