Hearing Leads to Doing

[S] Acts 24:24,27 --
24But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
27But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.

[O] Felix listened to the gospel many times and yet when the time came for his actions, he still chose to carry our his own desires.  Listening for the sake of just listening is the culture these days.  In fact, we're in the information overload phase with so much being poured into our minds through the Internet and social media apps.  It is leaving very little time to process and impact how we actually live our lives daily.

[A] When I listen to God's word and His guidance (spoken directly into my heart), I need to make sure my actions are affected to bring out more of Him and not my own will.

[P] Dear Father,  as I am currently going through some challenging moments which is really an opportunity from God for me to make adjustments in the way I think and act, I pray that I would have the right bearing to live it out in obedience of His teachings.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Hanging on to Every Word

[S] Luke 19:47-48 --
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, 48 and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.

[O] Despite the chief priests and the scribes trying to destroy Jesus, they were paralyzed by all the people who were hungry for Jesus' teaching.  The NASB's translation of "hanging on to every word He said" puts a very specific picture in my mind about how the crowd was just thirsty for all Jesus had to say to them as if they had found a gold mine.  They weren't trying to keep the "enemies" away -- they were simply trying to hang on to God's word and as a side benefit they kept the enemies away.

[A] There are enough challenges in my life for me to worry and stress over.  And there are challenging relationships that I must work on.  Many times I cry out to God for sending down a solution for all these challenges I'm facing so I won't be strained as much with all sorts of things going on.  However, this passage teaches me not to ask for removal of my bad situations but for me to hang on to His every word so that His word will protect me from these situations.

[P] Dear Father, teach me to hang/cling on to Your every word.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Means of Sanctification

[S] 1 Timothy 4:4-5 --
4  For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;5  for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

[O] Just like how water is the base for mixing various elements together, gratitude is the base formula for seeing and receiving all that God created as He intended as good.  Based on this, all things are created for good but it is my tainted mind that limits me to selfish perspectives causing me to see many things God created less than their face values.  Verse 5 teaches me about the power and influence of God's word and my prayer because my integrating these two tightly into my life, I will be able to see all things as good as God intended and that includes my own life to be sanctified more and more towards the image God had intended for my life.

[A] Continue on devotion, and integrate more prayer there as well as during other times of my daily routine.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for revealing the secret of Your word and my prayer as the foundation of my faith and how it will set my perspectives straight as You had intended.  May my life be aligned more with Your design as I integrate more prayer into my daily routine.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Hearing Before Taking Actions

[S] Revelation 3:22 --
 ²²'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

[O] Hearing comes first before we can take any action because unless we have the information of what to do, there isn't much we can do.  When you learn a new language, the hearing opens up first so that the student will begin to hear what others say in that new language; then that student can repeat what he hears to start working on the pronunciation.  I believe same progression is required in learning "God's language."  I must first learn to hear His words correctly so I comprehend His information; and then I must replicate what I hear in my own life through right actions (also knowns as obedience).  As this verse sates, God wants me to hear what the Spirit says to me; however it also implies I need to have the faith to obey what I hear from Him even though at times it may not make any sense to me.  Just today we heard a message based on Jeremiah 38:14-23 titled, "The Danger of Unbelief" where King Zedekiah who was the last King of Israel had the opportunity to act according to God's commands because he had enough faith to want to hear God's words/instructions through Jeremiah but he had too much doubt to obey what he had heard.  And because of that he and his whole family were destroyed just as God had told him.

[A] Doing Life Journaling is a very good step to take but I feel I need to focus more on the "A"pplication section because without applying what God tells me will not really make the difference in my life to make any impact.  In order to take the right actions it will definitely require steps of faith on my part because God's ways are not my ways and my mind will play tricks on me to justify on not obeying His instructions.  I need to pray for discernment and wisdom to avoid such mistakes.

[P] Dear God, do continue to speak into my heart such that I would hear Your Spirit and to follow what I hear.  May my life transform by obeying one thing at a time from the daily devotions I have with You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.