I Want to Know You

“Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."”  – John 8:19

 

Her eyes are brown.  She loves the hiking in the mountains and reading a good book while hanging out at the beach. She is a mother of 5 and “Mi-Mi” of 5.  If she could save one beautiful little girl in Haiti, she would do everything should could to make that happen.  She likes to sleep in, yet she’s up at early in the morning to help get her 3 children ready for school and take them.  She runs the school, a non-profit Parent-partner school for 82 home schooled children in and around the Woodlands.  She enjoys her coffee with lots of Pepperment Mocha cream, or a caramel macchiato from Starbucks.  She loves Jesus Christ with everything in her heart and goes out of her way to help others each and every single day.  She has led bible studies, mother’s of pre-school groups and been the teacher of our 3 home-school children.  She wears the hat of a nurse, a chauffeur, school administrator, teacher, coach, and a banker.  She likes Moscado, White Zinfandel from Australia or the Napa Valley and an occasional beer, but most of the time would rather have a tall glass of sweet ice tea.  Her favorite restaurant is Saltgrass Steakhouse, where she likes her steak well done with no pink in the middle.  She also loves baked ziti from Olive Garden if the mood for Italian strikes her.  I love it when she laughs, and I can tell when she is going to cry.  She loves everyone with the same unconditional, what you see is what you get, love.  The incredible woman I refer to is my wife of 31 years - Lisa.  This is the woman I love and I know her very well (or so I think).

We all have relationships with others that can be described in deep details.  You know your spouses, family and friends very well.  You know what makes them laugh and what makes them cry.  You could tell any person you meet on the street how special these individuals are to you.  We spend time with them, learn about their idiosyncrasies and habits.  We are willing to invest in a certain few individuals because we care about them and we want to know them more.  I’m sure you will agree with me in this matter as you look back at those in your life and begin to think about the deep details you know about each of them.

So, I have established that we are all capable of knowing someone if we chose to.  It takes work and effort and a desire to know them.  It takes time, not just studying about them, but spending time with them and learning first hand.  So, with this in mind I can honestly stand here and say with full sincerity; I don’t know God?  Don’t get me wrong.  I know He is my Lord and King and has provided me salvation by His grace through His Son Jesus Christ.  Now, having acknowledged that, I continue to struggle daily with wanting to know Him more.  Accepting God is a statement of faith, trust and belief; but knowing God takes work.  Just as in any relationship, the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. 

If I put 1 spend 3 hours a day with my kids and 3 additional hours a day with my beautiful wife, 2 hours commuting to/from work and 10 hours at the office with my co-workers and try to get at least 5 hours sleep each night that leaves 1 hour a day with my Creator.  Plus add Sunday church service and the occasional Wednesday or Saturday night and I am getting somewhere south of 500 hours a year with God almighty.  We are given 8,760 hours in a given year.  This means I am spending less than 6% of my time getting to know the Lord.  That just doesn’t seem like a plan to build a relationship now does it.

I have the desire to know Him more, but has it become important enough to actually do something about it?  That is the question that is posed for all of us to address.  I propose that the majority of us are in this same boat.  We get swallowed up in the busyness of the day and all of a sudden God is getting our leftovers rather than our first and best.  Today we have homework.  I would like to ask you to take an index card or a piece of paper and write down everything you know about God.  Put it somewhere in a prominent place that you will see everyday.  This will remind you daily of who it is that you serve.  Now, try to add to that list each day.  Can you spend enough time in the Word each day or on the internet learning about God and strengthening your relationship with Him to add one item a day.  I promise you as you learn more about Him your relationship will become stronger, because you see He’s already done His part of the assignment and knows everything about you.  The gap in this relationship rests on your shoulders, not His.



Prayer:
Almighty God,
We want to know You and serve You.  Please forgive our busyness as we allow the daily tasks to steal from our time with You.  Strengthen us Lord, to see You in a more fruitful manner and learn more from You and about You daily throughout this year.  Help each of us become more aware of our relationship and focus our attention on You, for it through You that we are given life.  In Your name we pray – Amen



© Sondove Enterprises, 2019
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Trust and Obey

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” – Psalm 9:10

I trust my father, my family, my pastor and a few close friends.  Most everyone else has a personal agenda in mind when they are giving advice or counsel.  It’s not that they don’t care about me or aren’t trying to help, but it is a natural tendency to reflect on ourselves when we give advice to another.  Often times they tell you what they think you want to hear, what they think will make you happy, rather than telling you the truth.  Difficult advice is the hardest advice to ever give someone, I don’t care how close your relationship is.  But someone who truly loves you will press through that awkwardness and share the truth, even though it may hurt.


What does it mean to put your trust in someone?
It means you rely on them to be there when you need them.  It means you know that what you will get from them is sound, wise advice.  It means that you can go to them with your deepest problems or secrets and you know that their opinion of you will not change.  It comes from a strong relationship, knowing the other individual, sharing and caring for one another through the good and the bad.  Trust is earned it is not something that can be given. 

And so it is with the Father, God Almighty.  It’s easy to say you trust Him.  We even put the words on our currency in the U.S.  “In God We Trust”.  I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I believe less than 50% of the population of the United States actually believe that statement to be true though.  Oh, they may say the words, but the moment something goes wrong, or the moment they feel cheated, rejected or hurt; it becomes very easy to no longer “Trust” in God. 

Just like any relationship you have with another here on earth, you must have a strong relationship with the Almighty in order to trust Him.  You must be willing to study, learn and grow in your knowledge, wisdom and understanding of who He is and how much He cares for you in order to state with sincerity, “I trust in God.”  It requires you to understand the relationship between you and the Father.  He is God, He is the Almighty, He is Sovereign and has complete authority over all things.  You are His child, you are His creation, you are a servant of the Most High God and nothing more.  Trusting in God means accepting the good and the bad that comes from that relationship. 

In John 16:33, Jesus tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””  There is no promise that life will be easy or smooth sailing after your salvation.  Trusting in God though is where we draw that strength from that gets us through the hardships.  Throughout the Psalm’s we find numerous scriptures from David and the other writers stating without reservation that they put their trust in the Lord, not in mankind.  We are reminded throughout the scriptures no less than 100 times to Trust in the Lord, yet most of us have a really hard time trusting Him when things aren’t going our way.  We are trusting in our perception, in our friends and families perception rather than in His sovereignty.

I beseech you today, to begin this journey of trusting in the Lord for He alone is good and worthy of your trust.  Every other will at some point fail your trust and leave you with pain.  He alone will remain constant and ever loving, despite your foolishness and folly.  He alone can provide the strength and courage to overcome that which has stolen your peace.  He will not forsake those that have trusted in Him.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2015
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What About Me?



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""Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." – Matthew 7:21

  If someone says to you, "Hey Joe, your father __________ __________ _______" (fill in the blank) How would you know if that person were lying to you or if what they were saying was legitimate? It wouldn't be that difficult, would it? You know your father well enough to know if the action was within his character or moral compass, right? What about a brother, sister or child or spouse? Likewise, your relationship with them is intimate enough that without question you would be able to assess the situation as truthful or not.

  What if someone made a comment about a distant relative - an aunt, uncle, cousin or grand-parent. I'm sure you would still feel that you knew enough about them to discern truth from fiction, right? Now, what if we were talking about a close or best friend or someone you've worked with for 20 years, a pastor at your church or a mentor/teacher? If you are like most people, the assessment gets a little more fuzzy and you may find yourself questioning a statement with uncertainty. Face it the farther your intimate relationship is from someone, the less you really know about them as a person, and what they are or are not capable of doing.

  It is no different with the Lord. The closer relationship you have with Him the more you come to trust in His truth and righteousness. If you want to know the will of the Father, you need to the one to begin. He is not holding out on you, but rather you are holding out on Him by chasing your own vision for your life. Get closer to God through daily reading of His scripture, prayer for His wisdom and purpose and daily quiet time of reflection on your relationship. Is there any relationship you have today that should be in front of your relationship with Christ? No. Even your marriage, your relationship with children and your relationship with your parents should all come behind your relationship with God. If you could answer the questions at the top with ease; because of the intimacy of your relationship with your father (mother, sister, brother, etc.) then why can't you answer those questions about God? Think about your priorities and realign them if necessary.

