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That You May Know Him
"Where do you get your material?" "How do you do it?" I have been asked that many times. The answer is easy: It doesn't come from me. It comes from an infinite source of beauty and wisdom and knowledge. It comes from a source that we all have been given as an amazing gift God's Word and the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of our understanding.
The Bible is the only book we can read forever anew.
One of the biggest mistakes we make is to assume that we already know what it says. When we do that, we rob ourselves of its unfolding treasures. But when we ask the Holy Spirit to open it for us and we just pay attention, we suddenly see things that we had never seen even though we may have read those very same words many times before; it is now so clear that we wonder how we ever missed it. That, to me, is proof that we cannot see unless we are enabled to see. We are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever noticed His wonderful promise in Mark 4:2425?
"... To you who hear, more will be given." I like the way the NLT puts it: "... Be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand-and even more, besides. To those who are open to my teaching more understanding will be given. . . "
God promises to bless our willingness to learn-which includes our willingness to practice what we learn-with a deeper understanding.
As we walk through life, the Spirit applies that new understanding to our everyday experiences. We begin to see everything in a different light-the way God sees it.
I believe that is what the Bible means when it says we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). We see as He sees. And we begin to notice how He has written the knowledge of Himself in everything. There are lessons everywhere.
The longer we look at a night sky, the more stars we see. The more we read God's Word, the more of Him we see. Read, stay open, and you will know Him. There is no deeper understanding.
-Maria Lund