Somerset Maugham said, “The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you.”This may well be true of most books; but it is not true of the sixty-six books contained in The Book.
"Well, what this verse is saying to me..." sounds okay at first blush...and certainly the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to speak directly to us in a variety of ways. But that same Spirit wrote through human authors with certainty and primary meaning. As we "work out our salvation in fear and trembling" it does, in fact, take work (and time) to "study to show ourselves approved..."
To rightly hear from God it is vital to read in context...and that is why I continually encourage people to read the Word the way it was written...book by book rather than hopping around reading a few verses here, and a few verses there.
In these days when there is so much garbage "preached," written, and taught; it is vital for us to become rooted and grounded in the Word of God.
There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going....
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