Give Me More of God

I have been unsatisfied as of late of my desire and attitude toward God. These "feelings" are hard to put into words but I think most of us have found ourselves there at certain times in our walk with Christ. For me, it's been an overwhelming sense of despair and that feeling I often got while serving in the military when I put my 120 pound rucksack on my back. Then realizing that I would be jumping out of a plane with it and humping it in the jungle for the next several days - Ugg!

After my study and messages on Romans yesterday, talking with my wife last night and then my devotions this morning, I realize that there has been some discipline(s) that I have not exercised as fervantly in the last few months as I have in the past. Specifically they are fasting and prayer. Yes I have been praying but my sense of urgency and desperateness has not been what it demands. In light of where I'm at in my walk and the sense of being overwhelmed by a myriad of circumstances my greatest need is more of God.

In reading Romans in these last weeks, chapter 13:11-14 have come out of the inspired pages of Scripture as a desperate prayer as we plow through this most influential letter to the Christians at Rome. The time is now to "wake up out of sleep!" The urgency of my sense of despair as well as our circumstances in the snowballing affects of secularization in America; not to mention what is going on in the world around us requires a series wake up call to action.

That action must start on our knees before the Creator God who is the only one who can give the grace to increase our faith to cause change (beginning with my heart) through the Gospel. The answer and solution is always by grace through faith in him.

The fasting part deals directly with our desires. My desires have been far to concerned with the things of this world and even my own despair and sense of being overwhelmed. And so my desire needs to change to being overwhelmed by the presence and glory of God. Piper puts it like this, "The fight for faith is a fight to feast on all that God is for us in Christ. What we hunger for most we worship" (A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer. pg 10). 

The above quote is also the book I'll be reading to assist in fasting biblically and in the right attitude. So through prayer may his grace let my will respond to my Lord, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that his free love alone enable me to serve him. So here then is my empty heart, fill it with your grace!

Philippians 3:8-11 "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Give Me More of You

I haven't wrote in a long while on this blog. To be honest, I haven't wrote much of anything besides for sermons and teaching. So here as is so often, I find myself sitting here in my office, behind as usual, with all that needs to be done before the Lord's day arrives. I'm reminded by a gentle prodding of the Spirit that I'm to be more overwhelmed by Him than I'm to be with my circumstances. Yet, I cry out, "Lord do you not know all that is going on here at church?" There is so much heartache, cancer, broken families, death, and rebellion.

Between that first paragraph and the one I'm writing now, I had a person come in that is struggling with a lot of things, especially the truth of God's word and the authority it has on our lives. Well it didn't end well and here again I sit numbed by it all and wondering what more I could have done.

The only answer is to press in and rest on God. As we are toiling, troubled and distressed, there is ever a perfect peace. God is the only one who can bring order out of confusion, and my defeats are His victories. We are invited to come as sinners with our cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Him. Every one of our sins calling for the precious blood; oh may it revive a deep spirituality in our hearts.

Let us, in these hardest of times, live near the good Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, and to determine to follow its calls. We are so prone to deception and to follow the culture and the way of this world, may we chose to know and abide in the truth. Let us walk each step in the power of the Spirit. The answer is found in the truth of the gospel, help us not to be ashamed of it, that we would bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence.

Lord help us as we more often than not find ourself lukewarm and even cold at heart; unbelief scars our confidence, sin makes us soon forget You. May we pull and cut from the root the weeds that grow and thrive from our intending of our souls.

Help us to recognize that we truly live only when we live wholeheartedly to and through You; and that everything else is vanity and but a vapor. It is Your presence  alone that can make us holy, devout, strong, happy and satisfied. Abide in us, gracious God. Give me more of You.

Having a Bad Day Spiritually?

We are embarking on a season of revival. It appears that our church is "having a revival" in October but actually there are many other churches that are also "planning and having revivals." It’s what we do here in the southern Bible belt. You might wonder why I have "revival" in quotations marks. And the reason is, we can't really plan nor have a revival but what must happen is for God to graciously give us a revival. J. I. Packer notes that “revival is an extraordinary work of God the Holy Spirit reinvigorating and propagating Christian piety in a community. He goes on to state that ‘Revival is an extraordinary work, because it marks the abrupt reversal of an established trend and state of things among those who profess to be God’s people” (Packer 1990, 318). What this means is we are not really having or planning but praying that God will look at the church that has grown cold and indifferent to God and the things of God and would wake up by the pouring out of the Holy Ghost in an awakening.  

In addition, Packer talked about our piety “being reinvigorated and propagated.” So how’s your piety. Piety means holiness or godliness as will be seen in our devotion to and reverence for God. Maybe this is something we can do in planning and having a revival. Hebrews says, “How much more will the blood of Christ…purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb 9:14). The problem is the church (you and me) have been having some “bad” days spiritually speaking. Jerry Bridges talks about what we can do when this happens:

What should we do when we’ve had a “bad” day spiritually, when it seems we’ve done everything wrong and are feeling very guilty? We must go back to the cross and see Jesus there bearing our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). We must by faith appropriate for ourselves the blood of Christ that will cleanse our guilty consciences (Hebrews 9:14).

In a bad-day scenario, we might pray something like this: “Father, I’ve sinned against You. I’ve been negligent in the spiritual disciplines that I know are necessary and helpful for my spiritual growth. I’ve been irritable and impatient toward those around me. I’ve allowed resentful and unkind thoughts to lodge in my mind. I repent of these sins and claim Your forgiveness.

“You have said You justify the wicked (Romans 4:5). Father, in view of my sins today, I acknowledge that in myself I am wicked. In fact, my problem is not merely the sins I’ve committed, some of which I may not even be aware of, but the fact that my heart is sinful. These sins I’m now so painfully conscious of are merely expressions of my sinful heart.

“But despite my sinfulness, You have said, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). Given my acute awareness of my sin, that’s an incredible statement. How can I be without condemnation when I’ve so flagrantly and willfully sinned against You today?

“O Father, I know it’s because Jesus bore those sins in His body on the cross. He suffered the punishment I deserve, so I might experience the blessings He deserved. So I come to You, dear Father, in Jesus’ name (Bridges 2008, 12).

I wonder if we would take his advice and begin praying that prayer? Who knows what might happen to all those “bad” spiritual days we’ve been having.

Bibliography

Bridges, Jerry. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journdy. Edited by Thomas Womack. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2008.

Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990.

How To Pray For Our Church

I was emailed this from a guy named Pastor Barry Davis and can also be found at the following link: (http://pastorsoffice.com/how-to-pray-for-your-church/). I have often wondered what God would do if we all prayed? I believe that prayer matters and if we indeed took it seriously and understood the wonderful privilege it would revolutionize our life and that of the church.

 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” — John 17:20-21

1. Pray for believers to experience true worship

•  Pray for an outpouring of God’s glory in your church as people acknowledge Him, not only with their lips but with their lives

• Ask God for a spirit of worship to manifest itself at your church.

 2. Pray that believers will know, accept, and obey the Word of God

•   Pray that God’s Word be preached continually at your church.

• Pray for spiritual discernment and understanding among the people

• Ask God to make you obedient to His Word

 3. Pray for unity in the church

•   Pray for humility among your church’s leaders and among the body of believers

• Pray that a spirit of repentance will rise up among all your members

• Ask God to break down all racial, cultural, and denominational walls.

 4. Pray for souls to be won to Christ

•  Ask God to continue impressing the vision of winning the lost to Christ among your church’s leaders and members

• Pray for workers for the harvest — believers who will consistently share their faith

 5. Pray for joy in the hearts and lives of believers

•   Ask God to reveal your church’s potential to your leaders and the members.

• Ask God to bring joy to your leaders and members

Prayer of Submitting to God

Because of all You have done for me, I present my body to You as a living sacrifice for this day. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, affirming that Your will for me is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We cannot have spiritual growth apart from prayer. The key to any quality relationship is time spent in communication with each other. How much of our time is spent in the most important of all relationships - our personal relationship with our heavenly Father? May we speak to Him frequently in our prayers and listen to His voice from the inspired Scriptures. 

