(by pastor Jean)

God wants us to know Him, “I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings” Hosea 6:6). When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he said that he viewed everything as rubbish compared with knowing Christ. His great aim was to, “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil 3:10). The word used for “know” doesn’t mean just knowing about someone but actually knowing them closely. Paul prayed for the Ephesians in chapter 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (NIV). Paul also prays for the Colossian church that they too would, “learn to know God better and better” (Col 1:10; NLT). Jesus Himself states that eternal life involves knowing God the Father and God the Son (John 17:3). John the apostle adds that if we know God, we will keep His commandments (1 John 2:3,4). John also said that if we do not love we do not know God (1 John 4:8), so living a life of love will help us in our quest to know God better. How do we get to know God in this intimate way? Just like getting to know someone in a human relationship, it is by spending time with them. Sharing from the heart, talking and listening, asking and believing. Spending time in the word is God talking to you. Don’t rush, read it slowly and then mull it over. The more time you invest the more you will get out of it.