Psalm 118

This morning I started my study by reviewing an old devotional I had written in July of last year. The study discussed the steadfast love of God. It began with Psalm 118 and contained text from other books of the Bible. It grabbed ahold of me and this morning was a look back which also led to a look forward deeper into God’s Word.

The first verses of Psalms 118 that grabbed my attention were Psalm 118:1 and 29 because they are the opening and closing of the Psalm.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Steadfast Love

As I read the Psalm I was reminded that God’s love is beyond my ability to fully understand, but He shares enough that I am filled with a joy and thanksgiving. As I pondered these two verses I considered the word “steadfast”. You know I had looked at it a lot of times but not considered its significance until this morning, and I kept coming back to it until I looked up the definition in Merriam-Webster.

Steadfast…
1
a: firmly fixed in place: immovable
b: not subject to change

As I read that Psalm over again, keeping in mind the word steadfast, it added so much to the passage. His love is firmly fixed in place: unmovable and not subject to change. And that love endures forever for those who fear him (verse 4)

All who fear the Lord

As I read through the beginning verses I saw something I had not noticed before. In verse 2 the writer calls out Israel, and in 3 he calls out the house of Aaron. But in verse 4 he calls out ALL who fear the Lord, not just Israel or the house of Aaron, but ALL. As I read that I was given great comfort. It was in my mind a foreshadowing of the church age.

Jesus

When I came to verse 19 thru the end of the Psalm and I was humbled. All I could see was Jesus… and my heart was filled with the joy of God’s steadfast love.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

 

The Gate

As I read 19-21 I could see nothing but the gate that Jesus spoke of in the Gospels. But not a gate of stone, mortar, and Iron… But Christ Jesus Himself. And verse 22; “The stone the builders rejected”.

The Day the Lord has made
And then verse 23-24 gave me cold chills…

“This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

This passage showed me a foreshadowing of the plan that God has for us through Jesus… and when I tie the two verses together it changes the meaning of verse 24 for me in such a way that I can hardly grasp it.

I have used that verse to describe the beauty of God’s creation a million times, but as I read it in this context I saw God’s Power and Majesty in it… It is not simply speaking of the beauty of His creation but the wonder and glory of His plan for me and for you…

More Jesus

When I look at the remainder of this Psalm I see Jesus, (I know I already said that), but in these final verses it is so clear… “he who comes in the name of the Lord!”… “he has made his light shine upon us”… who but Jesus…
Love Without Fear
I reread the middle of the Psalm. It had not gotten much focus the first time. I read verses 5-18. In these verses, I see the writer defining where his strength, courage, and discipline come from. They come from God. Verse 6 caught my attention first…

6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?

As I ponder that verse this morning against the backdrop of God’s Steadfast Love I am reminded of 1 John, specifically 1 John 4:18 (ESV).

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

What joy there is in God’s Love. This love that God shows to us is a life that defies description as I write this my heart aches with gratitude and love for my Heavenly Father.

Love and Discipline

How wonderful it is to be loved like that… but he also speaks of discipline… In verse 18 he is clear.

18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

This discipline is not judgment but correction and it does not lead to death. I am reminded of Proverbs 3:11-12

11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.

As I think about the encouragement in Psalm 118 and the steadfast love of God I am so encouraged. God is with me always. His plan is to prosper me. Not as the world defines prosper, but as God does. The Holy Spirit, as he works on my heart, will correct and discipline me as well and strengthen my spirit that I might grow closer to God. For one reason, only…

I am the blood bought child of my Lord, Jesus Christ. What more is there to say but to give thanks to God and be filled with the joy found in God’s Word. What comfort there is in knowing the steadfastness of His love and promise. I am thankful for all He has done in my life. My prayer is that He might fill your heart with joy, peace, and understanding in all you do today.

Post Script

One last point… Regardless of how many times I find myself in God’s Word, it is never boring and what the Holy Spirit reveals to me builds on the last lesson He taught. I will never tire of God’s Word and Power. All my praise goes to Him. To Him be the Glory!!

Brain Fog

Some days my head is in a fog… It is hard to focus on anything. Mondays are often like that because Sunday takes a lot out of me. That struggle with focus even extends to my Bible Study. Some days it seems all that I am up to is prayer. The study just eludes me. But it is those days I really need to push myself to study. I admit some days I just get distracted and wonder off looking at photography or cars or guns… distractions. But if I will not allow those distractions to pull me away from my morning study I am always blessed by some insight or understanding. This morning was one of those mornings. I just could not focus.

But instead of wandering off into the worldly distractions I pushed myself to study. I told myself, “I will read my devotionals and pray and just kind of float along until this cloud lifts. But God had a different plan. I read the K-love verse for the day and that brought a few others to mind. Then I read Utmost for His Highest for the day, (February 20), and that hit with a thud across the back of my head. Then I read my chapters for my small group study at Nineveh Christian Church on Wednesday out of 1 Corinthians, and things began to clear slightly.

Removal of Obstacles

This cloud I talk about is different than the kind I used to get when I was just tired and did not get enough sleep. It is something that has lingered since the strokes. It will actually make me a bit nauseated and a bit dizzy so focus is a problem. But these are only temporary.

But as I consider the words read this morning things begin to clear a bit.  As I write these thoughts down the Holy Spirit points me to the Word for strength. First…

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Then Isaiah 43:2

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

Then there is this peace… Now the headache and the cloud are still there. But they are less important. What is important is God’s Love and encouragement and His Holy Spirit pushing me forward with encouragement; all from the Word of God.

Persistence of the Spirit

Now I do not have all these passages memorized. I can barely remember a phone number. When I get a number from a friend I am lucky to remember 2-3 digits at a time. But what is burned on my heart is the context of the passage… and I give thanks for Bible Gateway to get the chapter and verse.

Removing Obstacles

I am amazed every day by how my Heavenly Father knows just what I need if I will listen. He never gives up on me. As I reflect on this I am overwhelmed by His love and patience. I think about this blog. I think how I was convinced I could not put this together. My brain would not let me. So, God gave me Lauren Cooper to do the part I was certain I could not do. And now I have an avenue to share what God is doing in my heart as I study.

I think about Moses complaining that he could not speak well enough to go in front of the Pharaoh of Egypt so He gave him Arron. I am so thankful for how He will remove my excuses. Matthew 19:26 (ESV) comes to mind…

“26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Closing Thoughts

You know I think that all of us have times when we just do not feel up to studying God’s Word… And I think it is at those times when we really need Him the most. He knows our heart and He knows our needs and that adversary, the devil tries with all his might to keep us from Him with distractions and aggravations. But If we push through those obstacles and trust in our Heavenly Father the effort will not be wasted. I am reminded of…

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Our God is an awesome God. He is with us always… “and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b… What a gift we have in Jesus… What joy we have in the Holy Spirit and His direction. I am filled with thanksgiving.

Love and Need for God’s Word

I love God’s Word. In it, I find understanding, hope, comfort and correction. I also find wisdom, contentment, and strength. Through it, I grow closer to God. Without His word, it takes me very little time to drift from His side. I try to spend time in prayer and study every day, but there are days that I allow myself to be distracted by the world. However, the more time I spend in God’s Word the more I realize the absolute need for His Word in my life. The more I realize prayerful study is my most certain path to knowing God. In every passage and in every word He reveals Himself to me, but only what He knows I am ready for, and that changes every day as I grow.

John MacArthure’s Insight

I listened to this interview with John MacArthur and others discussing the Church and God’s Word this last week, and the first question asked was; “What is the biggest threat to the Church in America today”. And his response just hit me pretty hard. John MacArthur’s responded saying – “Clearly a lack of Biblical knowledge, Biblical discernment; The Church basically suffers from Spiritual AIDS. You could die of a thousand heresies because it’s immune system is so totally deficient. There is an inadequate understanding of God (and) an inadequate understanding of the nature of Christ.”

The Danger

Now I thought about that for some time, and you know how dangerous that is if he is right? How easily can we be misled if we do not understand God’s Word?

Look at Romans12:2
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

How can you do that in today’s world? How can you prevent being conformed to it, but instead transformed by a renewal of your mind? Only through God’s Word revealed to us through His Indwelling Spirit… look at Proverbs 2:6-15

“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways”

And that is just one passage in Proverbs reminding us that the source of understanding the is the Word of God and for us that is the Bible. In it, we find the only source of truth and understanding.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

But we cannot tackle it alone. John MacArthur, in his book,  'Why Believe the Bible' by John MacArthur explains it better than I can; he references Psalms 119:18.