Prayer

Read a great quote this morning on prayer.

The principle cause of my leanness and unfruitfulness is owing to an unaccountable backwardness to pray. I can write or read or converse or hear with a ready heart; but prayer is more spiritual and inward than any of these, and the more spiritual any duty is the more my carnal heart is apt to start from it. Prayer and patience and faith are never disappointed. I have long since learned that if ever I was to be a minister faith and prayer must make me one. When I can find my heart in frame and liberty for prayer, everything else is comparitively easy.

- Richard Newton (1813-1887)

Pray, then Prayer, then finish up by Praying

Spurgeon says: "Of course the preacher is above all others distinguished as a man of prayer. He prays as an ordinary Christian, else he were a hypocrite. He prays more than ordinary Christians, else he were disqualified for the office he has undertaken. If you as ministers are not very prayerful, you are to be pitied. If you become lax in sacred devotion, not only will you need to be pitied but your people also, and the day cometh in which you shall be ashamed and confounded. All our libraries and studies are mere emptiness compared with our closets. Our seasons of fasting and prayer at the Tabernacle have been high days indeed; never has heaven's gate stood wider; never have our hearts been nearer the central Glory."

Is prayer of primary concern for us who handle the Word of God? I'm finding that prayer must be entered into first and foremost and that the message is then refreshed by the breath of God. How we must labor in the Word but first we must begin in prayer, continue in prayer and to finish in prayer. 

Edward Payson was an American Congregational preacher in the early 19th century and said this in regards to prayer: "Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing necessary to a minister. Pray, then, my dear brother; pray, pray, pray."

I recently got together with some pastors and the conversation went to the Wednesday night prayer service. The question was asked "what do you do in your prayer service?" Of course, most there said they did all kinds of things but prayer was certainly not the emphasis and what was done most in those services. One minister said that he used it to pray. He followed that up with, however, you might as well know that you won't have a well attended service.

In my last church I was given the Wednesday night prayer service. However, I changed the name to the Mid-week service because the name certainly did not describe what we were doing at those service. Another one of my minister friends told me that they indeed pray and it's the highlight of the service. But he also told me that he struggled with the idea that his people would think that he was just coping out and too lazy to put together a sermon.

Wow. What does that say about our attitude towards prayer. What does that say about the reality that we really don't pray. We can talk the talk but when it comes down to the rubber hitting the road, we do very little work on bended knee.

For me, one of the hardest disciplines to do, is to pray. I believe it's difficult because Satan knows that it's the most needed discipline for you and I and, of course, the church. That is if we're going to be lead by the Father, and to have His mind, direction, and power in our lives.

We see all kinds of examples of this in Scripture. Jesus, the very Son of God, often got alone to be with God to pray.  "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mark 1:35).  The Psalmist said: "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and and glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary" (Ps. 63:1-2).  

When was the last time you prayed? Have you prayed yet today? We are living in a dry and thirsty land and yet we forgo entering into his sanctuary - the New Jerusalem to see and spend time with our heavenly Father. To see his power and glory and to be empowered by his holiness. To be encouraged by his grace. To take a drink of the living water that only can quench our thirst and give us a greater thirst for him.

Let's pray.

My House Shall Be a House of Prayer

I have, as of late, been deeply convicted about prayer. Prayer not only for me and individuals but also for the church.  Jesus said himself, "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Matt 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).  What exactly does that mean? 

In context we know that this was when Jesus came into the temple to cleanse it. His indignation was directed toward those who had changed the character of the temple from a place of prayer into a place of corrupt commercialism. The Temple was to be a place of worship, quiet meditation, contemplation, praise, and devotion, a place where God's people could draw close to Him in worship, sacrifice, offerings and could seek His will and blessing.

