The Dragon

With all the writing I have done over the past few years, my husband thought that a product he saw on a television advertisement would be a perfect gift for me. It is the Dragon Naturally Speaking system and I must admit it is pretty cool.

When I started using it, some wrong words replaced the words I had actually spoken, but after a while, the system learned my speech patterns and began to type what I was saying.

I began to feel like someone right out of a Sci-fi movie. My computer was really following my voice commands. It is even fun to play with!

The Dragon system reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 10. Jesus shares a little analogy of a shepherd and his flock, but then goes on to say, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 – NIV) As we get to know Jesus on a personal level, we begin to know His words. We begin to understand His patterns. We begin to follow Him more closely.

And how do we get to know Jesus? Through His words in Scripture. Reading, studying, understanding, and then implementing His commands lead us to a fuller knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s through this knowledge that we can then grow a relationship with Him.

Peter quoted Moses as he spoke of listening to Jesus’ words in Acts 3. Moses said that if we don’t listen to God’s “prophet” (Jesus), we will be cut off. Are you listening to everything Jesus says? Is not listening to Jesus worth being cut off from God? I don’t think so.

On one occasion, Jesus’ voice was loud and clear when He answered the question, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:36-40 – NIV)

There are some pretty hefty words in this response. Yes, I know these are the first things I must do to know Jesus. To know His heart is to love His Father and love others. But there are times when I am “double-minded and unstable” (James 1:8 – NIV). There are times when I am selfish and I don’t want to love my neighbors.

I must then listen again to Jesus’ voice. Hear His message. Put His words into practice. Know the very nature of Jesus.

And you know what? These are just two commands! If I can’t get them right, how will I ever get the rest of them? Well, the answer to that is the Holy Spirit God sent to us to be a Helper. For those times when I want to block out Jesus’ voice, God’s Spirit is there to recite them over and over to me until I get it.

Occasionally the Dragon system gets my voice commands and words completely wrong and if I don’t correct at the time it happens, there’s a pretty good chance that when I return to that document I might not know what I really wanted to say. I’ve learned that it’s important to make that change immediately.

If we can learn to do this when we are missing Jesus’ voice, we have a greater chance of not falling into temptation and sin. When we get it all wrong, get back into God’s Word and listen to what Jesus has to say.

There is a tiny verse in the Book of Mark that I recently found. It fills my heart with joy. “The large crowd listened to him (Jesus) with delight.” (Mark 12:37b – NIV)

Do you listen to Jesus with delight? I pray that hearing Jesus’ voice is one of your greatest joys. For me, it certainly is!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna