Faithbase

Prayer day four. Start with prayer. Dear God, please help me to hear you and understand your message for me. Amen. The beans, or the background. Jesus was gaining a pretty big following as we arrive at today's verse, but as you can imagine, or maybe have experienced yourself with followers, also comes naysayers. People were skeptical of Jesus and his teachings, and not only questioned him, but also asked for signs as proof for what he was sharing, which is the scene played out as we arrive at today's verse. The verse, Luke chapter 11 verses 27 and 28. As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, blessed is the mother who gave birth to you and nursed you. He replied, blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. The fill. What's the point? Throughout Jesus's ministry, we read of stories of Pharisees and other religious leaders trying to squash the message of hope that Jesus was bringing. They try to contradict what he says and use his words against him. Many others, however, knew and believed that Jesus was speaking the truth and clung to the words that he shared. The woman in today's story is just such a person. She clearly was encouraged by Jesus and believed wholeheartedly in his teachings, and because of her belief and her desire to understand, Jesus was able to take things a step further for her. He says, if you truly believe the things I'm sharing, then obey them. Put it into practice in your own life. Don't just say you believe, but live out your faith. Hearing the Word of God is in fact a blessing, but the even bigger blessings flow in our lives when we start to practice what we learned. The steam. What does this mean to me and how can I apply it to my life Here's where the rubber meets the road, friends. If we want to experience true blessing, I mean blessings beyond what we've ever perceived possible before. We have to do what we've never done. We learn about how God offers forgiveness, and receiving his forgiveness is easy to practice, but we need to practice forgiving others to fully receive all of his blessings that await. We learn about how God offers peace, and receiving peace is easy to practice, but we need to also practice a peaceful existence. This means practicing listening before speaking or lashing out to fully reap all of the blessings that await. We learn about how God calls us to walk away from sinful habits, so we need to actually walk away from those sinful habits. No more gossiping, no more lying or manipulating, avoiding things or situations that cause you to be jealous or angry. Then we can fully receive all of the blessings that await. When you think about it, those big things you pray for, they often come with instructions, but the question becomes whether we fully obey or not. You may be praying over a struggling marriage or tension in a relationship, but when God nudges at your heart that you also need to take a look in the mirror and own your part of the problem, well that might be a harder pill to swallow. You may be praying over a desire in your heart to find a spouse or new friendships, but when God nudges at your heart to re-examine where it is you're looking for those people, well that's not so fun to do. The biggest blessings often come at the greatest price, and while certain things may seem really hard, impossible even at the beginning, Jesus promises that true blessing awaits on the other side, and he also promises to help you along the way. All you have to do is simply obey.