Seeds of the Kingdom 13 December 2021 Daily Devotional | Ellel Ministries International
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Topic: Hear
Scripture: He [one of the teachers of the law] asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” – Mark 12:28-29, NIV
Seeds of the Kingdom 13 December 2021 Daily Devotional Message
At a recent Communion service at Pierrepont,, the preacher was asking us what Jesus’ response was when asked about the most important commandment. Most people think that it is to love the Lord our God, which is what Jesus goes on to say, but in Mark’s gospel it is not the first thing that Jesus tells us in response to this question. The first words he speaks are: ‘Hear, O Israel.’
I had not noticed this before, and it made me think again about the importance of listening to God. So many times, when Jesus was teaching, He said: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ He was clearly not talking about the ability to hear physically, but rather about spiritual ears. How clearly do we hear the Lord? How often do we take time to listen to Him?
In today’s verse, Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which is known by Jews as the Shema. This is the Hebrew word for ‘Hear’ and is used regularly as a prayer. However, I understand that ‘shema’ means not only to hear, but to hear and respond, to hear and do.
The late Jim Graham often used to challenge his listeners by asking when was the last time they had heard the Lord speaking to them? He would then ask what the Lord had said to them on that occasion, and whether they had acted on what He had said to them. He was making the point that, if we had not acted on what we had heard the last time, we might not hear as clearly from the Lord again until we had.
There may be times when, because of our carnal nature, we don’t like what God is showing us or what He is asking us to do. In those cases, we may, consciously or subconsciously, prefer to ignore His voice. This may result in a hardening of our hearts towards Him, after which it becomes more difficult for us to hear Him the next time. Hebrews 3:7-8 says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’
When was the last time you heard God speaking to you? What did He say to you then? Have you acted on what He said? Let’s be people who have ears to hear, and who respond by doing what we are asked to do.
Prayer: Lord, please give me ears to hear what You are saying to me and help me to respond in obedience to what You say. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Today’s Writer: Jilly Lyon-Taylor. Jilly Lyon Taylor has been involved with Ellel Ministries since 2001. Her early career was in publishing, and she then spent three years working with children in Hong Kong. When she returned to the UK, she married, had three sons and spent the next years being a full-time wife and mother, at the same time serving in the local church with her husband. She was involved in running Alpha courses, children’s programmes and Bible study groups. During this time, she began to see how many people were being held back in their Christian lives because of issues in their past. A desire to see people healed and set free led her to undertake the NETS training at Pierrepont in 2001. Following this, she joined the ministry team at Pierrepont and began to teach on courses. She was asked to join the leadership team in 2004. She has since had the privilege of teaching with Ellel in many different countries.
She was widowed in 2017, but continues to live locally to Pierrepont. Her sons are all married and she has eight grandchildren.