How do we both neglect, misrepresent someone at the same time?

The most obvious answer is to fail to listen intently and the second reason is an extension of the former – we don’t really know them.

The Holy Spirit is the most neglected and misrepresented person of the Godhead.  Separated from God the Father and Jesus the Son, things have been attributed to the Spirit that often contradict the character of God.

So, how do we discern when the Spirit is at work? For Christians, the Bible is normative.  But understanding scripture does not always come easy.  

Studying requires more than just reading – it requires grasping context, culture, history, and genre! It requires understanding literary devices and rhetoric.  It requires one to identify presuppositions and assumptions that may influence one’s interpretation, and it requires sitting under the words we dare to stand over and declare to others. 

Because the  Bible is a spiritual document written for spiritual purposes for spiritual people, it requires devotion before one attempts declaration or demonstration. 

But this studying is absolutely worth it.  It provides a basis for an intimacy that allows us to recognize the voice of the Spirit amid the myriad other voices (even our own) that may be  shaping our views and guiding our actions.

So, if your desire is to understand the work of the Spirit and discern the direction we must go, we must not neglect our need for regular and intentional study.

We know better what God is saying when we acquaint ourselves with what God has already said.  There is no substitute, no Cliff’s Notes, no shortcuts to true understanding.  Get it?

Make time for studying.  Get a good study Bible (if you don’t have one, let me know), stay active in Bible study or small groups, pray, and then watch God’s will become clear to you!  

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

2 Timothy 2:15

Good Morning, I love you all!

ihs,

just adam