I wonder if the reason we don’t read the Bible more often is because we don’t want to be guided by the Spirit. Too often we want people to agree with us, to rubber-stamp the decisions we’ve already made. The Holy Spirit is no rubber stamp. He’s a sword-wielding, flame-throwing God. We need to come to him humbly and beg him to tell us what to do. Instead we often open our Bibles and treat the Spirit’s words like a buffet table, taking what we like and passing by the rest.

Imagine an ancient king deciding to take a trip to visit one of his cities on the far side of the country. He sends his trusted lieutenant ahead of him to get everything ready for the trip. The day of the trip comes, and his caravan starts out. When he arrives at the city, nothing is prepared for him. No lodging, no food, no meetings, nothing. He calls his lieutenant and asks what happened. His lieutenant says, “I came to help them, and they wouldn’t listen to me. I told them what you wanted, and I offered to assist them. I assured them I had the authority and resources to accomplish it, but they ignored me. The few times they spoke to me, it was to ask me to do something for them. It wasn’t to do what you asked but to do what they wanted.” How would the king respond?