Open Ears
My reading from Luke 8 today has really confronted me with what I do with Jesus words. The whole chapter is alive with this theme. I’m really tuned in to hear, too, I think, because of the message from Hebrews 5:11-6:12 that I’m preaching from on Sunday. But the biggest challenge is to me and what I choose to do with the words of the Lord.
Jesus emphasizes that if I don’t use what I’ve learned from Him then I’m not really a part of His family and I could lose what I have. In fact, Satan would love to steal it away or cause it to be choked out of my heart. But if I listen and live what I hear, then the Lord’s words have great power impact me in every way. His words can still the storms in my heart, give me hope even in the face of illness or death, and help free me from the addictions and habits that enslave me.
The real issue for me how I receive that message from Jesus:
//Inspiration: Luke 8:18
“Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have, even what they think they have will be taken away.
//Incarnation:
So how am I hearing? Does it strike fear in my heart like the apostles, or worse, like the Gadarenes and asked Jesus to leave? Does it affirm me for my faith like the woman with the chronic bleeding problem? Do I let it encourage me when I am faced with death or the storms of life? I must be more attentive to the words of Jesus: not only do I need to know them, I need to consciously put them into practice in my life!
//Invitation:
O Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the ways I’ve minimized your words - whether to offer my opinion to others or to try to figure out my own path or to question why you have called me to do something. I want you to be able to see the power of your words at work in my life. I ask for your help through the Holy Spirit. Amen.