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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Consistently Reliable

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“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” – Proverbs 3:5

Who ever invented the personal computer wasn’t reliant upon it.  Have you ever experienced a hard disk crash on my computer?  If not, count your blessings, because all of a sudden you are left with this feeling of anxiety in the pit of your stomach and you’ll be questioning how you’ll ever get to the information and files that are stored there.  Those of you who have been there before know the frustration, aggravation, feeling of hopelessness and despair that accompany a computer failure.  As I sit here typing, my hard drive is making very unusual sounds, and has me quite concerned that it may not make it through the day.  I find it eye opening when this sort of thing happens, just how reliant we are on technology, and I can’t help but ask are we that reliant on the Lord?

I mean, are we coasting through each day taking the Lord for granted?  Has it become of secondary importance to connect with your heavenly Father each and every day?  So many times I find myself skipping a moment with the Lord because life catches up with me and time slips away to other pressing matters.  How can this ever be tolerated?  How can God ever be given second priority to anything else going on in my life?  I think it comes down to the comfort of knowing that He will always be there.  You see, God is like the air I breathe and the oceans, the mountains, the sun and the moon – He’s constant.

I never have the intent on prioritizing anything above God in my life, but it happens.  So what do we do when we’ve mistakenly put God on hold?  I believe that God deserves our reverence, respect and humility; He does not deserve our complacency, absent mindedness or leftovers. We must come to the realization that God is not going to hold a grudge and there is no punishment that he zaps you with because you missed an appointment.  Just like you cannot go for 2 days without food and when you happen to miss a meal, you simply eat more at your next sitting. 

God’s not going to leave you.  Unlike the technology we have become so addicted too, He is the only thing in life that is reliable, consistent and always available.  There are no connection fees, no membership dues, no routers, WiFI or DVR necessary.  It only takes an act of humility and an open seeking heart and mind to communicate with the Lord anytime, anywhere.  There are no guarantees on anything you own.  There is nothing to say that this “older” computer I am writing this devotional on, won’t unexplainably “blue screen” at any moment.  In the Lord, you have a guarantee.  You have His assurance that His grace is sufficient for the redemption of your sins.  You have His guarantee that He will return one day and call us home to join Him in heaven.  You have His guarantee of righteousness love and mercy through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you.

 

So the next time you are feeling guilty because you missed your quiet time with the Lord, just remember, there is no time like the present to hit your knees, bow your head and tell Him your sorry.  Then get on with building that relationship.

PRAYER:
Almighty Father,
You are worthy of our love, devotion and honor.  Forgive us for our weakness and complacency at times.  Lord, help us to continually prioritize our relationship with You above all other things in this life.  We seek Your wisdom in our words and Your counsel in our decisions.  We ask these things in Your holy name - Amen
             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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It Takes Time

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“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”   - 1 John 4:16

The darkness surrounded them as they walked hand in hand from the conference.  There was no need for words or romantic actions, it was just two people deeply in love after spending years with each other.  Time together has a way of forming a bond that is evidenced without extravagant displays of emotion or silliness.  Then, you see the older man stop and turn to his aged, but beautiful wife and taking her in his arms begins to dance under the soft light of the street lamp.  No music, no band, nothing but the sound of the crickets and soft wind through the trees.  As they turned and swayed to the imaginary sound of a big band, one could sense the oneness that had grown over the years together.  The moment was climaxed by him dipping her and then gently kissing the lips of the woman he had loved more than life itself.  Then standing back up, they walked the remaining twenty feet or so to their car where he opened the door for her and helped her into her seat.  As they drove away, an observer could not help but feel wonder for the love that had just been displayed.

Time strengthens the bond of love between individuals.  We all know this to be true.  The comfort, the confidence, the familiarity and the wisdom increases as years come and go in any relationship.  So it is with loving God.  We read the words, and flip through the pages of His Word and every now and then stop and ponder the love of God.  But are we fully embracing the depth of His love, the completeness and the fullness of how much He has done for us.  When we think of the cross and fully embrace the events that took place on Calvary that day, over 2000 years ago, we cannot help but become overwhelmed with the love that God has for us.  All He longs for, is for us to love Him in return. 

