The most valuable thing you can do is to know God better. Nothing satisfies the soul more. Knowledge of God is the bread of your human spirit and the light of your mind. Everything else that is good in your life flows out of a correct, deep, experiential knowledge of God.
For those who want to know God better, Christmas brings deep celebration, for we celebrate God’s entry into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s greatest revelation of himself and his ways. As someone who wants to know God as deeply as you possibly can, the person of Jesus Christ is central.
So, over the Christmas holiday I urge you to meditate on what you learn about God through the events of the birth of Jesus Christ.
And throughout the year to come consider always reading some portion of one of the four Gospels every day. Meditate daily on the words and works of Jesus.
Currently the way I’m doing that is by reading a section of a Gospel chapter each day along with my other reading. So, I will read a single episode or a single teaching unit of Jesus rather than reading the entire chapter. As a result I pause and meditate on it longer.
May your knowledge of God be your highest joy this Christmas and in the year ahead!
Celebrating a graduation. Congratulations, Swetha!With my wife and grandkidsWith longtime friend Craig, who was playing his trombone at the Union League Club in ChicagoThe banquet room at the Union League Club, where we went to watch Craig play the trombone. Thank you, Craig!For you who have never used anything but a mobile phone, these are telephone booths at the Union League Club!
Happenings
–In May I attended the Discipleship.org conference in Indianapolis. I heard several motivating and instructive messages and got some excellent books. Thanks to Tom McElroy from Navigators Church Ministry for making my attendance possible and for letting me ride with him there and back.
–I either got a new neighbor upstairs or my old neighbor recently got a big dog who likes to whoof and whoof and whoof. Pray for us.
–I’m spending many hours working on the technology of our church using Subsplash for our website, app, livestream, and online giving.
–My son Mark had a major healing from digestive troubles that he had suffered for several years. Thanks be to God, our healer!
–In our church I am preaching through the Gospel of Luke, now in chapter 7. Jesus is awesome!
Featured email course
You read this blog because you want to know God better. To that end, I highly recommend you sign up for my email course on the goodness of God’s holiness. You will never begin to understand God until you grasp holiness. Click here to sign up.
Most recent Bible memorization and meditation
Luke 6:46–49. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
“Coincidentally” I saw this week that John Piper has a new book coming out titled All That Jesus Commanded. I think I’ll read that.
My next theme
Last week I finished the series on being “Tested by Truth and Error.” My next series is on “Understanding God’s Jealousy.” That is not exactly a warm and fuzzy topic, but it is must reading for those who want to know and love God as he truly is. He says numerous times that he is a jealous God, and he even says that his very name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14). That’s important. That is a truth with which we need to come to terms. So join me by reading here beginning next Monday. Your reward will be a deepened relationship with our greatest Treasure, the God of all things.
Recent reading
Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? By L. Michael Morales. This is not light reading, but it is rich biblical theology on Leviticus. Yes, you read that right. I am reading a book on the theology of Leviticus. Why? Because Leviticus is concerned with God’s holiness, and that is a subject I want to understand as deeply as I can. When Jesus said that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves, do you know what Old Testament Book he was quoting from? You guessed it (19:18).
The Complete Book of Discipleship, by Bill Hull. I have heard of Bill Hull for a long time but never read anything by him, so I picked this up at the conference. I’m on page 35, and I now know why Bill Hull is an important writer on discipleship.
Prayer and Fasting, by Roadcup and Eagle.
Reading and rereading: Isaiah. 2 Corinthians.
Botany for Gardeners, by Brian Capon. I’m not a gardener, but this is extremely interesting. Each time I pick it up, I am left marveling at our Creator.
King Jesus and the Beauty of Obedience-Based Discipleship, by David Young. Why had I never heard of this book or this author?
Next week I begin a new theme: Tested by Truth and Error.
I am praying this for you
May your life be blessed of God in the New Year.
May you grow in the knowledge of God. May the Lord give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
Here are some additional Scriptural prayers I am praying for you, and I urge you to pray them in 2023 for your own life and your intercession for others.
Lord, let your favor be upon me. Establish the work of my hands, my mind, and my mouth. (based on Psalm 90:17 [ESV here and below])
Keep me from stumbling. (based on Jude 1:24)
Encourage me. Strengthen my heart in every good work and word. (based on 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17)
“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long” (based on Psalm 25:4–5)
“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name” (Psalm 86:11)
“Do not let my heart incline to any evil” (based on Psalm 141:4).
“Uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).
“Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8).
