For more than a century the most famous trademark in the music industry has been "His Master's Voice," which is an adapted picture of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone.
The picture, made famous by RCA, says it all - even dogs can't tell the difference between recorded music and the real thing, and a dog will always listen to "His Master's Voice."
There are a lot of "voices" out there, a lot of people saying a lot of different things. Everyone wants to be the voice of reason, or the voice of truth; everyone wants to have the right answers, but there is only one truth.
I know a lot of people who are what Dylan referred to as "blowing in the wind," whatever wind is blowing the hardest, that is the way they will go; whatever path seems the widest, that is the one they will follow.
Unless people are grounded in something truly stable, unless people are planted in something that lasts, they will fall for anything. So where are you planted? What is your rock of strength? How do you know which voice to listen to?
If we really believe in God, if we really believe in an almighty, eternal God, then there is nothing more stable or lasting than him. He is the authority, he is supreme, he is the master of all; and if we want stability in life, if we want truth in life, we must learn to listen to the master's voice. God so graciously speaks to us in his holy word, the rock of truth.
The Bible says in Psalm 1, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
I want to encourage you today to take time to plant yourself in the word of God, to listen to the voice that does not change.
His word is a life-giving stream, and in it we learn the key to a prosperous and abundant life. Join me in being men and women that know and listen to our master's voice.
Jason Dees is a grateful follower of Jesus Christ, the husband of Paige and the father of Emery Anna. He is also the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington.