Make It Stick

And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Mark 4:9

There are times when I am at work and there is a need for a repair, to restore something that has been broken or even just a fresh coat of paint. There aren’t too many things that you would apply to a surface that wouldn’t strongly recommend that you first prepare the area. You might read, “Be sure that the surface is clean and dry, that there are no foreign objects or loose materials that would hinder the application”.

The same thing with us, I believe the Bible teaches us to be prepared ourselves when we come before the Lord. Too many times I’ve missed a message or have struggled through an event because the surface of my heart was not prepared. I’m either preoccupied or I’m not hearing because there is something that’s speaking loader in my head that’s got my attention.

Have you ever spoke to someone who’s not listening? You can tell that everything you say is not being received. It’s usually because there is something else on their mind. Do you see yourself in communion with God when you’re reading His word or at a service or Bible study? I believe God wants our full attention when we are coming before Him.

The Parable of the sower and the seed is a good illustration of preparing our hearts. I love the picture of “the good soil”, It’s been tilled and weeded and can now receive the Word. Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that  “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”, but previously he tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”. Fear and trembling? I know if God were to ask me in a “Dad” kind of voice, “Are you listening to Me?” I’d be trembling.

Paul goes on to say, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life”.

For a list of preparation instructions go to Colossians chapter 3 for the “put-offs and put-ons”. Don’t be like a process that, although looks good on the outside, will shortly come apart because the surface of your heart was not prepared. – Rob Russomano loves God and loves ministering to the men of the Colony of Mercy. He serves full-time at America’s Keswick and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 22-24

Think About This: God never sent a messenger with an empty envelope. Joel Horne

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Galatians 5:16-17 NKJV

.