Two Kinds of Hearing

There are TWO KINDS OF HEARING—hearing with your ears and hearing with your heart. Everyone has TWO KINDS OF EARS—physical ears on your head (“ears”) and spiritual ears on your heart (“ears to hear”). Jesus said, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23). The people listening to Him teach could hear His words with their ears, but not everyone could hear with their spiritual ears. Jesus explained, “While hearing (with their ears), they do not hear (with their hearts)” (Matt. 13:13). They heard God’s Word but they never changed because it never went deeper and pierced their hearts.

Some people say, “I’ve never heard God speaking to me.” You assumed He would speak in an audible voice to your ears, but He usually speaks with thoughts and impressions on your heart. “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:7).

WHY CAN’T PEOPLE HEAR WITH THEIR HEARTS?

1. Your heart is closed. Jeremiah said, “Their ears are closed, and they cannot listen” (6:10). You can turn off your phone if you don’t want to be bothered. Someone may be trying to contact you to give you an urgent message, but you cannot hear it because you chose to turn it off. God wants to speak to you, but your heart must be open and you’re willing to hear what He has to say.

2. Something is blocking your ability to hear. A man said to his friend, “You’ve got a carrot in your ear.” His friend said, “What?” The man yelled, “You’ve got a carrot in your ear!” The friend said, “I can’t hear you. I’ve got a carrot in my ear!”

Some people cannot hear God because something is blocking their hearing. God says, “You’ve got unforgiveness in your heart.” You say, “What?” He says, “You’ve got unforgiveness in your heart.” You say, “I can’t hear you. I’ve got unforgiveness in my heart.” But if you will forgive, it will remove the blockage that’s keep you from hearing.

If you will open your heart and remove the blockages, you will be amazed at how God will speak to your heart because you now have “ears to hear.”

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

The Day You Stand Before God

Did you know that you are mentioned in the Bible? Can you find yourself in these Scriptures? “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…so then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:10,12). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). “I also saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne…and the dead were judged according to their works” (Rev. 20:12). You are reading about yourself in the Bible.

After we die, each one of us will stand before God to give an account for our lives. If your sins have been forgiven, it will be the most joyful day you will ever experience (Psalm 16:11). But if your sins haven’t been forgiven, it will be the most terrifying day (Heb. 10:31). The good news is it’s not too late for you to have all your sins forgiven.

THIS WILL BE A JOYFUL DAY if you are saved by God’s grace. When you call out to Jesus to save you from your sins, He will forgive you by His grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Because Jesus is your Lord, you can stand before God with confidence on that day (1 John 4:17).

JUDGED ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS? Our “works” are every thought, word, and deed that we will ever do in this life. Works have nothing to do with salvation. However, God will examine everything that you’ve done AFTER you are saved to determine your heavenly rewards. Your faithfulness in serving the Lord in this life will determine what you will be doing in heaven forever (Matt. 25:22-23). You can read more about how your life on earth will determine your life in heaven in my book Making Today Count for Eternity.

If you reject salvation through Jesus before dying, the Bible teaches you will be judged for each sin, which will determine your punishment forever (Rev. 20:12). This will be a terrifying day to stand before God. But remember, that day hasn’t yet come, and it’s not too late to change your eternal destiny. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

NEW BIBLE STUDY:  People came out of the tombs after Jesus died?

FACTS ABOUT HUMMINGBIRDS: Why hummingbirds could not have evolved.

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

Fishing Lessons

In July 2008, Bob Greene (picture on left) literally went fishing to catch a man. Bob was having his morning coffee when he heard someone calling for help. The cry of distress came from a man drowning in the Kennebec River. Greene grabbed his fishing pole, cast out a line, and snagged the man's shirt with a fishing lure.  He reeled him safely to shore, where the rescued man was taken to a Portland hospital.

Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19).  If you aren't fishing, you aren't following.  Here are four things to remember when "fishing for men."

1. Be sensitive enough to hear the cry of people who need to be saved.  If Greene had ignored the voice he heard, the man would have drowned. Some people are depressed or they're going through a difficult time, which can be a cry of desperation.

2. Throw out a line. Put down your coffee cup, or whatever else that has your attention, and make an effort to reach the person in need. Explain the gospel in a way he or she can understand it. Here is an example of what to say.

3. Reel in the fish. Don’t leave the person dangling and wondering how to be saved. Lead him or her in prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

4. Provide proper follow-up. Bob Greene didn’t leave the rescued man on the shore, but checked him into a hospital. Help the saved person get involved in a Bible study and Christian fellowship.

Surely you know people who need to be saved. Don't let 'em get away. 
Listen to Song of the Month "You're Beautiful" sung by Paul & Bethany Baskin

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

Wrongly Believing in the Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most significant event in human history. You might think that His birth was the most important thing to have ever happened, or maybe it was His death. But if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead, it would have cancelled out His birth and His crucifixion. The apostle Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:17). Paul had seen Jesus in His resurrected body, and was pointing out the importance of believing that He arose (1 Cor. 15:8).

What do you really believe about the resurrection of Jesus? The Scriptures make it clear that you must “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” for you to be saved (Romans 10:9). However, there are two ways to wrongly believe in the resurrection.

1. Wrongly believing Jesus was raised spiritually, but not physically.  This belief actually denies the resurrection. The Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly believe Jesus became a spirit and not in a physical body. However, Jesus confirmed that it was His physical body, “See My hands and My feet…for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). He had His same body, but it had undergone a miraculous change.

2. Wrongly believing in His resurrection with your head, but not your heart. Roman 10:9 says you must “believe in your heart.” Some people will mentally acknowledge the fact of His resurrection, but this isn’t real faith. When you truly believe in your heart, it will radically change your life. You realize that His resurrection validates everything that Jesus taught about Himself, the afterlife, and the importance of following Him as your Lord.

