To Know Him

What is knowing God really about? What does it require of us? If we really started to know God, what kind of a change would we experience in our lives? I have been pondering these questions for a while now.

As I was writing a paper for school, I decided to listen to some music as I did it. I decided to go with Casing Crowns. It was a cd that I hadn't listened to very much, and so I wasn't all that familiar with the songs on this particular cd. The song "To Know You" started playing. The line of this song that really hit me was towards the end of the chorus. "To know you is to want to know you more."

I stopped everything. I almost dropped my computer. I have never really thought about this before. To know Christ is to want to know Christ more. If we are truly in love with Christ, then the one thing that we are going to want to do is to know Christ more. We should be so in love with him that all we want to do is read the Bible, pray, and spend precious time in fellowship with him.

So then, why don't we? I think Mark 14:38 gives us a hint. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
We do truly have this burning desire within us to be with our Lord, but there is a battle going on in the inner most parts of our souls. We have this spirit that wants to worship Christ and be with Him all the time, 24/7. But we also have this fleshly lust for everything that is unholy.
I direct your attention to Romans 7: 15 - 20. "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

Wow! So then, if we want to spend all of our time with Christ, and be holy as he is holy, why do we not? We are given the answer. We have sin in our lives! And the one way to get rid of this sin is to nail it to the cross with Christ. This isn't a one time effort, either. Luke 9:23 - 26. "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."
The key word in this passage is DAILY. Repenting isn't just a one time deal, and then were done. Indeed, hardly that, it is something we need to do DAILY. Not just when we feel like it, but every day.

Once we start doing this, I believe we will see huge things happen in our lives. Imagine it, the thing that is keeping us from knowing Christ more is Sin. If we don't repent of this Sin daily, then our flesh still clings to it. So rather, we daily repent of these sinful desires, allowing our spirit to pursue Christ, without the flesh clinging to that sin. Wouldn't that be such a refreshing feeling? It truly is incredible! I have been there. It is not something you want to miss. If you want a spiritual high, don't feel like you have to go to church just to get it. Don't feel like it only happens once a year when you go to your favorite Bible Camp. This can happen daily. What we have to do is this. Daily pick up our cross, and follow our savior, Jesus Christ, up Calvary's mountain. And there, nail our sin to the cross with Christ, you will be a totally new person. And I promise you, the feeling will be absolutely amazing!

So what will this look like? We will be living our lives in total surrender. Surrender to Christ, and be willing to do absolutely anything for Him. NO EXCEPTIONS! NO EXCUSES!

I would like to close with a quote from a really good book. It's called "The Cross of Christ" By John R.W. Stott.

"We can stand before the cross only with a bowed head and a broken spirit. And there we remain until the Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts His word of pardon and acceptance, and we, gripped by His love and full of thanksgiving, go out into the world to live our lives in His service."

Valentines Day

It really amazes me what people are doing for valentines day. I wold have to say that next to Halloween, Valentines day is my least favorite holiday of the year. Let me explain why. We specifically set apart a "special" day to spend with our significant other. This got me thinking. on this day most specifically, although most days are included, we are trying to find ways to spend time with the people that matter most to us. But how about Christ. How come there isn't a day set aside specifically for Him. Why can't we be wanting to spend a whole day just adoring Christ, who He is and what He has done for us? That's what I would like to know. This is probably why Valentines day is one of my least favorite holidays, if you can call it that.

So what is valentines day? Well, here is what you would find if you looked on wikipedia: Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions." So what happened that "intimate companions" had to be 100% earthly? How come the focus is so much on a girlfriend or boyfriend? My goal with this post is to hopefully get you thinking. What would it be like if you took all of the time that you would have been spending with a significant other, and turn that into time with God? That would be truly amazing!

Here is a question that has been haunting me. Why do we set apart a day to buy flowers, candy, balloons, and whatever else we feel like throwing in there, and spending time with a certain someone, and yet there is no day set apart to just consider God? Have we really stooped so low as to push God so far to the back of our minds just because that is what society has told us to? I think this needs to be changed. Why don't we turn valentines day into a day to spend with God. Or even if you do decide to get together with a significant person in your life and study God's word together? Or how about spending time in prayer? Why is this such a problem for us?

Did you know that valentines day was named after a martyred saint named John Valentine? Did you know that the original intent of Valentines day was not to buy candy for someone? Did you know that Valentines day wasn't paired with romanticism until some middle age writer decided to put them together?

That is why I don't really enjoy the aspect of Valentines day. Maybe if it was set apart to remind of us of why John Valentine died I would enjoy it a little bit more.

Hopefully after reading this you have a burning passion within you to go grab your bible, find a nice quiet spot, and have a nice long time alone with your Maker. And I trust that this has provided some motivation for you.

1 John 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."