Blessed New Year to you!
I trust that you are well.
At the start of a new year I have much for which to thank God. Most importantly, I feel as though I walked with God more closely than at any time in my life and that he taught me much about himself and his ways. Writing this blog played an important role in that. Meditating and writing on God’s love for a year has marked me forever. If you’re new to the blog, I urge you to go back and read the posts.
Other all-important themes for knowing God that we have studied have been the holiness of God, and how to practice God’s presence.
The next theme
Next up, we will explore another critical subject that is absolutely essential if we are to understand God and his ways, and that is the gospel. What does the gospel teach us about God? How does the gospel of Jesus Christ distinguish the God of the Bible from every other so-called God and religion?
So, again, the goal in this upcoming theme is to understand the gospel deeply for the purpose of knowing God and his ways better. We will see how this knowledge has enormous implications for everything in the Christianity life, not just for knowing how to be saved.
Blog email provider
On a practical note, at the end of the year I experimented with using a new company as my email provider. I didn’t like the results (some subscribers did not receive my emails) and switched back to the previous company. However, I’m still planning to get another provider. If you don’t receive your email as usual from me on Mondays (switching email providers can cause email services like Gmail to think an email is spam), please send me an email (brian@CraigBrianLarson.com) and let me know that. And check your junk folder.
I’m praying for you and all my readers regularly that God will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
Maximum payoff
Suppose that in 2019 you earned a new certification or degree in your field of work. That would help you in great ways, but far greater good would have come to your life if you grew in the knowledge of God. Knowing God correctly results in making better decisions, having more faith, love, and hope, living morally in a way pleasing to God, and experiencing God’s presence, for starters. All the things that matter most flow out of our knowledge of God.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 ESV).
So, as 2020 begins, make it your ultimate goal this year to know and love God better. You will never regret it, and the fruits endure forever!
Much love,
Brian
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)