I don't think that has changed for us in the New Testament. Yet how often do we gather together and fail to worship our heavenly Father?  When was the last time you came to church and prayed without being lead by someone else?  When was the last time you came early or stayed late to pray and worship the King of kings?  When was the last time you bent your knee at an altar to pray for a lost loved one?  When was the last time you came to church and lifted up your hands in prayer and adoration to the Lord of lords?   When was the last time you came to church and you prayed for God to work in your heart and mind to see the holiness of God?  When was the last time you came and prayed that God through His Word and Spirit would speak to you? 

Most of us don't pray and we gather together, maybe not for commercialism but what about consumerism?  We come to see what we can "get" from the preacher.  Can he bless me?  Will he make me laugh, or cry or stroke my emotions?  Do they have the right kind of music?  What kind of ministries do they have for my kids?  Do they have a sports program?  How about a singing group for my little one? 

I believe with all my heart that we gather together for Him!  Our gathering together in worship is to give honor and praise to the One that is worthy of all our praise, honor and attention.  I would submit to that if we would come to worship service in an attitude of prayer and worship we would see Him and His holiness.  In seeing His holiness, we would see our sin and we would fall on our faces before Him.

The problem is we have not stood before "the throne high and lifted up" (Isa. 6:1) never "come unto Mt Zion, and unto the city of the living God, and heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels" (Heb. 12:22).   

Nope. When we go to the Church, we are looking to get the most bang for our buck.  Prayer and praise is stifled; worship is dead.  And we'll stay for awhile or at least until we can find a better show or where we can get a little more for our money.  Oh yea, we really aren't doing that either. 

God help us to pray!  May we be known as a people on bended knee, coming frequently and reverently before our King, Master, and Lord.  

To Treasure and Ponder

Well it’s a snowy blustery day and as I look out my window it’s just breathtaking.  The blog today is simply a prayer that is taken from the blog by a pastor Scotty Smith in Franklin Tennessee.  The prayer says, “It’s always been easier for me to do ‘productive’ things for you, rather than spend undistracted, unrushed time with you. I confess this as sin.” I know far too much about this, about doing in place of knowing. “An informed mind is not the same thing as an enflamed heart… by any stretch.” Amen! Maybe you need to pray this too.

Gracious Jesus, the juxtaposition of images in the nativity scene are almost too much to wrap my tiny heart around. Your mother, Mary, is just beginning to nurse and know you. Even as I write these words I realize what a holy mystery and immeasurable condescension your incarnation was. You, the very God who created all things… the Lord who sustains all things by the power of your word… the King who is making all things new… as a baby you drew life-sustaining nourishment from a young maiden’s breast. I’m stunned by your inconceivable humility—a humility that marked your life from cradle to cross.

Shepherds ran off to spread the word of your birth, while Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” “Hurrying off” like a shepherd to tell others about you has always been easier for me than sitting still and letting you tell me about yourself. It’s always been easier for me to do “productive” things for you, rather than spend undistracted, unrushed time with you. I confess this as sin, Jesus. This simply isn’t okay, for knowing about you is not the same thing as knowing you. An informed mind is not the same thing as an enflamed heart… by any stretch.

To know you is eternal life, and I do want to know you, Jesus… so much better than I already do. I want to treasure you in my heart and ponder who you are. I want to contemplate your joyful life within the Trinity, from all eternity. I want to marinate in everything you’ve already accomplished through your life, death and resurrection… and everything you’re presently doing as the King of kings and Lord of lords… and everything you will be to us in the new heaven and new earth—the Bridegroom of your beloved Bride.

O, blessed circuit board overloading and breaking glory… there’s so much to treasure and so much to ponder. It’s not as though I’m a stranger to treasuring and pondering. I treasure and ponder a lot of things, Jesus—things, however, that lead to a bankrupt spirit…an impoverished heart… and a spent body.

Jesus, this very Advent season, by the power of the gospel, slow all of us down… settle us afresh… center us on yourself, that each of us might say with awe and adoration, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Ps 73:25-26).” So very Amen, we pray, in your peerless and priceless name.

