And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. John 17:3 NLT
“Karen” rushes into my office, radiant, energetic and full of life. Just last week she was listless and weary. She is overflowing with excitement about the gift of a glorious grand piano that now sits in her home. The last few days had been spent living out her knowing of music as songs flowed from her head to her hands releasing her musical knowledge and gifting to the keys of a fine piano.
In her past life she had been an accomplished pianist who taught piano to many students. Her knowledge about music had given her a way to expand her talent and allow her to experience a real knowing of music anytime she had opportunity to play the piano. Years of being deprived of opportunity to play on a fine instrument did not dissipate her expert knowledge about music, it was securely anchored in her being. At a key board she had an awareness, a knowing of, how the music was to feel on the keyboard and be present with the listeners.
God must be known to be trusted. Knowing facts about God, from Scriptures, grounds us as we become more aware, experiencing a knowing of God’s presences in our personal lives.
“to know you, the only true God” in John 17:3 is the Greek word ginosko which means to be aware, perceive, to be sure and to understand. Knowledge of God includes both an understanding of facts (knowing about) and an awareness of His presences (knowing of).
In reference to the importance of understanding objective facts about God, David Benner, in his book The Gift of Being Yourself, says
“These ground our more personal knowing, serving as an anchor in times of doubt and a frame of reference for making sense of our experience. This bedrock of beliefs will be elaborated by experience but never replaced by it. God’s intention is that we know Divine love by experiencing it. But even when our Divine Lover seems distant, we can hold confident to the hope of the steadfast nature of God’s love because of the testimony of Scriptures and the witness of others.”
Knowing about our God anchors our knowing of God. The #3 step of action toward building trust in God is understanding and knowing about our God.
3.Understanding the Character of God.
God’s “work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious, merciful and full of loving compassion” . Those are the words of Psalms 111:3-4. the Psalms are brimming with descriptions of the character of God. In Old Testament times, God was called by numerous Hebrew names, all depicting His identity. By studying these names mentioned in the Bible, we can develop a deeper knowing about who God is, and the dimensions of His personality and nature.
Listed below are some of the Names of God, followed by web sites dedicated to giving understand about these names:
- El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)
- El Elyon (The Most High God)
- Adonai (Lord, Master)
- Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)
- Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
- Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
- Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
- Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
- Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
- Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
- El Olam (The Everlasting God)
- Elohim (God)
- Qanna (Jealous)
- Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
- Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
- Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)
http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-god.htm, http://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html, https://bible.org/article/names-god
Jesus was called Immanuel, the Hebrew word for “God is with us”. God came to us because God is Love (1 John 4:7-8) To know God is to know Jesus. Sincerely seek to know about Him and you will know of His presences in you life. (Hebrews 11:6)
Consistent reading of scripture, written devotionals, prayers, listening to worship songs and teachings from the family of God are ways of gathering information about Him. Writing, journaling, your own thoughts regarding the things you have heard and read can widen the door of understanding, allowing the Holy Spirit to help you discover the deeper dimensions of God’s truths.
Focusing intently on the character of God infuses truth into our awareness, transforming our minds. As our trust builds we will be able to perceive and sharpen our awareness of His presences in our lives.
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