Do You Want To Learn To Fish?
Welcome back, friends. Today's devotion is a little different—less of a devotion and more of a confession. A holy, Spirit-prompted, middle-of-Bible-study conviction. Bear with me, because I think this one matters.
Last Wednesday night, I was teaching our ladies' Bible study on the life of Gideon. We had reached the tragic, sobering, heartbreaking end. And let me tell you, it is not a pretty ending. Despite an absolutely stunning, God-orchestrated string of victories, Gideon made a golden ephod. Though he denied the title of "king," he set himself up as one. He became the one the people leaned on, rather than pointing them straight to God.
And the devastating result? The moment Gideon died, the Israelites tumbled headlong back into idolatry. Just like that. Because no one had ever taught them to stand on their own two spiritual feet and worship God for themselves, they went right back to what was comfortable.
I was mid-sentence when the Holy Spirit tapped me firmly on the shoulder. And I've been pondering what He said ever since.
For years, through these devotionals, my teachings, and my writing ministry, my greatest joy has been digging through Scripture and serving others the fruit of that digging. I love finding the golden nuggets, dusting them off, and laying them in your hands all warm and shiny. Giving you the what—the beautiful, comforting, sometimes challenging realities of God's Word—has been my delight.
But this week I realized that giving you the what is not enough.
You see, we are living in a world that is aggressively and relentlessly challenging our faith. Skeptics are sharpening their arguments. Social media is offering a thousand alternatives to truth. And if I only ever hand you the finished lesson without ever showing you how I found it, or why we can trust it, I am leaving you vulnerable. It is the very reason so many believers (young and seasoned alike) crumble when their faith is tested. They know the right answers until someone demands they prove it. Then they go quiet.
I don't want that for anyone who has read my writings or sat under my teachings.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able" (I Corinthians 3:2).
Now, there's a time for milk. We all start there. But milk is not meant to be a permanent diet. There comes a point where God expects us to pick up our fork and get into the meat of the Word for ourselves.
The old proverb says it plainly: give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.
I don't want to just hand you fish anymore. I want to teach you to fish.
Moving forward, my heart is to do much more of that, pulling back the curtain on the how and the why. Not just what a passage means, but how I arrived at that meaning. Not just what to believe, but how to defend it when someone pushes back.
But here's the thing: I need your help. I genuinely want to know where you are. So I'm asking you to do something brave and to be completely honest with me. This is a safe space, and your answer will directly shape what we tackle together.
The Confusing Phrases: Is there a common church phrase, like "wait on the Lord" or "walk in the Spirit," that you hear constantly but secretly don't fully understand?
The Hard Challenges: Has a skeptic ever hit you with a tough question, like a supposed contradiction or a hard "why," and left you speechless?
The Process: Do you want to know how I personally study the Bible? How to train your eyes to find spiritual application in everyday life?
Your Honest Feedback: Do you feel relieved by this idea, or maybe slightly insulted? Are you excited about learning to fish, or perfectly happy with the way things are? Please, let me know!
Hit reply, leave a comment, or shoot me a private message. Tell me what you're wrestling with. Because I don't just want us to be a community that knows the truth. I want us to be a community that is fully equipped to defend it, live it, and find it for ourselves.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." — II Timothy 2:15
The Word of God is not just a book to be handed to you pre-digested. It is a living, breathing, inexhaustible treasure chest, and God gave it to you. Every single one of us has the right and the responsibility to learn how to open it up and dig.
So what do you say? Do you want to learn to fish?