Are You Dialing-In?
Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings – they are bombarding and impacting us all day long. We have to filter out so much of what is coming our way, just to survive. When it’s time to listen to people, however, we need to shift gears. We need to switch our emphasis from screening-out to dialing-in.
Active listening is one of the most important skills you will ever develop. It dials-in your attention toward the person speaking. Good listening is a life-long pursuit, and we need to relentlessly give ourselves to it.
Jesus was the best listener that has walked the planet. You can tell by the way asked and answered questions. His questions often were laser-like, honing in on the heart of the matter. Yet, sometimes His answers seemed almost unrelated to the questions that were asked of Him.
At first glance, He might have appeared to be missing the point, or not really listening, or disvaluing the question. But, soon it became apparent that His...
Does Your House Need A Clean Up?
Sometimes the things that seem like they will make our lives easier and more efficient are the very things that can steal our purpose and passion right out from under us.
God’s desire has always been to draw people from all nations into His eternal household. But, “doing church” (or, in this case, "doing temple") got in the way of that purpose in the lives and practice of the people of God. Addressing the people in Jerusalem, Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:17) When the people came to make sacrifices at the temple they had to bring animals, or grain or whatever was needed. This proved to be quite an inconvenience for those who had a long way to travel, so they developed a system of exchange right at the temple. People could simply bring money and “buy” what they needed for...
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