Lets get practical!
When last did you get lost on your way home? You probably know the way home so well that you can walk or drive home without even being conscious of your journey. That illustrates the difference between knowing something and knowing about it. This builds on the last post Get Going...Start Knowing
Daniel 11:32
32 Those
who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery;
but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
The words 'Know God' represent 'Experiencing God'. We know things by experiencing them, we gather knowledge about people or things by engaging with them. I may know all the facts about a place by looking at pictures, reading about it and so on. But I will still need a tour guide or a map when I go visiting because it is not my home.
Knowing God is simply a relationship. The most valuable relationship we can ever be in, because the more we function in that relationship the more we tap into the eternal life God has given us. Being in an active relationship with God creates a lie force within us that fulfills this scripture and many others. Almost everything in this world is easier said than done, so if we are to fight to keep our relationship with God we need to have a practical idea of how to do it. Below are some tips:
When God said, lets create man in our own image, he had something in mind. According to design, we become that imagine when we are connected with him because we were created to function through his enabling. That is why 2 Corinthians 3:18 says But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When we interact with the Holy Spirit, we become God's true image from glory to glory. The Holy Spirit is the key to every step towards knowing God. Remember what Jesus said about him?
John 14:15
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
So Practical Step 1 to making this relationship work is to interact with the Holy Spirit. This is a better version of a relationship with anyone so it involves:
- Speaking
- Sharing thoughts and feelings
- Asking for help
- Asking to be taught
- Asking for understanding
God is a spirit and our spirit relates with his spirit. This is covered more interestingly in the Functionality Revealed post. Have you read it?
Practical Tip 2: Be present when speaking with the Holy Spirit, do not be absent mined, or throw words around in passing all the time. Clear your head of other thoughts.
Dont just give seconds, those are good but you also need to share time. For example, you can turn off the radio on your way to work.
Our relationship with the Holy Spirit consist mainly of us throwing absent minded thoughts at him? Even when we whisper 'Holy spirit help me' we need to remember that we are actually speaking to someone.
The beautiful thing about being in relationship with God is that every single thing we do that reveals God to us has a life giving effect on our own lives and
For example, God's word has a sanctifying effect on our souls:
John 17:17 -Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Practical Tip 3:
Try to pray this prayer or something like it before you read your bible.
Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18). Now remember you are talking to the Holy Spirit, so say these words to him. It works
Practical Tip 4:
Read your bible every day. Many of us try to read our bibles once in a while. The issue is we do not actually interact/engage with the words. Have you every read a scripture, closed the bible then you realize you cannot remember a thing you just read? Or even after a message on Sunday, you cant remember the message except for a joke the pastor made? Make an effort to Be Present. Meditate on the word, think about it, don't do speed reading with the word, breezing through a chapter to get the 'main gist' :D. Even if you read 5 verses (I suggest you read every single word). Read it more than once, actually think about the word you are reading so it moves from short term to mid or long term memory.
It helps to apply it to a situation you are facing or might face. This way you are actually absorbing what you have read.
So lets practice...STOP READING THIS FOR A SECOND. Go back to one of the bible verses that are pasted here. Take a deep breathe,pray they prayer and actually read those words again.
This is the sure way to get a relevant word to your life each time you read the bible. When we read the scriptures we can get 4 good types of information:
- Our literal interpretation or application of the words written (from our minds) - This is risky it can be deadly, because we can misinterpret or misapply the word.
- The application the Holy Spirit gave someone that we heard or read somewhere (from memory)
- The application the Holy Spirit gave us the last time we read/heard it (from memory)
- The application that the Holy Spirit will give us afresh and anew for ourselves and those around us
Halleluyah! The last three are all great, they are all good but sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to show us something new because we need something new. Every word in the bible has treasures in it, some we know, some we have never heard. Halleluyah! The more he shows us in the word, the more we know what he is saying, the more we know him. Just like you know more about your friend not just by what they are saying but also by how they are saying it. Remember God's word is living, giving new things everyday and wants to give them to you. Halleluyah!
So each day, one major thing we should be fighting isnt necessarily the person we are fighting with but the urge to spend the day without getting any word into our spirits, we need to fight the urge to just say a prayer in passing and make ourselves speak to the communicate with the Holy spirit. Fight For Your Love, Fight For your Life. Knowing God is eternal life.
Prayer for Today (Remember, Be Present while saying this, you are talking to someone)
Glorious God in heaven, I thank you for your love and interest in me. Who is man Lord, who am I that you are so mindful of me? You love is truly amazing. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit I pray from this day forward that you will open my eyes to see the wondrous treasures in your word. I love you lord and I pray that rivers of living waters shall flow out of my belly even as I fill myself with you. Make me more like you, take me deeper in love with you Lord. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen
John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
The words 'Know God' represent 'Experiencing God'. We know things by experiencing them, we gather knowledge about people or things by engaging with them. I may know all the facts about a place by looking at pictures, reading about it and so on. But I will still need a tour guide or a map when I go visiting because it is not my home.
