relationship

Knowing God

/ Chris Courtney / 2 Comments

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
   and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

For Christmas, my parents got me a copy of J.I. Packer’s Knowing God – a book I would heartily recommend to anybody seeking to deepen their study of God and His Word.  As I was reading this morning, I stopped to ponder a question he posses: why do I study the Bible?  And what do I intend to do with what I learn?  I must admit, there is a temptation for me to learn simply for the sake of feeling smarter.  But, really, where is the benefit in being a theological Cliff Claven?

Packer writes, “If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us.  It will make us proud and conceited.”  I pray that is not me.  While the temptation exists, my reasons for studying theology is two-fold: one, to be equipped to be a better teacher of the Gospel, for I am very aware of the warning of James 3:1.  The other is to know God better.  Not simply to know Him, but to develop a deeper relationship with my Creator and Savior.

It is truly amazing that we are able to have a personal relationship with the One True God and Creator of All.  It’s why we do not worship idols made for God (well, we’re not supposed to anyway).  We do not need an idol representative of God.  We can approach God Himself, for He approaches us.  We can have a relationship with God.

We can have a relationship with GOD.  God.  Think about that for just a moment.  Anything that exists, has ever existed, or ever will exist is from God.  Every human being in history existed because of God.  Every planet is aligned where it is because of God.  Every snowflake owes its intricacy to God.  There is absolutely nothing created that does not owe its creation to the Lord God, Creator of all.

But, He didn’t just create it all and abandon creation.  God is our sustainer as well.  He is active in every aspect, no matter how big, no matter how detailed.  This God, whose immenseness is far beyond our grasp, whose magnitude (which, when pondered, is a sure cure for human ego), desires to have a relationship with us.

With me.

With you.

And relationships require trust.  In order to trust someone, you need to know them.  And how do we get to know God?  By studying His Word.

Today, I want to encourage you to develop the habit of prayerfully getting to know God a little better each day.  Spend five minutes in the Bible every day.  You will find that you crave that time, and five minutes will become ten, then twenty…. and you will notice your trust in God, your relationship with the Trinity, growing deeper ad strengthening daily.

Now… what are you waiting for??  Go grab that Bible and prayerfully get to know our Creator better!

Here… have some poison…

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

If I offered you a bowl full of poison and a spoon, would you sit down and eat it?  Of course not!!  But, consider this… every grudge we hold, every ounce of unforgiveness, every little drop of bitterness is poison.  It rots our souls and kills us spiritually. 

Here is the problem, at it’s heart.  We have a relationship with God because Jesus came to earth to act as the propitiation for our sins.  Propitiation is a big word – a legal term – that means, through the act of forgiveness performed by Jesus Christ on the cross for all of us, our status is changed from utterly guilty to innocent.  Not only forgiven, but cleansed.  Our record is expunged in God’s eyes.  The Lord holds no grudge, bears no memory of the wrongs each of His children has committed against Him.

When we refuse to forgive somebody, when we choose to bear a grudge, we are not walking in the light of Christ.  In fact, we are doing just the opposite.  We are choosing to walk away from Jesus.  Every act of revenge – even what we think is the smallest word of unkindness uttered about somebody we feel bitterness toward – takes us farther from God. 

Don’t think God takes (un)forgiveness this seriously?  Think again.  Think back to the Lord’s Prayer, which you have probably repeated, and truly think about this one line:

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).  (Or, if you’re more comfortable, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”)

Jesus goes on to explain, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV).  That’s pretty serious stuff.  That means our forgiveness hinges on whether we choose to begrudge others and harbor bitterness.  Is it worth it?

Unforgiveness does more harm to the one holding the grudge than the object of the anger.  It blocks us from giving and receiving love and grace. If we think about people we have known in our lives, who were the most miserable?  Those who couldn’t let go of the wrongs they felt had been committed against them.  Letting go can be tough.  But forgiveness isn’t merely a matter of passively saying, “OK, I forgive you.”  True forgiveness is a willful act of not only forgiving the debt, but forgetting that it is owed to you.  Forgiveness is choosing to put down the bitterness that poisons your spirit – indeed, your very being.

We are called to be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:14, ESV).  This leaves no room for bitterness and unforgiveness.  Jesus equates hatred with murder – says they are one and the same.  In Christ, there is life.  If you are feeling unforgiveness toward anybody, go to the Lord.  Ask for strength and grace to help you through, and revel in the sweet release of forgiveness.  Feel love and mercy swell up in your soul and bask in the joy of the glory of the Lord!