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Date Posted: Sat, Jul 24 04
Author: Kenny B
Subject: Knowing Him

"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in Heaven. On judgment day many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unlawful.'

Matthew 7:21-23

Do you know Him...

I have heard it often said and even quoted by Billy Graham, that 70% of "church go-ers" probably will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe there is a lot of truth to this statement. Namely, going to church and doing good things is not what saves you or allows you to go to heaven. Heaven is a gift from the Father to us, those who believe in Jesus.

As a result, this belief should call us to action. After all, it wouldn't matter much if we believed fire to be hot; yet never allowed it to change our actions. For example, we believe that hot stoves can hurt us and as a result, we act upon this knowledge. People don't place their hands on hot stoves. Similarly, it is not enough to just believe in Jesus. This belief should call us into a deeper relationship of knowing Him. The apostle Peter, puts it like this:

"As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life."
2 Peter 1:3a

Now, don't be confused. Knowing Jesus and knowing about Jesus is not the same. We all have those people we know about; we've either heard things said about them or perhaps we've even met them. This alone does not mean we have a relationship with that person. We simply know isolated facts about them. Again, I'll use an example: After reading lots of articles and watching numerous tv series' on President Bush, I think it's fair to say I know a lot about President Bush. Yet; I would not venture off to say that I know him in any personal way. What I know is simply how others (the press) choose to portray him. Indeed, this is helpful in getting to know him; however, this can never be the sole basis of any meaningful relationship.

So then, how do we go about knowing Jesus in a personal way? If we are to think of Jesus as a friend, we should go about it much like we do with any other friend. I think it's important to highlight five major points that we can draw from our everyday friendships. Specifically:


* Talking---Prayer...It is our direct connection to the Father. It is our way of talking to Him, telling Him about our lives, hopes and dreams. It is a time where we can be completely honest, because He knows anyway.

* Spending Time with Your Friend---Reading His Word...Spending time with one another allows you to learn how your friends handle different situations, how personable they are and many, many other things . In this same manner, the Word is a channel God uses to speak to us. It allows us to see His traits and His personality. As a matter of fact, through God's Word we see God's ways, so that when He approaches us we will know that it is Him and we will know how to respond (Blackaby).

* Hanging Around the Friend's of our Friends'---Fellowship...Not only does being around other believers allow us to see how God chooses to work in us but, it also allows us to see His character traits in the lives of other believers. If they are in a right relationship with the Father, then He should shine through everything they do and say. It's just like the friends of your friend (John Doe), if you ask them about John Doe undoubtedly they will have something to say about him (John Doe), thus helping you to know John better.

* Helping Others Out---Serving...When we learn how to serve our friends so that we put their needs above our own, we truly develop the heart of Jesus. We learn to love people as Jesus does. Moreover, I've learned the more I teach, serve and love others, the more I learn about myself and the heart I have been called to have. As a result, I grow closer to Jesus by letting Him demonstrate His love through me.

* Telling About Them---Ministering...Telling others about our friends shows how much we really appreciate them in our lives. It is something we can do to give back to them. We may also find it necessary to draw from their lives in helping another friend out, because we all have different lives and paths that have brought us to where we are now. Likewise, we should be happy to share our story of how we have come to know Jesus. It is something very unique to each individual that shouldn't be bundled up. The Good News of what Christ has done in and through our lives should always overflow from our lives. Additionally, it is something Christ has told us to do. (2 Timothy 1:7-8a, Matthew 28:18-20)


Again, our friendship with God is much like our friendships with others. If any one of these five things are missing then our relationship with God will suffer. As we learn to grow in these five areas of our lives, our relationship with Christ will take us to never seen places before. So my encouragement is this: I hope and pray that you are continually growing in your relationship with Christ and not just learning more about Him. As always, I hope you all are having a great summer and things are going well. Take Care of Yourselves.

Your Brother In Christ,

Kenny B

"Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you..." James 4:8a

"For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5

*Blackaby, Henry "Called and Accountable" pg.9 para.1

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