RECEIVE: Five-Minute Friday

Whose Voice is First in the Morning?

Before there were “smart phones” we used wall-mounted phones with a cord. The cord connected the phone company systems to the receiver. The receiver had to be off the hook and pressed to your ear if you wanted to hear the voice the phone company sent you. There weren’t many voices in those days. Today the voices are many. Which call will you pick up first?

On August 26, 2021, David Mathis, the Executive Editor at desiringGod.org reminded us that “You Have Permission to Slow Down” and “Start the Day with the Voice of God.” A portion of what he said is wonderful wisdom if we are willing to receive it. He said, “In our “age of accelerations,” our lives are awash in words. Words on screens. Words in our ear buds. Words written in articles and ebooks. Words spoken on podcasts and radio. And the in-the-flesh words of family, roommates, neighbors, and coworkers. The question isn’t, Are there voices in your head? But rather whose voices are they — and which ones carry the day in shaping the desires and direction of our souls and lives?”

He then reminds us that “When we begin the day with God’s voice in the Scriptures, we’re welcoming his Truth, his concepts, his mind and will and heart, to direct and shape our lives. We’re making an effort to see the world through God’s words, rather than God through the world’s. Apart from receiving God’s words in sufficient quantity, and with due priority, we will inevitably follow ‘the course of this world’ (Ephesians 2:2) and ‘be conformed to this world’ (Romans 12:2). In time, the world’s patterns and voice and pace will rule us.”

How Important is the Word?

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:19-21

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

They don’t see the Bible as a musty, useless paperweight. The follower of Jesus has the same perspective of God’s Word as the psalmist who said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103). The true disciple says, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). Don’t miss this reality: when you pick up the phone receiver to listen, you can and should talk to God.

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.