Hearing Jesus: Daily Bible Study, Christian Affirmations, Hearing God, Prayer, Holy Spirit, Daily Devotional

Bible Study 101: What Is Biblical Meditation? Hearing Jesus, Devotional

This episode is a replay from Rachael's biblical meditation series, and
it closes out Bible Study 101 by putting you inside the passage you've been
studying all week.

The first half is teaching. What the Hebrew word hagah actually means,
why meditation is the thing that trains you to recognize God's voice, and a
story about the night Rachael got the call about her grandmother. The second half is a guided meditation on John 6:1-15, where you'll walk through the scene as the boy who handed over his lunch, and then sit with Jesus afterward.

There's no closing prayer on this one, on purpose. Rachael reads the
passage and then hands the time over to you.

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Chapters

2:17 What this episode is, and why it's structured backward

2:43 Hagah, the second Hebrew word for meditation

3:13 Omnipresence, and what meditation actually creates

3:42 How you come to recognize a voice

4:39 When the enemy sounds a lot like God

5:18 The night her grandmother fell

7:14 I'm not over there, I'm right here

8:38 Meditation is the posture. The interaction is what changes you.

9:05 Why we want someone else to talk to God for us

11:18 How do I know if I'm hearing from God?

11:44 Tip one, pick a Scripture

13:06 Tip two, pick a time

13:58 Tip three, pick a place

14:24 Tip four, your posture

15:23 Tip five, don't give up

15:51 The guided meditation begins

16:21 Using your senses inside the scene

17:36 When Jesus sits down next to you

18:37 Then you ask Him the same question

21:04 Reading John 6:1-15

What is biblical meditation?

It's filling your mind with God's word on purpose and staying there long
enough for Him to speak into it.

Meditation is mentioned 58 times in Scripture, and there are two Hebrew
words behind it. One appeared earlier in this series and carries the sense of
complaining or pouring out to God. The other is hagah.

What does hagah mean?

Hagah is the idea of pondering, imagining, thinking. It's turning
something over in your mind, sitting with it, and listening. It's also a
dialogue, where you're talking to God and then waiting to hear back.

That's the version of meditation this episode practices. Not emptying
your mind, but filling it with a passage and staying in it.

Why does meditation help you hear God?

Because there's a big Bible word, omnipresence, which means God is always
with you regardless of where you are or what you're doing. The question isn't
whether He's there. It's whether you recognize it.

Meditation creates the emotional and spiritual space where you can hear
Him.

How do you learn to recognize God's voice?

The same way you recognize any voice. Time.

Rachael has three daughters, and when one of them calls from another room
she knows instantly which one it is. People on the phone can't tell them apart, because their voices are similar. She can, because she's spent years with them. Her sister-in-law can too, for the same reason.

This matters because the enemy often works through your own insecurity or
ego, which means the voice can sound familiar. The way you tell the difference is the way you tell the difference with anyone. You learn a voice by
spending time with the person, and with God that time happens in His word.

The story that shows why this matters

Rachael's grandparents largely raised her. Her grandmother fell down a
flight of stairs, hit her head, and had a brain bleed. The call came in the
middle of the night, and it was clear she didn't have long. Rachael's husband
stayed with their kids while she drove nearly an hour to the hospital alone.

She says it was one of the most intense moments of grief she's ever
experienced, and grief makes you irrational. She kept praying the same thing out loud between sobs, over and over. I need You. I need You. I need You. At one point she reached her hand across to the passenger side armrest, as if she could touch Him sitting there.

And she heard Him, as clear as anything. I'm not over there. I'm right
here.

He interrupted her chaos with His words, and she recognized His voice
because she had been meditating on His word for years. That's what let her walk into the hospital room and say goodbye. The thought she'd been stuck in was replaced with something else. I'm right here. I'm not far away. I'm inside you.

Meditation is the posture that puts you where you can hear from Him. The
interaction with Him is what changes you.

Why do we want someone else to talk to God for us?

Because the enemy has convinced us we don't have equal access.

