What am I Listening to?

The TV has been singing Whitney Houston all week. You can’t turn it on without hearing her story or voice. Her death has saddened the world, but the last several years of her life are what saddens me. Oh, Whitney! What were you listening to?

There was simply no voice like Whitney’s. Not one. She had the world at her feet, and I’m beginning to believe that was a little too close. I need to remind myself that I live in the same world. Oh, not the fame and fortune, glamorous world of hers, but the same Liar roams back and forth through my world just as he did hers. What am I listening to? The World or the Word? There’s only one difference in these two words: the letter “l.” The world contains Lies, but the Word is Christ Himself.

John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” No wonder He calls Himself The Word. Look at the definition of “word”: an expression, a revelation, a promise, a command, something said either spoken or written.

• An Expression – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” – John 14:6-7
• A Revelation – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
• A Promise – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
• A Command – “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35
• Something spoken or written – “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:24-25

Oh, that I stay in the Word and know the Truth! Just typing these verses gives me strength, and I hope by reading them, you are strengthened! The world comes at us so fast on a daily basis. It’s thrown in our faces at every level and we can be consumed by it quickly. That’s why it’s so important that I stay in His Word, know His Word, and meditate on His Word. Debbie Alsdorf in her Bible study, He is My All, says, “The Bible gives us the truth by which to pattern our thinking. When we become saturated with this new way of thinking, we will have a new way of life as well. The power of the Bible is not just in reading it or memorizing the words. The power of the Bible comes when we begin to think biblical thoughts.” (italics mine)

We may not go down such a tragic path of Whitney’s -but again, “There but for the grace of God go I….” I’m confident that Whitney heard the Word growing up, but the world got too loud and choked out the Truth. Hmm…..that reminds me of a parable Christ taught – there’s so much in His Word! But I can still listen more to the world and choke out His plans for me. So I have to make a daily choice: what am I listening to?

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 The Message