August 11, 2023
Passage Read: John 9-10
Meditation Verses: 10:25-26
Thought
Jesus' miracles were enough to convince anyone to believe that He was the Son of God and the Messiah. They should have been enough to convince anyone. But not everyone has been chosen to believe, not everyone is a sheep of God's choosing. Those who have not been given to Jesus cannot believe, and even some who claim to believe are not His sheep. His sheep listen to His voice, they do what He says. And they are not put off by anything He says. Those who claim to believe in Him but don't listen to His voice will be like the five foolish virgins, who miss Jesus' coming and cannot get Him to open the door for them because He never knew them.
Application
Those who hear of Jesus' power and glory while on this earth and refuse to believe are not chosen. They still need a testimony and a plea to believe. Those who claim to believe but don't listen to God's Word are also not chosen. They need urging to believe such that they obey His voice. Those who claim to believe and listen to His voice are chosen, no doubt about it. But they still need encouragement to "do still more." And of course, encouragement to endure trial. Trials will come to sift the second group from the third. How I respond to trials and Jesus' word reveal which group I belong to, and I want to belong to the chosen group.