by  Denny Hook

Cats have an attitude! They think the world revolves around them and their needs. Cats have servants; dogs have owners. We have one of each in our home, and the difference couldn’t be starker between them. Our cat, Buster, is an 18-year-old male Main Coon. They tend to be very vocal and bossy. On any given morning when the alarm goes off, he’s already in our bedroom giving out orders. When we do get up and head down the hall to the bathroom, he wants to be in the lead, and not in any hurry either. Go to the bathroom, no way; that’s just another place for us to sit and pet him. Afterwards, it’s follow him to the kitchen where he will sit in front of the full water dish, and complain that it’s not fresh. Meanwhile our dog Frodo (3 yr. old male Cockapoo) will butt him out of the way and start lapping it up. We have a pet door and fenced-in-yard which Frodo uses all the time, but not Buster. Oh no, he will come and get us with loud meowing and make us follow him to the front door to let him outside. Usually within a matter of minutes he will go around the house and squeeze through the fence and come back inside through the pet door. He does this just to aggravate me; I know it. We have a booth in our kitchenette where we eat. Frodo will lay quietly on the floor, but Buster will jump up beside you and paw at you constantly until you give him attention. Buster also has this crazy noise that he’s been doing for the last few years, and he only does it when we are in another part of the house. It’s a very loud meow that sounds like someone yelling a long strung out help or hello. We’ll rush to see what’s wrong, and he’ll be calmly sitting there looking at you as if to say, “What took you so long to get here?” When was the last time you saw a cat being taken for a walk, playing fetch, or doing tricks? Cats do what they want, where they want, and when they want; end of discussion.

Even as I write this, Frodo is quite content to just lay on the floor next to me demanding nothing, but eager to have a pat on the head or hear an occasional “Good boy”. He just wants to be close to me. If I get up and leave the room, he follows. If I say “come” from another room, he comes. He is getting better at obeying my hand signals too; not just only my voice. When we leave, he sits at the fence and watches until we’re out of sight. When we return, he’s right there to greet us with excitement. Most of the time he’s so quiet you don’t know he’s there, but he’ll let us know if there are strangers about. I’m pretty sure Frodo would protect us if an intruder or anyone meant us harm. He loves to ride in the car, go for walks, play fetch, and I’ve taught him several tricks. The other day Lucy and I played our own little trivia game. We tried to remember the names of dogs on TV shows, such as: Tramp (My 3 Sons), Tiger (Brady Bunch), Duke (Beverly Hillbillies), Toto (Wizard of OZ), Petey (Little Rascals), Astro (Jetsons), Flash (Dukes of Hazard), and others. Some dogs even had their own shows like Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin. We went online to look some up that stumped us like: Bullet, Roy Rodger’s dog. Somehow we got off on a bunny trail and ended up watching several episodes of “Sky King”. Penny’s dog was White Shadow or Shadow.  I think the one logo we would all recognize is the RCA logo of the dog, Nipper, sitting in front of an old Victorola listening to his master’s voice.

This whole thing about cats and dogs reminded me of the numerous examples in the Bible when people heard God speak to them. I believe that God is still constantly speaking, and because He is God, He isn’t limited in the ways He chooses to speak. As I mentioned in my last blog post, “The Missing Piece”, when Adam and Eve sinned they not only lost relationship with God, but along with that they lost the ability to hear God’s voice clearly. Yes, there were those men like Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Job, the prophets, and a few others whom God spoke to directly, but they were the exception back then, because men’s hearts were hardened by sin.  Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJ) God who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. This verse ties together both the Old and New Testaments and assures us even today that God still speaks. We have the very Word of God as John states in his gospel (John 1: 14) contained in all fullness of glory, grace, and truth manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, since Jesus Christ is alive, He is speaking. Even His own blood he shed for our sins still speaks. (Heb. 12:24) We also have the written Word of God contained in the 66 books of the Bible which bear witness as it says in 1 John 5:7-8, and witnesses do speak.  If that weren’t enough the whole creation speaks of God’s divine nature. (Romans 1:20) Many will agree with what I’ve written so far. However, the rubber hits the road when I ask, “Are you hearing or have you ever heard His voice?”

Back in February Joy Behar criticized Vice-President Pence for his Christian faith by saying, “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus, it’s another thing when Jesus talks to you.” Behar went on to say that hearing voices is symptomatic of “mental illness.” Oh really? So tell me, whose voice was it that Paul heard when he was knocked off his horse? Whose voice did Lazarus hear that brought him back to life? Whose voice healed the sick? Whose voice calmed the sea? Whose voice cast out demons?  Please don’t give me that faithless tripe about that being then and not for today. To say that you talk to Jesus in one breath, then call those who say Jesus talks to them, “mentally ill” in the next breath, reveals nothing but ignorance. Even the Prophets of Baal when calling out to their false god expected an answer. (1 Kings 18:25-29) It says that there was no voice, no one answered or paid attention. Elijah mocked them by saying, “Cry louder for he is a god.” The literal meaning of verse 27 when Elijah says, “perhaps he is busy”, is in reference to what people do when sitting on a toilet. How much more then should we as believers who pray to the one true and living God in Jesus’ name, expect to hear His voice also. Praying to God in Jesus’ name is essential for the Christian, but that doesn’t make you one.

Jesus spoke much, but often immediately afterward He would end by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. In John 18:37 He draws the line in the sand by saying, “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” Not much wiggle room here. You’re either on one side or the other. Friend, hearing the voice of Jesus can only be accomplished by the Spirit of God opening up your spiritual ears and understanding. In Revelation 3:19-20 Jesus says:  ”As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.”

In closing think about the analogy and this question? Are you more like a cat demanding that God serve you, or like the dog who is listening for and obeying his master’s voice, sitting in His presence, and following Him?

Yep, it’s called a Straight and Narrow Highway.