From time to time I like to share some insight I gather from my devotion time. This year I am reading the Bible through the Message Bible. I am taking it slow so I am only in Leviticus now. But I am also going through My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

I am reading the The Message because I have never entirely read this paraphrase and it has certainly caused a stir among some conservative Christians so I thought I would see what all the fuss is about and also get a different perspective on scripture. This seems to help me; to read the Bible in a different translation.

The reason I am reading My Utmost is because I attended Jerry Falwell's funeral last year and his son made reference to the fact that Dr. Falwell went through this devotion every year and that one of his most treasured possessions was a marked up copy of this devotion by his dad.

Today's devotion is about listening to God.

Several things caught my attention.

First, I often don't hear God because I am not intentionally listening for Him.

I thus disobey Him and disrespect Him simply by not listening.

"Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus, I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us."-MUHH

Secondly, through my identification with Christ (Galatians 2:20) I know that God hears me and that I can hear Him if I only listen.

"The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me . If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing."-MUHH

Finally, God can speak to me in many different ways if I will only listen.

If you would like to read the entire devotion follow this link LISTEN