I love my Pastor. But it does bother me when he asks everyone to
grab their copy of "God's word" for the scripture reading.
WHy? It always helps retention if you read along at the same time.
The Bible is God's word, but what does that mean? Is it the end all be all of God's words? It can't be because God is alive and surely has spoken sine He wrote the Bible.
But what does that mean to us? Well the Bible is God's word that He has spoken to us in the past and made sure that it got written down and reproduced for all. The word of God is of a spiritual nature because God is a spirit and speaks in the spiritual realm. The Bible is the manifestation of God's spiritual realm spoken word in the natural realm for us. Something we can hold. Something we can see, and read. Something that is connected with the spiritual realm and God through His Spirit. But you have to read it for it to work on you.
I noticed that a lot of people have a story about a divine encounter or revelation and they become a Christian. Maybe even get baptised. Then they go home and attend church on sunday and their Bible collects dust for the rest of the week. Sometimes they'll say, I've never seen a miracle! And they dont even realize that because they dont study their Bible that Christianity doesnt open up for them. So they dont see miracles or signs much if any.
Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...remember that? (Romans 12:2). Well the reality is for Christians not that one day God comes and does a spiritual shazaam on you and you get transformed, but rather you cooperate and do it yourself inasmuch as you read and study His word (Bible). When you read His word, you are in His presence because His Spirit is there and begins His transforming work on you for as long as you are reading & studying. When you are not reading then He cant work on you!You must be in His presence and the Bible.
Now that in no way means that the Bible is God or to be worshipped in and of itself but it is the manifested word of God to us in our natural realm enviroment that allows us diect access to the Spirit of God. Through His Spirit, you find Jesus. Through Jesus is the only way that one can find the Father.
So when your reading your Bible and a verse or a passage seems to speak to you...and you think, that sounds like me in that one situation...that is the Holy Spirit speaking to you and working on you to transform your mind inside to out with the knowledge and will of God, and provides our access to God's Holy Spirit.
So you cant ignore the Holy Spirit by not reading! You want to see more signs and wonders? More miracles? Try drawing closer to God through His word and He will draw closer to you.
And then one day you will wake up and have a different reaction to a situation in life that you've had before and never reacted that way before (that happened to me!) and you begin to be able to see that, I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind because I've never had that reaction before!
It's not about the signs wonders & miracles, it is about the Lord Jesus and walking with Him in spirit always. And when you do that, all these things shall be added unto you, so you will start seeing miracles. Seeing miracles and stuff is normal Christianity. Real Christianity.