Today's Reading:O.T. - Proverbs 20
N.T. - Mark 4
Focus Verses: Mark 4:21-25
21He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." 24"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Insight:
When a light is lifted up an placed high, it illuminates the entire room. Hidden things are revealed. Things that would not have been seen or found are now "brought to light." Jesus words are truth and light. The more they are lifted up in a person's life, to more they reveal and disclose. When Jesus words are known and understood and taken to heart, they bless the learning listeners with greater insight about themselves and greater understanding about the world they live in. The more we listen, the more we gain in understanding. If we refuse to listen, we will become even more confused and darkened in our minds.
Response and Action:
I want to listen closely to Jesus. I want his words to help me know myself. I want his words to give me wisdom and understanding about my world and my place in it. I want the truth of Christ's words to give me insight about my culture and my times. I will commit myself to knowing and thinking about Jesus' teachings, and to study the words of Scripture, that they might lead me into truth, purpose, and meaning.
O God, help me to live for you and through you in thought, word, and deed. Help me to know your word and to hide it in my heart. Open my eyes to see the world by the light of your word. Help me to hold my life, my choices, and my actions up to the light of Jesus. Shine, Jesus, and show me who I am, and what you want me to be. Amen.
Proverbs: 20:12
"Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both."
Resources:
Discipleship of the Mind: Learning to Love God in the Ways We Think
by James Sire
