[sound doctrine pt. 5]

Something I think I’ve been learning lately is that Christian discipleship is largely growth in being satisfied in Jesus. We were created in God’s image to glorify and enjoy Him as the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism so directly reminds us:

Q. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The tragedy is that, as sinners, we are bent and deviant from this end. We take God’s good created things–other people, our abilities and talents, prestige, sex, food, whatever–and try to make enjoying one or many of those created things our chief end. We are idolators. And we self-destruct in pursuit of these things that, divorced from the enjoyment of God, can never satisfy. Whenever delight in God is first, all of these lesser delights fall into their proper place and can be truly enjoyed with gratefulness toward their Creator.

The Gospel is the good news that God has given us Himself in the life, death, and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ. He has paid the price of our idolatry, and wants to put away our sin so that He, the only One Who can satisfy, can be the treasure of our hearts again. As John Piper has put it, God Himself is the Gospel.

Once God has rescued our idolatrous hearts, we begin the painful and joyful process of cultivating joy in Him above all. We are all trying to get to the place where we can say with Asaph in Psalm 73,

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

There is nothing that I desire besides You; that is, literally, there is nothing I want as much as You. We have other good desires, but all of them ought to pale in comparison to our desire for God Himself and be tempered by gratitude towards Him.

So this song is a musical meditation on that Psalm, and hopefully it will be of some use to us in cultivating satisfaction in Christ. You can get the audio by clicking on the title.

All I Want (Psalm 73)
music and lyrics by Jonathan McGregor
I’ve looked around, and I’ve seen
All the violence and the riches of the proud.
I’ve looked around, and I’ve seen
That righteousness is vanity.
I’ve felt the rod of wrath,
And I have walked a hard and narrow path,
And I have found no rest,
Just a bitter bleeding in my chest.

[tag]

I look to You, and I see
Your glory in the sanctuary.
I look to You, and I see
You governing with equity.
You hold my hand, and I know
To be near You is good for me.
And You will spare no cost to bring
Me with You into glory.

[tag]

Oh, all I want is You.
Oh, all I want is You.

(It cost the cross to bring me near to You.
It costs my life for me to come to You.
My heart, my flesh will fail, but You will not.
You are the Rock Who bears up my heart.
You are my refuge; I will hide in You.
There is no one for me in heaven but You,
And none on earth I want beside You.
You are Your gift, and I receive You.)

[five reasons to thank God for john calvin]

Today is the five-hundredth birthday of Reformation pastor and theologian John Calvin. I can think of at least five reasons to thank God for his life and ministry:

5. In the political sphere, Calvin argued for limited government.

I, for my part, am far from denying that the form which greatly surpasses the others is aristocracy, either pure or modified by popular government, not indeed in itself, but because it very rarely happens that kings so rule themselves as never to dissent from what is just and right, or are possessed of so much acuteness and prudence as always to see correctly. Owing, therefore, to the vices or defects of men, it is safer and more tolerable when several bear rule, that they may thus mutually assist, instruct, and admonish each other, and should any one be disposed to go too far, the others are censors and masters to curb his excess. This has already been proved by experience, and confirmed also by the authority of the Lord himself, when he established an aristocracy bordering on popular government among the Israelites, keeping them under that as the best form, until he exhibited an image of the Messiah in David. Institutes, IV.20.viii

4. By writing the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin systematized the teaching of the Reformation. He left us a great example of writing theology that is relentlessly Biblical, not speculative.

3. Calvin’s commentaries on Scripture continue to provide a wealth of insight to students of God’s Word.

2. Calvin’s Geneva gave refuge to English-speaking Protestants during the reign of “bloody Mary.” With the help of Calvin, his successor Theodore Beza, and the Scottish reformer John Knox, these scholars produced the Geneva Bible, the most important translation of the Bible in English before the King James. The Geneva Bible also included many annotations, making it the first “study Bible” of sorts. Bruce Metzger writes,

For about three-quarters of a century the Geneva version was the household Bible of a large section of English-speaking Protestantism. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I alone, seventy editions of it were published. About 150 editions, either of the whole Bible or of the New Testament alone, were printed between 1560 and 1644…In England the Geneva Bible was the version used by Shakespeare, by John Bunyan, by the men of Cromwell’s army, and was brought to America by the Pilgrims and other early settlers, many of whom would have nothing to do with the more “modern” King James version of 1611…In short, it was chiefly owing to the dissemination of copies of the Geneva version of 1560 that a sturdy and articulate Protestantism was created in Britain, a Protestantism which made a permanent impact upon Anglo-American culture.

