WE MAY KNOW ABOUT GOD, BUT DO WE KNOW HIM?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection
and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death
(Philippians 3:10)

MEDITATION:
There was a pastor who had been preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ
for more than fifty years, who said he still felt
that he was just on the threshold of discovering Him.
He wanted to move closer to Him and learn more and more about Him.

Near the end of his ministry, Paul said, “I want to know God”.
He felt like it was a work in progress and made it his goal
to know Him and understand His plans for him.

Doesn’t it make sense that we would want to really know our Creator,
and even more after we have received His gift of salvation?
Our faith includes believing that He created everything, including us.
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands. (Psalm 102:25)
Did Paul and this pastor know God?
Yes, they knew Him, but they knew so little about Him.

When Christopher discovered America, did he really get to know America?
Sure he landed on the shores of this new land,
but in his lifetime there was so much that he never discovered about it.
There are probably many lakes, forests, and territories today
that no one has completely explored.

ACTION:
There is so much about God and Christ that we need to know.
We may have discovered them,
but God’s plan is that we know them more and more each day.
How do we accomplish that?

First of all, we cannot get to know them more by doing nothing.
We discover God by taking the time
to absorb the magnitude and beauty of things He has created.
We can (must) read His Word in order to know more about them.

Think about a request you may have received from someone on social media.
What is the first thing you do before accepting their invitation to be a friend?
If you are familiar with them, you think about the type of
person they are and decide if you want to interact with them.
If you don’t know them, you review their profile to learn more about them.
You want to know if you have common interests, etc.

We should want to review the profiles of God and Christ in order to know them.
The bible gives us a plethora of information about them and their characteristics.
We can learn about the things they like and the things they dislike.
We can learn what pleases them and what disappoints them.

We can learn how important we are to them and how they have plans for us.
All of these things can help us know them more, but it can also increase
our self-esteem and encourage us as we discover the depth of their love for us.

We need to also meditate on the things we read in His Word.
One way to do this is to read each sentence multiple times
and put an emphasis on a different word each time.
For instance:
JESUS died for our sins.
Jesus DIED for our sins.
Jesus died FOR our sins.
Jesus died for OUR sins.
Jesus died for our SINS

We can also substitute the word “my” for “our”
to make it more personal and meaningful to us.
The goal is not to see how many scriptures we can read, but to think about
what each verse means to us, and what it tells us about God and Christ.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, like Paul I want to know You more. I want Your
thoughts to become my thoughts. I want to follow and fulfill Your
plans for me. I know that anything You have planned for me is good,
exciting, and can benefit others. Help me to discipline myself to spend
more time getting to know more about You and Jesus. Forgive me for
my halfhearted efforts in trying to learn more about You and Christ.”

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