The Lord's Prayer

I don’t remember too much about church when I was a boy growing up.  However, there are two things that stick out in my mind:  Candles and the Lord’s Prayer.  Candles because I was a "Candle Boy" and had to where a “dress” (robe) and light which seemed like a thousand candles.  It seemed like so many because there was supposed to be two of us and the other kid never showed up.  The other aspect I remember about church was the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer. 

This, I thought, was an awesome thing as “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” would thunder across the sanctuary.  It was always done, if I remember correctly, at the beginning of the service and then everyone would sit down and settle in for the sermon.    

The traditional reciting of the Lord’s Prayer is seldom heard across the church landscape today.  It’s a tradition that has been lost and replaced with a multiplicity of other types of traditions.  Although, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1), I don’t believe that this was a prayer that was ever intended to be recited as some magical key for the windows of heaven to then pour out upon us.  However, I don’t think it’s a bad idea either.    

It’s not a bad idea, because it reminds us how we are to pray.  Reciting it, helps us to learn how we should pray and why Jesus recited it to His disciples.  And it must have been important to the disciples because you don’t see anywhere else in Scripture where they asked Christ to teach them something.  They saw how often Jesus got away to pray with His heavenly Father.    

I conclude then that we should not neglect the Lord’s Prayer as we have and that the Lord’s Prayer is as relevant today as it was to the disciples 2000 plus years ago.  It is the only pattern prayer the Lord Jesus gave and its purpose and function are timeless.  It is a reminder, of how we are to pray throughout our lives in this present world.  It’s truths do not change. However, their application may.    

Take, for instance, the truth of God as the Father of His children – what a glorious thought.  However, the present down-grading of human fatherhood, demand a careful explanation today of God’s unique and perfect Fatherhood.  The same is true with the other aspects of the Lords’ Prayer.  Our idea of a kingdom is a far cry from the kingdom that Christ will establish when He comes.  God’s will also spoken of as if it were subjective; or it is, on the other hand, identified with material prosperity and personal influence.  Good teaching and preaching needs to be done to rescue it from such erroneous errors and discover the thrill and joy of living both of God’s will and under it.

While most of us live without going to bed wondering where our next meal is going to come from, there is a larger population in the world that most definitely does.  When we sit down and pray before our meals do we really believe that God has provided it?  “Give us day by day our daily bread” can only be genuinely prayed as we relate ourselves seriously to others and their need of bread as well as our own.    

Sin and temptation are a place we don’t go to in today’s church.  It’s not popular and besides the church is there for me and to encourage me and to make me feel good about myself.  Thus the church has moved to the entertainment business to help us to forget about our sins and to feel good about ourselves.  Today the church only politely asks them to lay their sins and temptations at the door where they can be picked up on their way out to lunch.    

Holiness – what’s that?  Is that something that is still a priority for Christians?  It’s not if you want to continue in your sin.  However, the holiness of God is the glorious light of the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:6) that caused us to recognize and repent from our sin and believe in the work Christ on the cross for our salvation.  Holiness is what causes us to forsake our sin and to flee from temptation.  His holiness is that light that leads us not into temptation but guides us closer to the foot of the Cross.    

The Lord’s Prayer is a treasure house of instruction and guidance Christ Jesus has given us.  May we not neglect it but “When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:2-4).  

Sin & Prayer

There are times in ministry that you sense and know that God's leading in a certain direction. This, I believe, is the case as we begin our journey into a deeper intimacy with our Savior through the study of prayer. I want to share some of the circumstances that have led me to begin a teaching a series on this important relationship aspect with the Father.

Primarily, I would have to admit that the greatest reason for the upcoming study comes from the impact our last study on sin had on me. The overall thesis was to see sin as God does.  So we began to unpack sin and the effects of sin in individuals, the church and its leadership. This quite frankly, drove me to a time of deep confession and more intense prayer. During all of this, I felt a definite need for a week of fasting and prayer where Psalm 139:23-24 was the focal point of this week and much was revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer is something that I strive to always do better and do it with regularity but prayer and fasting is another matter altogether.  It is a discipline I had infrequently done in the past but not with much fervor or desperation behind it. That has begun to change as I realized how desensitized I had become on sin and the need to experience the fullness of God in my life. This is where I understood that my initial focus was wrong.  I initially was focusing on myself and knew that I had to refocus and start with Him.  Jesus, in teaching His disciples how to pray said start with "Our Father...Hallowed by thy name" (Matt6:9). There I came face to face with His holiness and His holiness is what uncovers us. When you come to that point, there is nothing that can be said or done. Just like every example we have in Scripture - you fall on your face before God and begin to confess your unworthiness. 

