Do You Think You Know God?

Do You Think You Know God?

Good Morning Friends,

Seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling…sensing God is wonderful but knowing God’s will and desiring to fulfill it is another deal. Trusting and obeying is hard work. So, Do You Think You Know God?

Scripture: Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

1 John 2:3-11 (NRSV)

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2:22-35 (NRSV)

Message: Has it ever dawned on you how much easier it is to know God because God became human. We get a hint of this in the words of Simeon in today’s scripture from Luke for it shows that Simeon and Anna have been waiting a very long time for the Messiah…the Christ-child. They want to meet the Messiah face to face for He is the one that God-fearing, law-keeping, and faith-filled people have been waiting and hoping for. Simeon’s satisfaction in the experience of holding the Christ-child is so personal and gratifying that he is now ready to even die. This is more than a historical event being documented that Mary and Joseph valued the following of traditional religious ordinances. For Simeon in today’s scripture and Anna in the verses that follow, the glory of being led by the Spirit and that the fulfillment of salvation of the world comes only through profound tragedy is a life lesson. Simeon had waited his entire life for this moment. It was the only reason for living. Jesus is that important. Interestingly the harsh message is given to Mary and not Joseph indicating perhaps that he would die before the suffering and rejection of Jesus. So here is the tough lesson. God wants the best for us and the more we trust the more we obey the more we will see God’s will for our lives even if it means glory without peace. Friends, it appears that suffering is part of life and is unavoidable. In other words, there will be some bad decisions made that we will want to be able to change, but even though we do not always choose the best, God still might use the suffering we go through for good. Because of this, we need to seek knowing the will of God so that we can be guided along every step of the way. Simeon got this message and saw the importance of believing in a costly Gospel.

Pray we realize that the Christmas season is essentially about the far-surpassing joy that a personal relationship with Chris brings.
Pray we experience this as
we keep the commandments. Pray we experience this as we love each other. Pray we experience this as we allow our sins to be forgiven. Pray that in the knowing of Jesus we overcome the evil in our lives. Pray that the Word made flesh abides in us even though suffering. Pray we do the will of God and not the world’s will. Pray we let Christ’s Spirit abide in us. Pray we remain in Christ anointing so we might not only learn but teach others about the relationship we have with Jesus. Pray we learn to wait patiently for the time to fully come. Pray we find treasure in a godly life. Pray we find beauty in the Gospel. Pray we realize that there is a cost of following Christ.

Blessings,

John Lawson