To follow Jesus calls for developing listening skills. Listening is based in having a relationship with Jesus and calls for spiritual exercises such as sabbath rest, solitude, and silence. Listening also involves discerning the important--the revelations of God in His Word--from the urgent--the demands of daily life that demand our attention. The important requires a choice and priorities that silence the urgent. We also need to discern between sacrament--what God does for us-- and sacrifice--what we do in response to God. if these are confused, as they were for the people Jesus was talking to in John 10, listening cannot take place. Listening and following is the way that Jesus brings us to the narrow road of salvation and life found only in and through Him.

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These passages all speak about being commissioned by God to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life that comes by faith in Him. To fulfill our commission, we need to live a life of obedience to God's call as the expression of our love for God who first loved us. God is always initiating relationship with us and empowering us to respond in obedience. May this message be a blessing in your life this week.

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In 1 Corinthians 15:19 the Holy Spirit teaches us that hope that is only focused on achievements in this world is a hope that is to be pitied. Why? Because this kind of hope will always be less fulfilling than we want it to be. There is only one hope that lasts and that is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He brings to us the God of Hope. As you listen to this message, let the God of hope fill you with hope.

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