“In Psalms 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” God didn’t just give us the law (the Scriptures). He also has to open the eyes of our understanding and He does this as the Holy Spirit illuminates our minds. Truth is available, but only those who are illuminated will understand it.”

So before I open God’s Word I ask Him to open my mind to give me understanding. Let’s look at Romans 12:2 again… “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The Risk

How can you be transformed, other than by an understanding of God’s Word? Where can you test and discern what is God’s will except by the scriptures, (God’s Word)? By what means can you know what is acceptable and perfect? You can go to Church and you can go to Sunday School and Wednesday night services or Small Groups, but without a foundation in the Word, you are trusting your salvation on what you think you hear someone else saying. Imagine if the only way you learned to drive a car was listening to someone else explain how it is done without ever letting you see for yourself. But so often we will go to Church and let someone else tell us what the Word of God holds for us. They may be the greatest preacher or teacher in the world… But until we take the time and trust God to show us what He has in store for us, we are living off the crumbs and morsels of someone else’s meal. It will not truly fill you up… but it should make you hungry for more.

The Cure

I think of 1Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Paul warned Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-17 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Closing Thought

I will quote only one more scripture. It is John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” God’s Word is to us living water from Genesis to Revelation. With it, we can know the God that breathed the universe into existence and yet loved us so much that He gave His Only Son to die that we may live… if we simply believe. But we must be certain that our faith is based on the truth of His Word and to do that we must know it… (I could quote a couple more here but I promised. You might look at Matthew 7:7) and stand strong… (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Ask Yourself

Are you getting a sufficient quantity of Living Water every day or do your run the risk of becoming dehydrated and susceptible to the confusion that comes with dehydration?

I give thanks to God for his Word every day – Living water that fills me with wisdom and hope!

Lifeline

This morning as I went through my ritual wake up with coffee and a blind stare at the internet just trying to clear the cobwebs, (it takes a bit longer to do this than it once did… and I am not sure if they ever really clear), I came across a number of struggles and prayer requests on Facebook, and as I read them and prayed for each of them the thought of our true lifeline, Jesus Christ, became this bright light that I could not get past.

Worldly Definition

That phrase lifeline has become almost trivialized in our culture.  It even became one of the options in a game show.  I looked the definition of a lifeline this morning.  The worldly definition was pretty

Lifeline –

1. a rope or line used for life-saving, typically one thrown to rescue someone in difficulties in water or one used by sailors to secure themselves to a boat.
2. a thing on which someone or something depends or which provides a means of escape from a difficult situation.

Insight

As I considered these definitions many things came to mind from God’s Word.  I thought of the anchor through the veil and that took me to Hebrews 6:13-20 and that scripture brought me to hope.  Not hope in things of this world but the Hope I have in Christ Jesus.  He is my lifeline.

I thought of the vine…  our lifeline to God and read John 15:1-11.  The title of that passage in my ESV translation is “I am the True Vine”.  I was humbled, and I realized for me my lifeline is the hope that I cling to in Jesus Christ.  Everything here will crumble and fade… rust away, but Jesus is eternal.

Hunger for Understanding and Peace

I am filled with this peace as I read these passages, but I was still hungry for understanding so I did a “word search” on the word “hope” in my bible app on my PC.  I limited it to the Gospels and Paul’s letters.  The word hope, depending on the translation,  was used approximately 50 times.

My first stop was in Romans 5:1-5

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

As I read this passage I cannot describe the feeling…  it was a muddled mess…  a Glorious muddled mess of both humility and joy…  thanksgiving and peace… and hope.

I thought of my own circumstances and the struggles that I have; no better or worse than others.  They are simply the ones I am intimately familiar with…  I reread verse 4 and 5.

“and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

As I meditated on this passage all I could say is YES!!! Thank you, Father, for the gift of the Holy Spirit that fills my heart and mind with understanding as I need it, and opens the mystery of your Holy Word revealing exactly what I need every time.

I read on through Romans 5:6-11

“6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

And that took me to Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Peace in God’s Word

And that took me back to the Lifeline, which is the Hope I find in Christ Jesus… and I read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV).

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

As I pondered all this I continued to pray for my friends and acquaintances.  And I weighed all these things and gave thanks for my Hope in Christ Jesus and the guidance I gain from His Holy Spirit in me.  I pray that His will be done in all things and that He might give me strength to pass through whatever circumstance I may face… “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2Cor 4:18.

