The voice you follow is the difference between victory or defeat.

There are so many voices clamoring for our attention these days. Voices outside our head from what we read, watch or listen; and the voices inside our head: the self-talk.

The voice of self, “I can’t do this.” The voice of failure, “I failed badly, why get up and try again only to fail again?” The voice of insecurity, “I am piece of junk, why would God want me?” The voice of ignorance, “I’m just so stupid!” The voice of bleakness, “Life will never get better.” The voice of others, “I can never trust them for that they did…again.”

The enemy loves to exploit these voices in order to get us to stop letting the Spirit change us. Instead, listen to the voice of truth, Jesus, who shuts down all those voices.

I like the lyrics to the song, The Voice of Truth. “And the Voice of Truth says, ‘This is for My glory’/Out of all the voices calling out to me/I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.”

God wants to see Jesus in us. So, He gave us the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), the Spirit of Christ (Phil. 1:19) and the Word of Christ (Col. 3:16) to overcome all negative and sinful voices, so we can shut them down!

First, be careful what you allow into your head. Are there outside sources you can eliminate? If so, unsubscribe from those sources. Reduce electronics time. And for a season, if possible, reduce exposure to certain people.  

And second, before the battle, get to know Jesus’ voice through spend time listening to Him in Scripture. Repeatedly think on the truths He gives you. He knows your battles; and thus, will prepare you for what is coming. If you don’t, failure is certain.

And when the battle starts, call out to Him. “Jesus, help!” Tell those thoughts to shut up in Jesus’ name. And then focus on the truth Jesus gave you, which will lead to victory.

Becoming like Jesus means filtering all thoughts – external and internal – through the voice of truth – the only voice that leads to freedom and a fulfilled life now and forever.

Only His thoughts open doors to experiencing the life He came to give you.

I drive on the right side of, avoid potholes in, especially when filled with water, and go around bulging rocks on the road. This is my normal driving experience, my comfort zone.

This was about to change when I drove one of these! Jan and I got to explore Kauai on an ATV. I’ve ridden one on sand, but never on red packed dirt roads rutted with ATV size potholes and basketball size boulders.

Yet, our guide told us to follow him, which meant going through those potholes, over those boulders and down the middle of the path while matching his speed. Why? These ATVs were made for these obstacles; and, he was an expert on these roads. He didn’t want us to crash and burn any more than we did. Phew! Good to know, right?

Honestly, I was a little hesitant, especially on the downhill portions of the trail in the midst of torrential downpours! But, if I wanted to see what we paid to see, and believe me it was worth it, I had to follow the guide.

Finishing with huge smiles on our faces, the Lord showed us both a valuable life lesson. Following Jesus means getting outside our boxes – our norms, our comfort zones – of thoughts we or others have put into our brains to follow Him. He is the only one who can lead us to real life on a daily basis.

The truth sets us free from the dos and don’ts of avoiding the potholes and boulders while staying on the “right side” of the road.

Let the Word of God give you outside the box thoughts to ponder and then act on by faith to explore the life Jesus has for you. As you become more like Him, you will experience new and fresh things about being with and loving Him.

Are you staying in the “safety” of your old ways of thinking? It’s time to leave your known comfort zone boxes behind to explore and experience your God work in and through your life in ways you could never dream possible.

“He is your friend who pushes you closer to God.” Abraham Kuyper

You are an experienced boat person. You know the lake – its different types of wind, times of days to be on it, and fishing conditions.

You’re bored. You’ve got to do something. So, you go fishing and a number of your buddies, some who know the lake as well as you, decide to tag along. After fishing all night and coming up empty, you head for the dock.

As the sun rises, you hear a voice. You can’t make out who’s saying, “Cast out one more time over the right side of the boat.”

What do you and the boys do? You know the most opportune time to fish has passed. There’s no chance of catching anything.

Yet, you are friends. If one wants to, you all go for it. They do. They did. And you know the rest of the story. It was Jesus doing the calling.

