Eagerly Listening

John 14:23-29, Acts 16: 9-5

Jesus talks about how those who love him keep his word. Jesus clarifies about this word that we hear saying it is not his but from the Father. The other part of the Trinity will be involved when Jesus leaves -it is the Holy Spirit. Called the Advocate, the Holy Spirit will teach them everything and remind them of all the words of the Father that Jesus has said to them. This Advocate will also remind them of the peace Jesus left them with, not peace as the world gives, so they are not to be afraid.

Eagerly listening to the Spirit is the apostle Paul who in our Acts passage has a vision of a Macedonian man pleading him to come and help the people there. So doing and keeping God’s word, Paul sets sail for Macedonia. He finds there a group of women at a place of prayer. He speaks the gospel to them and one woman, Lydia opened her heart to listen eagerly to what Paul said. In response she and her household were baptized and she lets Paul and his traveling companions stay at her home.

To truly keep God’s word, we need to be not only actively listening but to listen eagerly expecting an outcome to live God’s word. Lydia did this by letting Paul and his group stay at her home to continue his ministry – to help Lydia and other Macedonians by listening to the Spirit and acting out in faith on a trip to go and help them – leading him to Lydia and a group of women by the river there.

We may not receive visions like Paul did but we can still eagerly listen to the Spirit through scripture and sermons we hear. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of God’s word – when we are questioning what to do or not to do. The Spirit can remind us of Jesus’ words and example and give us direction of how we can keep and live out God’s word.

May God expand our spiritual listening ears so that we can eagerly listen to God’s word and act upon it. Then when we are afraid we can receive comfort and peace that only God’s word abiding in us will bring.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Witness of the Holy Spirit Within

John 20:19-31, Acts 5:27-32 Our John account tells of Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection. They are in a locked room due to fear of the Jews – not the Romans. Later in Acts we have Peter openly preaching about Christ’s resurrection even when the Jewish High Priests have told him not to do so. He seems to have no fear now. What’s the difference? In our John passage it tells how Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on them. Now does this differ from the Pentecost account or did the disciples gathered there get a head start? Did Thomas have to wait until Pentecost? The Pentecost event included all of Christ’s followers – so all are given the Holy Spirit. Now Peter in the Acts account tells how the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Christ – including those who converted after Pentecost – including contemporary Christians. We are the ones who did not witness Christ’s reappearance or see the nail prints and mark on his side, like Thomas did. Christ commends us future f...
Read more

Instruments God Has Chosen

John 21:4-17, Acts 9:1-20 In our John passage we have the disciples returning to their trade of fishing yet they are catching nothing. Jesus appears the third time but they don’t recognize him until after he tells them to cast to the right side and there are so many fish it is too heavy to haul in. Then John realizes that it is Jesus. The Lord then serves them breakfast. Afterwards he asks Peter three times if he loves him. This counters with the three times that Peter denied him. After Peter answers yes each time Jesus tells him to tend to his sheep. Christ here is commissioning Peter to shepherd – take care of Christ’s sheep – these being the Jewish people – proclaiming to them the gospel that Jesus is the Messiah. Peter becomes the instrument that God has chosen to reach out and take care of the souls of the Jewish people. Our Acts account tells of another chosen instrument of God – the apostle Paul. It tells of his dramatic conversion to Christ. When Ananias is told in a vision...
Read more

Chosen by God as Witnesses

John 20:1-18, Acts 10:34-43 Our gospel of John tells the account of those who first found Christ’s tomb empty. Mary Magdalene arrives first and finding the stone rolled away goes to Peter and John (the disciple Jesus loved) who run to the tomb. Both of them enter and find it empty with the graveclothes lying there. Seeing this it says that John believed. Still, they did not understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. They both go home. Mary, however, stays and weeps. Two angels appear asking why she weeps. She turns around and sees Jesus who she thinks is the gardener and asks where Christ’s body is. He says “Mary” and she recognizes that it is Jesus. She is recorded then as the first witness of the resurrected Jesus. She is also the first messenger of Christ being alive telling the disciples what Jesus had said to her. Later on, Christ will appear to Peter, John, and the other disciples, including woman, and to even doubting Thomas. These are the chosen by God a...
Read more