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  Knowing God

God does not make it hard to know Him. He desires a personal relationship with each one of us. We don't mean, of course, that you can really know God -- no one can truly know and comprehend Him -- but that you can know of Him and know that God is real and cares about you.

By "knowing" God you can discover this relationship. It includes the inspired Word, a personal Savior and a loving Spirit.

  THE BOOK

Wouldn't it be great if you could find in one book the answer how best to live?

Perhaps that seems impossible. Actually, such a book does exist. It's been around for hundreds of years. More people own this book than any other. It's the most printed book in the history of the world. It will tell you the story of God's love for us. It's a fundamental part of knowing God.

Some people think it makes a nice coffee table centerpiece, others hide documents in it and some keep one around for occasional pithy quotes.

Many concede the good moral code of conduct in this book and that it would be helpful, at times, as long as you don't go overboard with it. This attitude says it's worthwhile in a limited sense. That's the "take what you need and leave the rest" approach. Unfortunately, far too few people read, study and really apply this book in their lives. The testimonies of those who have, however, are very powerful. There is a power underlying the words that transforms lives. It is a wonderful book and a "Book of Wonders".


The Word of Life

Yes, of course, we are referring to the Holy Bible. The "Good Book", as it is often called, might better be subtitled "God's Love Letter To Humanity". This book is divinely inspired. No one person penned its contents, but all were guided and inspired by God's Holy Spirit. The various authors, some 40 in all, lived over a time span of about 1600 years. There is no way they could have collaborated.

Yet, the Bible has a consistent unifying theme. All the parts fit together. It essentially tells us of God's love for us and His plan for the redemption of mankind. This Word of God is inerrant and indestructible. It has truly stood the test of time. 

Abundant life, real joy, true meaning

If you really want to have an abundant life, to discover real joy and meaning and to learn of the love and plan your Creator has for you then the Bible is your instruction manual. This book can and will change your life!

Your attitude towards the Bible will be dependent on what you think about:
  • Life
  • Who made you
  • Why you are here
  • What you choose to do each day.

If you are content to just bump along in life, reacting to circumstances and with no real thought about your actions, or their consequences, then you'll have little use for this instruction manual. If, on the other hand, you really do wonder what it's all about then the Bible can do you a lot of good.


Start with questions; look for answers

When you read the Bible approach it with an eagerness and expectancy to find answers. If you lack an open-minded attitude it will hinder. Don't go there to prove your own opinions. Seek humbly to find the truth without assuming you already know more than what will be revealed. Recognize, too, that being educated about the Bible is not the end purpose. God wants you to use the Bible to know Him and His great love for you. Changing your heart as a result of God's love and message is your goal.

The Bible can give us direction and guidance in all areas of our life. As the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do."

Get a version that is easy for you to understand and enjoyable to read. There are many available. Utilize study aids and resources. An organized study approach is better and more fulfilling than haphazard reading.

Meditate on your reading. Pray for understanding and how to apply the Bible's guidance to your life. Recognize that understanding means going deep. You can't be content with a surface examination. There is a mystical and profound depth to the Bible's truth and wisdom.

Discuss it with others. Fellowship is important to your growth, understanding and application of the principles by which we live. As Paul says in Romans 1:12, "I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other."

Get the Whole Picture

When reading the Bible you will come across many passages that are helpful. Others are going to seem impossibly hard or even contradictory. You cannot just pick at the Bible and get the whole picture. You must read it in context and you must read it with your heart, not your head. Beware of reading into it what you want it to be. This is God's inspired word and it is alive and will dwell within you. It is meant for exploration, examination and absorption. Recognize it for what it is. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(John 1:1)

This book tells us an interesting story. It begins with God and man and perfect creation. It tells us of the falling away, of how sin entered the world. It shows us how we, as humans apart from God, have tried to live our lives from the seat of self and how futile that is. Then it introduces us to God's way and our ultimate redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. It's a love story of great mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

Another fascinating aspect of the Book is the people in it. You read about incredibly heroic and holy men and women. You also notice some downright wicked individuals. Most remarkable, to me, are the people who triumph over circumstances in life, often despite their failings and weaknesses. God somehow enables them to rise to the occasion.

Read of the struggles and life journeys of Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, David and Solomon. Study the messages of the great prophets like Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel.
...A young girl, Mary, visited by an angel and told that she would bear God's own son.
...A wild man called John the Baptist, preparing the way for the Messiah.

Discover the incredible story of Jesus of Nazareth. The very One to fulfill God's plan of salvation was rejected and killed by the very people who should have recognized him as the predicted Messiah. Yet He touched and radically changed people like Mary Magdalene, Peter, James and John. And after Christ' resurrection notice the incredible change in a highly educated and strictly religious man, Saul of Tarsus. His conversion was complete. What an individual for God to choose and use. Saul became Paul and spread with incredible fervor the message of God's salvation through Jesus Christ.

Reading the Bible is not a "once-through" project. It is meant to accompany you in life. You can renew your mind daily and find encouragement and inspiration. Most importantly you will learn what God's plan is--to know and love Him and to believe in His son, Jesus, who redeemed us from sin. If you choose to believe in God's word and apply it in all areas of your life you will know true joy and receive the reward of eternal life.

In the Book you will discover that God planned all along for our redemption through the One.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
 

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PROVERBS 7:1-3
"My son, keep my words
and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart."
(NIV)
 
JOHN 1:1-5
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
(NIV)
 
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