How does God influence us?
Question:
A while back I was looking through Scripture and discussing with a friend about the influence of the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus. I don't remember where the Scriptures are at. I should make a list of subjects and put down Scriptures in the list when I find one that goes along with the subject.
Is that influence of God the Bible, His written or breathed word; you, I, or any other Christian talking to someone; God talking to someone directly; or being influenced by God to help someone come to Him? Do you agree with any of these or is there more ways that God influences? I would like to hear what you think about this.
Answer:
I hope I understand your question correctly. I got a bit lost partway through it. If I missed what you intended to say, just let me know.
Writing down lists of verses is a good idea. Most Bibles have several blank pages at the beginning and end. I have written down various topics that repeatedly came up when I studied with people and I jotted both the verses and a quick reminder of what those verses said. After a while, I typed them up and when I get a new Bible I print them off on a label sheet to paste on some of the blank pages to save me from hand copying all the verses. There is a copy under "Quick Reference for Personal Workers."
Many people believe that the Holy Spirit directly influences their daily decisions. I know one person who told me that the Spirit tells her what color socks to put on each morning. It is a bit extreme, but if you think about it, if the Spirit influences your decisions, then what about all the bad choices you make? What about your sins? There is a lesson that I wrote called "Led by the Spirit" that discusses these matters and gives a number of verses.
When a Christian is teaching God's word to another person, then God is influencing them as well. Even as we live our lives in accordance to God's teaching, then our examples become an influence on others as well and give God glory (Matthew 5:13-16).
In the past, God talked directly to men, but He stated that He now deals with us through His Son. "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:1-2). The message of Jesus is recorded for us in the Bible.
God is also active in the world. We speak of His behind the scenes efforts as His providence. God's providence is well illustrated in the book of Esther. Though at first, it appears that God had little to do with the events in the book of Esther, we realize on following the reading that there were far too many coincidences than can be explained by random events. As Mordecai states to Esther, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14). Though man cannot know for certain because God didn't say, we still can suspect that God's hand is involved in various events. The Bible states that such providential work continues, such as in the raising up and bringing down of nations and their leaders. God also promises to answer our prayers and those answers often are seen in the providence of God.
