Hanging On His Word

"Every day He was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill Him. (48) Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on His words." Luke 19: 47-48 I can picture the verses above in my mind. I can see the see the chief priests dressed in robes of the finest linen. The robes would have been vibrant in color, such as deep blue, violet, and scarlet. In between these colors were woven specks of gold. These colors represented the sanctuary. Upon the chief priests' head were plates of crowns of pure gold with the inscription, "Holy to Yahweh!" The well dressed men were important figures in the crowd... but not that day. The attention was on another man. The man that held their attention; the man who was simply dressed and no doubt looked tired and dusty from travel. This man called Jesus. I can see the crowd pressing into Jesus trying to be as close to him as they could. The men and women and children longed to hear what He was saying. The chief priests and the 'teachers of the law' perhaps stood from afar with their arms crossed and their temples empty. They plotted to kill Him. But as they came close to Jesus, the crowd pushed them away because they wanted to hear every word that Jesus said. Haven't we, as a nation, tried to 'kill' this man called Jesus? Hasn't he been removed from our schools? Hasn't He been excluded Him from many American homes? He has been told that He is not welcome in many marriages. We have even pushed Him away from His own house-the church. Many churches are facing spiritual death because they refuse to believe that His word is real and true. Why have we (as a nation) done this? I believe the answer is that we refuse to 'hang on His word.' We have become a self-help nation. We are running to find the latest self-help book or will tune into the daily talk show to seek advice to find healing for our broken hearts and broken homes. At times, I am guilty of calling a friend before I will tell my Lord that I am sad or anxious. We read a verses like Luke 19:47-48 in the Bible and think how 'hypocritical' it was for the Chief Priests to want to rid the world of Jesus because they simply did not believe He was who He said He was. I cry tonight because it's 2008 and we still are a nation who doesn't fully accept this man for who He is. I can't bear the thought that His very own people, me, doubt Him daily. Perhaps you are having difficulty in your life and your heart is breaking. Perhaps you long for peace, hope, and a promise that in the end, you will be loved. I write this post tonight to let you know that if you begin to believe in the word of God, He will make your burden light. My Bible is so very special to me. I know that what ever happens in my life, God will speak through His word. The question is, "Do I hang on every word?" Hang, used in this sentence, means 'to give complete attention'. How often do I fail to give God and His word my complete attention. Will God's people rise up to give Him our complete attention? Will we be radiant beams of light reflecting who He is to others? I pray we do... Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, I am so sorry that I have taken you for granted. Forgive me for not totally giving you complete control over every area of my life. Help me to look to your holy word and be so captivated by it that I can't begin or end my day without it. Help me to live it out loud...