Have you heard from the Lord lately?
Lately, I've been really enjoying my bible study. I've been in the book of Acts for the past week or so. I believe the Lord has been showing me many things in His Word. The bible truly is living and breathing. However, i've noticed that if I move outside of the will of God for my study, it's not as profitable.
As Christians we're supposed to be led by the Spirit in all of our actions. The Lord wants us to rely on Him for our leading and guidance. The Holy Spirit wants to controll our thoughts, attitudes, actions and speech. But the Holy Spirit also wants to direct our bible study.
Many times, I find myself studying various topics in the bible. It's rare that I ever stay in the same book or study for more than a week. Anything longer than that and the study no longer seems "fresh". That's not to say the Holy Spirit will necessarily deal with everybody in this fashion. However, this is how He has been dealing with me personally.
The Holy Spirit hasn't always dealt with me in this manner. A couple of years ago I found myself studying the longer books of the OT and NT. I would start at the beginning and meticulously labor until I finished the entire book. Around the same time, I used to fellowship with a friend who happened to be a prophet. We got together regularly and discussed the Word of God. He exhorted me to be sensitive to the Spirit of God in regard to my bible study. He admonished me to not be afraid to "jump around" from book to book in the Old and New Testaments. At first, I disregarded it. But later I found this new technique to be even more profitable, as the entirety of scripture lines up with itself.
As time went by, I started letting go of the "religion" associated with reading and studying the Word of God. Many times, I would study the bible because that's what "good Christians" did. Later I became more interested in finding the Lord's will concerning my study. I didn't just want to study because I was supposed to. I wanted to find what particualar book the Lord wanted me to study at any given time.
This has really blessed my soul because God wants to deal with me about different issues at different times. He has a "fresh" rhema word for me daily. Therefore, whenever I read something in His Word, He can reveal different things to me. However, it makes it more difficult whenever I fail to put myself in an environment where He can speak to me.
Sometimes, I finish my studies and have to pray for new direction. Other times, the Lord puts the brakes on a current study and leads me in a different direction. Occasionally, the Holy Spirit will bring me back to a former topic after a couple of days, weeks, months or possibly even years. But regardless, it is a tremendous blessing being in the right place at the right time. The bible is living and breathing as long as the Holy Spirit directs our reading and studying. Anything short of that and bible study can become nothing more than a boring religious activity.
Please understand. God doesn't give out browny points for reading His Word. He doesn't bless us because we spend 30 minutes studying when we could have been doing something else. The Lord blesses us by opening up the scriptures that we read and giving us understanding. He blesses us by showing a new revelation of Jesus Christ and using a particular bible figure or circumstance to give us wisdom. God wants our bible study to be more than a chore. He wants us to actually enjoy spending time in His Word. The Lord wants to reveal things to us thru His Word. Have you heard from the Lord lately?
As Christians we're supposed to be led by the Spirit in all of our actions. The Lord wants us to rely on Him for our leading and guidance. The Holy Spirit wants to controll our thoughts, attitudes, actions and speech. But the Holy Spirit also wants to direct our bible study.
Many times, I find myself studying various topics in the bible. It's rare that I ever stay in the same book or study for more than a week. Anything longer than that and the study no longer seems "fresh". That's not to say the Holy Spirit will necessarily deal with everybody in this fashion. However, this is how He has been dealing with me personally.
The Holy Spirit hasn't always dealt with me in this manner. A couple of years ago I found myself studying the longer books of the OT and NT. I would start at the beginning and meticulously labor until I finished the entire book. Around the same time, I used to fellowship with a friend who happened to be a prophet. We got together regularly and discussed the Word of God. He exhorted me to be sensitive to the Spirit of God in regard to my bible study. He admonished me to not be afraid to "jump around" from book to book in the Old and New Testaments. At first, I disregarded it. But later I found this new technique to be even more profitable, as the entirety of scripture lines up with itself.
As time went by, I started letting go of the "religion" associated with reading and studying the Word of God. Many times, I would study the bible because that's what "good Christians" did. Later I became more interested in finding the Lord's will concerning my study. I didn't just want to study because I was supposed to. I wanted to find what particualar book the Lord wanted me to study at any given time.
This has really blessed my soul because God wants to deal with me about different issues at different times. He has a "fresh" rhema word for me daily. Therefore, whenever I read something in His Word, He can reveal different things to me. However, it makes it more difficult whenever I fail to put myself in an environment where He can speak to me.
Sometimes, I finish my studies and have to pray for new direction. Other times, the Lord puts the brakes on a current study and leads me in a different direction. Occasionally, the Holy Spirit will bring me back to a former topic after a couple of days, weeks, months or possibly even years. But regardless, it is a tremendous blessing being in the right place at the right time. The bible is living and breathing as long as the Holy Spirit directs our reading and studying. Anything short of that and bible study can become nothing more than a boring religious activity.
Please understand. God doesn't give out browny points for reading His Word. He doesn't bless us because we spend 30 minutes studying when we could have been doing something else. The Lord blesses us by opening up the scriptures that we read and giving us understanding. He blesses us by showing a new revelation of Jesus Christ and using a particular bible figure or circumstance to give us wisdom. God wants our bible study to be more than a chore. He wants us to actually enjoy spending time in His Word. The Lord wants to reveal things to us thru His Word. Have you heard from the Lord lately?
posted by Son of Man at 9:29 AM
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