2 ears - 1 mouth = L I S T E N! pROVERBS 12:15 - 21:11

Good morning everyone! God is good all the time, all the time God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!

Have you ever just been slapped? No, not physically, but spiritually. Wow, yesterday evening I was slapped, turned the other cheek and slapped again. Sometimes it is as obvious as the nose on your face yet we fail to see. Yesterday while at my job I listened to people and what they were saying, then I opened the book I am reading "A year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer" and there it was again. L I S T E N ! !

Proverbs 12:15 "Fools think their own way if right, but the wise listen to others."
Proverbs 21:11 "If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise; if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser."
It is usually better to learn from the mistakes of others than from our own. We can do this by observing other people's lives and listening to their advice.
Listen, observe, learn! Now this is rather long and it comes from Bonhoeffer's daily meditations. Please endure, open you heart, your mind and L I S T E N !
from Life Together 98: Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them. God's love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God's Word, but also lends us God's ear. We do God's work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them.
So often Christians especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to "offer" something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.
Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening. But Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God.
The death of the spiritual life starts here, and in the end there is nothing left but empty spiritual chatter and clerical condescension which chokes on pious words. Those who cannot listen long and patiently will always be talking past others, and finally no longer will even notice it. Those who think their time is too precious to spend listening will never really have time for God and others, but only for themselves and for their own words and plans.
We all know "be silent and know that I am." May these words, indeed, touch you as much as they did me. Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny