Hearing but Not Listening: One Year Bible Reading for July 3

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

2 Kings 22:3-23:30
Acts 21:37-22:16
Psalm 1:1-6
Proverbs 18:11-12

Let's look at Acts. Paul is telling the story of how he became a Christian. He says that when God appeared to him and asked "Why are you persecuting Me?", the people with him saw the bright light but didn't understand the words. 

Jesus frequently alluded to this when He would say, "Let those who have ears to hear, listen to this." This might sound strange, but look around. Don't you know people who hear the exact same thing you do, either on the news or from other people or online, and don't seem to understand what is clear and plain right in front of them? Some people are hearing but not listening. The cool thing is we can CHOOSE to become people who listen, not just hear.

Ask God to open your ears to hear the truth. And a good way to train your "ear" is to read the Bible. The more time you spend hearing pure truth, like you find in Scripture, the better you'll be able to discern what is true and what is a lie when you hear it elsewhere.

God, thanks for teaching us to listen, not just hear.