He (Jesus) replied, “My mother and
brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.
My son has always loved baseball. When he was about 9 years old, my husband
asked him if he wanted to practice since he had baseball games coming up. My son turned to his dad and confidently
stated, “Dad, I already know how to play baseball.”
How often do l say, "I already know that,” to my heavenly
Father?
In the U.S., it is easy to hear God’s word. We hear it through church, TV, radio, the
internet and many other arenas. But do
we put what we hear into practice?
One of the 10 commandments is to not murder. Ok. So far I haven’t killed anyone. Then Jesus comes along and says that anyone
who is angry with his brother is a murderer.
Hmm… I have done that. Now I get a chance to practice what I have
been taught. I may need to confess to
someone and to God, forgive, and be reconciled. That’s not easy! Practice,
practice, practice!
Without practice, how would my son progress beyond Little
League to the next level and the levels beyond? For a baseball player to get to the Hall of Fame, it requires much time,
dedication, hard work and practice. Wouldn’t we all like to be counted among the spiritual Hall of Famers
one day? This requires no less of a
commitment. The spiritual greats
mentioned in Hebrews 11 didn’t take the easy road. So let’s get on our exercise clothes!
God spoke these words to Ezekiel, “My people come to you, as
they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not
put them into practice . . . Instead, to
them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice
and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into
practice (Ezekiel 33:31,32).
Lord, please don’t let
that be said of us. Help us to practice
what we hear from you.
Terri
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