OUR INSTRUCTION BOOK – THE BIBLE - The Basis for Discernment - Although the Bible is ancient, it's not a dead book. It's alive and as fresh as if He were speaking directly to you. The stories may have taken place centuries ago, but the principles and applications are current and relevant. It's our instruction book about how to live. Guidance for decisions and discernment about situations are found from Genesis to Revelation. God's Word is active and piercing. The words don't simply sit on the page. They penetrate our hearts and judge our thoughts and motives.

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Our Instruction Book

The Basis for Discernment 

Charles F. Stanley

Hebrews 4:12-13

Since spiritual discernment is the ability to see life from God's perspective, it requires that we know how He thinks and acts.

The Bible is His unchanging, infallible revelation of Himself.

However, the Lord doesn't simply give us a list of facts about His character and ways. All throughout the pages of Scripture, He illustrates who He is and how He operates.

Although the Bible is ancient, it's not a dead book. It's alive and as fresh as if He were speaking directly to you.

The stories may have taken place centuries ago, but the principles and applications are current and relevant.

It's our instruction book about how to live. Guidance for decisions and discernment about situations are found from Genesis to Revelation.

God's Word is active and piercing. The words don't simply sit on the page. They penetrate our hearts and judge our thoughts and motives.

This convicting quality is why some people don't like to read the Bible. But self-discernment is essential if we don't want to keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Some Christians live on a surface level, never understanding why they react to situations the way they do.

But if we'll approach the Word of God with an open spirit, it will bring to light our hidden motives and reveal unrecognized sins.

Spiritual discernment involves seeing not just our circumstances but also ourselves from God's perspective. Have you learned to embrace the piercing sword of Scripture, or have you avoided doing so because it makes you uncomfortable?

Remember, God's Word cuts only so that it can heal.

 

Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. While his teaching is transmitted throughout the world to millions of people, Dr. Stanley has been said to demonstrate a practical, keen awareness of people's needs and provide Christ-centered, biblically-based principles for everyday life.

Dr. Stanley’s motivation is best represented by the truth found in Acts 20:24, “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God's mighty kindness and love.” This is because, as he says, “It is the Word of God and the work of God that changes people’s lives.”

https://beta.crosswalk.com/devotionals/in-touch/in-touch-july-24-2012.html