Monday, February 12, 2018
So Moses
returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and
told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We
will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to
the Lord. Then the Lord said
to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves
can hear me when I speak with you. Then
they will always trust you.” Exodus
19:7-9(NLT)
So we must
listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.
For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and
every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we
ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself
and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? And God confirmed
the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the
Holy Spirit whenever he chose. Hebrews
2:1-4(NLT)
Every weekday morning Elizabeth and
I listen to the raspy-voiced guy who delivers our devotion via the
internet. Over that first cup of coffee we
discuss the Scripture we heard and how it impacts us, and what we should do
about what we’ve heard. That guy can be
annoying! The discussion last Thursday
(after Mr. Gravel-in-the-throat spoke about the prophet hearing
from God) was all about whether we can actually hear the voice of God. We decided it’s entirely possible; it’s just
improbable in the noise of our culture these days. A church sign I saw recently says: In order to hear God’s voice you have to
turn this world’s volume down.
That is most likely the most
theologically and sociologically-accurate statement I’ve ever heard, with the
possible exceptions of these two:
·
Every person is a sinner
·
God never knew a someone who was too big a sinner to
save
If you noticed in the account of
Moses coming down from the mountain to tell the people what he’d heard from the
LORD, the people agreed to terms…they would do everything God required. If you back up a chapter or two and read the
lead-up to this point you find there’s a lot of preparation required if you’re
going to meet with God on His terms (and hear His voice).
Now, that’s a whole lot different
than what we generally do to prepare for our meetings, isn’t it? Usually our preparation is limited to putting-on
clothes and showing up at the church-house, expecting the preacher to deliver
the Word in a 15 minute package, so we can get out a little early
to meet Mary and Jim down at Golden Corral.
Instead of reading our Bible lesson for Sunday School, we expect the
teacher to give us all of it in 30 minutes and leave plenty of time to talk
about last night’s ball game before we have to get quiet in the sanctuary. Frankly, I’ve always wondered what that
conversation was all about under that shade tree in the parking lot in-between
Sunday School and worship…were those guys discussing when they were going to
meet to bring a meal to those homeless folks, or was it something more spiritual?
Paul said we have to be really
careful to pay attention – both to listen and do what we have heard in God’s
Word to us. We have a tendency to drift…to
wander from the truth and what it demands of our attention, stewardship, and
witness.
God’s Word – His voice – whether
spoken audibly, or printed and shared, is much too important for our souls to
be treated casually, haphazardly, or with lifeless lack of enthusiasm. When you undertake to serve God, you should
do it with every bit of excellence you possess, employing every gift the Holy
Spirit of God placed in your life.
Those are the terms of this great
salvation Paul was preaching.
For You Today
Was your
service to God last week enthusiastic – your best? What will it be like this week? Will you hear the voice from the mountain?
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
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