To Know Jesus More ~ by Amy Vest

Jesus.  When you read His Name, what comes to your mind?

What comes to your mind when you think about Jesus is the most important thing about you.  Who you know and embrace Jesus to be shapes the rest of your life, what you believe, and your eternal destiny!

You were created to know Jesus for who He really is, to be satisfied in Him, and to live in - and live out of - the reality of who He is. 

Our souls were made to know Him in a personal experience of who He is - not just to know about Him in our heads.  

Think of one of your best friends.  When you met them, you began a relationship and a friendship was kindled.  But, you have become close by growing in knowing one another more, right?  It is the same, and so much more, with Jesus!

Philippians 1:9 says, "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge..."  Are you ready for something really neat?  The word knowledge in Greek (the original language of this verse in the Bible) is epígnōsis - epí, meaning "on, fitting" and gnṓsis means, "knowledge gained through first-hand relationship".   

So, knowledge is really is - "knowing through personally meeting with Jesus and experiencing Him for who He is YOURSELF"!  That is how our relationship with and love for Jesus increases - through knowing Him this way.  It is kind of hard to love someone you don't  really know, isn't it?

Get this - You begin a transforming relationship with Jesus the moment of salvation (more on this HERE) when He draws you to personally trust in Him to save you and give your life to Him.  From that place, Jesus invites you to an ever-deepening relationship of growing in knowing Him more every day!

Let that sink in for a moment. 

Your whole Christian life is meant to be an ever increasing journey of experiencing Jesus more!  It turns every moment into an exciting opportunity to know Him.  The happy times He makes Himself real as your song and source, the trials He show us He is your comfort and rock, the times of waiting and every other thing we experience are all opportunities to step out in faith that He is who He says He is and experience that reality for yourself. 

Every personal encounter with Jesus transforms you, satisfies your soul, and deepens your relationship with Him.  When you experience Jesus, you will never be the same.

Talk about a reason to get out of bed in the morning!

I could so easily really get going about the joy of personally knowing Jesus, how it has changed my life, and how it is what we are created for - but then this would become a book instead of a blog post. :)  So, for now, I will just say these things:

You have to experience Jesus for yourself.  People can tell you about Him for years, but you will never understand until you know Him yourself.

The more we know Jesus, the more we see all that we have in Him, become increasingly satisfied in Him, grow in loving Him, desire to obey and trust Him, long for others to know Him, and want to know Him more!

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."  Philippians 3:8

~ How do we grow in knowing Jesus? 
There are so many ways  to grow in knowing Jesus. The biggest way the Lord reveals Himself to us is through His Word, the Bible.  All of the other ways we can come to know Him - meeting Him in prayer, listening to sermons, spiritual growth books, His work, etc. - ALWAYS must line up with who He tells us He is in His Word.

The Bible is God's Word to you - revealing Who He is! 

I distinctly remember a time when Jesus met with me years back when I was reading my Bible.  I was reading the Bible because I knew it was good to read and I was gaining so much from it.  As I read, I came across Psalm 18:2: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."  It was as if the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Amy, read My Word to know WHO I AM." 

When we read the Bible this way, it becomes a treasure hunt to discover more of who Jesus is!  He invites us all on this treasure hunt - and the riches of who He is awaits us!

A beautiful place to begin reading in the Bible to know more of who Jesus is, is the book of John - It tells so much about Jesus' life on earth, what He said, and more!

~ A "Who Jesus Is" Journal ~
One thing that has been so sweet and helpful in knowing Jesus more, has been keeping a journal of who He is!  There are photos scattered throughout this post to give a little idea of what it could be like.  There is no wrong or right way to do it!  Here are a few ways that have blessed me:

~ Listing who He is - Simply writing out qualities of who He is - "loving, patient, kind, holy, faithful, my Shepherd..."  This is so sweet to do and think on all that I have in Jesus!  This is a beautiful list to use in your prayer and worship time, too.  "Jesus, I thank You, that You are so faithful to me, You never fail me.  I praise You that You are patient with me and never give up on me.  Lord, You are so loving!  Your love fills me and satisfies the deepest parts of my soul..."  This is something - both listing and worshipping - that you can do through the day, too.

~ List who He is with verses from the Bible that talk about that quality - This is really special.  As you read your Bible, ask the Lord to reveal to you by His Spirit who He is and keep your eyes open!  When you see something about Him, you can write it in your journal like this:

Shepherd ~ "The Lord is my Shepherd..."  Psalm 23:1

This is so precious to go to and let His Word speak to your heart about who He is!

~ Do a personal study - You can approach it in any way that the Lord leads you!  A way that He has had me doing recently that has been such a blessing to me is to have a little outline like this when I am looking at an aspect of who Jesus is:
~ Who He is:
~ Verse(s) about this:
~ Have I personally experience Him as this?  If so, how?
~ How does this reality of who He is change my life?
~ What is one way that I can live in this reality today?
~ Ask Him to make this reality real - or even more real.
~ Write out a prayer of worship for who He is.

Friend, Jesus wants you to know Him.  He is inviting you to an ever deepening relationship where you personally experience Him and find Him to be the answer to the longings of your heart.  Will you answer?

"Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”   Hosea 6:3

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For more encouragement on growing in knowing Jesus:
~ Having Devotions that Change Your Life Videocast - https://vimeo.com/23062783

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We'd love for you to comment and share:
What is one thing about who Jesus is that you love?  (Example - loving, faithful, etc.)