Pause: Hebrews 1:1-2, Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Peter 1:16-21, I John 4:1-6
When I was a young newspaper reporter, I chased down late-breaking news for a daily newspaper, which meant I listened to the police scanner for reports of fires, shots fired, and the occasional protest. I also answered phone calls that rarely lead to a printable story. One of my regular callers was a TV cameraman who hoped I’d share a lead or two if he dropped a hint that he knew something I didn’t know. The truth was that his second-hand information wasted my time when I could be gathering firsthand reports from the people whom I could actually quote in a breaking news story.
So often in the Christian life we forget we have a primary source of information on how to navigate through this life, and we settle for second best, for the pesky cameraman desperate for his own story. We get wrapped up in the messages flowing from self-declared prophets and forget that we can go to the source, to Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, to get everything we need for life.
In the Old Testament accounts, the prophets spoke directly for God, and then they were silent — and the people thought God was silent — for 400 years. But in reality, God continued to speak to them through His Word, the written accounts from Genesis through the prophet Malachi, and then something truly miraculous happened as that Word became flesh and blood. But we’ll save that story for another day.
Ponder: Who are you tempted to listen to instead of God? When are you most inclined to believe the stories of others? What is one step you can take today to saturate yourself in the accuracy of God’s first-hand reports?
Pray: Lord, You know how prone I am to wander from what is true. Forgive me for the times I listen to others instead of to You. Your Word is my first-hand source for what is true and right. May I live with my eyes fixed on You and my heart anchored to Your truth.
— Jaime Sherman