Knowing God… and Being Known by Him

Tags

being born again, commandments, dying to self, eternal life, experience, faith, following Jesus, God's love, heart, heart knowledge, intimacy, Jesus Christ, Judgment, knowing God, overcoming the world, spiritual growth, T.A. Sparks, the body of Christ, the cross

I chose the subtitle of my poetry blog that once sprang from 1 Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 3 also as the headline for this article because I believe that the most important thing for us Christians is to really get to know (read ‘love’) the Lord. If we have an intimate relationship with God Who is the Creator of everything, then there is no need for us to worry about anything anymore. Jesus Christ promised eternal life NOW to everyone who, by the grace of God, has been given an intimate knowledge of God in the Spirit. He said,

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3 ESV)

Attaining Maturity of Faith

Tags

faith, God's love, head knowledge, heart knowledge, intimacy, John Gill, knowing, knowing God, Oswald Chambers, spiritual power, true faith

Christian Love Quote

Indeed, I have just read the best and shortest definition of what faith really is. A few words that explain why so many who only know the Bible are still struggling with getting more faith when they read and reread written promises of God. However, their faith does not really grow and they cannot attain spiritual maturity. Even praying over those aforementioned Scriptures, i.e. promises, alone does rarely help anyone. Why? Here comes the definition.

Some Thoughts on Reading… and Writing

Tags

books, Christian books, head knowledge, heart knowledge, Jesus Christ, reading, the Bible, truth, writing

Snowflakes or Snowsticks? 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Today I have been wondering how to publish a new blog post despite a permanent headache, no inspiration, and ongoing dying pains of self in heart and mind. On the one hand, I thought I should write another article, but on the other hand I was truly too worn out. Finally, I laid it all back into God’s hands and after cooking dinner and tidying up the kitchen, He reminded me of a comment I wrote for another blog exactly 3 weeks ago, a comment which had not been approved because of that blog site’s incompatibility with my Google account. The topic on which I wrote was the pros and cons of reading, particularly Christian books, of course. Here’s my comment.

Growing up into Him with Heart and Mind

Tags

charity, following Jesus, God's love, head knowledge, heart, heart knowledge, love, mind, repentance, spiritual power, truth

Source Pinterest

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Eph 4:15-16 ESV)

Here are two excerpted commentaries on Ephesians chapter 4 which describe more detailed how Christian growth should look like.

Re: Hitting the Panic Button

Tags

chains, childhood, flash of light, freedom, guilt, head knowledge, heart knowledge, mortal danger, parents, psychology, sanctification, surgeries, traumata

Broken Chain (Photo taken from http://eudoranachand.files.wordpress.com)

By proclaiming the following words from the Old Testament, Jesus confirmed that they have been fulfilled in His own person.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18-19 ESV)

And from his own experience the apostle Paul stated,

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor 3:17 ESV)

Indeed, it is one thing to read about it and another thing to experience the truth of what is written in the Bible. I think you could compare it with head and heart knowledge. However, heart knowledge that always springs from our own experience never makes a detour round our mind so that we would be forced to believe something we could not also imagine. Although God’s logic and wisdom are not comparable with ours, He would never force us to believe something as long our mind says, “No – I can’t believe it.”