“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6, NIV).
Growing up in church, I heard this verse mentioned now and then in the context of discipleship teachings. Such strong wording is an effective impetus in the direction of learning the Bible. Of course we all want to avoid being destroyed!
Today I want to pause, though, and consider what all God might mean here by “knowledge.” No doubt, memorizing and understanding Scripture is an enormous part of it. I could write a whole post (or a bunch of posts) about that unspeakably vital part of our foundation in Jesus.
Yes, that. However, what I sense Holy Spirit emphasizing today is the knowledge that we learn about just two chapters later in this same book, Hosea. That is, the personal knowledge of God.
(Hosea 6:3, ESV).
Reading and studying about God in the Bible is irreplaceable. However, we cannot be satisfied with only head knowledge about Him. I could read and study all about the life of Franklin Graham. But I have never met him. I do not know him.
You could read and study all about God and never meet Him personally. In fact, there are a good number of people alive on earth today that have done just that. Such unfortunate souls fit this description: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40, ESV).
We need both. We need a rich life of study in the Word, and we need a deeply personal relationship with Jesus. We need to press in to know Him. When everything inside of us reaches out for Him, this is His guarantee: as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, He will come to our encounter. His personal, intimate presence will Continue reading Let Us Know
Feeding On Jesus 