How do you know when scriptual words are directed at you?

Answer 1

Have you ever heard the expression "if the shoe fits..."? I think though this is not always so simple a question. One thing you should always ask yourself in reading Scripture is "who is speaking?" and "who is being spoken to?" This should help you to know how it relates to you. The teachings of Jesus for instance, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) were general teachings directed towards any who have an interest and desire to live according to truth. You can be quite certain He was speaking to you. The Epistles or Letters of the New Testament were written to believers in Jesus, so you can be confident that the truths spoken hear are applicable to you if you profess to be a follower of Jesus. Be careful though to read things in context. Some love to pull a passage out and assume it means them. One example is "we have the mind of Christ" (I Corinthians 2:16) - people say it's in the Bible, so it means them. But if you look at the next verse it says "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as fleshly, as mere babes in Christ" (I Corinthians 3:1). So why not pick this verse instead of the preceding as applying to you?
Do you see what I mean? I think the first verse Paul was referring to himself and those who are spiritually mature; but not all believers have arrived there yet. So we need to be thoughtful and prayerful when reading the Scriptures.
Someone told a story of someone seeking guidance. He opened the Bible randomly and pointed his finger to a passage. It read "Judas went out and hanged himself". Well he didn't like that so he thought he would try again. He picked out another passage at random and it read; "Go and do thou likewise."
So you can see the danger of that approach to the Bible.
On the other hand, God is able to make a particular passage stand out and speak to your immediate situation. If you are unsure, prayerfully ask for confirmation. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established." (II Corinthians 13:1)
The safest thing is to keep in the Scriptures. God is a personal God, and personal relationships take time to develop, but after you've spent some time with anyone you come to know where they are coming from.
Peace to you.

Answer 2

All scripture is:
2 Peter 1
2 Tim 3-4
1 Peter6

Answer 3

Good question. I try and listen to the words, think about what it is saying and how it applies to my life, or what lessons I can take from the stories. It isn't that when you read the story of david and bathsheba that you are currently having an affair, but there is always something to glean from the Bible. But there will be times when you feel convicted that it is speaking to you. Sometimes I feel the words directed so precisely at myself I almost start to cry... and I am not a crier.

Answer 4

How do you know when a Horoscope is directed at you?

It's called coincidence. All humans share the same failings and engage in the same behaviors or omissions. If at some point in your life nearly every scripture didn't seem directed at you in some oblique or direct way, now that would be a miracle.

Answer 5

they werent intended to be just for one person, but sometimes you get a feeling (prompting from the Holy Spirit) that you should listen and pay attention, because maybe you're life is starting to sound like you need a lot more guidance than you've been accepting...

Answer 6

I have beenin church services and had the preacher speak on a topic and it made be feel guilty, I felt like he was looking straight at me and talking straight to me so I know that God sent that message to me.

Answer 7

I figure every word of God's Revelation has been for my education -- so they are all directed at me.... and at everyone else, too!

Answer 8

When it tugs at your heart then you know you need to do something.

Answer 9

When you feel convicted! by the word.

Answer 10

Don't worry they're not.