When praying for others, see below
Below the prayers above are converted into the plural for use in intercession for others, for example:
Lord, I pray for my family (church members, friends):
Let your favor be upon us. Establish the work of our hands, our minds, and our mouths. (based on Psalm 90:17 [ESV here and below])
Keep us from stumbling. (based on Jude 1:24)
Encourage us. Strengthen our hearts in every good work and word. (based on 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17)
Make us to know your ways, O LORD; teach us your paths. Lead us in your truth and teach us, for you are the God of our salvation; for you we wait all the day long, (based on Psalm 25:4–5).
“Teach us your way, O LORD, that we may walk in your truth; unite our hearts to fear your name” (Psalm 86:11)
“Do not let our hearts incline to any evil” (based on Psalm 141:4).
“Uphold us with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).
“Make us know the way we should go, for to you we lift up our souls” (Psalm 143:8).
I came across this tree this week. I think it is especially beautiful. Putting up beautiful decorations is one of the normal things people do at Christmas. Why?
About two weeks ago we began singing Christmas songs in church, and you may have begun playing Christmas music at home. (One of my favorites is “Mary Did You Know.”) Few things communicate Christmas more than the special songs we bring out for one month of the year. Why do we do that?
There is probably one or more people in your life to whom you are planning to give a Christmas gift. Why did people long ago begin exchanging gifts at Christmas?
Yesterday we enjoyed a Christmas lunch after the worship service. Why do we have special meals at Christmas?
The answer to all the above questions is, we are celebrating. We eat and sing to celebrate something good. We exchange gifts and decorate to celebrate something good.
We celebrate that there is an all-powerful, infinitely loving, absolutely pure and eternally living person at the center of the universe who is committed to saving those who trust in him. He is the Son of God. He is unimaginably good. He came to earth and became a man to die for our sins, save us from death, and defeat our worst enemy Satan. No matter what happens to us in this life, our faith in Jesus assures us we have an eternal life awaiting us that will be gloriously good and free from sorrow.
Believers in Jesus have every reason to celebrate.
The depth of our joy at Christmas is tied directly to the strength of our walk as a disciple of Jesus and the degree of our knowledge of the Lord. The more you learn from Jesus, the more he means to you. The more he cleanses your life of what is sinful and broken, the more grateful you are to him. And the more he rebuilds your life, the more you love him.
We have reached the end of my series of posts on the theme “The Test of Waiting on God.” Click here to read the entire series (start at the bottom of the page and work your way up post by post, in order to read in proper sequence).
We have not however finished the subject of divine testing. To understand God and his ways better, we also need to consider how God tested Abraham when he told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. In case you had any doubts about whether God tests his children, Genesis 22:1 states it plainly:
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” (Genesis 22:1–2, ESV)
Does God ever test you in a similar way? Yes, he does, so be sure to read in the coming weeks about the test of total surrender.
If you are like me, you do lots of your “reading” by listening. That is why I invested a big chunk of time into creating my first full, 25-part, audio series on the theme “How to Get Wisdom for Everything That Matters to You.”
You would help me and other potential listeners if you would sign up to get that series and email your feedback to me—your suggestions, and perhaps a testimonial I can use in the sign-up page.
Here is one testimonial sent to me from a loyal reader in Ghana:
“I was truly blessed by this deep, loaded and insightful message! Right from the start, I learnt that I can have access to divine wisdom with which to solve problems beyond my physical means, as demonstrated by Christ in dealing with the demand for his tax when he didn’t have any money on him (Matthew 17:27). Much as there is much more said, this point really stuck out to me which led me into prayer and a consciousness for such wisdom which overcomes natural limitations. I also learnt through this message not to merely seek wisdom for the many apparent benefits it provides but to seek Christ, in whom is all wisdom, since only He can truly lead us to a right relationship with God, and not worldly wisdom. I’m therefore grateful to have received such a timely message for my life. God richly bless you for the good work, dear Pastor.”
—Daniel Dapaah
Thank you for reading. I am praying for you! The knowledge of God is the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate experience, the ultimate joy, the truth that will never pass away!
Much love,
Craig Brian Larson
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)
On a walk recently I came upon an amazing church door you might appreciate.
Door on Our Lady of Pompeii church, corner of Lexington and Lytle, in Chicago
The Test of Waiting on God
Last week we completed the theme about strong faith and how to get it. See the final post for a linked list of the 20 Truths in the series.
Next week we begin a new theme about The Test of Waiting on God.
There is never a time in our Christian experience when we are not waiting on God for something. This series will encourage you to hang in there.
