“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; foods despise knowledge and wisdom” (Psalm 1:7)The Lord has been pressing on my heart the matter of knowledge, of knowing Him more intimately, and I’d like to share a little bit about what He’s been teaching me in this season.
In our culture, we are esteemed for knowledge, for being specialists in one area or another. We pay large amounts of money to obtain degrees in these specialty areas and then press on for continuing knowledge as we work in that field. We watch television shows where the experts of specific knowledge on cooking, cleaning, crafts, anthropology, crime, or home improvement inform us on their expert topics. We pursue knowledge with a passion While we pursue all of these earthly realms, the Lord is calling out to us: “Pursue ME, know ME.”
Biblical knowledge and the pursuit of knowing the Lord intimately is the best way any one of us could ever spend our time (and at times I kick myself in the butt for not doing more of it in my youth). The Bible contains life saving information that we absolutely need to know not only because we will be held accountable for our life based on the information in this one book, but also because it helps us to live joy-filled lives while we are here!
I read recently in Hosea a verse that stirred my spirit, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).
When we accept Christ as a sacrifice for our sins and ask God to take the throne of our hearts, He immediately appoints us saints, High Priests. Woah! What an honorable distinction! And huge responsibility! Think about it: As His appointed priest He gives us a job to do here on earth: to represent Him and share the Good News. How can we share the news if we do not know it fully? We are destroyed by a severe lack of knowing the Word of God and are unable to be effective God-appointed kingdom workers. We can not live our Christian lives on the shirt tails of our salvation with only a basic understanding of our God. That would be like me taking basic psychology 101 in college and claiming to be a clinical counselor. That just wouldn’t fly!
As I watch the news and view new television series and new movie releases, I see the truth of the Lord’s words in Hosea being played out on the screen. Our culture is destroying itself. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 19 million new STD infections occur every year. And, even more alarming, is that nearly 50 percent of these new cases happen to young people between the ages of 15 and 24 (2010, cdc.gov). Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24, in the United States while homicide rates as the second leading cause of death for the same age group (Shalala, 1999). Both of these rates have tripled since 1950 (Shalala, 1999). Recent studies find that anxiety has increased so much that typical school children report more anxiety than child psychiatric patients did during the 1950's (Twenge, 2000).
Our youth do not know the Lord! They are being raised up by generations of believers who are content to know of God, after having accepted Christ have not pursued an intimate knowledge of their King. This intimate, life-saving knowledge must be passionately pursued and shared with our children. As a Christian counselor who specializes in working with youth these statistics sadden me for obvious reasons. But I am encouraged because there is hope in the Lord! As I work each day at CCA, I am challenged to know more of the Word because I find my counseling "knowledge" just isn't good enough to heal permanently, only Jesus can do that!
I’ve been reflecting on own childhood. My parents took us to church and we prayed around the dinner table, but we never studied God’s word together. The Word was never written “upon my heart” or “bound on my hands and forehead” (Deuteronomy 11:18). As I read through the proverbs I realize my lack of knowledge led me down very destructive paths as a teen and young adult. I do not blame my parents, because once I accepted Christ, I too had a responsibility, according to Hosea to know the Word. However, as parents we have an enormous responsibility on raising our children to know the Lord according to His Word.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Parents, we must take great measures in raising our children so that the Word of the Lord goes with them everywhere they are so when they enter this sin-filled world, they have Hope. Had 1 Corinthians 15:33 been written on my heart, I may have avoided some influential acquaintances. Had Proverbs 3:5 been written on my heart, I may have consulted the Bible more often for God’s understanding of situations. Had Hosea 14:9 been bound upon my forehead, I may have stumbled through my faith less often.
We can not change our past (which can been completely forgiven if you ask for it), bu we have an amazing opportunity to change our future and to bring our own children up knowing the Lord, studying and memorizing His word, so that as a family of High priests we can be effective in our witness to the world.
I am so blessed to witness Christian friends who are raising their children up to know the Lord. As my husband and I don't have that example from either of our childhoods it's been an encouragement to see how it is done.
I am also blessed to have the amazing opportunity to share the Word of the Lord with my clients so that they can know the deep calm that comes from trusting in the Lord with all your heart. So, “Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.” (Hosea 6:3).
The Lord is the only constant in this ever changing world. Stand on His Word and you will not fail! I encourage you to read 1 chapter of Proverbs a day and ask the Lord to show you what He needs you to memorize. Be open to Him leading you to other books of the Bible. Then, memorize His word upon your heart so that He can effectively use you in your position of High Priest. Take time with your children and help them memorize scripture. Use life, the news, school situations, etc as teaching moments with your children: Ask them, well, what does the Bible say? Let’s look and see what God wants us to know about this situation.
God Bless you as you pursue knowing our Father, the King!
“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things. Whoever is discerning let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.” (Hosea 14:9)
“Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you, I will make my words made known to you” (Psalm 1:23)
References:
Centers for Disease Control. (2010). Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Interactive Data 1996-2008. Retreived May 11, 2010 from http://wonder.cdc.gov/std-std-v2008-race-age.html
Shalala, D. E. (September 14, 1999). U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Testimony of Youth Initiative. Retrieved May 11, 2010 from http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t990914a.html
Twenge, J. The Age of Anxiety? Birth Cohort Change in Anxiety and Neuroticism, 1952-1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. December 2000 Vol. 79, No. 6, 1007-1021.
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