To know God through a personal relationship of faith (belief in). To know God through a study of what the Bible teaches about His nature.
Psalm 139 1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
verses 13-18 God is omnipotent (all powerful), verses 7-12 God is omnipresent (always present) and verses 1-6 God is omniscient (all knowing).
To know God reveals -- God is three, co-equal. God is Spirit, unity, trinity. God is love. 1 John 4 16-17 God is love, and all who live in love live in God and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in the world.
He is: Father of all men. Father of Christ, an eternal, unique relationship. Father of all believers, a relationship established by grace. Father of Israel, a bond established by covenant. Father, a word chosen to communicate one of the primary ways God wants us to know Him.
How can I know the God Who is there? Does God truly exist? Think (meditate) on these following thoughts and questions.
1) What were we made for? To know God.
2) What aim should we have in life? To know God.
3) What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God.
4) What is the best thing in life? To know God.
5) What in man gives God the most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.
Know God through His Word.
Daniel 11:32 He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him. Just as a notation here, the him Daniel is speaking of here is known as the king of the north, he is an enemy of God and His people.
Getting to know God -- what does He say about Himself?
Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy!I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.”
Leviticus 19:2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy."
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?
What do the writers say about Him and His remarkable attributes?
Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
Romans 1:16-20 16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
1 John 4:8-10 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Look at the amazing things God has done.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Exodus 14:21-31 21 Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. 22 So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!
23 Then the Egyptians—all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers—chased them into the middle of the sea. 24 But just before dawn the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion. 25 He twisted their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. “Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!” the Egyptians shouted. “The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!” 26 When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” 27 So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived. 29 But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. 30 That is how the Lord rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore. 31 When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Soon, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
From me:
Knowing God. There is no higher purpose, no greater pleasure, no bigger honor that we could hope for in life. It is what we were created for. Who we were created for. It is why, until we find Him, there will always be an emptiness in our hearts looking to be filled. We are so blessed to have a God who desires for us to know Him, and willingly, lovingly reveals and shares Himself with us. He looks for those who seek Him with all their hearts. Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. He promises we will find Him.
Lord, let us seek You, let us get to know You. Give us hearts to take the time to learn Who You are, As a dear friend we desire to spend time with, a new love we desire to know better. There is no greater friend, no better love, no dearer being with whom we can have fellowship. Thank You that You cherish our company, Give us a thirst for Your presence and the knowledge of Who You are.
Spend time today getting to know God. Set apart some quiet time to sit and be in His presence, to look at His Word and discover this wonderful Creator and Savior of ours.
No comments:
Post a Comment