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Knowing God

        How
long does it take to Know God? There is no shortcut for forming a
transforming relationship with the Lord our God. It is a lifetime adventure
with God the Father Who loves us and sent His Son to earth to be the sacrifice
for the forgiveness of our sins.  This allows our redemption, in love to
live, after death, into eternity. 
        
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3.
        
Where can we know God? From the stories in the Holy Bible, we are told.
 The volume of words presents the stories of how God steps in our lives
over and over, teaching us new perspectives of faith, and trust, and obedience
laced together with His overwhelming love. 
        
This is not a quick ‘to do’ on our list, it never ends. Our entire lives will
is spent walking and talking with God.  “And He walks with me, and He
talks with me, and tells me, I am His own…” Little did I know, singing this
hymn as a child, I would one day see His words, not with a yawn, but an intense
wonderment and learning.
           
This God—His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves
true; He is a shield for all those
who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord, And who is a rock, except our God?  Psalm
18:30-31. Is it enough to listen continually? 
        
 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves. James 1:22.
        
God wants to connect with you and with me. It is as important for Him to
establish a relationship with us as it is to come to Him in love and trusting
faith. Why? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He
predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus
Christ, according to the purpose of His will. Ephesians 1:3-5.
        
Examine
these two verses:
He
has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into
man’s heart, yet so that He cannot find out what God has done from
the beginning to the end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11. The longing we feel in our
hearts is God knocking on our hearts, wanting to come in. 
        
And those moments when we feel alone, and no one cares, is when we need to
listen for God’s assurance.  The faithful love of
the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great
is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  I
say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will
hope in Him!” Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT. 
        
Who is this God who loves us and chose us before the creation of the world? 
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways
are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher
than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.
        
And yet we read in Matthew 6:6, “Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  And
in Psalm 42:1-2, we read, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my
soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
        
We understand hunger and thirst, but do we understand a spiritual hunger and
thirst? 
        
How can our thirst and our hunger for God’s spiritual truths lead us to
Him?  Two verses from Psalm 37 lead us to
be filled and not wanting.
Commit
your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth
your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be
still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not
yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries
out evil devices!  Psalm 37:5-7. 
         How often I
study read the list of ‘riches’ we receive from the fruit of the spirit, in committing
our Way to our Lord God.
        
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against
such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we
live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.  Galatians
5:22-25.
         The names of God reveal Him in a
defining way. 
El
Shaddai – Lord God Almighty       Jehovah
Nissi – The Lord my Banner
El
Elyon – The Most High God     Jehovah
Shammah – The Lord is There
Adonai
– Lord, Master                       Quanna
– Jealous
Yahweh
– Lord Jehovah
Jehovah
Raah -The Lord my Shepherd
Jehovah
Rapha – The Lord Who Heals
Jehovah
Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness
El
Olam – The Everlasting God
Elohim
– God
Jehovah
Jireh – The Lord Will Provide
Jehovah
Shalom – The Lord is Peace
Jehovah
Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts
         Waymaker, Miracle worker, Promise keeper, Light
in the darkness –
                         My God, That is who You are!

                                             Sinach

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