Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 26:17, Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.”
Have you ever had someone call your name and immediately you recognized who was calling you, without turning to see who it was? This happens, especially, with immediate family members and close friends. Saul, in hearing David call out and converse with Abner, immediately recognized David’s voice. I must ask, “Do we recognize our Savior’s voice that readily?” In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” The fact of the matter is that God DOES know each of us; better than we know ourselves. In spite of that, He still loves us and gives us life eternal. Sadly, He makes far more of an effort to have an intimate relationship with us than we do with Him. In order for us to truly recognize when the Lord is speaking to us, we need to spend a lot more time in fellowship with Him than we do. If we skimp on prayer and the study of God’s Word, we will mistake His voice for the many other voices trying to speak to us. We must never forget that the enemy is a copycat. He like to mimic our God and even uses Scripture to try and trip us up. In Matthew 4:1-11, that was exactly what he tried to do when the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tested. If the enemy will try that with Jesus, do we think that he will not do the same with us? Jesus’ defense in the wilderness was to quote the Scripture back to Satan, in its proper context. As born again believers, it is our duty to know the Word of God in its context so that we do not fall for the devils’ trickery. 1 John 4:1-3 reminds us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” If we are to follow the voice of Jesus in our lives, then we must know His truth, for He is Truth. In order for us to recognize whether what we are hearing is God’s true Word or some devil speaking through a false prophet, we need to be diligent in studying the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 the Apostle Paul warned us, “But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” I have often heard something that even I am ashamed to admit I have said as well, “I would spend more time in God’s Word if I had more time.” In reality, if we were to really stop and write down everything we do on a daily basis, I can guarantee you that we waste a lot of precious time doing things that have absolutely no eternal value. The enemy has us so entertained with the things of this world that we have neglected, to our shame, our relationship with the One Person who loves us more than anyone else in this universe. Think about this for a moment. How much time do we waste in front of the television? How much time do we waste on the computer? How much time do we spend on hobbies and other forms of entertainment? How many countless hours are spent on video games and watching movies that often do not honor God in any way? How much more would we grow and learn to recognize Jesus’ voice if we put aside watching a two to three-hour movie and instead chose to spend those two hours reading the Bible, studying it, and praying? What if we put aside our hobbies for a day and instead found some way to go out and tell someone about Jesus or go out and be the vessel God uses to meet someone’s need? Whether we want to admit it or not, we throw away a lot of precious time that can be used to draw near to our Lord and Savior. The best advice we can follow in making the most of this life, and our time with the Lord, is found in Ephesians 5:15-16, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” In other words, walk diligently and make the most of our time, taking it back from all the evil and wasteful activities we have sold our time to. If we expect to become so familiar with the voice of the Lord that we recognize it without hesitation, then we must do all we can to learn what it sounds like by prayerfully spending time with Him and His Word.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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