Devotion for 3/16/22 "REALLY KNOWING GOD" 6 Minutes

Psalm 139:23-24

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion,,, as we continue our walk with God each week. I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week so far. As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with this virus. Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well. Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus. Also,,, continue to remember those on our prayer list,,, and our country and it’s leaders. --------------- Our devotion this evening comes from Billy Graham's "Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional". Our scripture will be Psalm 139:23-24 and I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. PSALM 139:23–24 RSV Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. --------------- --------------- REALLY KNOWING GOD Here was a wise confession on the part of a great leader. David knew that people can rise no higher economically,,, scientifically,,, and politically,,, than the level of their spiritual resources. He had a humble admission and an acknowledgment that a nation’s sicknesses can be attributed to its spiritual ills. Weary of assemblies,,, hearings,,, conferences,,, and investigations,,, designed to reveal the root causes of the country’s difficulties,,, David turned his face to the altar of God. He prayed earnestly for God to begin the revival of his nation by kindling the fires of revival in his own heart. Not only did he pray that he might know God,,, but that God might know him.

“Search me, O God!” he prayed. His heart yearned,,, as indeed our hearts yearn today,,, or “should yearn”,,, for a personal,,, vital intimacy with God. In reality,,, he was praying for a new,,, definite,,, real experience with his God. Unless God is revealed to us through personal experience,,, we can never really know God. Most of us know about God,,, but that is quite different from really knowing God. Why is it so hard for us to believe,,, that the only One who can re-create us,,, is the One who created us in the first place? If your watch wasn't working,,, you wouldn’t take it to a blacksmith. If your car needed overhauling,,, you wouldn’t take it to a plumber. If you needed an operation,,, you wouldn’t go to a machine shop. Our spiritual problems can only be solved by the God who created us originally. He created us in His own image and likeness; - and today,,, by the grace of His Son,,, He can re-create us,,, in the likeness of His resurrection. Through faith in Jesus Christ,,, we are recreated and become partakers of His life. (2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” . David’s prayer,,, recorded here in Psalm 139,,, contained a proper sequence. First he prayed that God might know him; then he prayed that God might cleanse him; and last he prayed that God might direct him. We, too, can find peace as we are rightly related to God—and this is the only path to peace. Prayer:

Our Father and our God,,, look deep into our hearts and know each of us completely. Cleanse us from every sin that offends You, O Lord, and direct us in Your holy way. Help us to begin a spiritual revival in this land by rekindling the fire of Your love within each of us first. Keep us safe from the evil one,,, through the power of Jesus,,, my Savior. Amen. Graham, Billy. Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (pp. 83-84). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------