People ask Rachael to pray about their decisions all the time, and when
she asks what God has said to them about it, the answer is often that they
haven't asked Him. The instinct to route it through someone else is old,
and you can see it in the Israelites all through the Old Testament. But that's
not what heals you and it's not what gives you peace in the hard thing.

He will meet you where you are, in the desperation and the grief and the
chaos. He died to have that relationship with you.

What are the five practical tips?

Pick a Scripture. Your mind will wander, so start with the word. Choose something that speaks to a need you actually have right now. This isn't the time for word studies or breaking down Greek. That belongs to the discipline of study. Right now you're letting the Holy Spirit speak through the text and internalize it. You may need to stay on one passage for a while until it becomes part of you.

Pick a time. Rachael often does this before bed, but if you're building the habit, choose a time when you aren't sleepy. Our lives are fragmented, and if you don't plan for it the day gets away from you. Treat it like an appointment. You wouldn't squeeze in a date with your husband, you'd plan for it, because the relationship matters.

Pick a place. Quiet, free from interruption. Put your phone and your computer in another room. Getting outside helps if you can.

Watch your posture. The posture of your body matters less than the posture of your heart, but they're not always easy to separate. Be comfortable without being so comfortable you fall asleep, and don't pick a position that will have you thinking about your knees instead of His voice.

Don't give up. These are called spiritual disciplines because they take time and intention. You wouldn't gain muscle after three days in the gym. Some days you won't feel like it, and doing it anyway is the thing that builds the
discipline.

How does the guided meditation work?

You'll go into John 6:1-15, the feeding of the crowd, as the boy who
handed over his lunch.

As Rachael reads, use your senses. What does the grass feel like. What
does the hillside look like. Can you smell the fish being passed around. What's on the disciples' faces as they hand it out. What do you hear, birds or water in the distance or children or the voice of Jesus. What's the texture of the clothes you're wearing, and what's underneath you on the ground.

Then go further into the scene. Are you hesitant to offer your lunch? Are
you astonished at all that food, since you're the one who knows what was
actually in that basket?

You may need to read it through more than once. That's part of it.

Then imagine the end of it. The crowd leaves. Jesus leaves. You're sitting alone on a rock overlooking the water, quiet, thinking about what just happened. And then Jesus comes back and sits down next to you. You're silent together for a while, just enjoying each other.

After a bit, He turns and asks you, what can I do for you?

Tell Him. Your needs, your fears, your heartache, your hopes, your grief.
And if emotions come up, don't stop them. That's how we heal. Let them
surface in His presence. Don't rush it.

When you've finished and your spirit is quiet, then you ask Him the same
question. What can I do for You?

Then listen. Nothing may come, and that's fine. Sometimes it's
just about being in His presence, and His presence is holy, and that holiness
is what heals us. If words do come, take them seriously. It's often something
small, and small is exactly where Jesus wants to be involved.

FAQ

Is this a new episode? No. It's a replay from Rachael's biblical meditation series, running here as the close of Bible Study 101.

Is this the same as Eastern meditation? No, and the difference is the direction. Eastern practice generally moves toward emptying the mind. Hagah is the opposite. You're filling your mind with a specific passage of Scripture and staying with it. And placing yourself inside a scene from the Gospels is an old Christian practice, not a borrowed one. You're not clearing your thoughts, you're occupying them with the word.

What passage is used? John 6:1-15, the feeding of the crowd, read from the perspective of the boy with the loaves and fish.

Why is there no closing prayer? On purpose. Rachael reads the passage and then hands the time to you, so turn the episode off and stay in it.

What if nothing comes? That's normal and it doesn't mean you did it wrong. Sometimes the point is simply being in His presence.

How long should this take? Don't rush it. The reading is short, and the time after it is yours.

Do I need to have heard the earlier episodes? No. The full biblical meditation series is in the archive if you want the rest of it, including the other Hebrew word and a list of passages to start with.

Where can I go deeper? She Hears, Rachael's Bible study, teaches the color method and stays in one passage for a week at a time, which is meditation built into the structure.



