Mark 4:23-25 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And He said to them, Take heed what you hear. With that measure which you measure, it shall be measured to you. And to you who hear, more shall be given. 25 For he who has, more shall be given to him; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.
The Shema is recited every Shabbat in Israel and throughout the world: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” The emphasis is on hearing—not just with our ears but our hearts. That same emphasis runs through the Gospels, where Yeshua (Jesus) repeatedly says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This isn’t just a phrase; it’s a life-changing command.
In Mark 4:23-25, Yeshua challenges us to heed how we hear. He’s teaching that how we listen to His voice determines how much we receive from Him. When we truly hear what the Spirit is saying, not just with our ears but with faith and obedience, the Word comes alive. And here’s the promise: the more we listen and respond, the more He’ll pour into our lives.
That’s why I always begin my messages with a prayer for listening ears—because hearing isn’t automatic. It takes an open heart and a willingness to let the Spirit work. When we hear His Word with that kind of readiness, the message doesn’t just land—it multiplies! It bears fruit in ways we can’t even imagine.
But here’s the warning: if we ignore His voice or fail to act on it, even what we think we have can slip away. It’s not enough to hear; we must also do. Faithful hearing leads to faithful action, and that’s where the blessing is. When we heed what we hear, we’re not just enriched—we’re transformed. We go from spiritually rich to spiritually richer.
So today, let’s ask ourselves: Are we truly hearing Him? Are we listening with hearts ready to obey? Because when we do, His blessings don’t just add up—they multiply!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This pivotal passage of scripture, Isaiah 52 and continuing into Isaiah 53, profiles a suffering servant whom the nation of Israel would not recognize. The spiritual leaders of Yeshua’s (Jesus) day were blinded to the messianic passages which pointed to the messiah’s role as a humble servant and bearer of sins.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.
For the past two weeks we’ve been building life lessons derived from the Exodus wanderings and from Paul’s exhortations to the church in Corinth. Notice carefully that Paul says, “these were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come”…
…that is, written for us today! – admonitions from Paul to learn lessons from the history of the children of Israel.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth about grumbling and complaining. He reminds the believers of the judgments that befell the 10 spies who brought a bad report of the land – and were struck down by a plague, and terrible fate of Korah and those aligned with him that came against Moses and Aaron and were swallowed up by the ground under them.