"Listening" - A Devotional for Monday

Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

When I used to teach middle school, the biggest problem that I had in the classroom was listening. Not me...but my students...they simply wouldn't listen most of the time. Now, they had two perfectly good ears and I know they could hear... but they didn't react. I would ask them... "Why aren't you doing what I told you..didn't you hear me?"

Of course, they would tell me that they heard me just fine...they heard the words that I was saying...but just chose to sit there. They didn't listen...they just heard. They didn't act...they just sat there....hearing my signal but doing nothing.

Have you ever done that? You hear something and don't do what it says to do? Pretty common actually.... I hear that I need to lose weight...but I eat the cheesecake. I hear that I need to pray more...but I worry. I hear that I should trust God with my finances...but I stress out when markets crash.

I am a good "hear-er" but not as good of a listener. In today's passage, God calls us out. He says that if we just hear Him and don't do what He says...in other words don't "listen"...then we are building our lives on sand. Houses built on sand don't last long...they erode...waste away...continually have to be rebuilt only to fall away again.

This morning, let's commit to not only reading God's word...but applying it to our lives. Let's pray and ask God to speak to us...and then listen, and do what He says.

You can do it...I'm praying for you! Would you pray for me?

Pastor Brian