“God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” — Hebrews 1:1-2a
Listen and Respond
When I was in the eighth grade, my school invited Phil Judson to be the guest speaker at our annual awards banquet for junior and senior high boys’ sports.
Judson and his twin brother, Paul, were mainstays on the Hebron, Ill., state basketball championship team in 1952, when it was still a one-class system. Hebron is still the smallest school EVER (enrollment 98) in Illinois to win the state title.
Our school had an enrollment of about 100. It had only been eight years since Hebron’s title run, and Phil Judson was still a household name in Illinois. So, when Judson took the podium at our banquet, you could have heard a pin drop. All of us boys, plus the people in the packed audience, were enthralled by what he had to say.
His speech was not eloquent, but effective. During his talk, he said, “Boys, the set shot days are passing. Develop a jump shot.” My cousins and many others began practicing a jump shot the very NEXT DAY! We hung on every word Phil Judson said.
On a spiritual plane, why can’t I be like Martha’s sister, Mary, “who also sat at Jesus feet and heard His word” (Luke 10:39). God Himself speaks to me, through His Word, through circumstances, or through His still small voice in the middle of the night or during the day.
Do you listen when God speaks to you? My prayer for all of us is that we would hang on His every word, and then respond when He speaks.
— Stanley A. Tucker
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