Matthew 13:12 (NLT) To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

Jesus spent three and a half years teaching the disciples and whoever would listen about the Kingdom of God. His preaching was unlike anyone had ever heard before. His most famous teaching, known as the Sermon on the Mount, contains truths that were totally foreign to the people who heard it for the first time. No one had ever thought of the incredibly high standards of the holy God that they purportedly knew. As it turned out, not many knew Him at all as they even wound up rejecting the Messiah whose coming was prophesied and for whom they had been waiting for hundreds of years. They not only rejected Him, but they also rejected His teaching. Jesus once taught that whoever heard his words and didn't put them into practice was like a man who built his house on sand. When the rain came down raising the streams and when the winds blew, the house fell with a mighty crash (Matthew 7:26-27). In the verse above, Jesus is giving another truth that happens when His words are not obeyed and applied.

Many Christians lament the fact that they don't understand the scriptures or that they get bored trying to read the Bible. That's because ultimately, they don't have a hunger for more of God in their lives. They do not live their lives in submission to what Jesus taught, living instead according to their own human wisdom. This is a very dangerous road that leads to regrets, pain and sorrow. It's not only dangerous because it is the path away from the road to eternal life, but also because when you don't live the Word of God, you begin to lose it. In other words, the little that you did know becomes null and void in your life. On the other hand, when you hunger after Jesus, obeying His word as the Holy Spirit enables you, you begin to better retain and understand God's Word to the point that it revolutionizes your life. The more you obey, the more you learn and the more is revealed to you, making you a valuable tool in God's hands to spread the Good News of the Gospel to everyone around you.

Don't lose out on knowing more about the Kingdom of God, which is the only kingdom that is going to remain at the end of time. The understanding that you will acquire will carry you safely through your journey of life and will help you lead the way for those that are lost and need help from someone who knows the road that leads to life. Listen to the words of Jesus and you will gain more and more understanding along your way.

Pastor Joey Vazquez