Family Devotional Guide – June 13
Can you think of someone you know a lot about but don’t know personally? Growing up, I loved to watch the Detroit Lions play football. My favorite football player was Barry Sanders; he was the running back for the Lions from when I was seven until I was in high school. I loved watching Barry Sanders play football, and after every game, I would look at his statistics to see how he did during that game. I loved Barry Sanders, and it is fair to say that I knew a lot about Barry Sanders. I learned about his high school stats; I learned about his college stats, and I knew almost everything about his ten years with the Detroit Lions. I honestly was a huge fan of Barry Sanders. But, one thing that is very true of me to this day is that I don’t know Barry Sanders personally. I have never met Barry Sanders, and he doesn’t know me at all. Even though I watched him and studied him for ten years, I can not call him and talk to him today. My knowledge of Barry Sanders was purely from a fan’s position and not from a friend’s position. Does that make sense to you?
A great tragedy in someone’s life would be if this exact scenario were true of their relationship with God. You see, you can know God the same way I knew Barry Sanders. You can know a lot about God and yet not have a personal relationship with Him.
As we looked at 1 Corinthians 2 this Sunday, I was struck with the reality that my relationship with God can be very personal and two-way rather than just fact-based and one-way. Take a moment and reread 1 Corinthians 2:12-16. In these verses, Paul tells us that we have two things that help us know about God and know God personally. Did you see them? It says that we have the Spirit of God (verse 12), and we have the Mind of Christ (vs. 16). Isn’t that incredible? God loves us so much that He not only sent His son to die on the cross for our sins, but He gave us His Spirit to live inside of us and then has given us His mind so that we can know what He knows and know how He thinks.
This week, I hope you will take some time to appreciate the personal relationship that is available to you with God because of Christ’s work on the cross. Then, I hope you take some time this week to enjoy that relationship you have with him by praying to Him and letting Him talk to you through His word.
As a family, couple, or as friends, discuss the questions below.
Family Discussion Questions:
- What are some facts that you know about your heavenly Father that help you to know about Him?
- What two things has God given us that we learned from 1 Corinthians 2:12-16? How do these help us know God personally?
- What are some ways that we can talk to God and allow Him to speak to us?
- How can we continue to grow in our knowledge of God and our relationship with God?
- Do you think you spend enough time each week just being with God by talking to Him and letting Him speak to you? What can you do this week to make more time for that?
Prayer: Take a moment and thank God for the personal relationship He has made available to you.
Monday- John 1:1-13
Tuesday- John 1:14-23
Wednesday- John 1:24-34
Thursday- John 1:35-42
Friday- John 1:43-51
Saturday- Make-Up Reading Day