The Gospel According to Paul: Faith Comes by Listening to the Word of God. Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 05.02.2018” on Spreaker.
“…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
The Voices in Your Head
To what are you listening? Are you listening to the voices of naysayers who don’t have your best interest at heart? Do you immerse yourself in the news which seems to find pleasure in sensationalizing tragedy? Are you listening to your doubts and fears? Are you listening to reflections of unresolved emotional pain?
With all of the many voices vying for our attention, it is difficult to pull away and listen for the voice of the Creator at times. While the whirlwind of wars, political infighting, economic ups and downs, swirl about us, it takes extreme discipline a fortitude to draw aside to give a keen ear to what God has to say. While others are typing away with their thumbs in social media, speaking away with the many podcasts, and publishing away, the many books that may not be as edifying as we had hoped, our God has something to say. Are you willing to listen?
Faith Comes by Hearing
The keys to all of the world’s woes are in the Word of God. Faith comes through hearing the God’s Word. The ancient Jewish mindset, which I am adopting was that hearing and doing were synonymous. This is why some would literally stop up their ears when they were unwilling to do what was being said.
Let me ask you again: “To what are you listening?” If you find that you are in need of encouragement, guidance, wisdom, comfort, peace, and instruction in righteousness, hear and do God’s Word. Establish a pattern of asking God to write His Words into your lifestyle and habits. Ask Him to teach you truth, make you more loving and kind, and to surrender your all to Him. If you do this consistently, be on the lookout for power you may have never experienced before in your life. Give thanks that God is still willing to speak life into you so you can be saved.
I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, are you?