"Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don't listen because you don't belong to God" - Jesus (John 8:17 - New Living Translation).

A guy I'll call "Bob", who works out at the same fitness center I do, is constantly trying to pick a quarrel with me about the Bible. The last time I saw him he approached me with a devilish grin and he said, "The Bible says Jesus went up to heaven in a cloud, but how do we know it wasn't a spaceship?"  A little tired of his quarrelsome ways, I answered, "OK, it was a spaceship. Now, is Jesus Lord of your life?" He didn't know what to say.

Sadly, but clearly, Bob does not belong to God because all he ever wants to do is argue with God's Word. And Jesus says that people who belong to God don't do that. Instead, they GLADLY listen to God's Word. They EAGERLY and WILLINGLY embrace it. What's more, they respect and honor and revere it - and seek to obey it.

But people who mock or shun or disdain or ignore the Bible to invent their own religious beliefs are NOT Christians. They do NOT belong to God, no matter how much they assert that they do. That's what Jesus said.

Do you gladly listen to the Bible (God's Word)? Do you belong to God? I hope so.