There are so many nuggets in today’s passage. Do you agree? I love how God’s word can always come alive and speak to us today!
I heard the other day that we need to listen twice as much as we speak because we have two ears and only one mouth. Think about that one! In our business, listening is KEY. In life, listening is really KEY!
We should be acting and responding to people in response to what they have said. If we listen closely, we can discern their needs, their hopes, their struggles. God can use us to help each other. That’s how the body of Christ works.
But too many times, we are busy formulating a response in our heads and our listening ears are clogged. Here, Paul is telling us to be slow to speak. His counsel is more to protect us from dispute or saying things out of anger, which certainly are good things to avoid. No matter what, when we are in communication with others, we need to be better listeners.
Listening for God’s voice is probably the most important voice of all. When is the last time you truly sat down and listened, waited for God?
It’s the same with God’s word. The Bible is at least something tangible that we can put our hands on. Many times God will use his word to speak to us. We need to come to him in our time of reflection and close out all the other noise of the world. Are we giving God the time he deserves?
Are we living out our faith based on the Word and instruction God has given us?
Take a moment to really reflect on that. Can you do better? What is keeping you from the full relationship with God that he is craving?
Verse 27 say,“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
One of the goals on my dream board is to help build an orphanage to care for children of Haiti. I am blessed to be able to help at the orphanage in our neighborhood here in Mexico, but I want to do more. I want to honor God and his wishes.
As I wait for this opportunity, I am trying hard to keep from being polluted by the world. I’m sure you can agree that this world has become a dark, delusional and dangerous place. Instead of being sucked in, we should be empowered to make a positive difference.
Let’s be better listeners first, and then go do and be blessed!
Let’s pray. Father God I give you thanks for the ability to listen. Forgive me when I don’t take the time to just sit still in your presence. What is your message for me today? Please reveal yourself to me. In the same way, I want to be a better listener to the voice of others. You have placed me in this time and place for a reason, and I want to be able to live out your plan to my best ability, with your ability inside me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This passage is so much more than temptation, but I thought we could focus a bit on that today.
