Day 201: An All Seeing Eye But With A Face Turned Away From Me
Read: Psalm 139 and Psalm 13
One of the key thoughts in all the Hebrew Scriptures is the idea of
knowing God. God said through Jeremiah, "Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich
man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he
understands and knows Me." (Jeremiah 9:23-24). God is saying to us that
the one thing that we can take pride in is the fact that we know him.
What do you believe on this? Knowledge is unavoidably, absolutely
essential for any of us to do even the most basic things in life. The knowledge that we need to eat and to drink, the knowledge to where the refrigerator, the food pantry are deeply significant if one is to keep on living.
Following this same line of thought, Jesus said, "And this is eternal
life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent." (John 17:3). So, eternal life is based on whether or not
we’ve come to know God. But, having read these passages, and
incidentally there are many more that convey the same thought, let me
suggest to you that it’s possible for a person to know a great deal
about God without ever knowing God. And I believe too often we’ve
confused the two. How about those distorted images of God drawn from the
individual's own knowledge of personal experiences? Psalmists that
write to us from the heart saying: 'Lord, turn not thy face away from me!"
We
have managed to come up with this list of qualities about God -- That He
is the eternal, holy, all-loving, all-wise, omnipotent (all-powerful),
omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) God.
And we somehow come to the one conclusion that if we understand all
these qualities about God, then we 'know' God. But that’s knowing about
God and it doesn’t really apply to whether or not I know him. What
are your thoughts about this - 'knowing God' with your 'head' versus
'knowing God' with your heart. Head knowledge versus Heart knowledge -
are they the same? Are they different? One can 'see' with their eyes.
How about their seeing with their hearts as well?
In order to know God
through our minds eye and through the eyes of our hearts too, we must be
willing to commit our lives to following his will. John wrote, "Now by
this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says,
’I know him’, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in him." (1 John 2:3-4). That is a pretty tough word to
look at, 'liar', with your mind and your heart, because nobody wants to
be seen or known as a 'liar'. But what if our own set
of personal
experiences, say like my own once, "God, I see that you see everything
all of the time. That is a good thing. but, why did You turn your face
away from me?' For me, a loaded question, for you?
Let Us Pray: Pray both of the Psalms 139 and 13
(in no particular order but how your mind or your heart might tell you
to proceed.) in ways that are individual to your own life experiences and present circumstances. Make God's Living Word personal to you! See God with your minds eye and your hearts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKX61GpxmY0
Psalm 139 Mercy Me
www.youtube.com
Psalm 139. Mercy Me version. www.atodoelmundo.com
Read: Psalm 139 and Psalm 13
One of the key thoughts in all the Hebrew Scriptures is the idea of knowing God. God said through Jeremiah, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me." (Jeremiah 9:23-24). God is saying to us that the one thing that we can take pride in is the fact that we know him. What do you believe on this? Knowledge is unavoidably, absolutely essential for any of us to do even the most basic things in life. The knowledge that we need to eat and to drink, the knowledge to where the refrigerator, the food pantry are deeply significant if one is to keep on living.
Following this same line of thought, Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3). So, eternal life is based on whether or not we’ve come to know God. But, having read these passages, and incidentally there are many more that convey the same thought, let me suggest to you that it’s possible for a person to know a great deal about God without ever knowing God. And I believe too often we’ve confused the two. How about those distorted images of God drawn from the individual's own knowledge of personal experiences? Psalmists that write to us from the heart saying: 'Lord, turn not thy face away from me!"
We have managed to come up with this list of qualities about God -- That He is the eternal, holy, all-loving, all-wise, omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) God. And we somehow come to the one conclusion that if we understand all these qualities about God, then we 'know' God. But that’s knowing about God and it doesn’t really apply to whether or not I know him. What are your thoughts about this - 'knowing God' with your 'head' versus 'knowing God' with your heart. Head knowledge versus Heart knowledge - are they the same? Are they different? One can 'see' with their eyes. How about their seeing with their hearts as well?
In order to know God through our minds eye and through the eyes of our hearts too, we must be willing to commit our lives to following his will. John wrote, "Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says, ’I know him’, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:3-4). That is a pretty tough word to look at, 'liar', with your mind and your heart, because nobody wants to be seen or known as a 'liar'. But what if our own set
of personal experiences, say like my own once, "God, I see that you see everything all of the time. That is a good thing. but, why did You turn your face away from me?' For me, a loaded question, for you?
Let Us Pray: Pray both of the Psalms 139 and 13 (in no particular order but how your mind or your heart might tell you to proceed.) in ways that are individual to your own life experiences and present circumstances. Make God's Living Word personal to you! See God with your minds eye and your hearts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKX61GpxmY0
Psalm 139 Mercy Me
www.youtube.com
Psalm 139. Mercy Me version. www.atodoelmundo.com
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