A new audio course
I just finished creating something I have never done before. It is a 25-part audio email course on How to Get Wisdom for Everything That Matters to You. You might recognize that subject as what I wrote about last year. I have turned it into an audio book, and I am the reader.
I will go public with the course on Monday, August 15, but as a subscriber to my emails you can get early access here.
The format of the course is to email subscribers every two days with a link to one audio chapter. You can conveniently listen on a podcast player or a browser page.
So if you did not read this content when it was posted or would like to cover it again, this is a format that will easily fit into your day, as you listen while doing other things. The average post lasts 5–10 minutes.
I have three favors to ask. First, could you read the signup page and complete the signup form, and then give me your feedback (email me at brian@craigbrianlarson.com)? If you have any problems with any part of the process, please let me know. This will be a great help to me as I do my best to make this a smooth and convenient experience for users both of this content as well as future creations.
Second, could you send the link to someone you know who needs to hear this material?
Third, if the material helps you, please email me with a testimonial of one to three sentences. Tell specifically how it benefitted you. I might use your testimonial in the signup page (if you approve of my doing so).
Reunion
Last month I attended a reunion of people who once worked for publisher Christianity Today International, which I did for 15 years, ending my employment in 2012. Around 50 people gathered in the western suburb of Warrenville, Illinois, for a delightful evening of catching up with friends and former colleagues.
I stand on front row, third from left. My wife, Nancy, stands second row to my left. Marshall Shelley, for whom I worked at Leadership Journal, stands first row, first on left.
Thank you for reading. I pray for my readers regularly that God will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. There is no greater treasure!
Merry Christmas! May this newsletter be my holy kiss to you (1 Thessalonians 5:26) for this happy season.
I’m looking forward to having all our family with us this year for a downtown Chicago Christmas.
Happenings
Since my last newsletter the biggest event for me and my family was the joyous marriage of my son Aaron to his fiancé Lucia. We will never forget how beautiful the wedding was and how blessed we were to have family, church members, and friends sharing this special time.
Aaron and Lucia have attended our church for years, but it was the virus lockdown that altered their schedules enough to where they got interested in each other and took time to do things together. In all things God works for the good!
Lucia, Aaron, Nancy, CBL
The picture below is of my four sons, from the left: Brian, Aaron, Ben, and Mark (I do not yet have photos from the wedding of them with their wives and children).
Amplify Conference
Another important happening for me over the last six months was an evangelism conference I attended in October. It is an annual event sponsored by the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, called Amplify.
What made this important to me was its relationship
(a) to one of the driving passions in my life, which is leading others to faith in Christ,
(b) to the main thing for which I have been inquiring of the Lord for several years, which is how to do evangelism successfully, and
(c) to the topic I have been writing about on the blog since August: How to Get Wisdom for Everything That Matters to You.
Since finding wisdom for successful evangelism is a focus of my life, when I saw an ad for the conference, I said, I should go to that. Although I did not want to take two full days out of my schedule, it does not make sense to pray daily for wisdom on a subject and not pay attention to what others who have been successful at it are saying. God often answers our questions by speaking to us through other people and their content in books, videos, and so on.
The conference was outstanding, definitely worth my time. I came away with numerous resources that I am confident will help us. And I believe this was one piece of how God is answering my prayer for wisdom to successfully lead others to faith in Christ.
Fun stuff
We bought a bread machine, and I’m using it weekly. Cuisinart model CBK-110P1, where have you been all my life! I appreciate being able to control what ingredients are in my bread, the fresh-baked taste, and the smell of bread baking in the kitchen for hours.
Reading list
Contagious Faith: Discover Your Natural Style for Sharing Jesus with Others, by Mark Mittelberg
George Washington Carver: The Man Who Overcame, by Lawrence Elliott
Greetings in Christ. I pray all is well with you and you are growing in the true knowledge of God.
Last week I concluded the series on Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness. My next series of posts will be about praying for wisdom. It is titled, How to Get Wisdom for Everything That Matters to You. This is another important way to know God, and nothing could be more practical and relevant. We know God in our daily experience by learning we can trust him to provide the wisdom we need for all life’s challenges and all our desires. We receive that wisdom through prayer. This is one way you walk with God.
My son Aaron proposed marriage to a woman in our church last week, and she said yes! Lucia and Aaron have both attended our church for years. Church and family are looking forward to their wedding later this year.
A few weeks ago our granddaughter Evelyn spent the night at our apartment in Chicago for the first time. She and Nancy and I had loads of fun. She is a sweetheart.
