He Invites Us to Sit at His Feet

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. [2Ti 3:16–17 NIV]

Have you ever noticed that when God breathes, what seems impossible happens? I’m thinking of Adam, the Red Sea closing over Pharaoh’s army, the starry host’s existence, a valley of dry bones coming to life, and our very lives being sustained. How much more is the power of His God-breathed Word? He Himself says:

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” [Isa 55:10–11 ESV]

I’m taking a little break from the series on semantics to write about something the Lord has laid on my heart. I want to challenge you: what percentage of your reading is directly from God’s Word, and what percentage is from Christian writers? Do you find yourself reading five-minute devotionals because they are usually quick and painless? Or do you search Christian books for answers to questions about doctrine or counsel? I assure you, I am not saying that is wrong, in and of itself. The Lord has given us many good teachers. However, if you are over fifty percent of the time reading sources other than the bible, I would like to caution you. We all need to be grounded in God’s Word so that we can be discerning when reading another’s writing (including mine–that is why is so heavily quote the Bible in these posts!). I hope to show you a much better way, to bless you.

First, I’d like to say that so much of my writing is based on personal experience (a euphemism for failures, in my case!). There have been times in my life where I felt the Holy Spirit’s displeasure with my over-zealous focus on our endless supply of devotionals, self-help books, doctrinal aids, and even Christian fiction. I didn’t understand at the time, because it wasn’t that the reading material was at all bad–it was that my focus was on the opinions of other Christians. It was like the Lord was whispering, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” [Isa 2:22 NIV] The root of my heart problem was that I was looking to them as the authority or expert, and not exclusively to God. I think, looking back, that at the time I mistakenly thought these writers were easier to understand.

But should this be our outlook on scripture? Doesn’t God’s Word say, “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” [Luk 10:21 NIV] Notice that it is the Lord who reveals Himself to us–it is not based on our education, titles, or our own intellect. In the context of this scripture, Jesus is referring to the disciples as little children, not literal infants or youth. Their heart attitude was one of a child: teachable, humble, and keen to learn. The same account in Matthew goes on to say: “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” [Mat 11:27 NIV]

There are so many scriptures that show that the Lord is always revealing himself to us. For example, in the Old Testament, David says, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” [Psa 16:11 NIV] In Proverbs, it says, “Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.” [1:23 NIV] In the New Testament, Jesus says:

‘”I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you.”‘ [Jhn 16:12–15 NIV]

“As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in Him.” [1Jo 2:27 NIV]

“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” [Jhn 17:26 NIV]

Some interesting things to glean from these scriptures are that God DESIRES to make Himself known, He INITIATES making Himself known, and that Jesus PROMISED that the Holy Spirit would guide all believers into truth and teach us! If you ever feel frustrated or confused because you don’t understand something in the bible or your life, I love to tell you to pray back to God His promises! We may have to wait a bit, which seems uncomfortable in our Google-driven instant-answer world, but it is WORTH it! It delights the Lord when we know His promises and look to Him to be faithful in His answer.

I remember once, when I was a young Christian, I was on vacation with my better half and with a friend’s daughters who were in their pre-teen and teens. It was a summer day, and it was our custom to enjoy one cold beer on a hot day. However, this upset our young guests, who believed that all alcoholic beverages were off limits for Christians. We felt it was nothing wrong, but as we tried to discuss this with the girls, I sensed they were discomfited. I did not know how to proceed, but I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me to stop discussing and start praying. Later on that night, I asked the Lord for wisdom as I was at a total loss. I finished praying, and opened my bible to where I had left off on my daily reading. The very next verses were about how Paul addressed the issue with conscience and food, how we should never stumble any one in what we eat or drink, but have the attitude to gladly give it up if it causes offense. [Rom 14:20-21] So I was able to inform these dear little ones that I would not drink a beer if it upset them, and that I wanted to seek their good. We all rejoiced. And we see the wisdom from above is so pure and peaceable! Worldly wisdom is full of self, demands our own wants and desires, and deems our own way better.

