Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with the group Plumb singing … Lord, I’m Ready Now … poignantly singing of how we can open up to the Lord when we set aside self and surrender to the Savior.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Exodus 6:9 [NLT] … 9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the Lord had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
… So often we won’t or can’t listen to God because of our slavery to the moment.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Exodus 6:1-9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Moses relays God’s promise to His people about His covenant made earlier to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but the people wouldn’t listen because of their slavery and brokenness.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
… We will only be ready to seek/follow God’s path when we trust in His way and not our own.
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
… Jesus says that we’ll only be ready to follow Him when we can set the “fluff” of selfishness.
Reference Passage : … 2Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… We will only break free from our own weaknesses when we’re willing to surrender to the Lord’s empowering grace.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David H Roper, uses a character from children’s literature to show that we all need to be patient with those who have trouble hearing the truth. The ODB author wrote … Winnie the Pooh famously said, “If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” [see photo]
I’ve learned over the years that Winnie might be on to something. When someone won’t listen to you even though following your counsel would be to their advantage, it may be that their reticence is nothing more than a small piece of fluff in their ear. Or there may be another hindrance: Some folks find it hard to listen well because they’re broken and discouraged.
Perhaps you know someone - maybe yourself [!] - who’s so bogged down in their [you’re] own circumstances or personal challenges that they’re - or you’re - unable - or maybe unwilling - to seek God’s way out. That’s the way it was for God’s people when Moses came to them with God’s promise of freedom from Pharaoh (see highlight passage). But God’s promise of deliverance had always been there, thru His covenant promise of freedom made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And His promise of freedom from our own selfishness and sin is ours today thru the finished work of Jesus on the cross and thru His resurrection.
We just have to be willing to take the fluff of selfishness and sin out of our ears to be able to hear God’s promise of freedom thru an abiding relationship with Christ. And when we do, we’ll be able to set aside self, receive God’s empowering grace, and follow the Savior [see reference Scriptures above].
So, ... what are we waiting for?!! I don’t know about you, but as the song sings, “I’m ready now!”
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for Your promise of freedom from myself thru my Savior.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to surrender our selfishness and walk free, following our Lord. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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