o come, let us adore him

             For the last twelve weeks, my church has been walking through a Bible study entitled Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically by a pastor in New Albany, MS. John Snyder. Just two weeks before Christmas - a day set aside by many to behold and marvel at the birth of the GodMan … Jesus … the One known as Emmanuel, God with us - we finished this study.

                How I pray that the truths I’ve gleaned from this study will open my heart’s eyes to behold the Babe of Bethlehem with greater love. Greater devotion. Greater awe. To behold Him from the Bethlehem manger to Calvary’s rugged cross … to the empty tomb … to the Father’s right hand.

Oh, Jesus, may I behold YOU rightly all the days of my life.

Here is a sampling of the truths I’ve gleaned from this study:

 1. The adoration of God must consume my heart/soul/mind.
 2. The treasure of Christianity is that God has done all that is necessary for ME to know HIM forever.
 3. God’s attributes define WHO He is, not merely how He acts.
 4. John Piper: “Being infinite, God is inexhaustibly interesting. It is therefore impossible that God be boring.”
 5. Ignatius of Antioch: “Apart from Christ, let nothing dazzle you.”
 6. There is risk to follow God wherever He calls … but it brings LIFE & ADVENTURE.
 7. I can know theological facts, but be spiritually ignorant … missing God altogether.
 8. Prayerlessness is rooted in a small view of God.
 9. Sin is a thief of the glory I owe God.
10. William Romaine: “In books I converse with men, in the Bible I converse with God.”
11. My measure of God is the measure of my hope. Big God, big hope. Small God, small hope.
12. Jesus bears the FULL impress of God’s character.
13. C.H. Spurgeon: “Incarnate deity has no wall of fire about it. ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,’ is the joyful proclamation of God as He appears in human flesh.”
14. Knowing Jesus is LIFE!
15. I must know Jesus better than any other person.
16. What God does will ALWAYS reflect who He is.
17. Hudson Taylor: “My great business in life is to please God.”
18. Who you are in Christ determines how you live for Him.
19. To truly gaze upon Christ … to behold Him … is to determine the setting of my heart and mind on the realities of King Jesus.
20. No set of rules can in any way effectively transform us apart from Christ.
21. God isn’t primarily interested in our gifts, songs, or prayers; He is concerned about us - what we really are.
22. I must allow God to form my views/doctrine/theology/worship … NOT traditions, cultures, churches, other people, etc.
23. A good ambassador is an ACCURATE representative of his King.
24. Love for God forms the foundation for true compassion toward mankind.
25. My purpose & significance come from belonging to Jesus … NOT from what I do.
26. Change … renewal … revival MUST start in my heart/life first.
27. Knowing God requires me to surrender everything to follow Him.
28. The cultivated presence of God is when God’s nearness is enjoyed … even if others are unaware of His presence.
29. Learn to pray Scripture.
30. It is possible for God to be my life’s treasured delight.
31. Jonathan Edwards: “He is not only a gentle, but an all-sufficient God. There is enough in Him to answer all our wants and satisfy all our desires.”

As we approach the birthday celebration of the King of kings, the LORD of lords ... the risen LORD Jesus Christ ... my prayer for you & for me is that we will behold our God and that we, perhaps for the first time, will genuinely behold Him! 
Soli Deo Gloria!
​MERRY CHRISTMAS!