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?