08/15/2023
We all need to have a personal relationship with God, not to just be casually aquatinted with Him, but to know Him intimately. Is your faith the product of listening to others speak of God, or do you have a deep personal experience with Him?
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”
John 1:12 ESV
When we are born again we become the children of God; we come into a life of relationship with Him that is meant to be both personal and intimate. I see theologians who know a great deal about God's Word, but have never truly known Him. They quote scripture, go through the liturgical motions, and even pray... but they have never met the object of their study, nor come face to face with the God of their prayers. To those with a true relationship with the living God these people are easy to spot... they are like shadows.
When I was a child it was popular to have pen pals. These were children who lived far away that we would exchange letters with, and often we would tell them things about ourselves and our lives that were very personal. Confiding in them was made easy by the fact that we really didn't know who they were... we only knew them by what they had written. Today it is the internet and email, and the world has changed to the point that such interactions are dangerous, but in the 1950s and 60s life was much simpler, and the school provided safe contacts for us to write to.
I say this because our churches provide us a safe means of speaking to Jesus Christ and God. But, so many people use the act of attending church as a form of email or letter writing. God is OK with that for a bit, but He really wants us to know Him in Spirit and Truth. He doesn't want to be our pen pal, or imagined friend, He wants to interact with us, hold us, and be known by us in a real and tangible way. Do you have a personal and deep seated relationship with God? Is Jesus Christ moving with you through life by holding your hand and personally leading you? Or, do you depend on the sermons and stories of others for your touchpoint with Him, and your faith? God wants more than this, He wants each one of us to find and know HIM!
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
To know God we need to move past superficially learning of Him, and begin to seek Him. Many of us read the Bible like a travel guide; we dream about the places we see in our minds, in pictures, or scriptures, and can quote or recognize all the facts and sights, but never really go there. Our faith calls us to "come" and that means getting out of our Church Service, Sunday School, Bible Study, or Small Group, and to seek God and His Son in a very real way. Are you seeking Him in your life? Have you had face to face encounters with the divine? Have you felt the touch of angels, heard the whisper of God’s voice, or walked the road to Emmaus with Jesus? If not, then get off the pew... know Him! He certainly wants to know you!
“And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."”
Jeremiah 31:34 ESV
One night I was in my Monday Night Intercessory Prayer meeting, and between prayers we were talking about those things of faith that no person had taught us. We spoke of truths that we learned by interacting with God, and that couldn't be known any other way. I understood this to be the things we refer to as the "mysteries of the Word"; those things that are realized in scripture by living them and walking through them with Jesus in a real and personal way. How can we describe the touch of God to someone without having experienced it ourselves? How can we describe the sound of God's voice without having heard it? How can we speak of signs and wonders until we have seen one? There are so many things, and experiences, that only come from having a real and tangible relationship with the Lord... and yet there are many who say they are believers as they attempt to walk their faith alone. They are quoting those things they have read or telling stories they have heard... but have no personal knowledge or experience with God, or Jesus Christ.
Which do you choose to be? Are you the reader and dreamer of faraway places, or are you a pilgrim, and seeker? Does your faith reside solely between the pages of the Bible, or do you use God’s Word like an instruction manual to map out a real journey of faith? Do we meet Jesus while working in a soup kitchen, or use His gospel as a travel guide while walking with Him along the dusty roads of a faithful life? I challenge you to choose a real walk with Jesus Christ and the Father... let them touch you, speak with you, laugh and cry with you. Put your pen down and go see them... touch the holes in the body of Christ, and feel the earth move beneath your feet as the thunder rolls and the lightning flashes… reach out to God as He passes by. Do we long for a relationship?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for being real in my life; I thank you for allowing me to enter into your presence in person and to speak with you face to face. I pray that you keep your hand upon me Lord; not figuratively but in a true and physical way. I thank you for touching my spirit, my soul, and my heart. Help me lead others to seek you and know you in this way so that they can experience you first hand in their lives. Holy Father, you are more than a thought, a quote, or a prayer, and I thank you for entering into a relationship with me that is full and rich in its splendor and wonder. I praise you from the depths of my heart for you are mighty beyond measure, loving above all understanding, and faithful without question. You are my God, my Friend, my Savior, and my Counselor. You lead me each day, and speak to me about all things of life, faith, and eternity... my love for you grows with each breath I take, and my faith is affirmed by each touch of angel's hands, or whisper of your voice. Keep me Father, teach me Jesus, and comfort me Holy Spirit; be with me always as I seek you diligently every day. Praised be your name, and may all glory be yours, yesterday, today, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes