Here We Are Again

Seems like the weekend goes so fast.
Monday already.
New opportunities to grow this week. I'm still a stinker in need of God.
I marvel at the more I see myself under God's light, the more I find that is just junk and needs to be shed of (that's a good southern term...shed of....). That means get rid of.
Attitudes.
Behaviors.
Critical in my thought and speech.
All of these are focal points this week. That doesn't mean that I will be free by Friday afternoon and stand as some kind of SUPER follower of Jesus. It just means that I'm a work in progress.

Please pray and give to the relief effort in Haiti.
Suffering and misery on a scale that boggles the mind.
Water, food, shelter, medicine...all in short supply.
Give to the Red Cross or other agencies that are helping the efforts to rescue the people.

Exodus 6 we find God declaring what he is going to do for Israel as they are trapped in slavery.
Unable to free themselves, their cries have gone up to God and he has begun to act on them.
In Verse 6, it begins with God making a statement.."Therefore, say to the Israelites, ' I am the Lord and I will free you.'"
God goes on to list how he will accomplish this and what he is going to do the Hebrews.
"I will free you from your slavery"
"I will redeem you"
"I will be your God"
"You will know that I am the Lord your God"
"I will bring you into the land that I have promised"
The God closes out this dialog with the same statement that he started it with.
"I am the Lord!"

3 times in the course of these verses he identified himself.
Not because they didn't know it was him.
They didn't know him.
This is our problem in the good ol' US of A.
People are under the assumption that knowledge ABOUT God is the same as knowledge OF God.
It isn't.

Eric Clapton is one of my favorite guitarist. I have listened to him from 8-track to CD (that's a number of years by the way). Seen him in various movies of concert footage. I have read his autobiography. I even got a chance to see him in 2006, but if for some reason, I had rushed the stage screaming, "Eric! It's me! I've need to talk with you." Eric would have taken one look and said, "Security! Oh Security!"
You see, I know about Eric Clapton. I don't know of Eric Clapton.
We treat God like this.
We collect opinions (some good and some bad) formulate them into a logical pattern of thought and we come to the conclusion that we know God.
How sad!
Knowing God comes through having relationship with Him.
Ever growing, always changing relationship that draws us closer to him each day.

Know God today...
Don't just know about him.

God on you........
mb