It is a must to also read what older and wiser authors of the past and present have written. Commentaries enrich our narrative. We consult several Bible translations to imbibe what we read. Many times, I get confused, but I must struggle or even hemorrhage to get it right.
When reading The Word, flash bulbs appear and epiphany moments come like surprise guests.
John 16:13 (ESV) bears me out, "… when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Second, let’s deliberately pray MORE for the Holy Spirit to help us in understanding The WORD.
I don’t know about the other writers in this room, but praying is not easy for me. I relish writing several books and blogs at the same time. My prayers are eclectic. They jump from thanksgiving to asking for forgiveness, to begging for blessings, etc. I need to hogtie myself to concentrate in prayer.
But we do need to spend more time for prayer if we are to soak in The WORD. 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” May I add, no matter how eclectic the format of our prayer is.
Writers must uncover unique but believable demonstrations of topics already probed by others, so that we could write about our own personal encounters in fresh new ways that may heal, encourage, and make readers feel as though our words are their own, and therefore feel God’s presence in their own heart and mind.
We live in this day—many pastors call it the last days—when many groups are pushing for their rights: civil rights, racial rights, women’s rights, consumer rights, gay rights, children’s rights, etc.
More than ever, we need to hear these reminders again and again: Only the Holy Spirit can gift us with discernment to write what we should and skip what we should not. Only the Holy Spirit can provide us with discernment to hear what we should and play deaf to what we shouldn’t. Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to discern and rightfully internalize Romans 9:1-5, beginning with this verse:
(To be continued next post: Part 3)
When reading The Word, flash bulbs appear and epiphany moments come like surprise guests.
John 16:13 (ESV) bears me out, "… when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Second, let’s deliberately pray MORE for the Holy Spirit to help us in understanding The WORD.
I don’t know about the other writers in this room, but praying is not easy for me. I relish writing several books and blogs at the same time. My prayers are eclectic. They jump from thanksgiving to asking for forgiveness, to begging for blessings, etc. I need to hogtie myself to concentrate in prayer.
But we do need to spend more time for prayer if we are to soak in The WORD. 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” May I add, no matter how eclectic the format of our prayer is.
Writers must uncover unique but believable demonstrations of topics already probed by others, so that we could write about our own personal encounters in fresh new ways that may heal, encourage, and make readers feel as though our words are their own, and therefore feel God’s presence in their own heart and mind.
We live in this day—many pastors call it the last days—when many groups are pushing for their rights: civil rights, racial rights, women’s rights, consumer rights, gay rights, children’s rights, etc.
More than ever, we need to hear these reminders again and again: Only the Holy Spirit can gift us with discernment to write what we should and skip what we should not. Only the Holy Spirit can provide us with discernment to hear what we should and play deaf to what we shouldn’t. Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to discern and rightfully internalize Romans 9:1-5, beginning with this verse:
(To be continued next post: Part 3)
Photos taken at the Book Dedication event of OMF Lit:
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