CAC living water devotional

CAC Living Water
Daily Devotional Guide
Friday,  August 17, 2018

TOPIC
KNOWING GOD VERSUS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Read Ezekiel 37:1-38

      MEMORISE
Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord"  (Ezekiel 37:5-6).
EXPOSITION
The valley of dry bones is a familiar biblical scene to many Christians. God did a phenomenal miracle to give flesh and the breath of life to an army of skeletons. This is not to tell the future generations of Christians that we can so apply this to any prayer for the resurrection of the dead. It was to give the message to the house of Israel that even as they had lost hope and gone astray, God would turn them around. The emphasis of chapter 37 is that Israel shall know that God is the Lord.
    Curiously, Old Testament Israel cannot be accused of having no knowledge of who God is. They probably had more " contact points " with God than any other nations combined together. Many of them were also well versed in the ways of God. The problem was more of " knowing"  God, i.e. having intimate knowledge that facilitates cordial relationship with God.
   Having the knowledge of God does not equate "knowing God". Sometimes, we lie to ourselves in the knowledge of God to pretend that we know God in a deep way." Knowing God " means growing in intimacy with the One who gives us the knowledge of Him, and not just having it in ones head. "Knowing God" means the living out of our faith, because it does take faith to want to get close to God. "Knowing God" is asking tough questions after a miraculous experience like "What do You want from me, God?" "What does this miracle have to do with my relationship with You?"
Today's passage is a reminder to us not to merely get excited about getting insights from the Word,but also to have honest conversations with God about living out such insights. Otherwise,we might only be as good as bones and flesh without living out the new life given to us in Jesus Christ.

  PRAYER  POINTS
1. Oh God, what do You want from me through this reading? Help me to continue to know You and not just having a knowledge of You.
2. Lord, help me to pay the price of knowing You intimately.
3. Lord, bring all Christians close to Yourself and save us from the knowledge that puffs up.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Psalms 39-43 & Revelation 8-9