I love that the bible proves itself and the verses you shared just ad to show us that the bible interprets itself as well and all the figures that Stewart never got can be got through the Holy Spirit…
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet..
There is safety in a multitude of counsellors..
Thy statutes are my counsellors..
Everywhere there are two or three gathered in my name there I am in the midst of them.
Every word of the Lord proves true.
Come now let us reason together says the Lord.
Scripture cant be broken, not one of Jesus bones were broken..Jesus was the word made flesh.. so cool how it all integrates..
Precept upon precept, line upon line..Spirit and word always agree.Born of water and the Spirit…
To you have been given the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to those ‘outside’……
the door…go in and out and find pasture…. in and out of the word and find spiritual food…
The devil quotes the word, but not of the Holy Spirit, so he can only approach it the same way he did with Jesus in the wilderness tempting Jesus with bible quotes…tempting us in the ignorance of our youth [lack of knowledge, my people go into exile] but then again He set the captives free! [US] and the others may read the word as the Ethiopian in Acts… how can I lest someone show me??…
Praise God…We are blessed to see! even if something is in a mirror dimly and we cant quite figure certain things out from time to time.. nothign happens until he reveals it first to his servants and the unfolding of thy word gives light…
I see the Bible as our black & white written down handbook for our survival through this world to the next.
I discarded Stewart Traill’s wrong teachings a few years after leaving the COBU.
Although some of the verses always ’seemed’ to make some sense and some of his concordance references may have conferred, the bulk of his words were heavy and without clarity.
They weren’t feeding me spiritually as evidenced by my lack of spirtual growth! I couldnt remain a lamb forever.I had to grow up…
Whenever I used to try to look up any of Stewart Traill’s ‘Bible Study notes’ in my bible, I would often get maybe two deep in verses and made little sense until the Holy Spirit would take over and often lead me away from Stewarts stuff and lead me to right teaching as light bulbs would then go off in my head and I would gain understanding that actually applied to my life and or situation….
When you get right teaching you feel ‘full’ and satisfied by it!
Initially I would be trying to remain focused on Stewart Traill’s writings, I would try to stay on task, but would always feel a ‘pull’ that led me out on another tangent.
I would be led into beautiful teachings and light bulbs were bright!
It was there that the Holy Spirit started to guide me into all Truth and it was hard at first, because I would stop myself and try to go back the the St B/S Notes and got little other than confusion or frustration out of them or a little arrogance to think I had something heavy…heady yes ..but not God’s.
So eventually I stopped using St’s B/Snotes altogether. He taught more in tune with like Satan taunting Jesus in the wilderness…It is written…or like when the serpent was beguiling Eve!
The idea of a colored bible was a cute distraction to fuel some elitism in the membership of the prospect of being a way to find deep hidden mysteries, was a farce!…
At least it taught me to mark up my bible, lol..[like giving a two yr old a coloring book and crayons and they can scribble]
Having been raised Catholic before my salvation, I was always superstitious about ‘writing’ anything into my bible…duh what can I say, I was young and naiive!lol
So I learned I could mark my Bible and make notes, that it wasnt ‘adding to’, [which scared me as a young naiive Christian prior to my involvement with the Forever Family]
Learning to approach the Bible in the ‘FF’, I learned more in the fellowship not from Stewart since, when I moved in, I still maintained some independence and didnt even go to the first center meeting[ I had a previous engagement] after joining and therefore didnt meet Stewart Traill for over a month or so. I was never duly impressed by him, but a little suspicious.
I did come to respect him for a while and give him the benefit of the doubt for a time til he dumped Shirley.
Then I began telling ‘my lambs’ they could go to other churches as well as to the fellowship and center meetings but didnt push them to move in.
After he made the announcement that he intended on marrying Gayle,[Shirley said over a year earlier that he was going to do it] and when they started collecting our entire salaries and closing fellowships, I met with other Christians from local churches and then directed my lambs to born again churches, keeping contact with them on my own til they were situated and then I left COBU,shortly afterwards until I moved back to NYC to my own family.
In leaving the COBU, I was well able to read my bible and swing my sword.
I was however double minded on listening to St and being told leaving COBU was leaving Jesus,[not true BTW] which brought me into despair for a time and led me to try to reintegrate into the world giving up and being backslid a long while.
I didnt backslide after leaving til after I went back to NYC COBU and attended a few more meetings.
Once Stewart pointed me out at a meeting in NYC and told me that I was going to commit suicide. That showed me his lack of love and commitment to Jesus. He was not a shepherd but a hireling. But his words did sink deep into my heart and caused me to struggle with taunting reminders whenever I hit a low period during the years to come.
At yet another meeting, I met with Jeff Seif, who after listening to my concerns oer the radical change of the entire fellowship and the militant tone it aquired, he told me that I should come back in spite of the rumors and of my ‘reputation’ … since I hadn’t backslid, at least up to that point. This angered me and I felt like giving up.
That was it for me and hurt me so deeply that within a few months out of ’spite’ I did take the plunge and did backslid thinking I had no hope and if that was how God really was that I hadn’t a chance anyway since I left the COBU~.
The Holy Spirit kept at me though and somehow no matter what my sin,I was compelled to pick up my bible and at look for direction when I was confused.
Even ‘Bible Roulette’ [flipping it open and looking for a verse blindly] when I was convicted would point me in the right direction.
I’d often run but I couldnt hide. Jesus was ‘with me’[I will never leave thee nor forsake thee] through the worst times of my life and he always picked up my pieces and put me back together again! I often read “Footprints” and found comfort knowing things could always have been worse than they were.
Once I had it settled in my heart that I belonged to Jesus and repented of my rebellion, He once again began to gently lead me and guide me and has opened his word to me that I have a hearing ear and can discern truth from error.
I may not have all the answers, as that in itself would prove me wrong, but I can go before the throne unashamed and rely on his word, which proves true everytime.I may not have the answers, but He does!!!!
GBU~
Ave 