Written by Ken Hulsey
In the waning days of 2024, I had made up my mind to begin a new series of articles and develop a stronger relationship with God that coincided with the start of a new year. I had every intention of starting as soon as the new year began; then I hit a block, a wall if you will. What would my new series be about? What would its ultimate goal be? On what subject would I begin? I wrestled with these questions over and over, and before I ever realized it or ever started, it was the beginning of April.It's not that I didn't have any ideas; in fact, my mind was flooded with them. There are just so many issues going on in the world today, and there are so many needs. Through prayer and the divine inspiration that it provided, my heart was led to embark on something rather unique.
NLT Courage For Life Study Bible, Filament Enabled (Hardcover) - $25.19 @ Amazon.com - Order Here!
During one of our family get-togethers, when all of us men slipped off to watch sports and talk about stuff—mostly memories of the good old days—we somehow got on the subject of church and the unique struggles they face in different regions of the country. My son-in-law, Steven Roberts, who leads the children's ministry at our church, referred to the West, where I used to live, as "Godless." At first, I wanted to summon up some prideful offense at that statement. I am, after all, a native Californian. But before I could maneuver my emotions in that direction, I thought it through and realized that honestly, he wasn't truly wrong. There is a large number of people out West—well, everywhere honestly—that don't know God or even believe that God exists. In that, I found my muse.
If my goal was to grow closer to God, then maybe it would be a good idea to learn as much as I could about Him. How much do we really know about God? How are we supposed to answer questions about God when confronted by atheists, agnostics, or anyone who is simply curious? We need to have those answers.
Now there's another question: how do you learn about God? The only answer that I could come up with was through the study of His word, the Bible, and going directly to Him through prayer. When I said study, I mean actually studying it, not just reading a couple of verses a day. That was going to involve discipline on my part, but if I really want to learn about Him, I will have to read the accounts of His interactions with His people. From this, I know that I will gain great insight.
Prayer will be absolutely crucial in this undertaking. I know that I often forget that through prayer, I can go right to the source when I need wisdom and understanding. Okay, I understand the hows, but where to begin? Well, the answer is blatantly simple: you begin in the beginning—Genesis—where the first accounts of God and His creation of, well, everything are recorded.
From scripture, we learn that God created the Earth and the universe it inhabits in what was referred to as seven days. There is no mention of what God had been doing for the eons before He decided to create the universe, or what His motivation was for doing it. Maybe it's not important to know the backstory of God at this point? All we, the reader, know is: God is, and God did. I'm certain that through the continued study of scripture, the whys will become more clear.
So join me as I embark on this incredible journey to discover more about God and what it is like to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. I hope that you will join me as we take a deep dive into scripture over the coming weeks and months.
If my goal was to grow closer to God, then maybe it would be a good idea to learn as much as I could about Him. How much do we really know about God? How are we supposed to answer questions about God when confronted by atheists, agnostics, or anyone who is simply curious? We need to have those answers.
Now there's another question: how do you learn about God? The only answer that I could come up with was through the study of His word, the Bible, and going directly to Him through prayer. When I said study, I mean actually studying it, not just reading a couple of verses a day. That was going to involve discipline on my part, but if I really want to learn about Him, I will have to read the accounts of His interactions with His people. From this, I know that I will gain great insight.
Prayer will be absolutely crucial in this undertaking. I know that I often forget that through prayer, I can go right to the source when I need wisdom and understanding. Okay, I understand the hows, but where to begin? Well, the answer is blatantly simple: you begin in the beginning—Genesis—where the first accounts of God and His creation of, well, everything are recorded.
From scripture, we learn that God created the Earth and the universe it inhabits in what was referred to as seven days. There is no mention of what God had been doing for the eons before He decided to create the universe, or what His motivation was for doing it. Maybe it's not important to know the backstory of God at this point? All we, the reader, know is: God is, and God did. I'm certain that through the continued study of scripture, the whys will become more clear.
So join me as I embark on this incredible journey to discover more about God and what it is like to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. I hope that you will join me as we take a deep dive into scripture over the coming weeks and months.
Check Out:
No comments:
Post a Comment