1. Calvin points us incessantly, in his life and work, to the glory of God. John Piper writes,

“to set before [man], as the prime motive of his existence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God”. I think this would be a fitting banner over all of John Calvin’s life and work – zeal to illustrate the glory of God. The essential meaning of John Calvin’s life and preaching is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the absolute reality and majesty of God.

[a perpetual forge: anti-idolatry resources]

“The human mind is a perpetual forge of idols.” -John Calvin

The theme of idolatry has figured greatly in my meditations of late. Here are some resources I have found helpful in seeing how the Gospel smashes the false gods of our hearts so that we may worship the true God.

Tim Keller:

Gospel Realization

Gospel Communication

Gospel Incarnation

These three sermons on Jonah come from The Evangelists’ Conference 2007: Smashing False Idols.

The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry

This sermon comes from The Gospel Coalition Conference 2009.

C.J. Mahaney:

Discern Your Heart

This sermon comes from the New Attitude (now known as Next) Conference 2007.

David Clarkson:

Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven

Clarkson was a Puritan pastor who lived from 1621-1686.

Martin Luther:

The First Commandment

This study comes from the Reformer’s Large Catechism.

[Christ-centered apologetics]

(Part two of a two-part series on Christ, the cross, and apologetics.)

Yesterday morning in my philosophy of religion class, we were studying a famous exchange between logical positivist A.J. Ayer and Jesuit philosopher Frederick Copleston. These two intellectual giants were tangling over the question of whether it was possible to have empirical knowledge of God. Copleston argued that one could, but the difficulty, Ayer maintained, was that intuitions or feelings of God’s presence were not quantifiable in terms of the five senses, and therefore not properly empirical.

“Because on Copleston’s view God doesn’t have a body, you can’t experience Him through the senses, although you may have a direct perception of Him with your mind,” my professor said. “Of course, you could experience Jesus empirically…”

I admit I kind of tuned out after this point in the lecture, because it set me off on a tangent resonating with my meditations on apologetics and the theology of the cross from this weekend. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between god and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Might it be the case that many of the “problems” in Christian apologetics and philosophy of religion come from trying to come to knowledge of God apart from His appointed Mediator? This was one of the prideful errors with which Luther indicted the theologians of glory. The thought stayed with me throughout the day.

How might this kind of Christ-centered approach to apologetics work in practice? Let’s consider the above problem of coming to knowledge of God’s existence and character. One might think, following Kant, that it is problematic or even impossible to know what God is like in Himself from our limited human perspective. It is not problematic, however, to believe that mere humans can come to the knowledge of an utterly transcendent God if that God Himself became a man. In fact it is utterly crucial that we have a God-Man Mediator in order to come to knowledge of God, as the context of 1 Timothy 2:5 is about coming to know the truth. Let us consider, too, the present tense of that verse: “There is one mediator.” Christ’s Incarnation is ongoing. As He sits at the right of His Father in Heaven right now, He is fully God and fully man. Is it strange to think, then, that He may reveal Himself to human beings? Christ’s Incarnation, Atonement, and ongoing Mediation mean that the epistemological and moral (because of the effects of sin on our minds) problems of coming to know God are not problems at all. Whenever God chooses to reveal Himself, He does. Scripture goes on to indicate that the way He does so is through His spoken word of the Gospel and His inscripturated word of the Bible, which includes the apostles’ testimony to their empirical experience of Jesus (Rom. 10:17, 1 Cor. 15:1-8, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:16-21, 1 John 1:1-3).

Or take the problem of evil. A Christ-centered approach to evil would include some of the following points:

1. Jesus suffered for sin. If God Himself suffers evil in Christ, then our suffering is not meaningless.
2. The cross of Christ shows that God undermines the greatest evil for His good end.
3. The cross shows God defeating and destroying evil and bringing justice, inviting us into His Kingdom.

I believe these three points have been argued by Tim Keller, Carl Trueman, and N.T. Wright, respectively. None of them argue in an abstract and, what is in at least one sense of the term, sub-Christian way. Neither do they offer a clean syllogism for an answer. I think that is a good thing.

Well, this is just a thought, a starting point for further discussion. What do you think? Might a Christ-centered approach alleviate some of the perennial problems of Christian apologetics?

[the bruised reed battles heaven // a sonnet]

“Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Don’t think that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls.” -Charles Spurgeon

Great God of hosts, Whose
Raging wrath commands,
Compels unnumbered angel-armies,
Why do You make war on me,
Poor, pitiable wretch beset
By sin and weakness-wracked?

