Augustine’s transformation turning point in life happened by reading the first passage bible when he opens the Bible after hearing a voice telling him to take it and read!! I feel justified now to ask the Lord for a verse as I opened the Bible !  #Augustine 

. . . All at once I heard the singsong voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain “Take it and read, take it and read.” At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any kind of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing them before. I stemmed my flood of tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall. 

So I hurried back to the place where Alypius was sitting . . .seized [the book of Paul’s epistles] and opened it, and in silence I read the first passage on which my eyes fell: “Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not in quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ; spend no more thought on nature and nature’s appetites” (Romans 13:13-14). I had no wish to read more and no need to do so.[1]

I am super excited that a great man of God with Augustine’s statue, actually used the same method to find God’s voice as I often do. I often carry a guilt thinking this may be too subjective and will not flow in with reformed theology. Actually, much to my surprise, a big saint like Augustine actually did the same thing in the turning point of his life. He actually recorded it in his most famous book “Confessions”. This very much encouraged me.

Holy Spirit can lead us and impress in our hearts what He wants to speak to us, I often get that from God, or sometimes, just in my continuation of my daily devotion reading too.

Did you see the anguish of heart and the desperation of Augustine’s heart in pressing to find God and seeking his help to deal with his sinful lustful life? What such brutal honesty & his heart passion for God and to know God relates with many of us today, has touched millions of Christians over the centuries, and millennium.

I strongly urge and encourage all Pentecostal/Charismatic  pastors read this book. I have to admit I haven’t read the whole book, its hard going, but I have heard enough praise of it due to its transforming power.

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[1] Augustine, Confessions