A Vessel and a Voice for God

I’m speaking at a weekend retreat starting today, but a scratchy throat makes me mindful of what it means to be a vessel. I’m thinking about the difference between the word, the voice and the message-giver.

Many years ago when we lived in the tribe, my favorite ram on Voice of America was called, Words and Their Meanings. I love to pay attention to the fine shades and contrasts in Biblical word studies and it always opens up deeper understanding of what God is saying. For example, John’s gospel starts off talking about the Word that was with God and IS GOD. The Word is Jesus Christ, the express image of the Godhead bodily. Have you ever really thought about why?

Words are a manifestation of what’s inside you, what you think and feel and want to communicate. They are the MESSAGE of your heart and they display your nature and personality. They give shape and color and make connections to those who are willing to hear them.

Jesus was sent by the Creator God Himself to show us God. Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the Word of God to us. His book, a collection of books over thousands of years, all interrelated with one common theme, is a living love letter, and we are living epistles written by His Spirit.

By way of contrast, there was another man known as ‘the voice’ of the first century. Unlike the popular reality show, he didn't compete for the contract, but John the Baptist introduced himself as the voice calling in the wilderness, just as the prophet Isaiah wrote in 800BC. The voice is simply the carrier of a message and delivers the Word which comes from the mind and heart of the Godhead.

This is a very humble way to convey that the prophet is servant to the Son. John said, I must decrease and He must increase! The voice is of less value than the Word spoken; the messenger less than the message-giver! Remember that even angels forbid those who see them from worshipping them or even bowing down. They say, Get up! Worship God alone! He is great, I am just a messenger.

A servant’s heart, a ready vehicle, a willing vessel. A voice for God. That’s what I want to be. Pray I deliver the message of his heart faithfully, wherever I go.ram on Voice of America was called, Words and Their Meanings. I love to pay attention to the fine shades and contrasts in Biblical word studies and it always opens up deeper understanding of what God is saying. For example, John’s gospel starts off talking about the Word that was with God and IS GOD. The Word is Jesus Christ, the express image of the Godhead bodily. Have you ever really thought about why?

Words are a manifestation of what’s inside you, what you think and feel and want to communicate. They are the MESSAGE of your heart and they display your nature and personality. They give shape and color and make connections to those who are willing to hear them.

program on Voice of America was called, Words and Their Meanings. I love to pay attention to the fine shades and contrasts in Biblical word studies, and it always opens up deeper understanding of what God is saying. For example, John’s gospel starts off talking about the Word that was with God and IS GOD. The Word is Jesus Christ, the express image of the Godhead bodily. Have you ever really thought about why?

Words are a manifestation of what’s inside you. What you think and feel and want to communicate. They are the MESSAGE of your heart and display your nature. They give shape and color and make connections to those who are willing to hear them. The source of words is the mind of the speaker.

 

Jesus was sent by the Creator God Himself to show us who God is. Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” Jesus is the Word of God to us. His book, a collection of books over thousands of years, all interrelated with one common theme, is a living love letter. And we are living epistles written by His Spirit.

By way of contrast, there was another man who was known as ‘the voice’ in the first century.  Unlike the popular reality show, he didn’t compete for the contract, but John the Baptist introduced himself as the voice calling in the wilderness, just as the prophet Isaiah wrote in 800BC. The voice is simply the carrier of a message and delivers the Word which comes from the mind and heart of the Godhead.

This is a very humble way to convey that the prophet is servant to the Son. John said, I must decrease and He must increase! The voice is of less value than the Word spoken; the messenger less than the message-giver. Remember that even angels forbid those who see them from worshipping them or even bowing down. They say, ‘Get up! Worship God alone! He is great, I am just a messenger.’

A servant’s heart, a ready vehicle, a willing vessel. A voice for God. That’s what I want to be.

Do you want to be a vessel for God?

Don’t Let Your Emotions Get the Best of You: Take Captives!

It seems to me that a lot of believers are confused about how God views our emotions, and just what I can do about them when they threaten to overwhelm me. What tools do I have? What power has God given us to overcome in hard times? Here's a few thoughts about what I've learned so far on my earthly journey…

God is not limited or even frustrated by my emotions, but patiently working even in hard times, for my ultimate good--no matter what. TRUTH to stand on always boils down to the solid rock that His love never fails no matter how I FEEL. 

They say the seat of the emotions is the heart (and in some tribes it is your liver or stomach) but I think it really starts in the head—and may lead to acid reflux or ulcers! What I tell myself or listen to drives my feelings like the engine of a train, and my emotions are the caboose that follows. I have to put down every lie before it takes root and speak TRUTH against those ideas.

For example, I may feel abandoned but God says, I WILL NEVER FORSAKE OR ABANDON. I may feel angry or hurt or unlovable or even condemned, but GOD’s word counters all those points quite powerfully. Put away anger, freely forgive, and God demonstrated his love on the cross so there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!  Of course writing it is easier than doing it, but we get a lot of practice down here, don’t we.

We have to resist the urge to rely on emotions while we grow in our understanding of who God is. Rely only on God’s Word. If He says it, trust it. That’s the only rock to stand on while life and circumstances and emotions are rushing around you like a mighty river in flood season! 

 Negative ideas or words can become a stronghold in our minds. Interesting word, “stronghold” is found 52X in the Bible and 51 of those refer to actual physical fortresses where armies dwelled in the Old Testament. But the word is only found once in the New Testament where Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10 that we have been given divine weapons and power to demolish strongholds!

In that context he refers to worldly arguments and philosophies and every pretension or lie against the gospel or God’s Word. Anything that would stand in the way of truth, right? The battle we are called to fight starts right in our own minds.

“Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ,” Paul said. Imagine lining up all your thoughts and putting handcuffs and chains on them and marching them into a dungeon at gunpoint! You will no longer listen to their cat calls or entertain them at the dinner table. They are prisoners of war and you can declare peace in the kingdom of you! Truth is, you rule over your own spirit and even the devil can’t make you obey him or feed on his negative ideas. The choice is yours.

Bottom line, we decide how to respond to every situation. We choose how to think about the neighbors and the boss, about money or a loss, about traffic, or the flu, or a flat tire... Getting stressed over things robs our peace and just raises ire.   

Paul also wrote Philippians, where he spoke about learning the secret of contentment by focusing his thought life. At the top of the list in chapter four, he said, “whatever is true...think on these things.”  And he was walking the talk, too. The theme of the letter is joy even though he wrote it as an old man—in a jail cell!  

He didn't just tell us not to be anxious, but he gave us his favorite tool for combatting it: prayer with gratitude. 


So what will it be? Unruly, untamed prisoners with their cat calls at the table, in your bed, and in your head? Or, peace and joy in the household? You choose!

You have the power. It's right there in your head.