Today’s chapter is Luke 8

Tom writes:

Unless loads of them had had an argument with Peter (cf John 18) I don’t think there were many of Jesus‘ listeners who had no ears. So when Jesus said “those who have ears, let them hear” he was probably making a profound point. And his point was probably this - that listening is important, but hearing is even more so. Lots of people listened to the parable of the sower, lots of people saw Jesus taking out the lamp and putting it on a stand. But not that many people really heard what he was saying. Most of the crowds, in fact, slotted Jesus’ sayings into boxes formed by their narrow assumptions - and either applauded him or rejected him based on whether he seemed to “feed” their view of life or to “resonate” with what they felt deep down. But few of them gave to Jesus what he was asking for; few of them really heard him. To hear Jesus is to allow him to form us, it is to fight to understand what he is actually saying, how it is different from what we thought, and what implications such a mindset change would have for our lives. To hear Jesus is to cede authority to him; to place more trust in his opinions and perspectives than we place in those we received from our community or those we hear online. To hear Jesus is to move beyond just looking for what “resonates” with us and to allow every single thing he says to rework us and to redefine us. Those who do that become incredibly fruitful; crazily so. Those who do that become brothers and sisters and even mothers of the Messiah.

This probably takes a bit of thinking about. We live in an age, and even in a Christian culture, with so much noise around us all the time that we have got used to listening to everything but “hearing” barely anything. Even these New Testament Journey readings can be stuff we “bash through” to achieve a goal. Sit and think for a moment. When was the last time we actually just let Jesus be foreign and unfamiliar and fresh to us? When was the last time we sat and imagined and considered who this guy really was and how our life would look if we really took him at his word? Or, to put these questions another way - the gospel way - hear this; the route to you becoming a people who brings deliverance to others is now open. It is now possible for you to become a ridiculously fruitful person bringing others back from the dead and calming storms in their lives. All you need to do is listen to Jesus and then really hear what he says.

Question for reflection

What is one thing you have really “heard” from Jesus this month? How has this redefined the way you live and think?

More resources are for you at www.anewtestamentjourney.net

Paperback and eBook versions of the devotional available at https://amzn.eu/d/0tDbKny

Luke 8 - Wednesday 10th January