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Friday Affirmations: God is With Me: Daily Affirmations, Christian
Affirmations, Biblical Affirmations, Affirmations

End your week anchored in peace and presence. This episode invites
listeners to release their burdens and find rest in God’s care. With each
affirmation and verse, you’re reminded that you’re not alone—God’s strength, love, and renewal are available right where you are. It’s time to stop striving and start resting in His goodness.

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Affirmations for rest, renewal, and surrender:

The week is ending, and as we step into the weekend, let’s take a
moment to breathe. Release our burdens and rest in God’s presence. We’re not meant to carry everything ourselves. God calls us to lay our worries at His
feet and find renewal in Him.



Repeat after me, then listen to the Bible verse.



I release my worries and trust God to handle what I cannot.

1 Peter 5:7



God’s peace fills my heart and I rest in His presence.

Matthew 11:28



I am not defined by my mistakes. God’s grace is greater than my
failures.

Lamentations 3:22–23



I let go of the need to control everything and surrender to God’s
perfect plan.

Proverbs 3:5–6



I am deeply loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love.

Romans 8:38–39



God refreshes my soul and renews my strength.

Isaiah 40:31



I will be fully present today, trusting that God holds tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34



My body, mind, and spirit find rest in God alone.

Psalm 62:1



I let go of striving and choose to rest in God’s love.

Zephaniah 3:17



I step into the weekend with joy, knowing that God is in control.

Psalm 118:24



God’s presence is my safe place.

Psalm 91:1



I am fully known and fully loved by God.

Psalm 139:1–2



I will not let stress steal my peace today.

Philippians 4:6–7



God is my refuge and I am safe in His hands.

Psalm 46:1



I do not need to have all the answers. I trust God.

Romans 11:33



God is fighting my battles and I can rest in His victory.

Exodus 14:14



I will not fear because God is with me.

Isaiah 41:13



I am held together by God’s love even when life feels overwhelming.

Colossians 1:17



God’s goodness and mercy follow me every day.

Psalm 23:6



I will not carry burdens that God has already taken from me.

Matthew 11:29–30



I am at peace because God is in control.

Isaiah 26:3



I trust in God’s timing even when I don’t understand.

Ecclesiastes 3:11



I will lay down my burdens and take on God’s.

Psalm 4:8



I am never alone for God is always with me.

Deuteronomy 31:6



No matter what happens today, God is still good.

Nahum 1:7



Closing Prayer:

Father, as this week comes to an end, I lay my burdens at Your
feet. Help me to release my worries, rest in Your peace, and trust You with
everything I cannot control. Refresh my heart and renew my spirit so I can step
into the weekend with joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.



I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you want to
go deeper, just keep listening. Your full Bible study episode is coming up
next.



#ChristianPodcast #DailyAffirmations
#FaithOverFear #BiblicalTruth #MorningDevotions #RenewYourMind
#HearingJesusPodcast


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Bible Study 101: What Did Jesus Mean by I Am the Bread of Life? Hearing
Jesus, Devotional

This episode is a replay of Rachael's original teaching on John 6 from
last year's Gospel of John series, and it's here for a specific reason.

For the last week and a half, the Bible Study 101 series has been walking
through John 6:1-15 one color at a time using the color method, ending with
yellow, the color that marks what God showed you personally. This episode is Rachael's yellow. It's what she found in this same passage after years of
teaching it, a seminary degree, and a lot of time in the original languages.

So listen to it the way you'd listen to someone show their work, not as a
scorecard. Don't measure one week of the color method against a Bible teacher's professional study. What matters is that she starts the same place you did, with the color method, before she opens a single resource.

The teaching itself covers the feeding of the crowd, Jesus walking on the
water, and the conversation the next day where He tells the crowd exactly why they came looking for Him.

