So, how do you really get to know God intimately anyhow? I mean, you can’t really look Him in the eye or feel His touch, can you? I believe you can. Not in a literal, physical sense, but in much deeper terms than you can ever experience in any human relationship. Even on the human level, aren’t there certain people whose touch goes beyond the physical contact of their touch? Aren’t there some people who, when they look into your eyes, seem to be looking much deeper than just the surface sensory experience that you feel normally when someone looks at you? Ok, now ponder that, make that thought connect with what I am about to say. He is real. He is a person, but a person far beyond anything we have experienced in this physical realm. He is pure Spirit (John 4:24). He is THE Creator (Nehemiah 9:6). He has always been and always will be (Psalm 90:2). He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscient (Psalm 139:1-2) and omnipotent (Jeremiah 32:27). AND, HE LOVES YOU (John 3:16).
Listen to this special recorded meditation on the love of God by Benjamin Raven Pressley
Don’t be afraid as you begin to open up to Him and feel His presence, perhaps for the first time. The relationship you are about to enter into is so deep that it will touch places deep down in your emotional core. You may laugh…. You may cry. It is OK. At the same time, it is so real and simple that even a child can experience the presence of God that I am writing about. Take time, every day if possible, to just release yourself and call upon Him to come. Then trust Him and allow Him to just love you, embrace you and bring peace to you as only He can. He is ever-present, but you must learn to embrace and practice His presence to fully benefit from what He has to offer. Learn of Him. Get to know who He is deep down in your heart (spirit) in a way that words cannot express.
Practice his presence. He is omnipresent, but we need to nurture that. It doesn’t come naturally.
“How can I teach you how to recognize this Creator? Shall I tell you how to recognize the breath that you breathe? Shall I teach you how to recognize your own heart’s beat? He is the essence of all created things. If you look with spirit eyes, you will see the Creator in all things. From the howl of the wolf to the child’s whisper, he speaks, “I am that I am.”
—Benjamin Raven Pressley
Imagine that every breath you breathe in that you are breathing in God, the Creator, the Holy Spirit! I love John 20:22, where it says that Jesus breathed on his followers and said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
There is a connection for us to be made as believers in the very breath we breathe. We are to walk in constant awareness of his omnipresence.
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7
“As long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” Job 27:3
He is with us as close as our next breath, as close as our next heart’s beat. We are not abandoned. We are not orphans. We are never alone.
One way we get to know God is by experiencing His Word. To experience and truly walk this walk with Christ, you will have to be a student of the Word. God’s word is the Holy Bible. Accept no substitutes. Sure, there will be other helpful books along the way, but make sure they don’t contradict this book of books. And don’t be turned off by that word ‘study’. Studying the Word is not like your studies in school, where you were made to do homework and learn something you weren’t really that interested in. The Bible is THE WORD OF GOD. It is like looking into a window or a portal where you can get a glimpse of who God really is. It is in His Word that you will learn His character, His ways, in a way that will connect with you on a level like nothing else can. It is hard to explain in words because it is only something that can be understood in your spirit. It is kind of like trying to describe love. It just can and cannot be explained all at the same time. It is absolutely essential that you get into this book that is more than a book. It is a book that will speak to you on a level that is beyond anything you can experience in any other way. I go into detail on how to know the Bible is the Word of God in my previous article. Familiarize yourself with some study methods (For tips on how to study the Bible CLICK HERE.). Then pray for the Holy Spirit to open up the Word to you, to speak to you from His Word. Jesus taught His disciples while on Earth with them. He also told them that when He leaves, He would send the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is your helper. He will teach you. Depend on Him. Next, ask Him where you should read. If you do not feel Him leading you to a particular passage, then approach your study systematically, believing He will guide you as you get into His Word. And, listen for His voice. You may even be led where to study from a preacher’s sermon or a lesson taught by a teacher. There have been times that I have come home from church and I just ‘had’ to dig a little deeper into a passage preached on and it became Rhema (God-breathed personal revelation) to me. The Word of God is exciting and so dynamic!
Living for God and being in a relationship with him is more than a list of do’s and don’ts.
Just living out a list of do’s and don’ts never works. They are like New Year’s resolutions. I am tired of sincere people who want to live for God that are rattled, confused and spiritually schizophrenic. It is time to unmask, decode and expose what is truth and what is error. And it isn’t about religion, it is about a relationship. Jesus didn’t just come to start another religion among the millions of already existing religions. He came to lead us into a relationship with his heavenly Father. Religion has historically kept the truth from people and sat on its ivory throne high above the people and used its interpretation of scriptures to rule the masses. Religion is nothing more than man creating God in his own image, creating a god that can be manipulated and controlled like a puppet speaking whatever man wants him to speak; that isn’t a god at all. It goes back to the original sin, if you think about it! Read Genesis 3. Notice what the enemy tempted Eve with: to be as gods. Eve wasn’t tempted by the offer of one more fruit in the garden to eat; she was tempted to be a god, to be in control, equal with God. And to this day, it is the same. People want to be as gods. They want to have control over their destinies, they don’t want to bow to anyone and so we have a world that is ‘all-about-me’. Religion has gotten so out of control that they won’t ever admit when they are wrong. They will continue to recreate themselves in a form that is pleasing to our flesh, our earthly desires and our selfishness. Sounds like Genesis 3:6! Don’t be fooled any longer. Dare to ask the true and living God to open your eyes and reveal His truth to you as only He can. Does that mean don’t attend church? No, you should attend and gather and study with a group of believers loving one another, learning together, admonishing one another. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25). An important part of what the Word just said is admonish one another. Do you know what that means? Let me help you out:
ad·mon·ish—1. to caution, advise, or counsel against something. 2. to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner. 3. to urge to a duty; remind.
So your gatherings should be more than hype, songs and condemnation. They should be life-giving, supportive and helping one another. But don’t just go to church, BE THE CHURCH. Just semantics? No, I think it is an important distinction. People need to stop just GOING to church and BE the church!
Ponder what I have written. Let God make it work for you. You will never understand it all, but God will give you what you need day by day as you need it. Like David said, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.“ (Psalms 119:105). Have you ever walked down a dark trail with a flashlight or a lantern? Did it light up the whole path? No, but it did light just enough in front of you so you could see the way, didn’t it? That is the way God’s Word is. Don’t get too far ahead of Him. Let him light your path day by day and you will get where you are going. He won’t let you down. He promised that if you draw near to him he would draw near to you. (James 4:8)
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