Now I read my bible looking for the blank spaces.

Once upon a time.

I would study find what I could find an learn what I could learn and see what I could see.
I would do word studies and topic studies.
I would compare translations and investigate the Greek and Hebrew behind them.

I still do those things but they all have taken a back seat.

Now I read my bible looking for the blank spaces.
For what I don't see.
What I don't have the understanding of alive in me through the Spirit.
Then I make out my shopping list.

God I don't see how this could be.
God I don't have this.
God what exactly is it that angels are longing to look at and Can you show me from their perspective.
God why is it like this and not some other way?

God I never tried this before can I have it?

I want to come away not with answers but questions for God
request for God.
Be more like a kid in a candy store waiting to be given the spirit of the truth.
No more grasping in the darkness of my own capacity, trying to assess and appraise the things of God with mere reason.
No I want the Spirit of the Truth, I want God to give it to me.
I don't want to make or buy my own.
I don't want anyone else to feed me.
I just want to taste and chew on what God sees fit to give me.
I can close my bible and wait for it.
After the light is turned on within me, then I can read and dig with my understanding.
Like understanding what you have been given rather then something you know you don't have yet.

It has been a most beneficial change.

Less dependence on reason, more dependence on the Spirit and Person of God.

Very interesting perception. Regarding less dependence of reason, "Come now, and let us reason together...".

Come now, and let us reason together," says
Yahweh: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Hmm how might that look...
I do find it interesting it is about reasoning with God regarding your unreasonable sin in the light of who he is and who you are in Christ.

Still nice jab, made me laugh

That is honestly an amazing tactic to try to use, I love the dependency on the spirit and the lacking of your own control.
I am not able to read the bible atm because my eyes are recovering but I do like to use a random scripture generator to see what pops up.

I think in this way I rely much more on chance/God's will and direction, really it is kind of fun to see what pops up and of course you cannot go into everything that shows up and expect to find something but looking at and learning new methods to read the word could give people unexpected insight and wisdom.

You might quickly find the RVG has only 30 or so hand picked verses behind it.
I knew A guy once speaking about a book called the promises of God.
Said he wanted to write a book called the other promises of God and include in it all of the less loved promises.

This is still a somewhat new approach reading the bible looking for questions and things to ask God for in place of reasoning our way into Gods things.

If you like that you might like this too http://restoring.church/pastoring-shepherd-style/

Yeah sadly it doesn't have very many verses, although if I am being honest I don't think we need a new way to read the bible we need a renewed heart and mind.I say renwed because the bible is like an onion or the earth crust it has many layers and so one can read it a thousand times and still if they have a renwed mind and heart can learn something new.

Mainly we all self interpret even if not on purpose, we read the bible with an already set mind of understanding certain beliefs views doctrines denominations what we think the scriptures say ect.

however renweing the mind and heart is not a one time thing it is a constant thing done by being close to the Lord spending time soaking in him thinking of him talking with him reading and relishing the word ect.
This is not a new concept even an unbeliever can tell you this but we still see the bible as a self interpretation it is far to easy to cherry pick a verse to post and say what you are trying to imply, way to easy to use as a weapon and to interpret according to what we think it says most of the time based on our own views and understanding but to exceed our level of understanding, what we think we know what we see as truth compared to God we have to come at the bible with a heart of a student assuming we know nothing.

This is when the door is wide open for the spirit to speak and teach because we let go of what we thought we knew we had the humility to go to him in rags instead of scholars we embraced what truth was shown because the door to our hearts and minds is not gated.
And yes I saw your blog I thought it was delightful

Ephesians 1:13-14

Romans 8:38-39 + Psalm 91:11

Totally!
It is why it is so important to put on a humility of mind and walk in the fear of God in regards to his word and in regards to one another.
I can picture God like a father with one of his children saying "So what if you are correct, you still are not right!"

Precisely if we think ourselfs correct all the time then how will we know when we are not? I don't want to imagine the look on father when he sees his word that is sacred holy and not a toy to be played with so abundently misused mistreated and used not as a teaching guidance or encouragement but used to show how right we are.
I have been saved for almost eight years now and in this short time of salvation I have seen it happen all over and all the time even famous preachers do this, there is actual power flowing through those pages but that power is not being used for it's intended purpose. Many that come to cc and even some on here see themselves as teachers, knowers of the truth and learned especially since they have been at this more years than some of us like me

However what I have seen is they will make a thread with a title of concept post verses videos and the likes to prove their view and then debate with posters, but these so called teachers do not use the scriptures to actually teach, guide build and encourage the body they use it to prove themselves correct.
This is the main difference between a person who is a teacher and a person who thinks themselves one, a teacher is one who helps others to grow and mature to educate encourage and strenghten those lacking not to simply debate your point.

