Philippians 3:10
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Explore New Opportunities
Do not judge me! I know what you are already thinking. David, what have you done? I am already asking myself the same question. For Christmas this year I bought a dog for my wife. Yes, I said I BOUGHT. Purchased. Money exchanged. Get ready for the sun to fall from the sky. What was I thinking? If you know me, I am not an inside pet type of guy. Pets belong in any other house but mine. My wife has asked for a puppy for years just to hear me say “whatever.” And now I am left feeling like I am not myself anymore. What is happening? Does age really soften you up?
Is a Public Defender Good Enough?
The one thing I do know is that Amy loves it. Even getting up late at night to go outside. It has been crazy getting to know something new that has a different personality. Take the good with the bad. Puppies like to chew, run around like crazy, and act like the devil but the best is when they are still and not moving around. The puppy, I call the Devil, is still trying to get used to being around and Amy is still trying to get to know her as well. But the more time that they are around each other the more comfortable things become.
We now live in an era where, through Jesus, God wants to reveal and manifest himself to the world. In this era, God’s manifested presence is not meant to be rare or uncommon. It’s meant to be poured out everywhere. It’s meant to be a regular occurrence for believers to experience His presence manifested among us.
All these things uphold our freedom in Christ and allow for us to experience God’s manifested presence. Until Christ returns let’s keep walking in these things and in our assignment to help as many as we can to find and experience the freedom we have in Christ.
In the Old Testament God revealed and manifested himself at different times, but generally it was limited to a few and limited to one nation – Israel. In the New Testament we see that through Christ, God has chosen to manifest and pour out His Spirit on all people, from every nation whether young or old.
John goes on to say this… “Let us love one another.” So, who is one another? Christian loving another Christian? Family loving family? Church loving church? Preacher loving preacher? No matter who you place in this category, is it the wrong answer? Can I tell you what I believe? I am not worried as much about who. But it does concern me that I think we have forgotten how to love. In this case it is like me losing my keys. I did not mean for it to happen. It just happened one day. And I have tried to recreate my old movements to find them again, but it just seems like it is not helping. Just like the love that John tells us about. One day we just lose it and cannot seem to re-create it again. We forget how to love one another.
If I can recall your attention away from “Satan the puppy” just for a moment and place your attention on the first five words in our verse above. The apostle Paul said: “That I may know Him.” We know that Paul was already a saved man. He had trusted Christ as his Savior and was living a productive Christian life already. He was simply saying that he wanted to know Jesus MORE. You know the more I know about my wife the more I love her. As I take the time to spend with her our relationship becomes stronger. So strong that I put my wants in the back and put her wants in the front. Thus the “Satan dog.”
I wonder how much we really want to know God in this new year. The more we know, the more we love, and the more we love the more we want what that person wants. If we are drawing closer to God as Christians, we will have a deeper desire to want what God wants. So, do you know what God really wants? If that answer is NO, then can I suggest to you that you do not truly KNOW HIM. Yes, you may have trusted Him as your Savior, but you truly do not KNOW HIM. Because if you did you would want ALL of what He wants. We do not get to pick the areas of our lives that fit our agenda. Because now our agenda belongs to Christ. So many people really do not understand the fact that we still must seek out God daily. How can we know Him more, love him more, if we cannot even seek after Him? Do you really believe that I would have ever broken down and got a dog for my wife if I never got to know her?
It is my desire this new year to truly Know God for who He is in our lives. I do believe that a lot of things could be taken care of in our lives and world if we could only understand this. In 2025 I want to know more.
Join Us: Sign Up Today!
It’s easy and free!
Tags:
