the text book

I didn't say this in my post on learning from God because it is so obvious to me, I guess. It may be obvious to you, too, but I think I should say it for the sake of clarity.

As you ask God to teach you things, be sure to be reading the Bible. The ultimate answer book. Even as He guides you to books, sermons, etc, they should in turn guide you to Scripture that supports what they are saying.

That's why the process should be very prayerful. So that you know what is from God and what isn't.

And any new information that you hear or read must be validated by the Word of God. If a pastor or teacher gives some Scriptural references, then as soon as you can, you look those up for yourself.

And if none are given, then you need to do a bit of research. You can go to a site like Gospelcom and use their scripture search tool. Type in a word that has to do with the subject you are researching and it will bring up all the scriptures that refer to that word. Search and be sure that whatever it is you heard is Bible Truth and not just some person's idea or philosophy.

This requires some work. And I know my other post made it sound like we could just sit around and be spoon fed. That is true to some extent; God will be surprising in how He brings the answers to us. But we always must be alert and attentive to the Holy Spirit and be in the Bible in order to discern truth from lies.

The devil, who hates us, loves to pretend to be a good guy. He is tricky, sneaky and wants nothing more than to confuse us and deceive us.

The Lord is on our side and will reveal truth to us. But we must be wise. The Bible warns us in many places to be alert and on the lookout for false teachers. They teach just enough of the truth to make us trust them, but they are full of false doctrine.

The Word of God is our only reliable reference.

And even then, we must use the full scope of Scripture. I can very easily make any point and back it with a verse or a phrase of Scripture. This doesn't count. This is not what I mean by making sure something is backed in Scripture. Something that is Scripturally true will be a common theme throughout the entire Bible. I will be a scripture that can be validated by more scripture.

Yes, this requires effort. The Lord wants us to be diligent and to be knowledgeable of what he says.

There. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't coming across as promoting some kind of mystical learning experience that nullified the need for God's Word. God will teach us. But His primary text book is always His written Word.