Ultimately what I came to know is that my view of God became my view and not His complete revealed truth as He has given us in Scripture. I had an unbalanced focus that concentrated on the God of mercy, forgiveness, love and acceptance. I still worshiped God, I still prayed to the Jehovah (Yahweh) but I worshiped Him through a golden calf that I had conjured up in my mind of who I wanted Him to be. The delivered people of Israel were still worshiping God too (Exodus 34), however, the golden calf allowed them to worship Him in a way that made them feel comfortable. You must understand, the golden calf never would condemn or bring about any conviction into their lives. In all reality, it was where they could worship however they wanted, which is nothing more than man-centered worship.

God's intent is that believers - both individually and collectively, remain in close communication with Him. Prayer is our path to receive understanding from God through Scripture. Only then can we move forward in radical obedience. Radical obedience that will cause us to give our very lives to pierce the darkness with the glorious light of the Gospel. A radical passion to see the holiness of God that causes us to hate sin - hate sin in our lives, in our churches and in our leadership. I truly believe if we as individuals fail in our prayers we fail everywhere.

I praise God for His atonement and covering of our sin. Although the nation of Israel sinned against God by worshiping through a golden calf, God had provided a provision for forgiveness. Yom Kippur is a special holiday that commemorates the forgiveness God provided to the children of Israel after they worshipped the golden calf. No, God doesn't overlook sin and their is always a cost for it, a cost that God willing paid (Rom 6:23). Praise God, for the Son, who is our Yom Kippur, our atonement (John 14:6).

The Journey of Prayer

We are starting a series on prayer this week at Mt Zion Baptist Church, and it’s a subject I enter with much fear and trepidation. On the one hand, it’s a subject that has been talked about, preached on and countless books have been written on the many different facets of prayer. 

Nevertheless, as I have begun to evaluate my own prayer life in light of the prayer life of Christ and His apostles, I find myself far away from the place of prayer where my Savior was at.  In other words, I have fallen into the trap of a theology of prayer that has been developed over the years based on clichés rather than sound doctrine.  Clichés like “pray this prayer, and you can be saved” or “prayer is just talking to God”.  Another good one is “prayer will change God’s mind”.  We even can support that one with Scripture (John 3:10, 1 Ch 21:15, etc.). Although I will agree that some of these clichés do have merit and are based on sound doctrine, I feel it’s time for me to know what prayer is all about and to look at the Biblical theology of prayer.  

So begins my journey, although, I understand right from the start that many of my questions and interest will not be satisfied as with most of my studies in Scripture. Rather as I study and practice what I will learn, I will soon realize that the more I know about this subject the more I will realize how far I have yet to go.  However, this is not disappointing for me, but often fuels my interest and brings me great satisfaction to know just a little more of an infinite God.  

The journey, as they say, is many times, sweeter  than the destination.  Especially if you are traveling with good company. Besides, with the things of God the journey can never end. You only rise and arrive at a place of breathtaking beauty, and there you sit to enjoy the vista and the exhilaration and satisfaction of reaching the top.

Nonetheless, you find it’s not the final destination, but a resting place.  Even so, while you sit in awesome wonder of a knowable God, you come to realize that there is yet another challenge – a greater challenge.  For what you could not see before is another mountain peak to climb, this one is a little higher and will require navigating through some tougher obstacles.  But your confidence, trust and faith in God has grown, and you know that the difficult journey will be good.  In reality, you begin to better understand it's all about the journey because this journey in knowing God will be a never ending journey that will just keep getting better.