Jesus Was A Listener

Scripture

The Lord God has spoken to me, and I have listened; I do not rebel nor turn away.

~Isaiah 50:5, TLB

Quote

“Only the one who listens well is worth listening to.”

~Timothy Keller

Jesus was a perfect listener. His ear was tuned to the Father and thus Jesus spoke truth to us. Even Solomon links listening with credibility in Proverbs 21:28,
A false witness will perish, but a careful listener will testify successfully. We are all prone to justify our faults which makes us gullible at times; we had rather listen to some one flatter us as to tell us the truth. Our pride makes us easy targets for those who want to deceive us. The easiest person to deceive is the one who thinks he is clever.

Before Jesus spoke, He listened. Before He performed miracles, He listened. Before He made big decisions, He listened. A part of our growth and maturity comes from making ourselves accountable to others but there are some things I do not need to ask a friend about: really there is no need of putting them on the spot–I know I talk too much and I am not a good listener. I have never been a good listener. The Israelites were terrible listeners and it got them into a lot of trouble. I am afraid, I share in their faults. I took SEVEN HABITS and one of the habits is to become an effective listener. Even after acknowledging the lack of listening skills and putting forth an effort to improve, I had problems. Listening is not easy but it is needed.

When I came to Danville 41 years ago, Hugh told me about two brothers. He said, “You will rarely see them together because both of them love to talk and neither will listen to the other.” It is not rare, there are husbands who will not listen to their wives; fathers who will not listen to their children, etc. Do you know one person who is a great listener? We could probably all improve in this area: I know I could.

Read Isaiah 50 in the LIVING BIBLE: think of Jesus as you read– it will bless your heart.

Most of you would like MAYBERRY {Mount Airy, NC}. It is not going to look like the set you see on TV so don’t expect it to look the same but you will love the down town area, what they call main street which is known as Mayberry. The shop keepers are friendly and you can wear your TRUMP paraphernalia without fear of persecution. They are as pro-Trump as Lynchburg, Tn. If you are a TRUMP hater, you don’t want to go to Mayberry. June actually loved the shopping there more than she does Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg.

Let me tell you how not to go if you are 70 plus. Our GPS carried us up I-81 to Bristol, this is the way to go. Tennessee and NC are like being in Alabama: some places wanted you to wear mask but most didn’t care. I think I wore mine two or three times on the entire trip. We didn’t stop in Virginia but it may not be as Trump friendly as the deep South. The highway patrols in Virginia were very aggressive and fines are $500 but I-81 is straight and I-40 is a nightmare going over the mountain. I’ve done it twice in the last three yeas and I am finished. You can go to Mount Airy by Interstate from Hartselle to the edge of town. Mount Airy is a fair sized town and they have motel accommodations. They have a Hampton’s Inn. Avoid Fairfield Inns, it is $180 per night.

The Smokies were covered up. I have never seen so many cars. The shops and the shows are not where they are going but the nature trails are covered up; I have never seen anything like it. The one trail my bunch walked a couple of years ago, usually has 50 or so cars in the parking lot, yesterday their were hundreds. All the way to Cade’s Cove, there were cars parked on the side of the roads. We had to wait in line at the filling station: people and cars everywhere. If I were you, I would wait for school to start before going there. The line of cars going up to Clingman’s Dome looked like a funeral procession, a long one. I seen lines of 10-15 cars but we are talking 35-40. I have been there many times in all seasons and I never seen anything like it.

June and I had been trying to do a short get-a-way for some time and nothing had worked out. We actually changed our plans on Monday morning and left Monday evening. Unfortunately, I forget Mr. Ed Zirbel’s COLS. I sent my apologies through Tim. Mr. Ed died from the Covid-19 regulations. He was doing fine until they isolated him from family and friends. He lost 50 pounds in these past four months and his will to live. How many deaths has the abominable policies of the health department caused. God knows! It is time to end this charade, let family be with loved ones. No one should die alone.

Will the libs ever admit what they have done and why they did it? NO! They lack the courage and integrity to confess the truth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *