2 Peter 1:20-21 ESV

“Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

I cannot tell you how many times I have sat in a church service and had a pastor grab a verse of scripture from the Bible and use it to prove his sermon. It should be the other way around. Take a passage, and formulate a message to fit the scripture. If you have ever read the ESV version of the Bible, each chapter is dotted with an array of Bible links so that the passage is helping the reader to understand the scripture using other scriptures. To cross reference a scripture is to be sure that the passage is interpreted accurately, and a scripture cannot be taken out of context if it is backed up by other passages in the Bible.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Word is divinely inspired so that when I read it I know it came from you and not from man. Help me to always study your word to “show myself approved, handling Your word correctly” (2 Timothy 2:15). In Your name, Lord Jesus, we pray, amen.