Knowing God is simply a relationship. The most valuable relationship we can ever be in, because the more we function in that relationship the more we tap into the eternal life God has given us. Being in an active relationship with God creates a lie force within us that fulfills this scripture and many others. Almost everything in this world is easier said than done, so if we are to fight to keep our relationship with God we need to have a practical idea of how to do it. Below are some tips:
When God said, lets create man in our own image, he had something in mind. According to design, we become that imagine when we are connected with him because we were created to function through his enabling. That is why 2 Corinthians 3:18 says But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When we interact with the Holy Spirit, we become God's true image from glory to glory. The Holy Spirit is the key to every step towards knowing God. Remember what Jesus said about him?
John 14:15
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
So Practical Step 1 to making this relationship work is to interact with the Holy Spirit. This is a better version of a relationship with anyone so it involves:
- Speaking
- Sharing thoughts and feelings
- Asking for help
- Asking to be taught
- Asking for understanding
God is a spirit and our spirit relates with his spirit. This is covered more interestingly in the Functionality Revealed post. Have you read it?
Practical Tip 2: Be present when speaking with the Holy Spirit, do not be absent mined, or throw words around in passing all the time. Clear your head of other thoughts.
Dont just give seconds, those are good but you also need to share time. For example, you can turn off the radio on your way to work.
Our relationship with the Holy Spirit consist mainly of us throwing absent minded thoughts at him? Even when we whisper 'Holy spirit help me' we need to remember that we are actually speaking to someone.
The beautiful thing about being in relationship with God is that every single thing we do that reveals God to us has a life giving effect on our own lives and
For example, God's word has a sanctifying effect on our souls:
John 17:17 -Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Practical Tip 3:
Try to pray this prayer or something like it before you read your bible.
Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18). Now remember you are talking to the Holy Spirit, so say these words to him. It works
Practical Tip 4:
Read your bible every day. Many of us try to read our bibles once in a while. The issue is we do not actually interact/engage with the words. Have you every read a scripture, closed the bible then you realize you cannot remember a thing you just read? Or even after a message on Sunday, you cant remember the message except for a joke the pastor made? Make an effort to Be Present. Meditate on the word, think about it, don't do speed reading with the word, breezing through a chapter to get the 'main gist' :D. Even if you read 5 verses (I suggest you read every single word). Read it more than once, actually think about the word you are reading so it moves from short term to mid or long term memory.
It helps to apply it to a situation you are facing or might face. This way you are actually absorbing what you have read.
So lets practice...STOP READING THIS FOR A SECOND. Go back to one of the bible verses that are pasted here. Take a deep breathe,pray they prayer and actually read those words again.
This is the sure way to get a relevant word to your life each time you read the bible. When we read the scriptures we can get 4 good types of information:
- Our literal interpretation or application of the words written (from our minds) - This is risky it can be deadly, because we can misinterpret or misapply the word.
- The application the Holy Spirit gave someone that we heard or read somewhere (from memory)
- The application the Holy Spirit gave us the last time we read/heard it (from memory)
- The application that the Holy Spirit will give us afresh and anew for ourselves and those around us
Halleluyah! The last three are all great, they are all good but sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to show us something new because we need something new. Every word in the bible has treasures in it, some we know, some we have never heard. Halleluyah! The more he shows us in the word, the more we know what he is saying, the more we know him. Just like you know more about your friend not just by what they are saying but also by how they are saying it. Remember God's word is living, giving new things everyday and wants to give them to you. Halleluyah!
So each day, one major thing we should be fighting isnt necessarily the person we are fighting with but the urge to spend the day without getting any word into our spirits, we need to fight the urge to just say a prayer in passing and make ourselves speak to the communicate with the Holy spirit. Fight For Your Love, Fight For your Life. Knowing God is eternal life.
Prayer for Today (Remember, Be Present while saying this, you are talking to someone)
Glorious God in heaven, I thank you for your love and interest in me. Who is man Lord, who am I that you are so mindful of me? You love is truly amazing. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit I pray from this day forward that you will open my eyes to see the wondrous treasures in your word. I love you lord and I pray that rivers of living waters shall flow out of my belly even as I fill myself with you. Make me more like you, take me deeper in love with you Lord. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen
----
When we are present and we are conscious of the Holy Spirit in our relationship activities, God reveals himself to us through his word, worship and prayer like never before and we begin to live a life that cannot be described as anything less than amazing. The next post will discuss more Practical Love activities for our number one relationship. Hallelujah!
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