Links

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Chapters

0:00 Doing all the right things and still feeling stuck

0:31 Where we are in John 6

1:11 Reading John 6:1-35

5:20 A crowd following the signs, not the teaching

6:16 The mountain and the Passover

7:13 Philip runs the numbers

8:23 Andrew, the boy, and barley bread

9:01 God's provision starts with what you offer Him

9:25 The meal, and how generous it was

10:07 Twelve baskets, one for each disciple

10:52 Why they wanted to crown Him

11:49 Provider and protector

12:41 You're looking for Me because you ate the loaves

13:40 The work of God is to believe

14:39 It was not Moses who gave you the bread

15:11 I am the bread of life

16:06 What twelve would have meant to them

17:03 It was not five thousand people

17:46 There is always more of Him

18:41 The miracle, or the miracle worker

19:41 God math

20:12 Prayer

What did Jesus mean by "I am the bread of life"?

He meant that He Himself is what satisfies, not what He hands out.

The crowd had just been fed. They chased Him across the lake the next
day, and Jesus told them why: you are looking for me, not because you saw
the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

Then He points past the bread. Physical bread satisfies for a few hours
and then you're hungry again. He's offering something that endures to eternal life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The bread in the wilderness was pointing at something the whole time, and
here He tells them what.

Why does John mention the mountain and the Passover?

Because both are setting the frame.

Mountains in Scripture are often where God teaches and reveals Himself.
Think of Moses at Sinai. And Passover is the festival where Israel remembers
the deliverance out of Egypt, and the provision that followed it in the
wilderness.

So John is quietly connecting this miracle to a much larger story about
how God provides. The signal is that what's happening here was never mainly about physical bread.

Why did Philip's answer matter?

Because Jesus already knew what He was going to do. He asked anyway.

Philip immediately starts calculating. Two hundred denarii wouldn't cover
it. He's not wrong, and Jesus wasn't looking for the right answer. He was
inviting the disciples into the process so they could see how faith works in
the face of scarcity. We tend to do the same thing Philip did. Our first instinct is limits and logistics.

What was the boy's lunch actually like?

Small, and poor. Barley was the bread of the poor. The fish were likely
closer to panfish than to anything you'd be impressed by.

God's provision often starts with whatever we're able to offer Him, even when it's very little. It isn't the size of the gift. It's the faith behind it.

What do the twelve baskets mean?

Twelve baskets, and twelve disciples. One each.

That detail suggests the lesson was personal for them. Scholars connect
it to the idea that God's provision equips His followers for their own
ministry, teaching stewardship and the joy of participating in work only He can do.

Twelve also carried a meaning they wouldn't have needed explained. Twelve
tribes of Israel. Completeness within a covenant.

How many people were actually fed?

More than the number you've heard. The text says about five thousand men,
and in that culture the women and children with them weren't counted. Most
estimates land somewhere between fifteen and twenty thousand people that day.

Why did Jesus withdraw when they wanted to make Him king?

Because they were seeing Him through the wrong lens.

They had just watched Him do something extraordinary and their conclusion
was that this is the Prophet. That reaction makes sense, and they weren't wrong about who He is. But they were expecting a Messiah who would deliver them politically.

His kingdom doesn't operate by human standards, and His mission was
spiritual life and transformation, not politics and power. So He left.

Provider and protector

The scene continues with Jesus walking on the water during a storm. The
disciples are frightened, and He tells them, it is I, don't be afraid.

There's a pattern in that. The one who multiplies your resources is also
the one who calms the storm. The way He works is holistic. He meets the
physical need and the deeper spiritual one.

What did Jesus mean that "the work of God is to believe"?

The crowd asked what they should do to accomplish the works of God, which is a reasonable question after watching a miracle. His answer surprised them.

The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

Work isn't a substitute for belief. The work of God starts in the heart,
and what comes out of it is a faith that responds to Him.

Are you following the miracle or the miracle worker?

This is the question the passage keeps pressing.

It's possible to be so captivated by what God does that you lose track of
who He is. The crowd was thrilled about the bread and never made the connection to the One handing it out.

So it's worth examining honestly. Are you following Jesus for what He can
do for you, for the signs and the provision and the answers, or for who He is?

God math

God works through ordinary people. When you bring Him your time and your
gifts and your obedience, He can multiply it in ways you can't picture.

There is no offering too small when it's surrendered to Him.

