My reading today keeps leading to being careful to listen, and not allowing ourselves to become “dull of hearing”. God has already given the grace for us to hear and understand his word, we need to take time to listen, to understand, and apply it to your daily living. May He strengthen us to have open hearts to hear and love His words!
Deuteronomy 5:1, 6:4-5
Hebrews 5:7-14
Matthew 13:15, 26:41
Zechariah 7:11
2 Timothy 4:3-5
Luke 8:18 NLT
“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.”
Proverbs 8:34-36 NKJV
Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. [35] For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD; [36] But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.”
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Such a timely message which is surely directed and sent by the Lord Jesus specifically for me regarding my current season and walk with Him. For the past several months I have been carefully listening to what Father is teaching me through the trials and sufferings and delays He allows in my life. My prayers to the Lord as of recent have been about listening in carefully to what He is teaching me in regards to humbling myself in the trials He sent, trusting Him to deal with whatever that is still carnal in my heart and knowing Him through sharing in His sufferings that I may also share in His glory and resurrection.
As of late, I have been reading Austin Sparks’s daily devotionals which I have subscribed to via email recently and some of the devotionals I read were about “Union with Christ”, particularly through His sufferings and His resurrection. Austin Sparks speaks of how Union with Christ teaches us to die to ourselves daily because we still have the self-life remaining in us that needs to be crucified daily. And if we are to die to our self-life, the world and Satan then the Lord will work out His resurrection in us.
The scriptures that I have taken note when reading through the Bible were Philippians 3:10-11. And also Philippians 3:7-9 where I consider everything a loss so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. It all comes down to Union with Christ. Everything, even carrying our cross and learning God’s ways in our afflictions are a means to an end, and the end is Jesus Christ and our union with Him.
Thus far this is what the Father, through the Holy Spirit is teaching me and in which I am carefully listening in the midst of the trials He has allowed in this season of my life.
I thank the Father for confirming me this specific message through another follower of Christ and that I am encouraged in my spirit to continue to walk humbly and trustingly with the Lord Jesus while I carefully take in whatever He speaks to me in times of sufferings and trials.
God bless you as you continue to do what the Lord Jesus calls you to do.