Everyday Guidance through Bible

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on December 5, 2013 at 11:25am

Jayaseelan,

The Bible is our guide book, God's instructions to us. Regarding your question there are two things we have to examine.

1) There are clear truths in the Bible that need no further explanation. For example God tells us things like we are all fallen and need a Savior which you pointed out.

2) Is a basic Bible reading going to give us the answer to our prayer as we read the Bible? Yes, God uses His Word to confirm, but He also uses His Spirit to confirm. I would never claim a verse unless the Spirit of God is convicting me to do so unless it is a clear promise that applies to me. I also would not simply take a verse (passage) approach. In other words I would not pray and read expecting that one reading alone to be the confirmation, again, unless the Holy Spirit so convicts. I believe you will find that God will use a variety of resources to add confirmation and I would be patient in waiting for the confirmation, either through more Scripture reading, fellow believers or potentially circumstances.

3) A good practice is to have a regular reading program. I don't know what your is and am not saying either way about you, but as a principle we need to be reading books of the Bible. If we choose sections we can intentionally or unintentionally select the verses we want to get the answer we prefer rather than truly listening for God.

 

Summary:

Be open to God and His Spirit's conviction regarding a promise.

Seek confirmation before acting, and continue to pray.

Be patient.

Make sure you are letting God's Word speak and that you are not seeking out the promise/answer you want.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on December 7, 2013 at 10:47pm

Jayaseelan, I think the best thing is to apply the whole counsel of scripture. There are two ways to do that: 1. read the entire Bible from cover to cover, repeatedly. 2. Read one book from OT, then one book from NT and keep doing that from cover to cover. Another key is to seek out on topics as you are going. For instance, you find as you read the Book of Matthew that there are many quotes from earlier scripture of the OT. So, you go to that passage and read the entire section to more fully understand it. Take notes, then search out the major themes of that passage in other passages. Then when you find you have a greater understanding, go return to the book of Matthew and continue on. 

I have used each of these methods over the last 25 years. But, the one I will warn against - is what you are doing - which I call random verse hunting. You may mislead yourself by doing this. For instance, the message of David's defeating Goliath is not that he (David) was the greatest, but that he fully relied on God to give him the victory. David did not ever say that he won that Battle, but that God had won the battle. So the message from God to you is to fully rely on Him and He will give you victory. But, you cannot be fully relying on God if you are only seeking him randomly. Right? You have to make a diligent search of God, not merely have an interest when it suits you. 

This is why God gave manna every day to the Israelites, so that they would daily seek Him and thank Him for their provision. We must learn the same. 

And by the way, I fully agree with LT's 3 points and 3 directives. Great wisdom there. 

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on January 30, 2014 at 7:52pm

Jay, I'm not sure if you're keeping up with this discussion since it's several months old. I've read this discussion several times. God could be leading you to particular Scriptures for many reasons. There could be so many lessons just from one reading. Personally, I wouldn't just accept one particular meaning behind why He's leading to those unless He is just so revealing it that there is no doubt in your own mind about what He's telling you. Obviously, that is not what has happened or you would not need to ask us. There can be so many awesome lessons from David & Goliath. I wouldn't just assume that God is saying just one particular thing to you, especially when it comes to something as serious as marriage again unless you know without a doubt that is what He is saying. Marriage will take more then a few Scriptures to take such a huge step unless you've already had a wedding planned or something. Anyways, this is my view on why the Lord gave you these passages. 

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