Knowing God

I have met a lot of people in the last two weeks who say they have always known God.  When I ask them to tell me about Him, they can describe Him from a distance.  The same way that they know about Justin Beiber, Will Smith and Pablo Picasso.  

The thing is, that I know God.  I don’t only know about him, I know God personally, intimately.  I am in relationship with Him.  We hang out every day.  

I get to know Him more by reading the Bible, praying, talking to Him throughout the day (kinda like texting,) worshiping Him for everything that He has done and is doing and I love sharing my life with Him.

He is my best friend.  He knows everything about me, there is nothing I can hide from Him.  He loves me unconditionally.  He never wavers.  There has never been a time that I could not call Him, talk to Him or let Him see all sides of me.

From the beginning of time, God has sought a personal relationship with you; Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”  He revealed Himself to the patriarchs and prophets; He personally led the Israelites in the wilderness by cloud and by fire.

God’s ultimate invitation to fellowship with Him was in sending His Son, Jesus to pay the price for our sin, so that we who believe could be called His children. To seal His presence in us, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

God continually invites us to respond to His love and desire for fellowship. He longs to love us as only He can, and He wants us to know Him in all of His fullness. His commandment to us is “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” Deuteronomy 6:5. He wants us to be intimate with Him.

I encourage you today, if you have known about God for a while and you want to move into a relationship, then pray now.  

When we pray the prayer of salvation, we’re letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” Hebrews 11:6.

When we pray the prayer of salvation, we’re admitting that we’ve sinned. As the Bible says of everyone, except Jesus has sinned: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

To sin is simply to fall short of the mark, as an arrow that does not quite hit the bull’s-eye. The glory of God that we fall short of is found only in Jesus Christ: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Corinthians 4:6

The prayer of salvation, then, recognizes that Jesus Christ is the only human who ever lived without sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5:21

With Christ as our standard of perfection, we’re now acknowledging faith in Him as God, agreeing that: “In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” John 1:1-3

Because God could only accept a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and because He knew that we could not possibly accomplish that, He sent His Son to die for us and pay the eternal price. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Do you agree with everything you have read so far? If you do, don’t wait a moment longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Remember, this prayer is not a magical formula. You are simply expressing your heart to God.

If you’ve prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel something – a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure! “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9

Welcome to the family of God! I encourage you now to find a local church where you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.