If You will war me, then
I’ll mount my prayers and strike
Resounding blows against
Your throne with weighty words
Of promise. Wait!  I have
From Your own hand

These weapons and this steed.
O break not this bruised reed.

[the library]

On the second floor of a college library,
Between the stacks of dated periodicals
And hopeless microfilm, a man
Flopped on the floor in the narrow aisle,
Bookbag half-open haphazardly leaning
Against the files, flips through fading
Gold-edged pages and wrestles with
The timeless Author of the Universe

[hummingbird]

To my Dad.

“The greatest unkindness you can do to [God] is not to believe that he loves you.”
John Owen

Bright buzz-winged bird,
To and fro flitting
Tongue of fire, tarry at
My window a moment more.
Fierce flutterer, impossible
Flyer, fly before
My face and SPEAK LOVE
Divine, beyond the bounds
Of all that I could ask,
Think, imagine: Depths,
Heights of Death’s death,
Life conquering, bonds
Broken, free indeed.
SPEAK this, little bird,
To me: the God who guides
Your flight LOVES me.

[uk update 2.5]

Hey guys! This update is 2.5, because it’s gonna be brief. I wanted to say thank you for all the encouraging comments and for all of your prayers! I’ll post a fuller update sometime this week, but I wanted to get this out there for you guys to be praying for:

Tomorrow night at 7:30 my buddy Drew and I will be hosting our first weekly Bible study. We’ve been advertising over the program list-serv and telling our friends, and we don’t really know who to expect. I’ll be teaching on Isaiah 6:1-8, and we’ll be praying for each other.

I appreciate you lifting us up!

Grace and peace,

Jonathan

[what good is theology?]

Immanuel Kant once famously declared that, “Absolutely nothing worthwhile for the practical life can be made out of the doctrine of the Trinity taken literally.”

I think a lot of times we have a similar attitude toward any of those scary, distant concepts that fall under the heading of “theology”. We’re glad our pastors have to study it in seminary, but we’d prefer that they keep it out of the pulpit and “just preach the Gospel” or something like that. We definitely don’t want to study theology for ourselves…what possible benefit could it be? If anything, maybe we should learn about the practices of ministry or evangelism or discipleship or spiritual disciplines. But learning about God Himself is something reserved for pastors and uber-Christians.

Or maybe we acknowledge that it would be good to pick up some theological knowledge…knowing about God couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? But it feels impious of us to expect personal benefit from the study of God. We feel we ought to know more about God; theological study is a duty we know we should perform, though we expect nothing out of it personally.

Well, consider this: For the Christian, the study of God is not a purely theoretical, abstract practice. That’s because God, by His free grace, has brought us into relationship with Himself. We enjoy a ‘mystical union’ with Jesus Christ! So everything we learn about God has direct and blessed bearing on our own lives. There is indeed both practical value and personal benefit in doctrine, and God is glorified when we learn of Him, rejoice in Who He is, and thank Him for His activity in our lives. Let me give you a personal example.

This morning I was reading in chapter two of Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs, “What is God Like?”, when I came across this:

Jesus affirmed that God is in no way limited to a spatial location when he said, “God is spirit” (John 4:24)…He is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses. To think of his being in terms of anything else in the created universe would be a misrepresentation, for he is more excellent than any other kind of existence.

This may seem banal at first glance. But this exposition of God’s spiritual nature revealed what was nothing less than idolatory in me. Maybe you can relate. The “butterflies in the stomach” feeling perceived with my bodily senses that often accompanies the presence of God I frequently confute with the presence of God as such. But if God is really spirit, whether I feel emotion or not has no bearing on the fact of His presence. He has promised to never leave me or forsake me, and because He is unbound by spatial limitations He can deliver on that promise. His Spirit indwells every believer on every continent at the same time. To confuse the (infrequent, because of sin in me) bodily emotional response to the presence of God with His presence as a reality (constant, because of His character, promises, and nature) is idolatory, because it thinks of God in terms of a lower kind of existence. Not only that, but because His nature is spiritual, I have good reason to always hope in Him because He is always with me!

So in the study of God’s attributes, I was shown my sin and given a good reason to thank Him and have confidence in Him. Now that’s good theology!

I encourage you to pick up a copy of Grudem’s Christian Beliefs, or if you’re more ambitious, a copy of his Bible Doctrine or Systematic Theology. Read, worship, and be blessed.

