Psalms 46:10a says “Be still, and know that I am God”
Hosea 6:3a “Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.”
When we read above two verses, Holy Spirit speaks to us that we should know our God in a way we should know him. Nowadays many are aware about the concept of God or believe in the existence of God to an extent. Some say that God gives healing, job, money, house etc. However in this devotion I would like to say few aspects that what a true Christian must know about God.
Hosea 6:3a “Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.”
When we read above two verses, Holy Spirit speaks to us that we should know our God in a way we should know him. Nowadays many are aware about the concept of God or believe in the existence of God to an extent. Some say that God gives healing, job, money, house etc. However in this devotion I would like to say few aspects that what a true Christian must know about God.
The most important and significant aspect is that a Christian should know God through Jesus Christ. As we read in Acts 4: 12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. So by knowing Jesus in our life we will be able to know God. Again Paul makes it clear in 1 Timothy 2:5 that there is only one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man is Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
Firstly we should know that God is our redeemer. In Job 19:25, Job confidently says that “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.” This is made clearer in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect”. Only true Christians can realise this truth and will have the heart to be close with their redeemer. As we know that we all are sinners and we deserve punishment. Because God loved us so much, he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice on that cross for our sins. So whoever believes and accepts this precious secret are the ones who acquire salvation through Jesus Christ.
Secondly we should know that the love of Jesus Christ is beyond human thinking. No one can measure or describe that amazing love. He loves more than a mother loves her child. In Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul prays to God to be rooted and established in love and also to wanted to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. This love is unconditional and unending that cannot be compared with any other love in this world. So Paul calls this love as ‘agape’ which means ‘selfless love’. Only place we can see this is in that rugged cross.
Thirdly we should know who we believe. In II Timothy 1:12 Paul says “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” So it’s important for us to have that confirmation that we believe in Jesus Christ and he is able to take care of us till the end. Nowadays people are worried and stressed about various issues like children’s future, job, financial security, mortgage etc. That is the reason Peter assures in 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him (Jesus) because he cares for you”. By reading this verse, we should be confident that we are safe in the mighty hands of our Jesus Christ. He is able to get us through in all circumstances.
Fourthly we should know that this world is not for us. In John 15:18 Jesus says “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first”. For a Christian this world is only a temporary place to dwell before going to our homeland heaven. When the worldly person seeks the knowledge of the world, a Christ disciple seeks the knowledge of his creator. So he will be mocked, scorned and will be called as fool. Stay strong and ask God to give you more power and grace to withstand. Always remember, Jesus only sowed good things in this world and yet his reward was cross, which was given by the people who benefited from him. So the world that hated our leader Jesus will definitely hate us. Do not worry about that and hold on to the promise which Jesus gave us in Mathew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Lastly, we should know that we will be like Him. In 1 John 3:2 we read “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”. In this verse another important and prime message is that being a Christian, our aim is to reach eternity. That’s what Paul says us not to worry in, II Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Our hope will be fulfilled upon the arrival of our Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is what we read in Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain..”
It does not stop here. As a child of god, the more you know about God the more you will want to know Him. The more you know Him the more you will want to serve Him. So the question is Do you know God? Answer may be yes, but do you really know him?
With Paul, we should be able to say Phil. 3:8, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”
God Bless You
