Life has been so crazy! I missed my chance to post something personal last week, but wanted to share something I put on Facebook this morning:
Because when we just READ the Word, but don’t really THINK ABOUT what we’re reading, we miss an incredible blessing. Oh, our spirits receive nouri…shment and we’re able to check another duty off our to-do list, but we miss out on a level of enlightenment that could have been ours had we actively listened to what God was saying in His Word.
In MARK 4:24-25, Jesus makes this incredible promise — “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given – and you will be given even more…But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”
I don’t know about you, but I need ALL THE UNDERSTANDING I CAN GET!!! But true wisdom and understanding only comes when we “pay close attention” to what the Word of God says.
For me, paying close attention happens best when, after reading the assigned scripture portion, I go back and find something to meditate on. As I really focus on what it is saying, turning it over in my mind and asking God to speak truth that I can apply to my life, I respond to what I hear the Lord saying in my journal.
It does take some extra time to do this, but that investment has been invaluable for me. For rather than “looking at my face in a mirror,” but walking away forgetting what I’ve seen, as James 1:22-24 puts it, instead I “look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom.” And when I do that, I’m better able to do what it says.
I’m so excited about how many of you have taken on the challenge of reading through the Bible together in 2013. But I hope you are doing more than just reading your scripture portion -I pray that you are paying CLOSE ATTENTION!
Because that’s when the Holy Spirit is able to not only enlighten our minds – He is able to transform our hearts.
Love you all!