Tag Archives: Understanding

What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 41

41. Check Your Hearing

Child listeningJesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37-38)

Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.

The question that must be asked: Do you hear His voice? If you do, then you are of the Truth. If not, then you are not of the Truth. And with Christ using the word everyone, this is a sweeping statement and stands as an insurmountable wall, which separates those who hear from those who do not; those who are of the truth from those who are of the lie.

We’ve seen the Greek word for everyone before; and it is most often translated as all. So one could just as easily say: All who are of the truth; and we find that the inclusive nature of Christ’s statement continues to stand.

Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice, is a proclamation made by the Living Christ, the Son of God, that we must grapple with. He does not leave us any wiggle room. There’s no way you can say this declaration does not apply to you. You either hear, or you don’t hear.

Hear in Greek is not just the physical ability to audibly hear; it also has within its meanings understanding, perceiving, to consider, and to learn. But we cannot allow this to be merely a simple hearing test or an intellectual exercise. The proof of the hearing is in the doing:

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ( Matthew 7:21)

But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:15)

But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21)

So what is it we hear? His voice. Do you understand, do you realize what an awesome blessing and privilege you’ve been given to hear His voice?

There is probably not a more beautiful sound than the voice of our Savior. And its beauty is two-fold: the actual sound of His voice, and what He is saying.

Think of the most beautiful song that you know. Is it beautiful because of the music? The one singing it? Or the words? Such is the voice of our Lord. The Person, the performance and the point, all come together to fill our need and satisfy our soul.

But when we hear Him now, in this place, before Pontius Pilate, I should think the sorrow in the song is overwhelming. Our hearts will be broken, to the point where it is almost too great to hear or bear. And yet in the midst of His sorrow, His suffering, His sacrifice, His separation, His torment, His torture, and being crushed by the sins of the world, He speaks to you.

There is a warning in Hebrews which appears over and over: Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 3:7, 15; 4:7) So the question is: when you heard His voice, did you also hear with your heart? Or did you harden your heart against it.

And finally, note the incredible work that has been accomplished in your life: Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:25) Hearing and responding to the Truth has brought you from death to life. What else did Jesus say about the Truth? It will set you free!

Singing with the King (97) – Foundations & Righteousness

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?           (Psalm 11:3)

When I was younger, many years ago, I heard Billy Graham talk about how he did his devotions. He did 5 Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs a day. So every month, he would go through the entire books of Psalms and Proverbs. When I don’t have time to do my study, that’s when I do this same devotional. But I only do the Psalms. So like today, being the 28th, I would read Psalms 136-140. The great thing about this approach is that if you miss a day, you just multiply the date x 5, back up five, and start there. No need to make up.

A few years back I started using the NLT. Years and years of the NAS kinda got familiar, so I picked a new translation to stir things up. And it was a great move. As we look at the above verse, which is the NAS, here’s what the NLT has, and it provides, what I think, is some excellent insight:

The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?

So we move from plain old foundations to foundations of law and order. Now if you look up the word foundations in the Hebrew, you don’t find anything in its meanings anywhere that specific. But I think this translation does David justice. And I believe that it has just as much to do with us today as it did King David.

Our foundations have collapsed. I doubt anybody would debate that. We have suffered a collapse, but the opinions surrounding why, are as varied and divisive as our culture. For the sake of moving on, let’s assume David’s description and definition would be best, much of it having to do with a complete lack of understanding of Who God is, what He does, and outright denial of Him having any right in declaring to us how we should live, both as individuals and as a nation.

So the question still stands: What can the righteous do? And the beginning of our answer—we need to be righteous, and proclaim His righteousness.

But the complete answer comes in the next verse:

But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. (vs. 4)

Deny Him, ignore Him, dis-invite Him. He still rules. Remove Him from academia, from the marketplace, from politics, He still shows up in the hearts of the Righteous. And it’s up to us to make Him and His Way plain. Because the day is coming when, as David said:

The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face. (vs. 5-7)

Simply put, Jesus tells us that the two greatest commands are: Love God and love people. If the righteous of God we do that, love will go a long way in healing and repairing these foundations.