Spend a few moments today in quiet reflection simply pouring out your heart to God in thanksgiving for all that He has given you.  Count the blessings you have in your life and realize that every one of them come from Him and that He gives to you willingly and wants you to be filled with life and happiness.  The relationship you have with God the Father must become stronger, deeper and more rich as you spend more time with Him.  As you seek Him more, He becomes more visible in areas of your life where you need Him most.  Abide in Him, so that He may also abide more so in you.

            

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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He's Right There

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“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”   - James 4:8

I look at him and help him up onto my lap.  I wrap my arms around his 7 year old frame and hug him, not in a playful, bear hug manner, but rather in a “I love you so much” way.  There are times I just don’t want to let him go, for fear of what might happen or because I want him to know that I love him.  I flex my muscles and draw his body close as he sits on my lap, and closing my eyes I say a small prayer that God watch over him when I cannot, bless his every step throughout the day and protect him from harm, verbal or physical.  As a father, I cannot tell you how much I love my son and daughters, because it cannot be expressed in words.  There are times when I’m tucking them in at night that after stepping from their room, and shutting the door, I find myself choked up with the emotion of loving them.  I would do anything physically possible to keep them from harm or to make their life easier.  I’m not sure I can say that about a casual friend or an acquaintance though.  Those relationships do not possess the same level of commitment as I have with my children and my wife.

How often are you asking the question, “Where was God?”  Perhaps it was a situation where you lost your job, perhaps it was the loss of a loved one or a friend, perhaps it was a situation of abuse to someone you know or even yourself, or perhaps it was a devastating tornado or flood which shredded your belongings.  Reflect on the last time you found yourself asking this question and then ask yourself this question, “What did I expect from God at that moment?”  Did you expect that God would miraculously change the circumstances so you did not have to experience the pain?  Did you expect Him to in some way change the circumstances to your favor rather than your detriment?  In our humanity we observe situations and circumstances as single point in time events and often times treat God as a genie in a bottle to be used at our beck and call.  Yet, we find ourselves walking our own path and controlling our own life for the other 95% of the time.  The truth is God is not a genie in a bottle for your convenience; He is the omnipotent, sovereign Lord of all creation and is not at your disposal when you feel the need.

God is omnipresent, which means He is everywhere, at all times.  When the scriptures tell us to draw close to God, how is this possible when He is everywhere; how does one get closer?  Drawing close to God is not a physical presence, it is a spiritual presence.  God loves us so intensely, just as I love my children, and His desire is for our joy and happiness to be found in worshipping and loving Him.  He can’t draw closer to you, or love you anymore than He does.  His love is immutable and He has demonstrated this through the sacrifice of His own Son that we might have eternal life.  There is no deeper love that He can give to you, than the grace provided to redeem your sinful nature and allow for you to enter into heaven.  His perspective is not moment by moment, but eternal. 

Drawing close to God means understanding Him more, familiarizing yourself with His ways, His desires, His purpose and plans.  I want you to compare the amount of time you spend preparing for school, for work, for your own desires with the amount of time you spend strengthening your relationship with God.  Do you spend 10% of your time (2.4 hours) with God each day?  Learning, listening, studying and growing?  No…what about 1 hour, perhaps 30 minutes, maybe 15 minutes?  No….hmmm, maybe you spend a few minutes before you get in the shower each morning, or a few minutes in prayer at the dinner table or before bed.  Are you seeking God’s forgiveness and redemption each day for those things that stand between you and Him?  Are you acting mindful in living up to the character of God in your daily walk, through your speech, your actions and your habits? 

Every relationship requires that both parties participate in the relationship.  If you aren’t willing to contribute and hold up your end of the bargain, but expect God too, is that not double minded?  God’s cards are on the table, He’s not going to change and He’s not going to lower His standards or expectations, just for you.  If you want God’s presence in your life to overcome adversity, pain and hardship; then you need to draw closer to Him in your daily walk and commitment to the relationship.  He is right there waiting for you to draw close and likewise He will draw closer to you.

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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