For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound…teaching. They…will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3, NLT)
I mentioned last month that hitting wedges and 9-irons on the range makes me feel good, but it doesn’t teach me much. I don’t know how I am really swinging until I get to Mr. 5-Iron, my teacher. He lets me know if I miss the sweet spot.
Metaphorically speaking, many believers stay on a comfortable range hitting short irons. They go to church regularly, have a small group that never asks tough questions, and read a few good books that scratch “itching ears.” They are afraid to confront the deeper issues that can only be revealed by the Teacher, God himself.
My experience, after sitting under this Teacher for nearly 50 years, is that he has two great Assistants.
First, the word of God. “All Scripture is inspired and useful to teach us what is true…” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Many believers spend time listening to sermons or other good material, but stay away from the obvious best, Scripture itself.
Why is that? “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12).
This Assistant Teacher is waiting on you—probably sitting on a desk near your favorite chair.That’s it. We don’t want to be exposed. We prefer to 9-nine irons all day on the range, looking for words of comfort instead of words of conviction. The Bible is real. It is raw. It is Truth.
We must submit to this great Teacher, the raw word of God. And I don’t mean five minutes a day. This Assistant Teacher, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would love to get an hour a day or more from you. He is waiting on you—probably sitting on a desk near your favorite chair.
The second great Assistant Teacher in God’s School is harder to understand. This might sting: Marriage may be God’s best 5-Iron.
Many men will confide that everything is going “really good,” which means work, church, children, finances, and friends. But then they pause and whisper that their only real challenge is the marriage. Words like “pray for us” come with a shake of the head. They don’t really want to talk about it or work on it, because it is too painful. They have a wall up to prevent God from touching that area of life.
Marriage is where God reveals to you who you really are. I am not the person you see speaking to hundreds of people at a public meeting, or mentoring a kid at the golf course, or even writing this devotion. That is the “performing me.” The “real me” is the man at home, whose patience is tested daily by small aggravations and words from by dear wife, the only person who can help me know who I truly am. God has given us marriage to make us holy, not happy.
So, as you go forward from here, make up your mind to let God be your Teacher. And let his Assistants do their work.
—
Tim Philpot
February 18, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.