Presence or Principles?

This weekend I spent a lot of time on the road, as I normally do, and had a chance to listen to some great teaching cds from one of my favorite teachers, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, in Redding California. I felt so good about some of the principles I learned and hoped I could hold onto those lofty thoughts. This morning when I woke up I heard God say, "Information without intimacy can be a dangerous thing. Knowledge puffs up but intimacy grounds us." I'd been hearing this theme a lot lately. When I shared this with my friend, Melanie, she reminded me that there is a scripture that says, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." from 1 Corinthians.

I realized that if we only spend time gaining knowledge about our God and Saviour, then we have the danger of only being "religious". It is in intimacy with our Father, spending time with Him in quiet places of contemplation, that that knowledge is able to do the work in us and transform us into the person that He created us to be. He doesn't want us to know about Him, He wants us to know him and that can only come as we spend time in His presence, laying our heads upon His heart. Even time spent in Bible Studies with others or church services, though these are valuable things, can work against us if we are not having that time alone with the lover of our souls. I know how hard it is to make that quiet time, but the value cannot be overestimated. HELP LORD!! May we so fall in love with You that we can hardly stand not to place you above all other activities. In Jesus' Name!!