40 Day Journey - Day 30

April 10
Fast Disregarding  
 
Mark 4:24,25 (NLT)
"And be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand-and even more besides. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them."

        In everyday life we have a tendency to pay closer attention to those things that will be of the greatest benefit to our welfare. From earning money to obtaining better health we seem to listen closely if it will help us. Jesus challenged us to apply the same principle to His teachings. Jesus assures us that if we hunger for, or pay great attention, to his words we will acquire greater understanding - and even more (in other words - more than we ever expected to know). How is this? To follow the teachings of Jesus is to open your mind to the Holy Spirit's direction. The Holy Spirit flows through the truths found in God's Word. The more I hunger for understanding the more I will receive.
        Today our culture is overly blessed with information. When making a decision about a purchase or when inquiring about a health issue I can go online and find more information than I need to make an informed decision.
        The same is true in my spiritual journey - I find that through uncertain times I can turn to many sources for direction. During uncertain times I can turn to the Bible, my church family, prayer, evangelists, pastors and teachers, I can listen to a message someone has preached or read from my Bible app on my Phone- all in my search for greater understanding.
        Through this process of seeking after divine understanding I also will gain godly knowledge and of course....greater favor with God. Let us not just speak of our closeness with God let us live it out by following after His Word. To those that know what is right, and live it out, greater knowledge and understanding will come to them. And the more we know the more pleasing our lives will be to our Heavenly Father as we walk according to His purpose. As we walk according to The Father's purpose the greater His favor will flow into our lives. Live it loud - be a follower not just a listener.
 
Matthew 7:24,25
 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Disregarding: to fail to give proper attention to
 
Fast disregarding today; by focusing on Jesus teachings and applying them.