There is nothing that I find greater joy in than the lifeline I find in the love of God…  To Him belongs all the glory!  And me… I am thankful because every day my trust in Him grows stronger!!!

 

 

 

Preface

This morning I went back and looked at some of my old writings.  As I looked through the list I stumbled on this one that I wrote in October of 2015.  It speaks to our need to Persevere. I was compelled to share it again…  with a few additions that I felt led to add as I reviewed the scriptures and devotional.  It originally began with the October 21 devotional from “Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers.

“Utmost for His Highest”, and Where It Lead

I reread Utmost for His Highest today (Devotional for October 21) and looked at the leading verse.  It was Jude 20…   “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,” and I had to dig a bit deeper into Jude.

The devotional was excellent.  It speaks to holding on, in all circumstances, to God’s grace.  But what got my attention were the words of Jude…

Obedience of Jude

I have always felt for Jude because his desire was to speak words of encouragement, but God had called him to speak a word of warning to the chosen… and he was obedient.

Jude warned the Christians of his day in his introduction.   That warning still applies today.  Jude 1:3-4 (ESV)

“3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Warning

What an ominous warning he shared.  But it is true.  There are so many that speak false doctrine and mislead people.  Some are malicious.  They ask questions like, “Did God REALLY say this or that?”  Others share only what they hear and do not search for the truth in their own study.   They rely on people to tell them the answer.  They test nothing against the scriptures themselves and set themselves up to be deceived.  Even the best preacher can only teach what they know and understand from God’s Word.  We are under obligation to test everything.  I like what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (ESV).

“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

He reminds us of what to be mindful of…

Strength

Jude verse 9 is another great illustration.  It pokes holes in my pride and from where I get my strength.

“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”” Jude 1:9

As I read this verse it is very humbling.  The archangel Michael, standing against the devil, does not presume to stand alone.  He knows that source of infinite power comes from God alone.  If he trusts that to be true, how can I not do the same?   We are in a battle of light and darkness… truth and lies…  love and hate…  I want to be certain I stand with God.

Preparation

There is this battle raging and it seems so many are unarmed.  The only hope is to know God thru His Word.  To cling to Him, but so few have time.  They don’t like to read or they are too busy…  but we need food and water for our bodies to thrive… Even more, we need God’s Word for our spirit to thrive.

Jude does offer encouragement in the end of this letter….  In my translation, the English Standard Bible, the heading of the closing section is “A Call to Persevere”.   It begins in the 20th verse…

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

There are so many that strive to mislead.  They twist the truth to make their point.  Their only power is that which we give them…  God warns us “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 (ESV).  What a serious warning that is.  If we truly believe the Word and recognize that we are in a war, we must train.  But not physical training, but spiritual, “12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

Thanksgiving

I give thanks for God’s Word.   Some days I really struggle to study.  I have such difficulty with keeping focus.  But I thank God for helping me in those difficult times and the reward He shares with me when I study and pray…  even if it is only a verse or two…  I am blessed.  God is good.

Closing

I liked the close of the devotional in, “Utmost for His Highest”, for October 21.  It is very encouraging to me and a reminder that we must hold on to Christ Jesus and trust in him in all things; big and small…

“We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises— human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God— but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people— and this is not learned in five minutes.”

It takes me back to Ephesians 6:11-13

“11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

God bless and keep you!

 

 

This morning I wanted to share a sermon by Terry Cooper, Senior Minister of my Church; Ninevah Christian Church.

This sermon was offered this past Sunday, February 12, 2017, and it is an amazing discussion of 1John chapter 3.  I hope you find this as encouraging as I did.

Back in the Day

Back in the day, I went to a management seminar of some type. I cannot remember the details. It had to do with sales and negotiation I am sure, but one thing stuck with me was the piece on good communication, specifically listening.

Most of us do not really communicate all that well mostly because we do not listen with the same focus as when we speak. Instead of listening to someone we pause and formulate our response to the other person based what we half hear them say. If it is a passionate discussion, we will have OUR answer before the other person has finished speaking. Sometimes we are in such a hurry to tell them what we know to be right we cannot wait for them to finish, we simply interrupt them with our “Solution”. At best, we utilize “selective listening” hearing only what fits with our desires.

