Tag: spiritual deafness

Categories
Mark Devotionals

Lord, do you sometimes sigh?

Making God sigh

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him.

Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign?” (Mark 8:11-12)

Aware of this, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread?

Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts? Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember…

Don’t you understand yet?” (Mark 8:17-18, 21)

How often, Jesus, do you sigh deeply at my stubbornness, at my unbelief?

How often do you sigh deeply at my hardened heart, at my eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear? At my failure to remember. At my lack of understanding?

And yet, somehow, you’ve never given up on me.

As with the blind man, you keep touching my eyes until I can see. You keep touching my ears until I can hear. You keep touching my mind until I can understand. And you keep touching my heart until it softens.

Thank you for your incredible grace.

Categories
Luke Devotionals

When Jesus makes his visitation

Luke

If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes…you did not recognize the time when God visited you.” (Luke 19:42, 44)

Ever since my pastor’s message on spiritual blindness several weeks ago, I’ve noticed this theme throughout Luke.

We see things hidden from the disciples and Pharisees because they had closed their eyes and ears to what Jesus was saying and doing. (Luke 18:34, 19:39-41)

At least in the disciples’ case, they did recognize him as Messiah, although they were totally mistaken in their idea of what Messiah was.

But the Pharisees, despite all the signs and miracles Jesus performed, despite the fact that they could never answer his wisdom (Luke 13:17; 14:6), closed their eyes and ears to him, rejecting him, and as a result failed to recognize when God visited them.

On the other hand, we see people who did want to see and hear when Jesus was making his “visitation.”

We have Bartimaeus, the blind man in Jericho crying out, “I want to see!”

Despite all the people trying to shut him up, he refused to give up until Jesus heard him and called him. And by his faith, he was saved. (Luke 18:35-43, Mark 10:46-52)

And we see Zacchaeus, unable to see Jesus because of his height, making every effort to see.

Jesus saw and called him too, And when Jesus came to his house, Zacchaeus opened his ears to Jesus’ message of repentance and he too was saved. (Luke 19:1-10)

Jesus has made his visitation, and wants to bring us his salvation and peace. But we can’t know that salvation and peace unless we open our eyes and ears to him.

Even as Christians, it’s possible to be blind. The church at Laodicea was. They were living the “good life.”

But according to Jesus, they were actually “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)

Jesus offered to clothe them with his righteousness and help them to see.

He offers the same to us. He loves us and as with Zacchaeus, he calls us to repent. (Revelation 3:19)

So let us heed his words:

See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Categories
Luke Devotionals

Opening our eyes and ears

Luke

Let anyone who has ears to hear listen. (Luke 8:8)

As I was reading this chapter, I couldn’t help but think of my pastor’s message yesterday talking about spiritual blindness. (Mark 8)

In Matthew’s gospel, he gives the longer quote of Isaiah (10) than Luke does, in which we see these words:

For this people’s heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;

otherwise they might see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and
understand with their hearts,
and turn back—
and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

And I was thinking, are there ways I have allowed my heart to grow callous to God’s word? Are there words that used to touch me, are there words that used to sting me, that do so no longer because I did nothing about them?

Are there any things that have made my ears hard of hearing? Is there any pride dulling my ears because I think I already know it all?

Or is there so much noise coming from other things, Youtube, podcasts, etc., that I can’t hear what God is trying to say to me? 

Are there things that I have shut my eyes to in God’s word? I shut them because I don’t want to see them. I don’t want to see them because it would force me to change how I think or how I act, and I don’t want to change.

Is Jesus pleading with me, “Listen! Open your eyes! I want to heal you. I want to lead you. I have something better for you”?

Lord, by your grace, you have opened my eyes. Don’t let me close them. You’ve opened my ears to hear you. Don’t let me dull them.

You are good. Your word is good. So help me hold fast to it. Even when it’s hard to obey, help me to keep moving forward with you. I want to bear fruit for you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.