God wants us to know him

If you have been around church very often you hear this phrase a lot. ?It is not about religion but rather a relationship with God.? This saying is completely 100 percent true. God does desire a relationship with us. He wants us to know him. Here is where I want to spend a few moments. God wants us to know Him. That being the case, ask yourself this question. Do I know God or do I know the word of God? To know God is to know his word but it is possible for us to know the word of God and still have not have the faintest idea of who God is. I realize that this may be a new concept for some, but it is a concept that we must understand in order to have a real relationship.

Take the Scripture John 3:16, ?For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.? If I operate under the knowledge of God, my relationship will be shallow. I can possess the knowledge that Jesus is God?s son and I can believe that. Unless I understand the motive behind the sacrifice I have a superficial understanding of God. If I read this Scripture with understanding that God has been trying to have a relationship with me and it is so important to Him to have a relationship with his creation, the true awesomeness of the sacrifice begins to make itself real to me. God gave the most valuable, loved possession, Jesus, as a sacrifice for the sins of a world who would either believe in him or not. If the world chooses not to believe, it still does not change the fact that Jesus died for the world. Because of that act of true love, I am now saved and have eternity to be with Him.

The pattern that many get into is taking a portion of Scripture that sounds and feels nice and failing to place it in context. The Scripture in Proverbs chapter 19 that says ?many are the plans in a man?s heart but it is the Lord?s purpose that prevails,? sounds great and we can get a pretty nice feeling knowing that whereever we go God?s plans are going to prevail. But, place that into the context of the Scripture before and afterward and you see that dependance on God and godly input into your situation is what he is wanting. It is not with worldly wealth or our own thought processes that lead us to the achievement of the will of God. It is only with His direction and His instruction that we see and experience complete fulfillment.

How many times do we pray one-sided prayers. We throw our requests at God like a magic eight ball and wait for the yes or no. To know God in our prayer life is to make our prayer times moments of conversation with God. A conversation that is one-sided is only good for the one doing the talking. God wants to speak to each and every one of us. What would a marriage be without effective communication between husband and wife? It would be a divorce because one person is left out of the conversation and their opinion is marginalized. How much more our relationship with God. We read and understand that God is omnipresent. He is everywhere. The ability to connect to him or the amount of connection that we can have with him is dependent on us. He has not moved and has not changed. He is still longing for those close intimate moments where we become vulnerable and we show our true selves. Do you know God or just God?s word? He desires you do both. For several this may seem like a new journey, the thought of a completely relational God who desires interaction with you and not just demanding things from you. This is the beauty of Christianity. The God of all, the creator of all, the Great I AM that we hear about and marvel at his workmanship desires you. I would like to welcome you to come and be a part of the journey with us at Washington First Assembly. Our service times are Sunday 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and again Wednesday at 7 p.m. Our address is 1602 E. Washington St. Washington, Iowa. May God bless you and may you draw closer to him than you ever have before.