Some other godly wisdom we can gather from the above scriptures is that we need to be humble when we search for truth and guidance. Proverbs teaches us to repent when the Lord rebukes us, THEN He will pour out His thoughts and make known to us His teachings. This is wisdom calling us. To illustrate, I want to share a bit of a humorous part in my coming to the Lord. I was brought up in a well-known cult, and although many people were trying to persuade me of sound Christian doctrine, I was thoroughly brainwashed into thinking all my knowledge was correct and everybody else was in error. I was searching for God, but was stuck in my head knowledge and pride. Discussions with my spouse and a local pastor left me frustrated. I vividly remember the day that I prayed and asked the Lord for help with the right attitude. Up until this time, my prayer was, “Lord I’m right. I know I’m right. Help these people understand.” But this particular day, a thought popped into my little brain that I could be wrong. What? Me? Wrong?! It was a bit unsettling! But it also felt refreshingly FREEING. So I changed my prayer to “Lord, if I am wrong, show me the right way.” He answered THAT prayer beautifully, leading me to cult expert Ron Rhodes to untangle all the bad doctrine I had been taught. See? I have lots of past “experience!”

Another insight from the above verses is that the Lord holds back on some teaching, telling even the disciples that they were not able to bear it at the time. Can you imagine giving a lifetime of knowledge to a two-year-old? That would be double trouble! I think the Lord views us quite similarly (after all, even a ninety-year-old is only a few steps into the road to eternity!). So, I’ve learned that seeking a quick answer for a pressing question is not as sublime as seeking an Almighty God for a truthful answer! I know it is foreign to our culture here in the United States, but waiting is often good. It is good when making decisions, it is good in gardening, it is good in growing up, and so much more. I have often found quick answers to questions and totally misused the wisdom because I hadn’t waited for my experience to catch up. Doesn’t the Word say, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time?” [Psa 145:15 NIV] God is perfect. Therefore, His timing is perfect! And, so are His answers.

So my point is that I think many in the Church today rely a little too heavily on extracurricular Christian reading. Please don’t hear me say it is wrong to ever consult a theology book if something seems just not quite to you, or to read someone else’s testimony of how they worked through difficult times. It is the nature of our world today with the wide availability of print and digital resources that what once was in-person teaching and edification is now done through these modern means. That’s fine. My appeal to you is to do the bulk of your reading from God’s Word. I can not begin to tell you how blessed I have become seeking the Lord’s teaching and relying on Him for understanding, guidance, and godly wisdom. I have thought, and I think many other people might think, “What if I go astray? What if I understand something incorrectly? What if I don’t have an answer to someone else’s question? Let’s flip that on it’s head.

We have, available freely to us, without electricity, computer, cell phone, universities, television, or any such peripherals, an All-Knowing God who DESIRES to teach us and loves us as much as the heavens are high. Last time I checked, the universe is bigger than my little brain can even fathom. So it is with His thoughts (knowledge) and love for us. We can sit at His feet and learn from THE Master. Why would we trade our backstage pass to hear a master musician for a lesson with his students? Not that the students can’t be pretty good. Just not the only instructors. I am thinking of folks who may hinge on every word from a television evangelist or popular preacher. Now, if they speak truth, amen. But if that is your only source or the major portion of your instruction, please reverse the trend. There is nothing, nothing, nothing as precious as being taught by our Lord. How’s that for bolstering my readership?! But I am serious, too. If you are reading this blog post but have not read your bible in over a week, get busy!

What about feeling inadequate to understand or explain something to someone else? For me, the answer is a trust issue. We can trust our Lord to teach us truth and keep us from erring, just like he did some ordinary fishermen long ago. He does not change. It’s kind of like the saying, “out of the mouths of babes,” which is, incidentally, in scripture [Matt 21:16], or our saying, “Kids say the darnedest things.” I remember my mother telling me that when I was a baby, my older brother asked her, “The baby’s eyes are so blue. When it cries, will the tears be blue, too?” Or, I remember a testimony of a mother who renounced her faith in Christ under pressure from the authorities because she did not want to see her young daughter suffer in prison. The little girl turned to her and told her, “The Lord is not pleased with you. If I promise to not complain, can we go back to prison?” If our God and Savior can bring forth praise and wisdom from a child, He can certainly do the same for us. We need to switch the focus from us, our frailty, our lack, to Him, His goodness, His faithfulness.

Now, I am not bashing higher education. For one, it is required for many Christian vocations. And two, it is helpful to learn history and language, and many practical things. But even in that situation, I urge students to put more weight on the Holy Spirit’s teaching from God’s Holy Word (NOT just any uttered saying–let’s not go there–we see some pretty quirky things when we overstep God’s Word). Why do I say this? Because we need to TRUST the Lord to guide us, to place our focus on his fatherly goodness. If we trust our education or credentials for our soul’s welfare, we can go astray. Just think. How many preachers and teachers who held doctorates have now fallen away from true faith? Please, please. To everyone, I say, seek after HIM and place you anchor in Christ! Choose the “good part,” like Mary [Luke 10:39-42] Amen.

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” [Deu 4:29 NIV]