“Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm (נָצַב: perfectly appointed) in the heavens.” (Psa. 119:89) The Lord is so concerned about us knowing just WHO HE IS and WHAT HE EXPECTS of us that He perfectly appoints His word to us! His word is chosen and selected for us!
Jesus said, “Pay CLOSE ATTENTION to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding YOU WILL BE GIVEN—and you will receive even more.” (Mark 4:24) What Jesus is saying, is that there is a relationship between the effort we put in and the understanding we receive from God. To say it another way, the amount of careful listening we put in, equals the amount of understanding we will get. The more reading, seeking, puzzling, discerning, the more understanding we receive. And likewise, the less of these things we do, the less understanding we receive. Again – WE GET WHAT WE GIVE.
Jesus said something we may consider a difficult saying, “Whoever has will be GIVEN MORE; whoever does not have, even what they have will be TAKEN from them.” (Mark 4:25) David says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psa. 119:103) and your Word is “…more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.” (Psa. 19:10) Here is how this works, God’s Word is so extremely wonderful that if we pursue it we’ll keep GETTING MORE. If we reject it what we have will be TAKEN AWAY and given to someone who will cherish it.
-Bill Stockham