In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts."
One of the most important books besides the Bible to me is a book written by J.I. Packer called "Knowing God". It is a profound book about the nature of God. You might think that it is not that important to consider the nature of God, but I believe for the christian it is one of the most important issues. Frankly, it seems to me that for most christians God is in all practicality nothing more than a good friend who does magic tricks rather than a transcendant, holy and loving God who is all together different in the way he conducts himself.
Packer says this about knowing God, "knowing god is a matter of persona dealing, as is all direct acquaintance with personal beings. Knowing God is more than knowing about him, it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealth with by him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about him is a necessary precondition of trusting in him, but the width of our knowing about him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of him." (Packer, 1973, p.39).
So, there is a difference then between knowing about God and knowing him. Just as there is a knowledge of the head and a knowledge of the heart. I may read a passage that says, "do not worry" or something of that nature in the Bible and agree with it. But, I toss and turn and the passage isn't real to me in my heart. Then, something happens and I not only believe in my head, but also see that it is true in my own life. My faith is enlarged and I realize the foolishness of worry and the importance of giving it to God. My outlook changes.
An example of this in scripture is in 1 Samuel 1:1-18. There is a lady who cannot provide her husband with children in this story named Hannah. Hannah goes and prays near the doorposts of the house of the Lord. Eli the priest sees her praying and thinks that she is drunk. When she tells him of her earnest prayers he says to her "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him." verse 17. And it says of Hannah, "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." verse 18.
So we see that Hannah believed Eli and it caused her to respond differently to her situation. Because she was a person of faith. Her head believed, but also her heart. So, even though at that moment she wasn't pregnant, she believed that it was going to happen. This is what it says in Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."
One of the most important books besides the Bible to me is a book written by J.I. Packer called "Knowing God". It is a profound book about the nature of God. You might think that it is not that important to consider the nature of God, but I believe for the christian it is one of the most important issues. Frankly, it seems to me that for most christians God is in all practicality nothing more than a good friend who does magic tricks rather than a transcendant, holy and loving God who is all together different in the way he conducts himself.
Packer says this about knowing God, "knowing god is a matter of persona dealing, as is all direct acquaintance with personal beings. Knowing God is more than knowing about him, it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealth with by him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about him is a necessary precondition of trusting in him, but the width of our knowing about him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of him." (Packer, 1973, p.39).
So, there is a difference then between knowing about God and knowing him. Just as there is a knowledge of the head and a knowledge of the heart. I may read a passage that says, "do not worry" or something of that nature in the Bible and agree with it. But, I toss and turn and the passage isn't real to me in my heart. Then, something happens and I not only believe in my head, but also see that it is true in my own life. My faith is enlarged and I realize the foolishness of worry and the importance of giving it to God. My outlook changes.
An example of this in scripture is in 1 Samuel 1:1-18. There is a lady who cannot provide her husband with children in this story named Hannah. Hannah goes and prays near the doorposts of the house of the Lord. Eli the priest sees her praying and thinks that she is drunk. When she tells him of her earnest prayers he says to her "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him." verse 17. And it says of Hannah, "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." verse 18.
So we see that Hannah believed Eli and it caused her to respond differently to her situation. Because she was a person of faith. Her head believed, but also her heart. So, even though at that moment she wasn't pregnant, she believed that it was going to happen. This is what it says in Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."
