IT STARTS WITH THE HEART,
A DESIRE TO KNOW GOD,
IN THE QUIET STILLNESS OF SOLITUDE,
WHEN YOU INTENTIONALLY PAUSE FROM LIFE’S CONSTANT BARRAGE OF BUSYNESS AND DISTRACTIONS,
AND ALLOW INTROSPECTION TO RULE THE MOMENTS YOU HAVE WILLINGLY SURRENDERED TO TAKING AN INVENTORY OF YOUR LIFE.
A time of honesty to ask yourself:
Do I really know God, and his requirements to live with him, in his presence, for eternity, when this life is over?
Do I have a relationship with him through time spent together in prayer, reading, and studying all he has revealed in the Bible?
Honesty is required; you don’t want to deceive yourself.
I assure you that you cannot know God if you only spend an hour in church every Sunday and only listen to sermons from the pulpit.
WORST OF ALL, YOU MAY NOT HAVE A GENUINE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH HIS SON.
The Sunday sermon should light a fire in your heart and soul to know more about God, to read and study on your own. And if this happens, you’re not alone, or on your own, God promises his Spirit to those who desire to know him better, those who have faith as small as a mustard seed, but genuinely want to know him better:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Without the Holy Spirit, you won’t understand the Bible, your efforts will only be intellectual, as one who studies a textbook.
The Holy Spirit teaches us the deeper meanings of what God has revealed:
“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV
Only after reading and studying the Bible did I realize how little I really knew. I also came to understand that many false doctrines and false teachings are represented within the thousands of “Christian” denominations, leading people astray.
The apostle Paul tells us:
“—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,”
(Philippians 2:12b)
Many will say: “No work is needed or required, Jesus paid it all”.
But Jesus sent us to work:
“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.””
John 20:21 NIV
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
Greg’s passion for Bible study began when his wife, Janel, introduced him to a local men’s BSF group. The daily discipline of God’s Word drew him into closer fellowship with the Lord and inspired him to share Scripture-based reflections on LinkedIn. His mission is to encourage believers to study the Bible for themselves, examine their faith, and live with the assurance of eternal life in Christ. Greg and Janel live in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and enjoy time with their two married children, Emily and Jordan, and their grandson, Jack.
Image by Scripture-Images
Let me add or endorse that people come to know God through a spiritual sense, which is a direct, conscious, and constant capacity that comes from God. This understanding is not intellectual but is gained through spiritual reasoning and prayerful work, which allows individuals to see their oneness with God and overcome the illusions of a material world.
Through Christ’s example: Jesus understood God as his Father and said, “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
Your Friend -His Servant,
Isaac Otieno