This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3
In last week’s message on “The Priority of Word and Prayer” I said that the goal of all Bible reading is to know God. We don’t just read the Bible to gain ancient knowledge or helpful tips for living. Our concern is to know and walk with God. He is the soul’s greatest pursuit and thus knowing Him is the ultimate source of happiness, contentment and life. To know God is to gain life. To be ignorant of Him is to remain in death. That’s why I am always urging you to pursue Him by the means He has given – His word and prayer.
In His wonderful book, Knowing God (which I highly recommend), J I Packer said this:
“Knowing God is crucially important for the living of our lives. . . . We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”
I don’t want any of you to waste your lives or lose your soul, and so I urge you again, for the good and joy of your soul, to make reading, studying, meditating, thinking about, memorizing and praying through God’s Word a regular feature of your day to day life. And when life’s craziness breaks in and you lose focus. Don’t sweat it. God’s mercies are new every morning. Start again the next day, and the next and the next. It is worth it!
Love to you all in Jesus!!
Pastor Scott