KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, October 21, 2017
Chapters: Matthew 17, Mark 9
Message: Hear God And Listen To Jesus
Hello My Friend,
Many people have faith in God, but few are willing to take the one step needed to get saved and make Him a part of their lives, and the only way to do that is to receive Christ as their Saviour. It often takes something tragic for us to see that we need Jesus. Jesus stands at the door of every open heart, knocking, He will never force Himself in, but comes willingly to those who hear His voice and opens that door. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” – Revelation 3:20-22.
“He that hath an ear,” We must open our hearts to Christ if we want the Father to hear us, but before we can get God to hear us we need to first listen to God. I know that sounds contradictory and odd, but it really is not, God speaks to us so that we can acknowledge Him first, that way we can be open to the possibility of accepting His Son, once He reveals Himself to us that is where Jesus comes in. One day Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain where they witnessed an incredible sight.
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.” – Matthew 17:1-9.
“And Jesus came and touched them,” Something incredible happens the second you discover that God truly exists and has spoken to you, Jesus shows up. There is no better feeling than to know that Jesus touched you, and you will know when He does, it is as if a huge weight is lifted off your chest and you can breathe. You know, Jesus does not reveal Himself to just anyone, they must hear God first, and then God will tell them to listen to His Son if they want Him to hear them. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” – I John 2:23.
As Jesus, Peter, James, and John head back down the mountain the disciples began questioning what Jesus meant when He said He would raise from the dead.
“And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.” – Mark 9:10-13.
“and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed,” The world has this idea that the idiotic things they do are for the best of the people. I watched the news as thousands of people, who need jobs rather than try to censor someone, chanted and shouted obscenities toward this man because they believed him to be menace to society. And let me tell you, these people trying to keep the peace cause more destruction than they ones they oppose. Do we all agree on what everyone believes? No. But that is not our right to belittle or try to stop them from believing what they believe, otherwise we risk the possibility of that happening to us. In many countries, even our own country, in some cities it is illegal to publicly speak about Jesus. The world will never accept Jesus, which is why they do not hear God let alone Jesus. “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” – Acts 28:27.
Many people are good at portraying the life of a Christian, perhaps they go to a church, give tithes, donate to charities, are the first to volunteer, and some may even speak of Jesus and how amazing He is. Anyone can look like a Christian, but not everyone who says they are are. We must open our hearts to Christ if we want the Father to hear us. A father takes care of all his children, but particularly is tender of the littlest ones. Likewise, God takes care of all of His children, that is, the little ones that believe in and accept His Son. We learn of this when a desperate father pleas with Jesus to heal his son who was possessed by the devil.
“He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.” – Mark 9:19-27.
“How long is it ago since this came unto him?” Do you think that Jesus did not already know the answer to His question? Of course, He did. God knows everything about us, and sees everything too. Does He always watch? No. Yes, God watches over and protects His own, but He is not going to just sit there and watch us living in sin, I am talking about deliberately living in sin, and He will turn His back to the sin and let us live in it until we come to Him, if we do not, than we die in our sin. There is nothing that we go through that God does not know about, He even allows the devil to afflict us, but there is one thing that the devil cannot do is touch a soul that belongs to Christ. Jesus upbraids them for their unbelief, He basically tells them that His patience and longsuffering would not always continue, and that in a short time, He would be gone, and they will no longer receive the mercies there have been given. Quite often God will perform miracles on the unbelieving in order to get people to believe in His Son, but His mercies only last so long, we must know Christ to be saved. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:7,8.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.” – Mark 9:31.
Today’s Prayer: God, I want to live a plain and simple life according to Your plan, I want to hear everything You are saying to me and do everything You have called me to do. Lord, watch over me, guide me, and keep the truth in me. Help me to learn and grow in Your Word so I can tell whether or not what people are telling me is the truth or lies. In the end, it is You who I follow to the truth, not anyone else. Open my heart to be receptive to You and only You, clear my mind of every doubt and fear and fill it with joy and peace only revealed as I learn to hear You and listen to Jesus. I love You, Lord and ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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