I Love to Tell the Story

This morning in church we had somewhat of a missions emphasis. We sang an old hymn. Maybe you've heard it. It goes like this.

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know 'tis true;It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me; And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.
I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory,To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story; 'tis pleasant to repeat what seems,Each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God's own holy Word.
I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory,To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,'Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory,To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

As we started to sing, a quote that I once heard ran through my mind. "Christians don't tell lies, they go to church and sing them."I believe that most of the people in the congregation that were singing this song, were lying through their teeth. Go ahead and say I'm being harsh and judgemental, but I looked at myself too, and I knew that I was lying. Maybe by the time that we got to the last verse, there was more truth involved.
"I love to tell the story, to those who know it best."
That might be. It's easy to get up and teach Sunday School to a bunch of God-loving people. But I don't know a whole lot of people that love to tell the story of Jesus.

You know how I know that they don't love it? They aren't doing it. I'm not doing it.

We sing, "I love to tell the story." Then why don't we do it?"

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God's own holy Word."
Do we really get that? Some have NEVER HEARD. I'm not just talking about people from a tribe in Africa that no one has ever heard of. There are people right around you every day, living in this "Christian" land, where say, "In God we trust," that have NEVER HEARD about what Jesus Christ has done for them.
A phrase in the second verse kind of sums this up. Why should we love to tell the story? Why should we tell others?

"I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee."

Knowing God

In My Utmost today Oswald Chambers asks the question, "We recceive His blessings and know His word, but do we know Him?"Of course we know some things about God, but do we know Him? So I did a quick word study in my Bible with the word "know."

While I came up with some great verses, the one that stood out the most was from Hosea. Chapter 6 verse 6 says that God would rather us know Him, than offer burnt sacrifices. Two verses before this it says, "Let us know; let us press on to Know the Lord."Let us press on to know the Lord.

Those are pretty strong words. You are not just going to know God. You have to work for it. So, I asked myself. What's the best way to get to know God, well any child in Sunday School could answer that one. "Read your Bible!" Then I asked well where is the best place in the Bible to learn about God, thinking about places that specifically speak about God's character. God reminded me that His character is in every part of the Bible. I just need to read it and ask, "What does this tell me about God?"

For fun I closed my Bible and randomly opened it up to a verse. I read it and then asked myself, "What does this tell me about God?" Obviously you need to read other verses around the verse for context, but I used this as a way to practice learning about God's character in verses that might not specifically say something like, "God is faithful."

It takes work to know God. Know God pleases Him. Am I willing to work for that, so I can please my Savior, so I can know Him?