"Knowing God"

"Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high," (Psalms 113:5)

  Growing up as a child, I believed that there was a God up above in the heavens; I even prayed to Him and sang songs to Him under the stars at night, looking for some kind of movement in response to me, anything that would show me that God was truly there. There were several different churches we attended, so having some knowledge of God was easy; it is knowing God for who He is and having an understanding His relationship to us, that is where we seemed to get really confused and sometimes off the deep end. When I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, that is when everything changed for me and my knowledge of God. No longer was He a cosmic unreachable God somewhere out there in the heavens; a God that I prayed to and hoped for some kind of response. From that point on, He became personal and reachable. He became my God! There is where the difference comes into focus, when the cosmic unreachable God far above the heavens becomes my God, the God that knows me, calls me by name, and I know He has a personal interest in my life. We cannot loose sight of that, that He has a personal interest in our lives; that the God who created heaven and earth, is also capable and willing to take an interest in what happens to you and me, on a very personal level. It is easy to do, to loose sight of who He is and how much He cares about us, personally. The world is full of so many distractions and activities, it is easy to be lost in doing this or that, and to forget that He wants our fellowship and our attention. When we draw close to Him, He will draw close to us...

"What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor." (James 4:5-10) NLT