top of page
Search
Writer's picturepastormerrill

Getting to Know God, and Getting to Know Him Better

If a person wanted to know God better, they should come to know that God came to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ for that specific purpose. Jesus has since returned to Heaven, but we can still get to know Him, and know Him better. If we wanted to get to know someone that did not live in Nevada, or whatever state we were living in, how would we get to know them? We could get their phone number or address and call or write them in an attempt to spend time interacting with them. In the last 50 years this has become even more effective with computers and Internet. Instant Messaging and seemingly face to face, eye to eye communication greatly speeds up getting to know someone. We could make arrangements to meet them in person and either invite them to where we are, or travel to where they are to spend time with them, but in today's world, this might be nice, but isn't absolutely necessary to get to know someone. This may be fine to meet people, but this isn't the way to meet God.

To meet Jesus, one simply needs to pray, confess their sin to Him, confess He is the Lord of all, repent of their sin (turn away from that sin and sinful lifestyle, turning to following what Jesus and God's Word says for them how to live), and invite Him, and receive Him into their life as their Savior and the Lord of their life. After one meets Him, how does one get to know Him better? It could be said "Go to church", but lots of people go to church and neither meet Him or get to know Him. It could be said "Pray", but millions pray and neither know Him, or have gotten to know Him better. It could be said "Read the Bible", yet many people have read the Bible (and some all the way through) and still have not come to know Him or know Him very well. Millions of people are "religious", go to church, read the Bible, and pray, and will never "see the kingdom of God" as Jesus says in John 3:3. These are people that "Can't see the forest for the trees". They are so close, yet so far from God, having never been born again spiritually. It is not just in going to church, reading the Bible, or praying that puts one in contact with God, it is how and why one is doing these things. Do them in the wrong way and for the wrong reason, and one comes up with the wrong result. Not all churches are the same. There are some good ones, some bad ones, and some in-between. Not all Bibles are the same. There are some good ones, some bad ones, and some in-between. Not all prayers are the same. There are some good ones, some bad ones, and some in-between. If one goes to a bad church, reads a bad Bible, and says bad prayers, it is not likely they are going to get to know God, or know Him well.

In regards to going to church, some go to please other people. Some go just to meet people. Some go to raise their social standard, or to increase better chances in business. There are lot of other such reasons that people go to church, that will not usually lead them to coming to know God, though some do go for these reasons, come under the preaching of the gospel, the conviction of the Holy Spirit and do end up receiving Christ and coming to know God. On the other hand, some have set out to find out how to come to know God and have tried to select a church to go to for this purpose. They listen to the preaching, go forward at an invitation, or ask the pastor to show them how to meet God and be prepared in order to go to Heaven.

In regards to reading the Bible, an atheist can read the Bible in unbelief, looking for things to criticize, looking for ammo to use to attack the Bible. It is not just reading the Bible that should be done to be commendable, but having a "proper in take of the Word", reading it believing it to be from God, and looking to learn from and obey it. But this is not all. The Bible is not like any other book. It is said to be alive, that is the author, God, is alive and speaking to you as you are reading it, looking for you to realize that, and interact with Him as you are reading it. It is to be a two-way conversation, that if not actually responding to Him either out loud or mentally with words, there is a sense of nodding in attitude, if not physically, in agreement with God or understaning or acknowledgment of what He is saying. This type of interactive "prayer-reading" is far different than just "normal reading".

In regards to praying, some people pray only selfishly, or for the benefit of their loved ones, for protection, for prosperity, for health, long life, or money. These kind of prayers often go no farther and do not result in one coming to know God, even if God were to grant these prayers. To come to know God demands one come to know they are a sinner that is separated from God because of that sin, and is on their way to eternal separation and torment because of that sin. They must come to know that Jesus died to pay the penalty for their sin, rose from the dead, and must be invited by them through prayer to be their Lord and Savior to have that sin forgiven, their penalty of sin done away with, and for them to go to Heaven.

Once a person prays, inviting Jesus to truly be their Lord and Savior, some changes need to take place in their life for them to get to know better. Salvation is never lost, but to get to know God better, one must start spending time with Him for the right reason and in the right ways of attending church, participating in real group worship, fellowshipping with Christians, taking in Bible teaching and reading in the right way with the right attitude for the right reason and conforming their life to how it is to apply to their life, and talking to God in prayer about things God wants them to talk about. Making this a continual part of their daily living will bring them to a place of knowing God better and better.




0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Bible Man

Comments


bottom of page