I could go on and on with the role of a teacher what it takes and means to be one and the connection with the believer but to spare you of a very long post as I am prone to ramble on my topics what you did with your thread is what a teacher does, you didn't take it as a point to prove your view or why you do it you made a thread that is insightful educational and helpful, this is what bible discussion is and why the scriptures were given to us

And yet, never underestimate the power of great commentaries.

I have been reading a couple of commentaries that are not in the public domain that are opening up my understanding in huge waves of illumination in the book of Isaiah. Truths about Jesus and depths of revelation about salvation I never understood as the author intended because I did not know what he was talking about. LOL.

Now that I am learning that some of these chapters were about Israel coming out of Babylon after exile and the way God will deliver them and restore them, understanding the immediate application but then also applying it to Jesus and the salvation he offers to all I am comprehending things I never knew.
It was imperative that I understand the immediate application of the rescue out of Babylon and return to Jerusalem and view the message behind the message. It is mind blowing and I have never had so much revelation in my whole life. I am seeing things that Paul saw when he quoted Isaiah and I understand passages that Paul did not quote as also pertaining to our salvation.

It most definitely requires the Holy Spirit to show someone. They will still need to rely on the Spirit and be living the born again life in order to comprehend the depth of the salvation of Jesus and the internal realities of that life that is being prophesied in these chapters but once you get it, you really REALLY Get IT!!! The chapters I am studying are 40-52. (I know there are many great chapters in Isaiah, these are the ones that are currently yielding so much NEW revelation to me I never saw before)

The commentaries are
Isaiah 40–66 INTERPRETATION A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching by Paul D. Hanson, and also
THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH An Introduction & Commentary by J Alec Motyer

My point being that if you do not avail yourself of good resources it is not likely you will ever figure out very important historical, background information and just what exactly Isaiah is talking about. You might pick out a few favorite verses and you will just breeze over the rest, year after year and never comprehend the riches that are there. And trust me I am seeing riches of revelation by the Spirit that the commentaries are not mentioning so it is not about following men's views I am talking about. They just allowed me to get on the right tract as it were, to walk through the right door, to open up the windows of heaven and let the revelation of the Spirit flood me!

It might sound good to say that we can just ask the Spirit to give us the correct interpretation of Isaiah and then just read it, but I have been doing that since 1983 (minus 8 years I tried to drink myself to death everyday after a divorce and could not read) and I have never had the level of revelation I am having now that I have begun to understand some very important background information and details that were not obvious.

All this is to say that good commentaries are not a contradiction to being lead by the Spirit and having the Spirit teach you what He wants you to understand. The Spirit uses Holy Spirit anointed and gifted scholars/teachers who have operated in their gifts to edify the church.

That is the Spirit's method. We should not ask him to circumvent His revealed method because we have mistakenly thought it better that we get it "on our own" rather than through someone who is operating in the the gifts of the Spirit in the body of Christ for mutual edification so that we all grow up into the image if Jesus which is the Spirit's method of doing things. Ok I'm done, I hope it helps someone to start growing by leaps and bounds.

Commentary is useful for sure, it sometimes helps to get anothers understanding to help fit the pieces together and unveiling things previously hidden. None of us have all the pieces after all

I think both go hand in hand. We need reason to refine our spirituality and give us more knowledge and insight into the scriptures.

Its a cart and horse issue.
Are we putting our reason up front and expecting the Spirit to push?
Or do we give it the back seat and let it be led around to where it needs to go by the Spirit.

if we are not careful we end up with our faith in God being only faith in our own reason.
Can you imagine that?
Thinking all your life you are following God and Gods word only to find out your faith was not in Him but your own understanding of His things. You would have to loose your faith in what you thought was God in order to find faith in God.

We can apply our reason in a dark room with no light or we can get God to turn the light on for us so we can begin to understand what we have been given via that light being turned on in us.
Without the enlightenment within us, the reality of the truth of something living in us by the Spirit, reason is just faith in ourselves as we go groping around in the dark.