Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Daily on the blog, we publish a chapter from the New Testament and a chapter (or more) from the Old Testament.
In the NT chapter, I find much instruction for the NT church and I am able to take those verses and examine myself by those verses, allowing the light of the Word of God to work through me by these scriptures daily.
One thing ... I must be in a state of peace when I read these scriptures. If I am in any form of envy or strife there will be "confusion and every evil work" (James 3) even using the scripture wrongly in such cases.
Also, I cannot afford to try to read scripture when I have a load of secular things which are on my mind. This can cause me to wrongly handle the word of God by rushing through reading without doing the Word of God in an appropriate way.
When we wrongly handle scripture, Paul says the following can happen to us:
I Cor. 11 ... 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (die).
Also Paul says, 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. I Cor. 11
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If we are in proper control and sit down to read the Blog, the Word of God can shine in dark places to allow us to see and repent ... or the Word of God can confirm to us the way we are going is the way of God so we can continue.
As I was reading the blog, I Peter 2, I sat and examined the verses, looking up key words in a dictionary.
All of a sudden I remembered something. The day before, I was going to garbage and my neighbor was backing his car out into the alley where I was walking. I was so sorry to see him and I wanted to run and hide but I had no choice but to keep walking. I acknowledged his presence by raising my hand as if to greet him. But greeting him was not what was in my heart. I knew some form of evil was in my heart against this man. I began to pray, forgiving him and asking God to forgive me and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
The scripture was doing a work of God in me, in the New Testament church.
This is very good!
Then I read the scriptures from the Old Testament and strongly saw the work of God as I read those scriptures. I know this also does a work in me to see God and HIS power so strongly in these OT examples. I know thinking on these OT examples of God working in the lives of people will rise up in me at appropriate times to strengthen me and help me and give me courage in this present life.
This, too, is very good!
And often when I read these OT and NT scriptures, God will confirm to me the way HE wants me to go on this earth. I am often shown I'm going the right way, the way HE wants me to go and this is strengthening.
That is very good also.
These works are being done from within, not from without. It is not my mind trying to do something. Rather it is the Word of God working throughout me to illuminate the situation whether it be in correction or in confirmation of the way I am going. It is an automatic by-product of the Word of God which I had read that morning.