So then, do you believe in your heart that Jesus was raised in His body? If so, it’s extremely important for you to tell others about the most important event in history. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

How Does Jesus' Blood Cleanse Us?

The Bible tells us that only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from sin, but how does this happen? Two realms exist—the natural (physical) realm and the spiritual realm. Jesus shed His blood on the cross in the natural realm, but His blood also has a tangible element in the spiritual realm that exists for all eternity.

JESUS TOOK HIS BLOOD INTO HEAVEN AFTER HE DIED. In the Old Testament, the high priest sprinkled the blood of a goat on the mercy seat in the temple to cover for the sins of Israel for one year. They followed this ritual for centuries, which taught the people what Jesus would do with His blood after He died.

On the cross, “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit, and behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom (Matt. 27:50-51). Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us Jesus entered into heaven with His own blood to obtain eternal redemption. I believe that in His Spirit Jesus took His blood to heaven and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat in Holy Place in heaven.

This explains why the veil in the earthly temple was torn in two from top to bottom (heaven to earth). At the moment Jesus made atonement in heaven, God split the veil apart to show that He had opened the way to heaven for us. This happened immediately after He died, not when He later ascended into heaven in His resurrected body.

HOW HIS BLOOD CLEANSES US. Although Jesus made it possible for all to be saved, it is up to each person to receive salvation. Jesus came to “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). A sin is any unholy thought, word or deed. No one has ever seen a sin because it exists in the spiritual realm. In the natural realm, we understand sins only as actions, but apparently each sin also has a tangible element in the spiritual realm. You must be cleansed from all sins on your soul before you can enter into heaven after you die.

When you call out to Jesus to be saved, His blood is applied to your sins (even the worst sin imaginable), which completely cleanses your soul. Just as soap is more powerful than dirt, His blood is more powerful than your sins. He has “released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5). 1 John 1:7 says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Therefore, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 10:15). And this is why Jesus came to earth—so you can spend eternity with Him in heaven. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

Asking God for a Sign

Have you ever asked for “a sign” from God? A sign means to ask the Lord to do something in an unusual way to confirm His will. Moses, Hezekiah, Gideon, and others received miraculous signs from God. A sign can be as simple as a door of opportunity opening or closing, or as complex as a set of circumstances miraculously coming together. No sign by itself should be taken as proof of His confirmation, but should always be affirmed through God’s Word.

In Judges 6, an angel told Gideon that the Lord had chosen him to lead Israel to defeat the Midianites. Gideon asked for a sign to prove he would be victorious. He placed a fleece of wool on the ground and asked the Lord to send dew on the fleece, but let the ground around it remain dry. The next morning, the fleece was wet and the ground dry. Then Gideon asked for another sign—to make the fleece dry and the ground wet. The Lord fulfilled both signs.

Although it's reassuring to have confirmations, signs are often followed by a severe testing of faith. Gideon had to fight the Midianites with his army reduced to 300 men. If you ask God for a sign, be prepared to have your faith tested. Beware of 3 dangers.   

1. The danger of becoming sign-dependent. Some people think they should ask God for a sign about every decision they need to make. This is dangerous because they’ll always need to see proof before they will trust God. Some religious leaders told Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You” (Matt. 12:38-39). He had already performed miracles before their own eyes, which they had refused to believe. If they wouldn’t repent after seeing indisputable proof that He was the Messiah, why should Jesus give them another sign?

2. The danger of seeing a sign that is not a sign. Some people interpret everything as a sign from God. While watching a movie, they will hear an actor quote a line and believe that it is a message to them from the Lord. Although God can speak to you in any way He desires, don’t assume that everything you see or hear is a sign.

3. The danger of misinterpreting a sign. A farmer saw “G P” written in the clouds, which he interpreted to leave the farm and “Go preach.” After he preached his first sermon, the congregation told him the sign was actually telling him to “Go plow.” When God gives a sign, the message will be clear.  ...to read more click “Asking God for a Sign”

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett

When Something Smells Fishy

A television news report explained how fish are inspected. The most precise way to inspect fish is with a trained human nose. The fish inspector smells each part of the fish, trying to detect unusual odors. When something smells fishy, it indicates one part of the fish may be bad.

Discernment tells you when something smells fishy. It enables you to distinguish right from wrong, or when someone has hidden motives to entrap you. It keeps you out of trouble. Many people would not be in the mess they’re in right now if they had just used some discernment!

THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE: A critical person only looks for what’s wrong—and cannot see the blessings of what’s good in a situation. A naïve person cannot see the warning flag if something is harmful—and is easy prey to be deceived. But a discerning person has learned how to sort out the bad from the good, and error from truth—and won’t be fooled.

RECEIVING DISCERNMENT: First, study the Bible because it will reveal truth (John 17:17). Second, ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you in all truth (John 16:13). God’s Spirit will usually upset the peace inside you when something is wrong.

USING DISCERNMENT: Have an open mind to receive truth, but keep your spiritual antenna up to reject error. An open mind is like an open window. It needs a screen on it to keep the bugs out. 1 Thess. 5:21 says, "Examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good." Just because you don’t agree with every little thing your pastor teaches does it mean you should quit the church. Eat the meat and spit out the bones. But it you’re spitting out more bones than receiving meat, it’s time to change restaurants.

Don’t tell your secrets to an untrustworthy person. David made this mistake. He said, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul,” which resulted in the priests being put to death (1 Samuel 22:22, 1 Sam. 21:7, 22:9,18).

Don't be so quick to believe gossip about others because exaggerations and lies are usually mixed into the message. Don't believe every thought that pops into your mind because the evil one can plant thoughts too. You’ll stay out of trouble and enjoy your life by using discernment. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net Twitter:  @KentCrockett