November
1 Bible Reading: John Chapters 7-9
Whose ‘VOICE’ will we LISTEN today?
Jesus
said to them, "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not
able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of
your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he
speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. He who is
of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of
God." (John 8:43-44, 47)
In the above
passage we can see that Jesus was frustrated with the unbelief of the Pharisees as they were quick to condemn the
miraculous healings that Jesus provided to the unfortunate people. No matter
what Jesus said, they refuted His words and were always scheming to trap Him with
their trick questions. The Pharisees did not care to hear the things that Jesus
taught, nor would they listen to the words with which He expressed the real truth.
These
Pharisees could not even understand the words of Jesus correctly. When He spoke
of bread, they thought only of
literal bread. When He spoke of water, they never connected it with the living water. Why was it that they could not understand His speech? It was
because they were unwilling to tolerate
His teachings, and they were literally turned
off from His words.
Jesus
identified the Pharisees as being children of the devil (spiritually) even
though they were the children of Abraham (physically). They were really acting
like the devil and wanted to kill Jesus just like their father (Satan) who was
a murderer from the beginning. Just like the devil did not abide in the truth,
the Pharisees had also rejected the truth - Jesus
Himself (John 14:6). They were reflecting the devil, who is the ‘father of lies’. In the words of Augustine:
“they were children of the devil by
imitation!”
Let’s be
clear that Satan (or, the devil) is a liar, and always speaks from evil intentions. His sway over human beings
started back in the Garden of Eden when he turned the mind of Eve against God
by telling lies about God’s goodness, God’s Word and God’s intentions (Gen.
3:1-6). When troubles come into our lives, Satan makes us to doubt God’s Word
and His good intentions concerning our lives. God has always good thoughts and intentions about us –
this is a proven fact by the His own words: "For
I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jer. 29:11)
Let’s be
aware that Satan always causes us to believe his lies, and when we do that, our
loyalty to God is compromised. However, the power of Satan is no match to the
power of God’s Word! When we tightly cling to God’s Word, we won’t be trapped
by Satan’s lies. Remember, there are two
voices inside us that tell us where to invest our time and our lives. When
we listen to Satan’s deceiving words, we are guided to live only for the
present without any concern for our eternity, and it will be our loss on the long
run. Instead, when we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will guide us to all truth
(John 15:26) and we can live eternally with Him. Whose voice will we listen today?
Let’s truly love God and reflect that through hearing and obeying His Word on a daily
basis. Let us hide God’s Word in our
hearts, listen to Him alone and follow the footsteps of Jesus through
self-sacrifice and identification with Him.
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You! Blessed are You, O Lord!" (Psalms 119:1, 3, 11-12)