[love and knowledge]

In my Logos small group Bible study, we are going through the Sermon on the Mount. One of the more puzzling passages in there for me has always been Matthew 6:19-23:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

The relationship between the “storing up treasures in heaven” and the “eye is the lamp of the body” parts has always been a little mysterious to me. The connection seems to be this: the question of knowledge is fundamentally an ethical question. Perceiving God, ourselves, and our world truly and rightly is contingent upon valuing all of those things rightly.

For example, if our values are skewed, we will tend to make the cross of Jesus Christ an expression of our own worth, a sort of nuclear-option self-esteem booster. “Look here, now. Don’t get down on yourself! God thinks you’re worth so much, He sent His Son to die for you!”

That’s a very subtle corruption of the truth. If we are ethically in line, we will see that God is infinitely valuable. The cross, then, can’t be an expression of our worth. If God valued us more highly than Himself, He would be an idolator! The cross must instead be “to the praise of His glorious grace,” an expression of His glorious, merciful character. It’s not about us.

In his book The Defense of the Faith, Cornelius Van Til extends that truth in this way: “Christ’s work as priest cannot be separated from his work as prophet. Christ could not give us true knowledge of God and the universe unless he died for us as priest. The question of knowledge is an ethical question at the root. It is indeed possible to have theoretically correct knowledge about God without loving God. The devil illustrates this point. Yet what is meant by knowing God in Scripture is knowing and loving God: this is true knowledge of God: the other is false.”

The view of the cross that makes it a testament to our own worth is correct on some theoretical points. It realizes our sin and the need for atonement that we cannot provide. But this view doesn’t love God; it doesn’t display Him as supremely valuable. It loves us. Therefore it is false knowledge, because it misses the fundamental truth of God’s value.

This is a good reminder for a guy like me who loves to think and read and coldly consumes theoretical knowledge without being moved to love God. It’s not that I have good knowledge that just needs to “get moved from my head to heart.” I have bad knowledge if I don’t have love!

Love and knowledge

Go together like a horse and carriage…

or something like that!

[sound doctrine pt. 2]

How can we know anything at all?

How can we know Who God is or who we are or anything about the purpose and progress of history? How do we know the answers we pose to these questions are correct?

We don’t have to guess and hope at these matters because God has revealed Himself. In the order and beauty of creation, the laws of physics that govern motion, the moral truths that we recognize intuitively about the value of human life and private property, God shows His character. But more than this, from the very beginning God has revlealed Himself in language that humans can understand. In the Garden of Eden, He spoke and gave Adam instructions. He gave the Ten Commandments at Sinai. He delivered prophecies throughout the ages.

And He gave His final revelation in His Son, Jesus Christ.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:1-3a.

We can know God because He has revealed Himself to us in creation, His Word, and the Word made flesh- Jesus Christ.

As the Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us, “The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.” There can be no other source for our knowledge about His purpose in history. The Bible is the only foundation for everything in [sound doctrine].

Psalm 19 is one of the most potent statements of the doctrine of God’s self-revelation in Scripture. Let us apply ourselves to the study of the Word. As a pastor of mine once said, “How can you know the God of the Word without the Word of the God?”

For your joy in the God Who reveals Himself,

Jonathan

http://www.mediafire.com/?eydxxectoct

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;
The sky proclaims His handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech;
Night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, there are no words
Whose voice is not heard.

Their measuring line goes out through the earth;
Their words go to the end of the world.
In them He set the sun a tent.
It comes out radiant, like a bridegroom,
And runs its course with strength and joy;
From its heat nothing is hidden.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
Reviving the soul.
His testimony is true,
Making wise the simple.
His precepts are right,
Rejoicing the heart.
His commandment is pure,
Enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean,
Enduring forever.
The rules of the Lord are right
And righteous altogether.

Your rules are more precious than gold,
Sweeter than drippings from the honeycomb.
Even more, by them I’m warned.
In keeping them is great reward.
Who can know his errors, Lord?
Declare me innocent, declare me innocent.
Keep me back from willful sin;
Let it not reign over me.
Then I shall be blameless
And innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth
And my heart’s meditations
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

[based on the ESV text]

[sound doctrine pt. 1]

“We must never forget that the first part of the gospel is not ‘Accept Christ as Savior,’ but ‘God is there.’” Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There

This post is the first in a series entitled [sound doctrine]. [sound doctrine] is a sequence of musical reflections on ‘redemptive history,’ the story of why God created the universe and what He has done to accomplish that purpose throughout time. It grows out of the conviction that the Bible is not just a collection of isolated books, but that it is driven by a unified plot of a God who speaks and acts in history for His Name’s sake.

The story begins with God’s existence. He is there; He has always been there and will always be there. His character doesn’t change. As long as He has been, He has been holy, just, loving, glorious, infinite and personal.

