‘“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.”’ Luke 8:18
Pay attention!
If we are reading the Bible, simply to check it off the list of things to do, we are so far from the mark; it’s scary.
– Brush my teeth – check!
– Take out the trash – check!
– Read the Bible – check!
– Go to the bank – check!
“So pay attention to HOW you hear.”
I’ve read this verse; I don’t know how many times, but today I caught that word “HOW.”
The Spirit has moved me about reading the Bible with the perspective being to measure myself against the Words of God. This way of reading has made a profound effect on how I look at myself and the world around me.
I used to look at the world through the scope of the Bible like it was a microscope, but I found that it didn’t require that a change happens in me. It left me with the expectation that the world around me had to change.
The problem with looking at it from that angle is that the world is in God’s hands, and that would require Him to change. The change that I would seek would be the circumstances and the people outside of myself. Both of these were in God’s hands.
Who did I think I was?
The exciting thing was when I started to put my thinking, and what I was doing under the microscope of the Bible, and began making changes with the help of the Spirit. WOW, what a difference!
Guess what happened! When the changes in my heart started to happen, the circumstances and things around me began to change.
Matthew 6:33 NLT
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
God doesn’t want us to change the world around us; He wants our hearts to change.
We have a responsibility here. Living this way requires a constant and consistent effort on our part, especially with the watching world.
And the bolder we become to proclaim our faith, the more critical it is to keep ourselves in check.
1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
We need to “stand firm” against our feelings. We’re not always going to feel like doing what is right and what is required.
But for the Christian, we need to persist through our feelings and do what we are called to do.
Luke 14:33 NLT
So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Being a Christian is called “the high calling,” we are to hold ourselves to a standard so much higher than we should expect from the world around us.
Heavenly Father, Help me learn “how” to read Your Word.
Help me to see the changes that You want me to make in my life.
Help me to see the people around me, the way that You see them. You accept all who call on the name of the Lord, help me to live my life in a way that makes that appealing to the people looking at me.
I thank You for everything that You have done for me and the sacrifice that You have made for me.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
