Daily Devotional
How Do You Pursue Knowing God?
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:13-14
December 15, 2023
Ponder This
A natural man is one who's only had one birth. He is born into the natural world, and he is bound by the material world. He can never know the things of the Spirit of God until he has a second birth. Look at verse 14, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.”
If you were to come into a room where music is playing and I say to you, “Smell that music” you’d say, “That’s impossible.” Now that wouldn’t mean that there was anything wrong with your nose; it just would mean that the nose is the wrong organ for perceiving music. You don’t smell music; you hear music. There may be nothing wrong with your mind, but that is the wrong organ for knowing God.
The soul is what is missing. You know God primarily with your soul. It is the soul that is the organ of spiritual knowledge. Human wisdom is superficial. Human wisdom is transitory. Human wisdom is limited. Human wisdom is dangerous. You can’t know God through human wisdom. You know God in your soul, according to His Spirit who speaks to your soul.
- What is the difference between knowing God with your mind and with your soul?
- When have you felt God’s presence through the Holy Spirit? What did you learn about God in that time?
Practice This
Ask God to help you know Him in your soul through the presence of His Spirit.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
