Regeneration is a Prerequisite

"If a person is not regenerated, then no matter how clever and scholarly he may be, to him this book is a mystery. But a regenerated man whose cultural background may be quite primitive possesses greater understanding of the Bible than does an unregenerated college professor. . . .The Scriptures cannot be mastered through cleverness, research, or natural talent. The word of God is spirit, therefore it can only be known to whoever possesses a regenerated spirit. "

Watchman Nee, Ye Search the Scriptures: pg 15

1 Corinthians 2
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Word Lights our Path

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalms 119:105

A Man of One Book

I am a creature of a day. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God. I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book.

John Wesley

Who Masters Who ?

The most common approach for reading a book is to be in the place of the master trying to conquer the text you read. This is how a student would approach a textbook. They would approach it to gain mastery over the text. The Bible is not a text we can approach this way.

Humility of heart would be the way to approach Gods word. The Word is a gateway to fellowship with God. It is the gateway to think as God thinks, to become as God is, and to do the things God does. Our goal is to allow the Word to gain mastery over our hearts. Our aim is to submit our wills to its wisdom and direction.

I have heard it said before that we do not read the Word of God, the Word of God reads us.

Daily Encounters

This blog was started because of a fresh direction that God has refocused my life on. The phrase that keeps coming to me is "At the Core of the Christian walk is encountering Jesus at a heart level on a daily basis through the written word". This blog is my jounrney in this and things I am learning about encountering Jesus at a heart level.