To Know God
"And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face-to-face."
Deuteronomy 34: 10
King James Version
EXPLORATION
"To Know God"
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"The promise of seeing God surpasses all beatitude. In Scripture, to see is to possess. Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which (she) can conceive."
Gregory of Nyssa
What does it mean to me when I hear the words, "to know God?"
"(Woman), made in the image of God, has a purpose – to be in relationship to God, who is there. Men and women forget (their) purpose and thus (they) forget who God is and what life means."
Francis Schaeffer
INSPIRATION
"The image of God is worth more than all substances, and we give it colors, for dreams, for shadows."
J. Donne
Some of the wonderful blessings of Transformation Garden are the notes and emails I receive from so many of you. It's as though God has expanded my circle of dearest friends exponentially around the world.
Over a year ago, a lady named Clara, one of God's fabulous daughters, came to the garden for the first time, and I can truly say in over the short span of a year, we have become "sisters."
Not long ago, Clara dropped me a note which said, "I may never get the opportunity to meet you in person on earth, but when we get to heaven, I'll know you immediately. I'll recognize you right away!" I had tears pouring down my face as I read her words for I was touched, as I was reminded again that when we have hearts which beat in time together with a love for our heavenly Father, we do know each other in ways that surpass any other elements. EHarmony or all the match-making websites that promise to hook you up with people who have your characteristics are complete failures when compared to individuals whose hearts beat in unison with an overflowing love for our Father. This is what we will find during the next few days as we review the life of Moses and his relationship with a God, he knew.
Today, we begin our final studies in the book of Deuteronomy. And we're going to take time to look at a "Life Well-Lived."
One of my favorite old-time pastors, C. H. Spurgeon said: "There is no more blessed way of living, than the life of faith upon a covenant-keeping God-to know that we have no care, for He cares for us; that we have no fear, except to fear Him; that we need have no troubles, because we have cast our burdens upon the Lord, and are conscious that He will sustain us." This is the God Moses knew. And before this man of God took one last hike to the heights of the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, where God showed him the Promised Land, he gathered the children of Israel together and shared with them the attributes that are present in a life lived for God.
I liken what Moses told the people to the practical task of building a house. First, you need a strong foundation. Then you need solid timbers – supportive beams that are sturdy and durable. And last, you need a roof that protects from everything that could destroy what is in the house.
As Moses began to speak, we find in Deuteronomy 32: 3-4 (Amplified Bible), he laid the foundation of a life well-lived on the Rock: "For I will proclaim the name and presence of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock. His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice. A God of faithfulness, without breach or deviation, just and right is He."
At the age of 120, after 40 years in Pharaoh's court, 40 years in Midian alone herding sheep, and 40 years herding a group of often wayward, grumbling people from Egypt to Canaan, with his voice ringing out strong and clear, Moses declared, "The Rock, our foundation is the God I know – the God who loves you and me." (Deuteronomy 33: 3). (Paraphrase)
A God of love, a God who through his entire life Moses had come to depend on more and more, was what gave Moses' life stability. The bedrock of Moses' life was a God he knew better and better with each passing day, until at the end of his life, we are told in Deuteronomy 34: 10, there never arose a prophet like Moses who "knew" God face-to-face. And to add a little extra to this passage, the word "knew" as used in this text means, "to recognize." That's right, Moses and God recognized each other. Don't you just love it! They were friends. Their hearts beat in unison. They walked together and talked together. But most of all, they loved each other. They weren't strangers when they met – for they knew each other.
Author Henry Drummond penned these insightful words. "This is how men get to know God – by doing His will." This was how Moses built the foundation of a life, well-lived. He got to know his heavenly Father and by doing so, he recognized God's presence in his life every day. May you and I do the same.
"Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!"
Jim Elliot
AFFIRMATION
It is the Lord
"It is the Lord, in the dawning,
in the renewal,
in the arrival,
in the new day.
It is the Lord, in the crows,
in the church,
in the conversation,
in the crisis.
It is the Lord, in our joys,
in our sorrows,
in our sickness,
in our health.
It is the Lord, in the stable,
in the humble,
in the stranger,
in the poor.
It is the Lord, risen and returned,
alive for evermore,
giving me new life,
saving me in strife.
It is the Lord."
David Adam
Times and Seasons
"We beg you, make us really alive. Give us the spirit of light, that we may know you, the supremely true."
Serapion
Bishop of Thmuis
Your friend
Dorothy Valcárcel, Author
When A Woman Meets Jesus
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