{"id":1168,"date":"2011-06-28T01:47:21","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T06:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:38:58","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:38:58","slug":"how-does-god-guide-us-through-scripture-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/06\/28\/how-does-god-guide-us-through-scripture-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does God Guide Us? Through Scripture (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 7 of series:
\nHow Does God Guide Us?<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n

In my last post, I began to discuss different ways God guides us through Scripture. I focused especially on the sort of general guidance for our lives that is present throughout the Bible. From Scripture we know that we should love God, love our neighbors, love our enemies, etc. etc. etc.<\/p>\n

But what about when we\u2019re facing decisions in which general biblical teaching doesn\u2019t seem to make an obvious difference? The clear call to love my neighbor, for example, doesn\u2019t tall me exactly how to do this, or exactly which neighbors of the hundreds in my life deserve the bulk of my time and attention.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Talk about preaching that connects with people's lives! Billy Graham has been used by God to communicate with millions upon millions. In the picture above, he's speaking in Trafalgar Square in London in 1954. (Picture from the Billy Graham Center of Wheaton College.) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Holy Spirit can also give quite specific direction as we encounter the text of the Scripture, taking that which is true for all Christians and applying it to our particular lives and situations. This sort of thing happens all the time in personal Bible study, in group studies, and when God\u2019s Word is preached. This is one major reason, by the way, that I am a preacher. I\u2019ve seen God change lives through the power of his proclaimed Word.<\/p>\n

For example, several years ago in a sermon I mentioned an Old Testament passage in which the Lord says, \u201cI hate divorce\u201d (Malachi 2:16).\u00a0 I connected this passage to the teaching of Jesus on marriage, calling my congregation to a new commitment to marriage.\u00a0 As I greeted folks after service, I heard the usual collection of \u201cNice sermon, pastor\u201d comments.<\/p>\n

The next morning I received an altogether different kind of response.\u00a0 A man I\u2019ll call Jeff called me at church.\u00a0 He had been in worship the day before and had a desperate need to speak with me.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to elaborate on the phone, but said it had to do with my sermon.\u00a0 I rearranged my schedule so I could visit with him over his lunch hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour sermon really upset me,\u201d Jeff began.<\/p>\n

Oh no, not a great start to this conversation<\/em>, I thought quietly as I steeled myself for his criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you said about marriage and divorce has completely messed me up,\u201d he continued.\u00a0 He then told me his story.\u00a0 A couple years ago, he had begun an affair with a coworker.\u00a0 When his wife discovered his unfaithfulness, Jeff left her and their two small children, and moved in with his girlfriend.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, he began divorce proceedings.\u00a0 At the time of our lunch meeting, everything was final, except one last signature.\u00a0 With the sweep of a pen, Jeff\u2019s marriage would be completely over.<\/p>\n

Until the day before when I mentioned that God hates divorce, Jeff had never really questioned the morality of his actions.\u00a0 He was sorry to hurt his wife\u2019s feelings and especially those of his children.\u00a0 But he was tired of his marriage and in love with his coworker.\u00a0 Then, owing to a number of \u201ccoincidences,\u201d Jeff had visited our church the day before, only to hear my sermon on marriage and divorce. (This, by the way, illustrates quite wonderfully how the Spirit can use both circumstances and Scripture to guide us.)<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time I\u2019m wondering what God thinks about what I\u2019ve done,\u201d Jeff continued.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I shouldn\u2019t get divorced.\u00a0 Maybe I should try to get back with my wife, though by now she hates my guts.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 What do you think I should do?\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried in a gracious way to explain to Jeff what God intended for marriage and God\u2019s consequent hatred of divorce (even though it is something God has allowed in some circumstances and which God forgives even when it is completely wrong).\u00a0 I agreed that Jeff\u2019s wife might very well have no interest in reconciliation, but encouraged him to talk with her.\u00a0 She was a Christian, I discovered, as was Jeff, though he had not been living in fellowship with God for many years.\u00a0 As Jeff and I prayed together, I pleaded with God for help.\u00a0 Neither of us felt a lightening bolt from heaven that promised healing for his marriage, but we sensed God\u2019s support for an effort to reconcile.<\/p>\n

Ten months later, I found myself praying with Jeff once again.\u00a0 But the context was very different. The intervening months had been an emotional roller coaster for him and his wife.\u00a0 At first she laughed off his offer to reconcile.\u00a0 But, after a while, she sensed a genuine change in Jeff\u2019s heart, especially when he terminated his extra-marital relationship.\u00a0 Lots of counseling, prayer, and support from other Christians slowly brought healing to their broken marriage.\u00a0 Ten months after my first meeting with Jeff I was praying with him . . . and with his wife, as they stood at the altar to renew their marital vows.\u00a0 God had brought them both through an astounding process of reconciliation.\u00a0 Before family and friends they testified to the power of the Scripture to change our lives for the better, by helping us to confront what is wrong and by teaching us to do what is right.<\/p>\n

Jeff\u2019s case marvelously illustrates the guidance of the Spirit through Scripture. But, I\u2019ll freely admit, things don\u2019t always happen this way or end this happily. In my next post I\u2019ll include some warnings about the potential for misconstruing God\u2019s will through the misuse of Scripture.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 7 of series: How Does God Guide Us? In my last post, I began to discuss different ways God guides us through Scripture. I focused especially on the sort of general guidance for our lives that is present throughout the Bible. From Scripture we know that we should love God, love our neighbors, love […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10251],"tags":[10252,11,21652,197,467],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-does-god-guide-us","tag-divine-guidance","tag-divorce","tag-how-does-god-guide-us","tag-marriage","tag-scripture"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Does God Guide Us? Through Scripture (Part 2)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part 7 of series: How Does God Guide Us? In my last post, I began to discuss different ways God guides us through Scripture. 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