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Luke 9:35 – A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him." (NIV)
Sometimes, instead of listening to Jesus, I listen to my own thoughts and ideas. I end up making foolish choices and stupid mistakes which Christ could have helped me to avoid. I thought that the older I got, the wiser I would become. That just doesn't happen. If I don't listen to Jesus, I am not going to learn.
I hear other people quoting Jesus, but not really listening or applying what He has said. It's almost as if they had created their own fortune-cookie Jesus who sagely expresses words of wisdom to justify their actions, choices, and decisions. I keep hearing things like "Judge not, or you'll be judged," or "Love one another," or "Do unto others," or even the apocryphal "We are all God's children" (which He never said). People misquote His words because they don't read the Bible or truly listen to the gospel. And what they don't hear, they make up to suit themselves.
In today's passage, when God candidly speaks to the three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, He does two things. Firstly, He reveals to them that Jesus actually is His holy Son. Secondly, God commands them to listen to Him. We may not understand this at first, but what we have here is the true process of becoming and being a Christian. To be a Christian means that we have to believe that Jesus is God's holy Son. To remain a Christian, we have to keep listening to what He says, which we can do only if we consistently, studiously, and prayerfully keep reading and obeying the gospels.
So the challenge for all of us, including me, is this: Do I believe that Jesus is God's holy Son, and am I willing to listen to Him?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are God's only and holy Son. Open our hearts and minds so that we may truly listen to You. Enable us to consistently make the time to continually read the gospels. Help us to serve You in all of our decisions and deeds. In Your holy name, we humbly pray. Amen.
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Tuesday, April 16, 2024 – In Peru — Please pray for this summer season at our beach-town home to be a blessing to the little Fellowship we have started and that the Lord would "add to our numbers those who are being saved".
Housing: "Update April 14, 2024; Please pray extra fervently for tomorrow when she and her son will be going..." 
Another good one John.
Thank you John for your words. Blessings.
Thanks John
Your message serves as a valuable reminder to keep Christ as life’s focus, Blessings.
Am I turely Listening to God. Sometimes I get a message and I think this or that would work better, but that is not so! Then there is more often message that come later.
Brother John, you write: “…the apocryphal “We are all God’s children” (which He never said).”
This is so important; that thought/belief takes the urgency out of mission/evangelism, and changes the focus to only humanitarian responses. I have long used the expression “all are God’s creatures, and all are our neighbors. But not all are God’s children, nor our brothers and sisters.”
That is only for those who are “in Christ.” Thank you.
Thank you, John.
I can’t even imagine all the voices I don’t hear because I’m focused on other sounds. It’s like that with the voice of our Lord. Other voices dominate our minds and can cause us to tune out Jesus. Good listening habits is truly a discipline. Thank you for the reminder!