[metmom]

He gives understanding of spiritual matters when reading Scripture.

Before I was born again, I tried reading the Bible, and heard the Scripture readings in every mass, and the made ZERO sense to me. It just didn’t compute.

After I was born again, I went out and bought my own Bible started reading it and all the stuff made sense. It was so obvious what was being talked about that I didn’t see how I could have missed it the first time around.

I rarely hear what I would call an audible voice, but I have had God speak to my mind and heart, in words. You recognize the voice of your Shepherd.

I know that statements like that bring nothing but scorn and derision from others, but it is real, nonetheless.

A person without the Spirit of God dwelling in them cannot understand it. It’s like trying to describe light to a blind person or sound to a deaf person.

The light and sound are real enough. The problem is in the ability to perceive.

[FourtySeven]

Thank you both for your contributions but actually metmom answered my question in the way I was looking. Although I still have some questions. Feel free to jump in some more if you wish. The relevant quote:

I rarely hear what I would call an audible voice, but I have had God speak to my mind and heart, in words. You recognize the voice of your Shepherd.

The times he speaks to your mind and your heart, how do you know it's him and not your imagination? How do you know it's not your opinion of what Scripture says?

This is the question I'm asking. I'm asking a real question, about *your* (anyone reading this really not just metmom) real experiences. What objective fact (or facts) do you utilize (if any) to determine the answers to the questions above? In other words, what things, what tools, necessarily outside yourself, that happen to you, and thus are "objective", do you use to determine the truth of this situation?

[CynicalBear]

>>He gives understanding of spiritual matters when reading Scripture.<<

Amen to that! Once I genuinely requested the guidance of the Holy Spirit things in scripture began to become so much clearer. Contradictions in teaching that brought doubt to my mind were cleared up and I could see how the teachings of many “churches” didn’t line up with scripture. And I can say that “freedom in Christ” took on a whole new meaning and the peace that passes all understanding is beyond anything I could have imagined.