FAQ

Is this a new episode? No. This is a replay of Rachael's original teaching on John 6 from last year's Gospel of John series.

Why is it running now? It's the last piece of the Bible Study 101 series. After a week and a half of studying John 6:1-15 with the color method, this is what Rachael found in the same passage, offered as an example rather than a standard.

Should I compare what I found to what she found? No. She's been teaching this for years, has a seminary degree, and has spent extensive time in John and in the original languages. This isn't a competition. The point is that she starts with the color method too, before any resource.

What passage does this cover? John 6:1-35, which is broader than the fifteen verses the series worked through. It includes the feeding, the walking on water, and the beginning of the bread of life conversation.

Where can I hear the full John series? It's in the archive from last year, and it goes into the walking on water account in much more detail than this episode does.

What's next? A Q&A episode, then the fall Bible study begins in the Gospel of Luke and continues into Acts. The Hearing Jesus for Kids podcast returns at the same time.

Where can I learn more about recognizing God's voice? Rachael's book Knowing God's Voice covers hearing Him in everyday life, understanding His timing, and how to respond in faith.

Validation note: "Biblical meditation vs Eastern meditation" is a live query
with mid-tier competition, mostly the Abide app and denominational blogs.
"Hagah" is thinner and worth owning. Both are covered in the notes
below.

One thing worth knowing before this posts. Some of the content ranking
for that query specifically lists guided imagery as an Eastern technique and
contrasts it with biblical meditation. This episode is built on imaginative,
sensory engagement with a scene, so a listener could come at you with that. You have a strong answer, since placing yourself inside a Gospel scene is an old Christian practice with a long lineage, and hagah itself means to ponder and imagine. I put an FAQ in for it so you're not caught flat.

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Thursday Affirmations: Remaining Steadfast: Daily Affirmations, Christian Affirmations, Biblical Affirmations, Affirmations

You were created on purpose—for a purpose. In this episode of Daily
Affirmations, we focus on walking with intention, clarity, and wisdom, grounded in God’s truth. Whether you’re questioning your calling or navigating a new season, these affirmations help you trust God’s plan, listen for His guidance, and move forward with boldness.

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God created you for a reason. Your life is not an accident, and
your steps are not random. He has a plan for you—a purpose that brings glory to Him and fulfillment to your heart.



As you listen to these affirmations, let them remind you that God
is leading, guiding, and equipping you for everything He has called you to do.

I’ll say the affirmation, pause so you can repeat it after me, and
then share the Scripture reference it’s based on.



Affirmations and Scriptures:



God has a purpose for my life and I walk in His plan.

Jeremiah 29:11



I trust in the Lord to guide my steps.

Proverbs 3:5–6



I seek wisdom, and God gives it freely.

James 1:5



God is directing my steps and I do not walk alone.

Psalm 37:23



I am a light in this world, shining for Christ.

Matthew 5:14



God has prepared good works for me to do today.

Ephesians 2:10



I am equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:17



I walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8



I will walk in faith, not in fear.

2 Timothy 1:7



God’s Word lights my path.

Psalm 119:105



I choose obedience, knowing God’s ways are best.

Deuteronomy 5:33



I live with purpose and do not waste my time.

Ephesians 5:15–16



I am called to make an impact for God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 28:19–20



I have the mind of Christ and seek His wisdom daily.

1 Corinthians 2:16



I am a vessel for God’s work.

2 Corinthians 4:7



I will not grow weary in doing good.

Galatians 6:9



God’s purpose for me cannot be stopped.

Job 42:2



I do everything for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:23



God is using my life to accomplish His plan.

Romans 8:28



I am bold in sharing the gospel.

Romans 1:16



I walk in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25



I remain
steadfast in my calling.

1 Corinthians 15:58



God will finish the work He started in me.

Philippians 1:6



I live with an eternal perspective.

Colossians 3:2



I press forward in my faith, knowing my reward is in Heaven.

