2 Timothy 1:12 Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

This is the most powerful motivation in the world. Absolutely nothing can compare with it. When we really know God and are convinced of His love and power, then nothing can shake us. This has strengthened martyrs and ordinary saints down through the centuries. The only sad thing is how few people who say they are Christians and who have accepted the facts of the Gospel, really know God. In ages past the Bible was greatly restricted, even in “Christian” nations, to the same degree or more so than in Islamic countries today, so few people had the opportunity to know God except by revelation. (It is interesting that God has been granting visions of Christ to many in Islamic countries even in recent years, resulting in marvelous conversions.) Today, however, in most countries around the world, the Bible is freely available, and there is nothing to keep anyone from pressing in to know more and more of God. Sadly, not many take advantage of that. Paul knew the value of knowing God in Christ, and it was his driving motivation. (Philippians 3:10 and following) If more Christians caught that spark, to be able to proclaim this verse with full assurance, the world would be a different place.

And here I go preaching to myself again! I feel I can make this statement in all honesty, but at the same time I have to acknowledge that there is so much more I want and need to learn of God. Some of that is purely experiential, and I will simply have to wait for His timing. For example, I will not know Him as the one who translates me from this life to the next until that happens. However, other areas await my deeper surrender to Him. I know too well that I still have “pockets of resistance” that don’t fully acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. Too often I act like a “mere human,” (1 Corinthians 3:3) and I’m not happy about that! I need to keep pressing in, not only so that I may more accurately reflect Christ, but also so that the believers may know it is possible. I want to raise up a generation of disciples who will indeed know the One whom they believe, with rock-solid assurance, and live and act accordingly.

Father, thank You for this reminder this morning. Thank You for all You are doing in this church, in individuals and in the group as a whole. Thank You for guiding Cathy and me in our visiting yesterday. Keep us doing Your will on Your schedule, so that Your plans may be accomplished for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!