Having an Intimate Knowledge
Having an Intimate Knowledge
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?
John 14:9
These words were spoken by Jesus to Philip. They had been traveling together, Philip had heard the parables, seen the miracles – they were friends. As close as they were, there was more to come, a deeper connection to experience. In John 15:15, Jesus tells the disciples He is their friend.
We use that term – friend - loosely these days and call acquaintances and people we are connected to on social media our friends. But a true friend is someone you have a deep fellowship with by communicating with one another. It is someone who knows you and chooses to stick with you. That is who Jesus is. He knows us – every ugly detail about us. He has seen us at our very worst and stayed. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Even when we did not love Him, He loved us and chose to go to the cross for us.
I spent most of my life declaring that I had an intimate relationship with Christ – when I really did not. I didn’t know what I didn’t know – and one thing I didn’t know was there was more – so much more. I declared I lived for the Lord, but I was really living for me. Spending time in God’s word changed that for me. I don’t mean reading a verse of the day or a 3 paragraph devotional. I mean actually opening my Bible and studying God’s word for myself.
We say we want to please the Lord, we want to do what God would have us to do, we just want to know His will for our life. Well, God is pleased when we make it a priority to come to know Jesus more and more. You see, the more we come to know Him, the more we experience Him and the more we long to be with Him. When we get into the Word, it gets into us and we cannot remain the same. We are changed. As John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We must value Jesus more than we value our thoughts, opinions, popularity, possessions, status and dreams.
In the verses following the one at the top of this page, Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that the Holy Spirit dwells within them, that He is their Helper and will abide with them forever. In verse 21 He declares, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas asked Him how would He do that? (I bet you thought the same thing.) In verse 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” When we obey His commandments, we will experience a more intimate knowledge of Jesus. We will know Him more which will lead us to want to know Him even more. On and on until we see Him face to face.
I know I talk – well, write – about this a lot. It is my heart’s desire to inspire you to know Jesus in an intimate way, to experience His presence and to rest in the knowledge that He is with you. I long for you to be so overwhelmed by this intimate knowledge of Him that you are propelled to share it with others who will become overwhelmed by this intimate knowledge of Him and will be propelled to share it with others who will become overwhelmed and on and on and on.
Hi Friends!
Happy Summer!!! Stay in the word, don’t take a vacay from it! We need it more than ever! Be sure to invite your friends to join us here.
There are new shirts in the marketplace that say “He is Everything!” He is y’all! He is everything we have ever wanted and everything we need. He has everything for us! Wear your faith and share the story of what Jesus has done for you! We are walking around in a lost and dying world. Maybe, just maybe a message on a t-shirt might make a difference to a stranger and change the course of her eternity. You are invited to visit the Marketplace where you will find the book - Saved by Grace, Now What? and graphic tees.
We need each other. Let’s encourage one another as we learn to take steps closer to our Savior!
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