Some of these songs are old, some are new. Some are original, some will be familiar. Because God’s character and purpose in history don’t change, the reflections of godly men from the past on His mighty acts and person are just as valid today as the day they were written.

The first song is an old hymn penned by Isaac Watts. If you’ve ever been to a church with hymnals, you’ll find his name all over it.

For your joy in the God Who is there,

Jonathan

You can download the file here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?91dx1mwxxzd

‘Great God, How Infinite Art Thou!’

Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.

Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Ere seas or stars were made:
Thou art the ever living God,
Were all the nations dead.

Nature and time quite naked lie
To Thine immense survey,
From the formation of the sky
To the great burning day.

Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present in Thy view;
To Thee there’s nothing old appears;
Great God! There’s nothing new.

Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
And vexed with trifling cares;
While Thine eternal thought moves on
Thine undisturbed affairs.

Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.

[by Isaac Watts]

[(comm)unity pt. 4]

‘Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.’ Ephesians 4.25

So what does (comm)unity look like? Sharing levity and gravity, purpose and pleasure, laughter and tears: in a word, life! ‘This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously–no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.’ C.S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”

To recap, then:

1.) (comm)unity is rooted in the character of God.
2.) (comm)unity is commanded of the Church.
3.) (comm)unity comes from genuine love for one another.
4.) Genuine love for one another comes from valuing Christ supremely.
5.) (comm)unity is a means for reaching the lost.
6.) (comm)unity is, ultimately, a means to joy in God.
7.) Therefore, (comm)unity begins and ends with God’s glory.

All of this rests on the finished work of Christ and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Though (comm)unity doesn’t just ‘happen’ and we must work at it, it depends not on us, whose righteousness is filth and efforts are ineffectual, but on God ‘who cannot fail or fall.’ [George Herbert, "The Holdfast"]

Sources:

C.S. Lewis. The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses.
D.A. Carson. “The Supremacy of Christ and Love.” 2006 Desiring God National Conference.
Francis Schaeffer. The God Who Is There.
George Herbert. The Temple.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
John Piper. “The Supremacy of Christ and Joy.” 2006 Desiring God National Conference.
Jonathan Matthews. Sermons on John 17.1-5 and 17.20-26
Marc Sandhu. Sermon on John 17.6-19.

[(comm)unity pt. 3.B]

3.) (comm)unity is a means, not an end in itself.

B.) It is, ultimately, a means to joy in God.
‘…these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’ John 17.13
‘Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.’ Philippians 2.2
‘So receive [Epaphroditus] in the Lord with all joy…’ Philippians 2.29a

Jesus says He is telling His disciples these things for their joy in the middle of praying for their (comm)unity and the (comm)unity of all who would believe through their word. Paul said his joy in Philippians would be complete if they would come to complete (comm)unity. And Epaphroditus, whom the Philippians sent to minister Paul for his joy, Paul sends back for their joy. Epaphroditus, like Timothy, is an expression of the mutually-loving, Trinity-displaying (comm)unity between Paul and the Philippians, and the result of his return is joy in the Lord. When we enjoy authentic Biblical (comm)unity, we are enjoying God, glorifying Him in our joy and our obedience. When the Gospel is preached by believers in (comm)unity, God is glorified in His saving purpose, and unbelievers are converted and drawn in to enjoy the (comm)unity of the Church. (comm)unity, then, ends just as it began– with the glory of Christ! ‘For from him and to him and through him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.’ Romans 11.36

[(comm)unity pt. 2]

2.) (comm)unity is rooted in the character of God.
‘Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one even as we are one.’ John 17.11b
God has existed as three mutually loving, mutually glorifying, happy Persons united in one Godhead from all eternity. This is what gives our concepts of love and joy and (comm)unity meaning. As the Body of Christ, the representation of God to the world, we are called to embody this love and joy among ourselves. ‘Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.’ Ephesians 5.1 And it is impossible to display the loving unity of the Trinity as a single individual; it can only be done together.

[vince on loving God]

My buddy Vince at Humble Pursuits on what it means to love God, with reference to Piper and Edwards. A post that really hit me where I’m at. Read the whole thing here.

“I think, perhaps, we must study the very character of God. His very essence, which while totally infinite, is still very real in my life. God is Holy. God is Righteous. God is Gracious. God is Steadfast. God is Just. God is Faithful. God is Good.

I think one should commit himself to studying and understanding and meditating and knowing who God is. When he does this, he will grow to love God, himself, more everyday. We must love God for who He IS.

So I say this: Know who God is and you will love him more and more.”