My Faithful friends:        The question I’ve expressed in the title has a quick and easy answer, yes He does. That any would raise that question, I believe, is primarily because they are not listening. This I had to discover from personal experience, for when I thought God was silent He was often at the time shouting. We just fail to hear at times because what he may be saying we don’t want to hear, or just as likely we’re unable to hear for the many competing voices. We surely can see this as individuals, as a community of faith, even as a nation when we can get sidetracked, go down the wrong path, or find we have been going in circles. This all because we have not been heeding the voice of God. I have seen churches being led astray, and rather than leave what was familiar and comfortable, people stayed as their congregation died a slow excruciating spiritually death. Apparently thousands of congregations of the United Methodist Church are leaving the denomination for that very reason. It’s long over due!   And just as frequently I’ve also watched as a faith community became involved with false doctrine, over optimistic and unrealistic dreams, or even immorality. They refused to listen to any one, let alone God. In all such fragmentation God is speaking. He is, I believe, never silent. It is just that too many are deaf by choice. This seems especially true now, as too many are unable to distinguish God voice from the constant clamor of all the competing voices. That’s the real point, isn’t it? Distinguishing the source of the many voices in our world, which one is really God’s? Most of the voices are not His, especially the most shrill and loudest. And many do try to mimic God. Not long ago there was a movement that asked “What would Jesus Do,” abbreviated, as WWJD? Their “answers” at times were faulty, ‘to give food and water to the homeless,’ and embrace those with deviate social and sexual proclivities. But is that really what Jesus would do? Jesus, from what I’ve read in our Bible, would bring healing and wholeness to all who came, and lifted all who followed Him to a new and richer existence. And He still does that! The homeless, are rarely really homeless, but usually addicted to substances that have ruined their lives, and are usually mentally ill as well, as are the deviates. Our efforts to help should not be to encourage their continuing the same destructive activities, but instead try to bring healing and hope to their brokenness. You can’t do that if you’re listening to those voices that are empty sentimental prattle. Doing that only increases the problem and will destroy any society. I know there are few perfect, or untainted causes, or certainly politicians for that matter. We are usually forced to pick what or who would do the least harm. Yet some things are obvious; like the protection of the youngest in our society. I remember my childhood of utter bliss wrapped in innocence and naïveté. Now a nine year old knows more than I did at nineteen, and believe me that is not for the better. Our children are being boldly sacrificed to a resuscitated molech (see Lev.18:21;Dt.18) Autistic and confused children are encouraged to mutilate their bodies, and those that do so should be “anathema.”[1] We really need a “Josiah.” When he heard the word of the Lord read, “he rent his clothes” saying, “great is the wrath of the Lord that has been kindled against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of the book” (2 Kg. 22:11,13). Josiah would pulverize the idols, their altars, and all the “high places” where the vile rites to ba’al and ashe’rah were held (2 Kg.23). As he did away with “all the abominations that (were) seen in the land…to establish the words of” God (2 Kg.23:24). His efforts are to be admired, but there are few Josiah’s. So, instead, let us speak “thy word with all boldness.” Then may we be blessed to see, as did the apostles, “great power’ as we give our “testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (as) great grace was upon them” (Acts 4:29.33). Not just a good idea, but may be a way to return the “land” to the truth.                Oh, Lord let there be great grace among us as we proclaim thy word,   Thomas R. Wyatt       [1] Anathema is Greek, and is usually translated accused, but it means much more. It is being dedicated to evil, and to be cast aside as abhorrent (1 Cor. 16:22).