Who is Me?

 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.

John 10:3-5 NLT

How many times do you listen to a voicemail that starts out with, "Hey, it's me..." and you know immediately who "me" is. Some voices we know so well that they don't even have to say, "Hey, it's me"; we know who it is the minute they open their mouth. They are the voices of loved ones, cherished friends...  

Then there are the voices of favorite singer(s), a favorite DJ or speaker/preacher, favorite actor,  - voices that are easily recognizable because we hear them and listen to them. 

The latest ploy of telemarketers is to start the conversation with "Hey, it's me. I just wanted to call and tell you about..." like they know me... And based on, Hey, it's me,  you think you should know the voice and your brain starts searching for some familiar tone or voice inflection to figure out who this is, but then you realize it's not your friend after all. It's someone impersonating a friend. Deceptive.

So, whose voice are you listening to? The one pretending to be your friend, but really trying to deceive you - or the One whose voice is very distinctive - a still, small voice so familiar to our hearts that He should just be able to open His mouth to breathe and we'd know Him. He'd never have to say, Hey, it's Me.

Prayer:

Father,

         We want to know You more, to know You better, to be so intimate with the sound of Your voice that we shush any voice that tries to talk over You. Speak to us, Father - give us ears to hear You and only You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen