To know or to know about?

That is the question (with apologies to Mr. Shakespeare).  There is a difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone personally.

This also pertains to our relationship with God.  A person may know about God by reading about God or hearing about God from others.  But when a person repents of his or her sin and believes on Jesus as their Savior, they begin a personal relationship with God, which continues through all eternity.

We grow and maintain our relationship with God by reading the Bible, by prayer, and by worshiping God.  We listen to what God has to say to us through His Word. When we fall out of the habit of doing these things, our relationship with God suffers.  We become more worldly and fleshly.  John states in 1 John 2:15 that we should not love the world or the things in the world, or the love of the Father will not be in us. James 4:4 states that if we are friends with the world, we make ourselves an enemy of God. In our relationship with God, He should be first and not us.

The Bible gives examples of persons who had good relationships with God. In Exodus 33:11, it says that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, like a man does with his friend.  We will not have the opportunity to see Jesus face to face until we get to heaven, but we can speak to Him in prayer like we would speak to our own friends.  David was also a friend of God. Even though he sinned, David prayed to the Lord for forgiveness.  He pleaded that the Holy Spirit not be taken from him,  In Acts 13:22, Paul tells the Jews at Antioch in his discussion about Jesus that David was a man after the Lord's own heart. 

But what happens to those who never repent of their sins and don't have a relationship with God? Or to those who repented of their sins but don't maintain a relationship with God?  In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus tells those who perform signs and wonders in His name but do not do the will of God that He never knew them and to depart from Him.  I sure don't want to hear Jesus tell me to depart from Him, do you? 

Dear reader, is your relationship with God a strong one?  Do you spend time in God's Word, speak with Him in prayer and spend time worshiping God?  Or has your relationship with God slipped away through the cares and the wiles of this world?  As long as you're still breathing, there's still time to repair your relationship with God.  Go to Him in prayer and ask for forgiveness in letting your relationship with Him slide.  Make every effort to read your Bible daily and study it.  Go to church on Sunday morning to worship the Lord corporately, and worship Him privately as well.

Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!

Diane