Philippians 3:13–14



Closing Prayer:

Father, thank You for calling me to a life of purpose. Help me
to walk in wisdom today, seeking You in all I do. Give me clarity where I need
direction, courage where I need boldness, and a heart that is always ready to
serve You. Let my life bring You glory.



In Jesus’ name, amen.



I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you want to
go deeper, just keep listening—your full Bible study episode is coming up next.

Listen daily and start your morning with God’s truth so you can
walk in faith, clarity, and confidence.





#ChristianPodcast #DailyAffirmations
#FaithOverFear #BiblicalTruth #MorningDevotions #RenewYourMind
#HearingJesusPodcast


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Bible Study 101: How Do You Know If It's God Speaking? Hearing Jesus,
Devotional

This is the last day of the color method, and yellow is different from
every color before it. The first five marked things that were already on the
page. Someone could look over your shoulder and check your work. Yellow marks what God showed you, which means nobody can check it but you.

That's exactly why Rachael saved it for last. If she'd handed you all six
colors on day one, most of us would have reached for yellow immediately and skipped the work. Instead you spent five days looking at Him before you spent one minute looking at you.

This episode covers what to do with what you heard. Three filters to run
it through before you act on it, what Paul meant when he told the Thessalonians not to quench the Spirit, and the two ditches on either side of this road that people fall into.

Links

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Chapters

0:00 The last color

0:30 Why yellow was saved for last

1:27 What yellow actually marks

1:54 The verse her eight year old highlighted

2:51 Why you would have grabbed yellow first

3:25 Five days looking at Him before one minute looking at you

4:04 Reading John 6:1-15

6:00 God speaks in other ways too

7:02 His voice will not contradict His word

8:20 Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

9:30 The two ditches

10:22 What quench actually means

11:20 The other ditch

12:17 Notice the order Paul puts it in

12:41 What to highlight in yellow

13:33 The three filters

14:17 The third filter, and what happened in Babylon

15:04 What biblical meditation actually is

16:13 How to respond

16:59 Prayer

17:57 Homework

18:31 Don't compare your yellow to hers

What is the color method?

It's a way of studying Scripture that Rachael developed while teaching
sixth and seventh graders who had never been shown how to read the Bible for themselves. She published it in her first book, She Hears.

You take a short passage and mark it with colored pencils or
highlighters, one question per color. Green marks the who. Blue marks the
supernatural. Red marks the action words. Purple marks timing. Orange marks numbers. Yellow marks what God showed you.

This week the passage has been John 6:1-15, the feeding of the five
thousand, one color per day.

What does yellow mark, and why is it last?

Yellow marks what God impressed on your heart. It doesn't come from the
page the way the other colors do. It comes from what happened in you while you were in the word.

And that's precisely why it goes last.

The first five colors are observation. You didn't invent anything, you
noticed what was already there, which means your page and Rachael's page look mostly the same. Yellow isn't like that.

Yellow also feels like the most spiritual one. The others can feel like
English class. Yellow feels like hearing from God, which is exactly why most of us would reach for it first if given the chance and skip the work entirely.

Rachael learned this at home. Years ago she had her kids highlight
whatever stood out to them in their daily reading. Her eight year old landed on a verse in Song of Solomon that was wildly inappropriate for her age. She
didn't understand it, she just thought it sounded poetic. It was innocent, and
it made the point. Impression without context goes sideways fast.

So instead, look at what you actually did this week. You looked at who the passage was about. You looked at what only God could do. You watched who moved first. You found a sentence about a festival that unlocked the chapter. You lined up the numbers and felt the gap between five and five thousand.

You spent five days looking at Him before you spent one minute looking at
you. So by the time you pick up yellow, you're not guessing at what God is like in this passage. You've been staring at it all week.

Does God only speak through the Bible?

No. Sometimes it's an impression while you're praying. Sometimes it's a
thought that doesn't feel like your own thoughts, one that carries more weight. Sometimes it's a sense that God wants you to do something or stop doing something. Sometimes it's a person who walks up and says God told me to tell you this.

That's the reality of a Spirit filled life.

