In the late 1950’s & 60’s it was every boy’s dream to find these under the tree on Christmas morning. One of the interesting things from this era of time…there were no warning labels. Now even our toothpaste has a warning on it. It was a time when people learned from their mistakes. If you did something stupid, bad things happened, and you didn’t do that anymore.

I remember getting my Wood Burning Set. I think my folks thought I had some artistic ability. I didn’t need instructions. I just plugged it and went to burning. It didn’t take long for my folks to discover I was not an artist. There were several times when I was distracted and would be returning to my room smelling something burning. There were no safety switches. Just on & off. Only God kept me from burning the house down.

Then there was the Chemistry set. I remember Christmas morning taking my new chemistry lab to my room. I remember looking at the strange names on the bottles, the test tubes, beakers, and neat little measuring things. Just like Mr. Wizard on Saturday morning TV… “This is going to be fun.” Of course, I didn’t need the little booklet that described the chemicals and provided several experiments. “Nah, I don’t need that. I’ll just mix some of this stuff, heat it and see what happens.” I never got anything to blow up…but I did stink the house up several times.

Living life without consulting the instructions has been the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) most of my life. On Christmas Eve, when our children were young, I told myself I didn’t have time to read the instructions when assembling their gifts. This resulted in their toys being assembled several times into the wee hours of the morning. I applied the same strategy to our marriage, our finances…and even my relationship with the Lord. That is, until…

This thought originated Sunday morning around 4:30am. I woke up but didn’t want to get up, so I grabbed my phone. I was prompted to go to a file on my phone, “Favorite Proverbs.” BAM!

“Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.” Proverbs 8:33

The Bible, His (Our) Guidebook For Living, has endured the evil of tyrants, famines & prosperity, disasters, wars and today remains the flawless God- Breathed-Word. But like the instruction books that came with my Wood Burning & Chemistry sets they must be opened & read to work.

Unlike man’s self-help books, God’s Word has a supernatural key. Yesterday morning a dear friend in our Sunday School Class shared how God’s Word comforted her when her daughter died. It was from Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God“. Wherever you are, He is there… call on Him.

“Blessed are those who listen to me (God), watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway (Proverbs 8:34)”. God will whisper to your heart…when you get still and focus on Him. Jesus made a promise before He returned to heaven. In John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” When we get our hearts & minds still and ask the Holy Spirit to “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me (Psalm 25:4-5)”, He will.

The Teacher is in the room…where are you?