I seek the will of the Spirit of God, through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.

Question from a reader: On page 174 of Heaven you talk of the thrill of seeing Jesus in Heaven. You say, “Being with him. Gazing at him. Talking with him. Worshiping him. Embracing him. Eating with him. Walking with him. Laughing with him.” But how will millions of resurrected believers be able to do this? Do we take turns?

Think about the person you would most want to spend time with. Who would that person be? Your favorite singer, author, or athlete? Your best friend who moved away? A family member who’s already died? Many Christians would say they’d want to spend time with Jesus. They’d want to see the Savior who created them, died for them, and made their life in Heaven possible—the one who loves them more than anyone else.

Your lack of feeling in relationship to the Lord could be related to some damaged emotions somewhere in your past. It is helpful to evaluate this area (not to cast blame, but to gain an understanding and add insight into why you may be experiencing what you are. 

Knowing God's voice, I think, comes mostly from abiding in Christ, as in John 15. Part of that, but not all of it, is His Word abiding in us.

You are right that it's possible to think too much of what people think and say. What's really important is God's evaluation of our life.

I say this because it is possible to run a church and all of its activity without the Holy Spirit.

Truth without grace is unbending, like the law of gravity. Gravity doesn’t take into consideration the fact that the individual in the car is young, kind, tired or didn’t mean to get too close to the edge of the cliff. When the car plunges off the precipice, gravity shows no sympathy. Truth tells us we’re sick. Only grace can cure us.

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for them.