Hearing and Doing?

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 8:19-21 ESV

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him,  
but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers  
are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers  
are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
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Listen to what Jesus is saying once again.
It may take you by surprise that Jesus is reiterating the same point.
If something is repeated it must be important.
Also, it may be that we have a tendency to weigh
our spiritual condition on the wrong scale.

Today, tomorrow, and the remainder of the week,
would you quietly, tenderly, but fearlessly ask yourself,
“How am I responding to God’s Word?
Do I merely agree with it or do I really obey it as well?”

In the past, I have witnessed dear old friends
come to the realization that they had been “hearing” God’s
Word and “believing” God’s Word but not really doing it…

They thought that they were following Jesus.
Everyone around them thought the same,
but upon closer examination, they discovered that they
really hadn’t been following Jesus like they thought.
They discovered that they had no ability to follow Jesus
and His Word in their own strength.
They wept and wept in deep sorrow for all the
years that had past, for all the opportunities missed,
and for the impact their disobedience had on their children
and family members.
They had been trying to follow Jesus without completely
dying to self and leaving everything.
We have no ability to follow Jesus if we don’t follow Him
in complete abandon.

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

Our heavenly Father had Matthew, Mark, and Luke
record this little exchange in His Word.
There is an inseparable connection between love and obedience.

Luke 8:21
My mother and my brothers are those
who hear the word of God and do it.

You may be distracted,
lulled to sleep by your circumstances.
You may be so challenged by them that you aren’t able to focus
on God’s Word and take it seriously.
You may be giving yourself excuses.
You may be trying to hide the condition of your
heart from yourself and the Lord.

We all have a habit of measuring how we are doing according
to human standards. But Jesus’ words are clear:

Luke 14:26
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and
mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,
yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce
all that he has cannot be my disciple.

As painful as it might be to ask yourself the question now,
“How am I responding to God’s Word?
Do I merely agree with it or do I obey it as well?”
it is better to weep now rather than later.
Ask the Lord for His help.

Ask Him for His mercy on you, a sinner.
Confess your apathy, your fear, and your unbelief.

Ask Him for His grace to surrender all.

What might it mean?
Loss of control?
Possible failure?
Loss of self?
Admitting that things aren’t as they seem?

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following verse from Luke 8 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.

21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

PRAYER

Lord, I confess that I don’t want to have to surrender all.
May we all see that you don’t want to take anything away from us,
but that you want to give us life — abundant life!
You want to give us yourself!

In His hands for His glory,

Laurie
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