-------
"Who Is Listening?" by Edith Miller
Luke 6:27 Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this:
“Love your enemies!
Do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
29 “If someone hits you on one cheek,
offer the other too;
if someone takes your coat,
let him have your shirt as well.
30 “If someone asks you for something,
give it to him;
if someone takes what belongs to you,
don’t demand it back.
31 “Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. 32 What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them. 33 What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that. 34 What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha‘Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.
-------
How many times has a parent asked their young children: “Are you listening to me?” While the words may have reached their ears, their actions failed to show the desired response.
Jesus asked a similar question of a large crowd, including His disciples, in Luke 6:27: “But to you who are listening I say . . . .” Were they not all listening? Or was Jesus calling them to pay closer attention, to not only listen but to absorb the impact of His teaching? Thoughtful listening sparks understanding that leads to action.
Positive action benefits others. Jesus wants His hearers to do things that are contrary to human nature. Things like choosing to love those who are hateful; invoking blessings on those who make life miserable for others; unselfishly loaning things one may never get back, and then praying for those same difficult people.
The call for us today has not changed. We must actively place others before self. Thankfully, neither has the promise changed, that one day if life is lived this way, “Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High” (Luke 6:35b).-------
Hymn for Today: "I Am Thine, O Lord" by Fanny J. Crosby
1. I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
3. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
4. There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
-------
Thought for Today: Isaiah 50:5 Adonai Elohim has opened my ear,and I neither rebelled nor turned away.
-------
Please Pray: That many people in Sri Lanka will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKoDesh.
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment