Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Because of these three verses and others, a thought occurred to me about our Lord. We broke His heart. It breaks His heart that we would reject Him. That others reject Him. This is a harmless thought. I am not trying to create doctrine here. I am not espousing any new theologies based around these verses. But the thought caused me to feel something relevant to me, it was within me.

No one else has to see this, or accept it for it to be a real feeling for me. I do not have to preach it, or teach it, or defend it before others. It is personal and harmless. I do not have to test it with my counselors, my pastor or anyone else. It is as much about me as it is anything. Personal.

So why bring it up here? Perhaps because I wasn’t always the man I am today. There was a time I was insecure in my faith life. I would have these moments and it led to uncomfortable conversations in which I put others at risk. I didn’t have the maturity at the time to deal with the new found relationship that had with my God. I thought that if others did not see it, it was not real.

Your feelings are yours. As long as you feel better, happier, more secure, and you can take away from scripture readings a positive attitude, what does it matter what others think? You do not have to build doctrine on these moments. It could be nothing more than you and God sharing a moment, giving you something to smile about. There is no harm in that. It is yours, a positive thing.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Isaiah 28:9a Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?

I will answer these question at the end of this devotional.

The third gift of service is identified as teachers according to 1 Corinthians 12:28. The issue of teaching within the church is so important that leadership has the responsibility to examine a teacher’s doctrine before they are allowed to teach. The last thing that any church needs is the spreading of false doctrine. It is so important that certain administrations of church doctrines finance their own divinity schools. Each of these administrations are protective of their doctrinal heritage. Not all administrations hold the same doctrinal values. Arguably there are contentions about what is true doctrine and false within divergent administrations.

All of that is irrelevant to this devotional. The answers to the questions in my opening are not dependent upon administrations or their doctrinal heritage. The he in Isaiah 27:9a is God. Whom shall He teach, whom shall He make to understand? The duty of the teacher with that gift of service is to serve the Lord and the body of Christ. That service is to assist in opening the lines of communication between those he serves, us and God.

Psalms 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

This is the heart of every good and righteous teacher. We have no desire to be THE source of understanding. We have no desire to be THE source of doctrine. The Word itself is your testimony and that should be the basis of your meditations.

Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.

And now the answer to the questions.

Isaiah 28:9b them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.