The Psalmist writes, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” This means to go in the same direction as one group.

Becoming like Jesus isn’t easy, especially by yourself. This process requires going against what you think, feel and, at times, believe in the moment the Spirit calls you closer to Jesus.

This is due to the fact that you only know what you know when you know it and can’t know something new until you are exposed to it. The guys knew the lake; yet they would have missed the catch without each other agreeing to try one more time.

Having others going in the same direction is important. Some will have different journeys toward Jesus than yours. Yet, you all are becoming more like Jesus. The Spirit can use this to encourage each other to keep going because you’ve seen Jesus come through in the past.

Growth is about having the right Christian friends. It’s those who can and will think through what each is hearing through a biblical filter. Is what we are hearing something God could be saying? If not, why keep fishing? If so, why not keep fishing?

Christian friends push each other toward Jesus to keep fishing.

“God made the world from nothing, and if we can be nothing, then God can make something of us.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Jeremiah writes, “Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the King’s table.” (52:33)

Jehoiachin was the second to last Judean king before God removed Israel from its homeland for refusing to make Him King.

Because Jehoiachin voluntarily surrendered to the King of Babylon, he was imprisoned rather than killed. Years later, he was let out and allowed to sit at the King’s table for meals.  

Jehoiachin was a humbled king. He used to tell others what to do; and now, he was told what to do by a more powerful king.

We are all like Jehoiachin. We think we are something and a bag of chips! Doubt me? How often do we just go about our day doing what we feel we should be doing hoping Jesus will be pleased with it and/or bless it?

I have to raise my hand in acknowledgement. I recently was asked to pray at a dinner honoring volunteers. Sure, I’ve got that covered. After praying, however, I sat down and heard, “Chris, did you ask Me about what you should pray? You know there were people in that room listening to that prayer who needed Me, didn’t you?”

At that point, who was king? Me. Before I did another thing, I bowed my head before The King asking His forgiveness for acting like a king that I am not.

Jehoiachin would have remained Judah’s King if he had surrendered to the right King – the LORD. Yet, he didn’t and was humiliated and imprisoned by a more powerful king.

We all, myself included, need to be reminded now and then: Your king is the one you listen to and follow. One king wants to imprison you (Jn. 10:10) while The King wants to set you free (Jn. 8:32-33). Think you’re something? Ask forgiveness sooner rather than later. Think you’re nothing? Good. It’s a great starting point to become something made by The King of heaven and earth.   

“Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God.” Andrew Murray

Someone asked me, “Will you agree with me that I need a new car; and then, pray with me to get it because the Bible says where two agree it will be done (Matt. 18:19)?”

This is not only bad hermeneutics, but it also lacks an understanding of faith.

Do we trust our Savior with our lives? Careful how you answer that question. Ok, when it comes to heaven, yes. But in the here and now, is it still a, yes?

Faith is not about getting from God. It’s about becoming more like the One you say you love – Jesus.

It takes faith to hear from Jesus, which is a choice to either listen to ourselves or to Him. It also takes faith to follow Jesus, which is a choice to do or to ignore what He says.

Twice Paul wanted to go to Asia to share about Jesus. Isn’t that a good thing? Yup. Both times, however, the Spirit said, “Nope!”

Why? Because the Lord can see tomorrow! The Spirit wanted Paul in southern Greece, where a certain man working in the jails was ready to put his faith in Jesus along with his family.

Paul had the faith not only to listen, but the faith to follow as well, which made him more like Jesus. Think about it. Jesus went where He was told, earth, because the Father saw and wanted to save you.

Paul was changed into the image of Jesus, though, by a process that meant the Father saying “no” to one thing, so He could say “yes” to something else.

Do you trust the Father to open the doors needed for you to become more like Jesus and to close other doors also needed for you to become more Jesus?

Faith…is not in the getting, but in the becoming.