The Voice of One started in about 2006 with the goal to speak, not for myself, but as the voice of Another—Christ. The name is taken from John the Baptist. Religious leaders asked him if he was the Christ, and he said he wasn’t. When they asked who he was, he answered, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord“ (John 1:23). John’s answer is striking. Who was he? Nothing in himself. Only the voice of another.

John’s entire testimony was of this Other: “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36). Many things have changed since 2006. In 2013 I changed blogging platforms. We’ve seen political administrations come and go. COVID happened. My kids have gone from toddlers to teens. My hair (as my kids won’t let me forget) has turned completely gray. What hasn’t changed is the message, the only message God has for us, and the only message in scripture: Christ.

Years ago, a man named JW Luman of Covenant Ministries International said something that remains immovably in my heart: “The scriptures declare Christ. And anything else you see in there is a product of your religious imaginations.” What a fixed star for us to navigate by! How different it would be if every person and every church judged their doctrine by Jesus and threw out any understanding of scripture not rooted in Him.

This is not an easy task and requires the Holy Spirit daily; He was sent to guide us into all truth and to remind us of everything Jesus said (John 14:26). This is what I pray I have done as much as I am able; it is what I pray I continue to grow in. God renews this challenge all the time, whether through my own study or what friends share from God.

I was recently reminded of the first time God clearly called me to preach and teach. I was listening to someone share about Mary Magdalene and the other women who came to Jesus’s tomb and found it empty. These women were the first to see the risen Christ, and He sent them to tell the disciples what they had seen. As the person spoke, the Lord said, “I have called you to be this kind of messenger.” I understood that the Lord was sending me to tell disciples I had seen Jesus. The goal of this commission is not that people would listen to me; it is that they would seek the Lord themselves and see Him first hand by revelation. This is what Peter and John did; in time, Jesus showed Himself to all the disciples (John 20).

I don’t share this to make myself appear special. The call of the Lord just underscores the fact that I exist to be a signpost pointing to Jesus and nothing else. The reason this doesn’t make me special is that I believe every believer is called to this same end, though the way this works out in each person’s life is unique to God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10). There are as many ways to bring the message of Christ as there are people. Despite our many functions, we are one body because the body belongs to Christ and derives its identity from Christ. Ear, eye, hand, or foot matters less than whose ear, eye, hand, or foot we are.

I pray the Lord would encourage each of you to know and preach nothing but Christ, and that He would also encourage you in the calling He has placed on your life. If I can pray for you in that, please leave a comment or contact me through the suggestion box page.