But God's voice will never contradict His word. That's the standard. Something may come to you outside of your Bible reading, and the way you find out whether it's really Him is by holding it against who He says He is in Scripture. That's how you tell the difference between God, the enemy, and your own head.

Rachael has had someone say something to her that was so damaging it was
clearly not from God, and was aimed at stopping what God had called her to do. Scripture is how you test that.

What does it mean to quench the Spirit?

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test
them all. Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. That's 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22.

The word quench means to put out a fire, to extinguish a flame. Paul is
picturing the Holy Spirit's work in a believer, or in a room full of believers,
as something like a fire that can be smothered.

He's not warning against being too intense. He puts it right next to
"do not treat prophecies with contempt," which means he's talking
about specific ways a church shuts down what the Spirit is doing. Dismissing a word. Shutting down someone who shares what they sense God saying. Resisting a prompting because it's uncomfortable or inconvenient.

What are the two ditches?

Rachael lives in rural Pennsylvania, so she pictures a road with a ditch
on either side. In the first ditch are people who got burned. Someone said "God told me" and it was manipulative, or overused, or flat out wrong, and it hurt. So now anything that isn't printed on the page feels unsafe. Paul is talking to that person when he says don't quench the Spirit.

In the other ditch are people who accept anything with a spiritual label
on it. If it sounded holy and the person seemed sincere, it gets taken at face
value and never checked against the word. That ditch is where church abuse
happens. It's where the stories in the news cycle come from.

Paul answers that one too. Test them all. Keep the good and throw out the
rest. Or as one of Rachael's mentors put it, chew the hay and spit out the
sticks.

And notice the order. Paul says don't quench first, then test. He doesn't start from suspicion. He starts open to the Spirit and then adds discernment.

What are the three filters?

Before you act on anything you wrote in the margin, run it through these.

Does this match who God is? Not who you want Him to be. Who He reveals Himself to be in Scripture.

Does this line up with the Bible? And not just whether a verse can be attached to it, because anyone can cherry pick a verse. Does it fit what Scripture actually teaches in context. God does not contradict Himself. If something is telling you to do what Scripture says not to do, that is not His voice.

Do I want this to be true? This one is there to check your bias, and it's the hardest of the three. Think about Jeremiah 29. There were prophets in Babylon telling the exiles they'd be home in two years, and God said something specific about them. He said the people were encouraging those dreams. They wanted it to be true so badly that they helped create the lie.

What is biblical meditation?

If what you heard passes all three filters, sit with it.

Meditation here isn't emptying your mind. It's closer to chewing.
Remember the Hebrew word in Deuteronomy 6 for teaching your children the word, shanan, which means to sharpen like a blade. Repeated contact until something has an edge on it.

You've been doing it all week. You've had John 6 in your teeth. So do
that with the yellow. Carry it around. Say it to yourself in the car. Pray
about it. Ask God what He wants you to do with it.

Then respond. Is there something here to obey? Something to confess? Something to thank Him for? Does this change how you see Him? Highlighting it in your Bible is a different thing than the obedience He's calling you to.

FAQ

Do I need to have heard the earlier episodes? No, though this one is the payoff of the week, so the earlier ones will make it richer.

What do I need today? Your marked page and something yellow.

What if I didn't get anything? That happens, and it doesn't mean you did it wrong. Sometimes a passage opens six months later. Write the question you're stuck on in the margin and move on.

Should I compare what I got to what Rachael got? No. She has been teaching this for years, has a seminary degree, and has spent a great deal of time in John. Don't measure one week of the color method against that. It isn't a competition and there's no shame in a shorter list.

What's the homework? Take whatever you highlighted in yellow, run it through the three filters, and then respond however He's calling you to, whether that's obedience, confession, or gratitude. If you'd like more, read the rest of John 6 and mark it too.

What's next? Rachael replays her original teaching on John 6 from last year's John series, then a Q&A episode, then the fall Bible study begins in the Gospel of Luke, followed by Acts. The Hearing Jesus for Kids podcast returns alongside it.

Where can I go deeper on the color method? She Hears, on Amazon, teaches it over six weeks through the stories of six women in the Gospels.

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