Weekly Message: WILLING TO HEAR

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, `God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’ ” And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.  And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! (Matthew 11:4-6, 12-15)

Standards of Bible truth become muddied for those who for convenience sake choose surface truth only. When this happens a distinction is made: The Lord doesn’t conform to our preferences or whim; rather He calls us to conform to His standard – to represent Him correctly, to draw from His Word.

Foolishness is associated with those who are un-teachable. Their words reveal ignorance; without ears to hear they do not—cannot—understand. Unfortunately, those agitated by Bible truths may not even read the Bible. Knowledge for them consists of select verses emboldened by documentary-style theology and philosophical thought.

False information represented as true, again and again, produces belief in those things. Add to that repetition of misinformation an absence of relationship with God, and the result is offense – offended for truth’s sake, because of God’s Word as it truly is.

Jesus understood that miracles like blind eyes receiving sight, handicapped or sick bodies being made whole, and the dead raised to life would offend earth-bound hearts; He knew any congregation distanced from the Lord to the point of unbelief would attack any message greater than their experience.

(Adopted from Shirley Weaver’s Daily Devotional)