To Be Honest: Genuine Conversations With God

💙💛 Hearing God

Do you really want to know God?

On the last day of January, I scrolled past a video on YouTube titled "How Is Your Jesus the Only True Way to God?".
As I scrolled past it, the Holy Spirit mentioned something to me,

"Love has principles, and anything that falls out of those principles automatically isn't love or functioning under love. That is how Jesus is the only way to God."

I was like "huh... interesting. I see, but I'm still a little bit lost".

He then asked me to read the verse where Jesus calls Himself the way, truth, and life.

I postponed it until later.

During the next afternoon, I watched another video and realised that a lot of unbelievers (people that don't believe in God) seek God, would love to connect with Him , but after countless effort, feel like they're talking to a wall... Which does nothing to inspire faith in them.

The video I watched was of an Atheist (Alex O'Connor) asking why, if God is all loving, He would make it difficult, or borderline impossible, for unbelievers (that He claims to love) to reach Him (paraphrased).

The question made me stop in my tracks.

"Huh, that's a very legit question. God, why would you do that? It goes against everything You've shown Yourself to be. It goes against Your character."

I pondered for a while but got no answers.
Shrugging, I left that for a later study session and decided to finally study the verse the Holy Spirit asked me to.

John 14:6 NIV
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I looked at the verse for a while, then took out my notebook and pen. In my usual bible study fashion, I started with questions.

After writing down some questions, I decided to read a little further down. To my suprise, and absolute delight, the following verses not only talked about who God is, but also why no one can come to the Father except through Him (Jesus), and how one might come to the Father through Him.

John 14:21-22 NKJV
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

This was the exact question Alex was asking!!
I was in absolute awe. I still am. God, in His oversight knew I'd stall in reading that verse. Knew that I'd watch that video and have that question, and led me to the perfect place in the bible.

His word is indeed beautiful for situation (Psalm 48:2) ♡.

John 14:23-24 NKJV
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

Here, Jesus is teaching us that Love precedes obedience, or in other words, love leads to obedience. If you love Him, you will obey His commands. And when you do that, you become more receptive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and can build an intimate relationship with God "We will come to him and make Our home with him".

When I realised this, I was mind blown.
"Oh! So, it takes more than just hearing about God in order to hear from Him! And if we really love Him, it shows through our obedience of His word..."

John 14:15 NKJV
If you love Me, keep My commandments. 

All my life, I've been a Christian born into a Christian home. I'd even studied apologetics in my teen years and read about Christianity and how being a believer works. I read what I could about Jesus and proof for His title as Son, but I didn't have a relationship with God until a year ago when I realised that I didn't love God, and wasn't necessarily living in line with His desires. In fact, it wasn't a desire of mine to follow through with God's laws on how to live.

I John 2:3-6 NKJV
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

I then decided to put more effort into doing so and asked Him, through prayer and reading His word, for guidance and strength to do what I read.

James 1:22 NKJV
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Obedience isn't easy, but God has been teaching me how to love Him. I'm really grateful I'd asked.

Matthew 7:7 NKJV
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

In the next chapter (John 15), Jesus tells us what that commandment we are to follow is, and the rest of the bible is an expanded and detailed version of that rule, how it benefits our day to day living, and what happens when we veer off the path recommended by Love.

John 15:10, 12 NKJV
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 

God's love is available to everyone, but just like how radio stations work, if you do not align yourself to the way and patterns of Love, you'd be unable to hear from Him.

In order to listen to His station, you need to dail in. If you follow paths that aren't favourable for Love's Signal, there would be interference and you'd hear more static than what He's trying to tell you.

Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Do you really want to know God?
Make Him the Director of your life.
Obey His teachings.
Love Him.
For He is Love.

01.02.25 —15.02.25
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