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WEEKLY DEVOTION

“And the LORD came and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak, for Your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:10 (Read 1 Samuel 3)

Having never heard the LORD God speak to him before, young Samuel did not recognize the voice of the LORD when He called to Him. After calling to Him three times and Samuel going to Eli the priest and thinking that Eli had called him, finally Eli told Samuel: “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if One calls you, you shall say, Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.”

And God did call again saying, “Samuel, Samuel!” And this time, Samuel responded, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” Then God told Samuel what He was about to do to Eli and his house because of the wickedness of his sons serving with him in the priesthood, whom he did not restrain.

Have you considered the fact that God calls to you and speaks to you? Do you, like young Samuel before He recognized that it was the LORD Himself speaking to him, think it is only the voice of man, whether that of a preacher or fellow Christian? Or, do you say, as Eli directed Samuel to say, “Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.”

“When has God spoken to me?” you might ask. “When has He called to me?” God speaks to you and calls you through His Word. Every time His Word is read or proclaimed, He is calling to You and revealing Himself and His will to you. When you read the Scriptures, God Himself speaks to you and His Spirit teaches and instructs you (cf. 1 John 2:27; Hebrews 1:1ff.; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:14).

When God’s Word is read or proclaimed, do you respond, “Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears”? Do you listen to that Word as it is in truth, the very Word of God speaking to you? (Cf. John 5:24-25.)

And what does God say to you and to me? Through His holy law, He points out our sin and wickedness and rebukes us, warning of the consequences of continuing on in our evil ways. And through His Gospel, He calls to us with mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross in our stead. He says, “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation concerning our sins, and not concerning ours only, but also concerning the sins of all the world” (1 John 2:1-2). He tells us that He is “good and ready to forgive, and rich in mercy to all those who call on” Him (Psalm 86:5).

O LORD God, grant that we hear Your voice calling to us in Your Word and repent of our evil ways, trusting in Your grace and mercy toward us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture quoted by permission from Green's Modern King

James Version (MKJV) Copyright 1993 by Jay P. Green Sr., All rights reserved.]

Opinion, Pages 4 on 01/18/2012