In that seminar, I learned that listening was not a passive response but an active exercise. It is one of those things I do not always get right. Usually, it is my pride and impatience that prevents me from actively listing. It gets worse in a crowd. But this morning… the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to actively listening to God… and not just listening but obeying.

How I Study

I do not have a specific order to my study except for one thing. Before I start I pray. One of the things I always ask for is that the Holy Spirit guide me in my study. I ask that my ears may be open to hearing, my eyes open to see and my heart open to receive the teachings of God’s Word. From there I start my wake up and study.

“Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers

This morning I began with “Utmost for His Highest”. Today was about “The Devotion of Hearing” and the reference verse was 1Samuel 1:10

“And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

As I read that verse and the subsequent devotional I was humbled… I reflected on my prayer this morning and I thought about all my requests and whether I was hearing God… But do I stop and listen… Do I focus one God and wait for His reply or do I simply move on. Do I believe that He will answer?

1Samuel 3

I read 1Samuel 3:1-14 and reflected on the passage. Three times Samuel heard someone calling his name and he assumed it was Eli. He went to Eli and saying, what do you want Eli, and Eli did not know what Samuel was talking about and he sent him back to bed… until the third time. Then Eli got it. In verse 9 he said…

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” (ESV)

Samuel listened to Eli and responded in obedience… and this stuck with me this morning, but I went to other passage both from Chambers’ devotional for today and some K-Love Encouraging Word verses. As I studied the passages I saw this thread that ran through them. They all spoke of my relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I read John 15 and Romans 15 and I ended up back at 1Samuel 3.

John 15 “I am the True Vine”

Christ tells His disciples that He is the vine and they are the branches… I am a branch… Then in Verse 4 and 5 He says…

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (ESV)

Abide was a word that I thought I knew, but I felt this compulsion to look it up in my Bible definitions. It was a long definition… but for me this morning it boiled down to this… to survive, live in reference to state or condition to remain as one.” And that one to whom I must cling is the Spirit of God in me. Without Him I am just a dead branch. Without Him I can do nothing.

A Friend

I continued through Chapter 15 and in verses 12-17 I was reminded of the desire of Jesus in this….

“12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (ESV)

This passage is so powerful. Jesus desires my friendship… and if I am a true friend I will listen and I will show that I listen by obeying His commands… I did not choose Him, but He chose me.

But this passage began with verse 12-13
“12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)

We know what Jesus did for us… He died so we might live… The one who created the heavens and the earth gave His life for me that my sins might be washed away… It is beyond my human reasoning to understand that. When I ponder that I am taken back to the beginning of John 1:1-5

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (ESV)

He died for me…

Romans 15

I considered all this and it was a bit overwhelming. I looked at another verse from earlier in the week. It was in Romans 15:1-7

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (ESV)

What does all this have to do with Listening?

By now you might be wondering what all this must have to do with listening. Well for me God reveals His desires for me. And If I am really listing and I believe that He has called me to be His friend… His Child… What better way to show that I really am listening than to obey.

Obedience is not always easy. It is easy to listen… half way. You hear what the person is saying or your version of their thoughts, but do you really listen closely enough that you take them to heart and act on them.

I look back on Romans 15:1-3

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (ESV)

When you think about it sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us a little nudge that seems unimportant to us; something as simple as offering a word of encouragement to someone. Sometimes it will be something more difficult to do.

Conclusion

I know I have received those words of encouragement at the oddest times and I am sure the person sharing them did not realize how they lifted my spirits. Other times it may be harder truths. Things that may hurt or anger someone, but they must be shared too.

Look at 1Samuel. In chapter 3 he was given a hard message to deliver to his mentor Eli. When Samuel finally heard God the message he was given would be a difficult lesson for a grown man to deliver and he was just a boy. But he did as God commanded and He told Eli what God had told him. Basically, God was angry with Eli. In verses 12-14 he was very clear…

“12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

That is a tough message… but Samuel delivered it and watched it play out.

I pray every day that I can obey and that I can follow the example of Christ Jesus and listen and obey. That I can listen and obey the words of Jesus in John 15:12

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Jesus loved me enough to share the truth with me in Love. If I am really listening to His Word I must do the same. I cannot pick and choose what to do… that is selective listening…