Stopping Up Our Ears

I love these people -- and great ear covering!
С Рождеством Христовым!

Scripture:

Luke 3:18   So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, ²⁰ added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

Observation:

John preached, day in and day out, proclaiming good news. Many different people came and heard what he had to say and he was impacting their lives. At the same time, there were those who didn’t want to feel convicted about the way in which they were living their life. This included Herod, because he had taken his brother’s wife as his own. As John preached against immoral behavior, Herod took the indictment personally. He thought the best way to get rid of the preacher was to put him in prison, so he had him locked up! 

Application:

Sometimes we don’t want to hear what the Lord is saying to us. Whether we are reading the word of God, spending time in prayer, or listening to a preacher, there are times when we may begin to feel uncomfortable. We all have to choose how we will respond to the gentle nudging of God’s Holy Spirit. 

One of the easiest ways to deal with conviction is to find distractions so that we don’t have listen or respond. That’s pretty easy to do these days with lots of media and just plain noise. We can have noise going 24-7 and that can keep us from ever needing to be reflective about our own personal lives. We can stop reading the word of God, and no longer spend time in prayer. During this season of COVID, we can easily stop attending church. Who will notice if we stop watching the on-line services? It’s easy to skip out on Zoom small group, and fill our days with — more noise! 

It’s all the noise that is stopping up our ears and keeping us from responding to the Holy Spirit. We have the choice to open ourselves up to the work of God, or to intentionally shut the Lord down. What will it take for us to listen and respond?

Prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart today,
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;
Send a revival, start the work in me;
Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;
For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

Amen. 

—Search Me, O God, by James Orr, 1936