To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Nancy and I drove about two hours west of Chicago to Rockford, Illinois, to see the Anderson Japanese Garden. It is regularly rated as one of the finest Japanese gardens in America, and for good reason. Creating the garden on a section of his property was the vision of John Anderson, who had his home on a ridge overlooking what was a swampy several-acre bowl of land. On a trip to Portland, Anderson visited a Japanese garden that impressed him so much he hired a professional Japanese designer to create one on his property.
I get inspired by stories of people with vision who create wonderful institutions whose legacy we now enjoy. That, and my new theme, brings to mind a Scripture relevant to you in what you want to build in your life, whether a family, marriage, church, business, house, career, ministry, or even a Japanese Garden. Hebrews 3:4 says, “The builder of all things is God.” We can do nothing apart from him, and we can do much more than we thought possible with him and his infinite wisdom.
God’s name
Knowing God includes knowing his name. For one of the better explanations of the name God uses in the Old Testament—Yahweh—and how it is translated in English Bibles, I recommend this video, explaining how the new Legacy Standard Bible translates the name: how Bible translators treat the name Yahweh in the Old Testament.
A surprising open door
I was on the phone with a company’s customer service recently, and after finishing our business the agent asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
I said, “Thank you, that takes care of my problem. But I do have a personal question for you if you can take a few minutes more. Have you ever taken The God Test?”
“No,” he said.
“Can you do that with me right now on the phone?” I asked. “It involves ten questions and can take about ten minutes, or more if you like.”
“Sure,” he said.
So I launched into the gospel presentation called The God Test, which my church and I are learning. I asked the agent ten questions, which he answered in ten minutes. The final question is, “Would you like to know what the Bible says about these questions?”
He said yes, so I presented the message of the gospel of Christ in about ten minutes. Then I asked, “Would you like to become a follower of Jesus right now?” He said yes. So for ten minutes I got him started on what it means to trust in Jesus and become his disciple.
Knowing God and helping others know him—what could be better than this?
Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. I pray this blog increases your knowledge of God—which is by far the most important knowledge you have.
Last week I finished the short theme on Knowing God, and next week I begin a series of posts on the new theme, “7 Aspects of God’s Holiness.”
God’s holiness is misunderstood by non-Christians and little understood by Christians, yet it defines him. If we do not understand his holiness, we fundamentally do not understand God. If we do not love God’s holiness, then we do not love God as he is, for he is the Holy One (Isaiah 1:4). Because we all sin, we have a natural reluctance about this subject, but we can overcome that through increased understanding, for God’s holiness is good and desirable in every way. That is what people do not understand—the sheer goodness of God’s holiness—and that is what we will explore.
There is another benefit to this subject. As we learn to understand and appreciate his holiness, we will learn to love personal purity. “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). So do not miss a week, for it will profoundly change your life.
Favorite posts
I love Psalm 91, and our journey through its reassuring words was a highlight of last year. Meditating deeply on it is a must in these perilous times. My first post on it started in a majestic place: Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High. Read it, for it can make you fearless.
You may have noticed I have been posting the audio of some of my sermons. My recent favorite is Getting Great Faith.
Here are some books I’m reading
None Like Him: Ten Ways God Is Different from Us (and why that’s a good thing), by Jen Wilkin
The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges
Your Eternal Reward, by Erwin W. Lutzer
The Apostle: The Life of Paul, by John Pollack
Show Me your Glory, by Steven J. Lawson
None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God, by Matthew Barrett
Evangelism in the Early Church, by Michael Green
Investing in Knowing God
Knowing God is the most valuable investment of your time and life. He is the ultimate person and most worthy to be pursued in a love relationship. He is the only truly good person (Mark 10:18). He is the most creative, knowledgeable, and interesting person. He is the most loving person. He is the most beautiful and inspiring person. He is infinitely superior to us in every imaginable way—the most excellent person. He is literally perfect and without limitation. Absolutely pure—clean, morally sanitary—and thus eternally healthful to one’s body, soul, and spirit. He is kind, gracious, generous, compassionate, patient, benevolent.
When you choose to boast in knowing God over all other boasts (Jeremiah 9:23–24) and make it your goal to know him better every day, it is as though you were the poorest person in the world marrying the richest person in the world, or the most disfigured guy in the world marrying the world’s most beautiful super-model, or the lowest IQ in the world marrying the greatest genius in the world. When you choose to boast in knowing God, you are “marrying” way up—infinitely up.
Knowing God is the most rewarding, delightful, and inexhaustible knowledge you can have.
Prayer Request
The proposal for my book on holiness is in the hands of several publishers. Please pray it finds a home with a publisher who will make the most of its ministry and bring maximum glory to the Lord.
