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The Holy Spirit Speaking Today
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
Some ask, “But isn’t Scripture alone the one light for guidance from God?” The Holy Spirit works through the Scriptures to make them effective for guidance as well as redemption. Consider these comments made by William Law in The Power of the Spirit: “Without the present illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God must remain a dead letter to every man, no matter how intelligent or well-educated he may be. . . . To say that, because we now have all the writings of Scripture complete, we no longer need the miraculous inspiration of the Spirit among men as in former days, is a degree of blindness. . . . In denying the present inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have made Scripture the province of the letter-learned scribe” (emphasis added).
It is true that the existence of the church and the presence of the full written Scripture give new dimensions to the way in which God deals with human beings. But nothing in Scripture indicates that the biblical modes of God’s communication with humans have been superseded or abolished by either the presence of the church or the close of the scriptural canon.
PRAYER: Hold your Bible in your hand and thank God for providing the Holy Spirit to enlighten you as you read Scripture, to bring it (and spiritual songs) to mind throughout your days.
About this Plan
Dallas Willard urged us to learn and practice prayer as a two-way dialogue with God. These excerpts from his best-selling book Hearing God, assembled by Jan Johnson, are an invitation to meet God, to allow his voice to shape your choices, and to encourage your heart. As you begin this four-week reading plan, thank God that he promises to meet you wherever you are in your faith journey.
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