Hello, my name is Emma Abbott and I work here at GOD TV. Welcome to God Today. I don’t know about you, but I love getting into the word of God. I always find something new, something that challenges me. The Bible verse I’ve been really, really challenged by recently is found in Matthew and it’s in chapter 7, 21 to 23. And I’d just like to read that to you now. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you, get away from me, You who breaks God’s laws.’”
Now I don’t know about you, but that really, really challenges me to my core. What is God saying here? They seem like really good things. People who prophesied in His name, people who preached in His name. Can you imagine standing in front of God on that day and saying, “But Lord, I preached in your name.” And He says, “But I never knew you.”? I believe what God is talking about here is relationship. Do you know that we can do many, many things in the name of Jesus, but not know Him? And if we do those things in His name without knowing Him, then they are empty and void because what Jesus wants with us more than anything else, is relationship.
You know, I don’t know if you’re married, but I’m married. And when me and my husband first got together, we were so in love. And I was so excited to see him every single time we met up. I really looked forward to it. I really thought about him every moment of the day. And then we had our wedding day, which was beautiful, but then marriage begins and marriage is great, but it’s hard work. And I believe this picture of marriage mirrors what we have in Christ. Our wedding day is that day where we give our lives to Christ. And it’s often a time when we feel so in love with Him, but then the relationship begins. Then walking out as a Christian really does begin. And what does that look like? A relationship only works if we put in effort and work. We have to build relationship, we have to speak life into it, and the way we do that with the Lord is by praying, by worshiping and by seeking His will in His word.
Where are you at today? Are you thinking about Jesus many times during your day? Do you feel like you could get to know Him more? Because it’s only in the knowing Him that we get to be more and more like Him. You know, there’s a beautiful truth in James, where he says those who draw near to me, I draw near to them. So I just want to pray for you today that you would draw near to God so that He draws near to you.
Yeah, Father God, I just thank you for this day. I thank you for a new day and getting to know you more. I thank you for new opportunities in being able to get to know your heart more and fall ever more in love with you. I pray this day for everyone watching, that they will grow in their intimacy with you, that they will grow to love you more and more every day. We thank you Lord, for the beautiful truth that you draw near to us, as we draw near to you, in Jesus’ Name, Amen. I pray that you have been blessed today and that you have a wonderful day and that you get into the word of God. Pray, get to know Him, because He wants to get to know you.