A Greater Awareness of God

In Psalm 119, we see the importance of making an awareness of God and His word in our lives a priority:
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. 38 Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You.

I believe that as Christ has redeemed our hearts, that God wants to communicate to us through our senses - for instance what we see, what we hear, even what we touch can be helpful in developing an awareness of God's presence.   And, He has provided for us powerful tools - the wonder of creation, for instance, that calls attention to His majesty, and even the man-made technological tools - radio, Internet, and a variety of other ways by which we can remained focused, connected to the One who has sent His Spirit to be with us.


I am struck by the degree to which God desires for us to have tangible reminders in our lives of His presence and His promises.    This is a principle that has been established through the ages.   It's laid out in Deuteronomy 11:
18 "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.   Many people travel to the Holy Land to enjoy the experience of walking where Jesus walked and to discover more about the land where our Savior lived.   This is a great example of building our awareness of and enhancing our relationship with God by activating our senses - and people say they are never the same.   There's a new tourist attraction in Israel that attempts to recreate daily life as is was in ancient Israel - it's located near Nazareth, and visitors can wear the same clothes, make the same foods, and ride the same animals as the people who lived there long ago.     And, Kfar Kedem just got a technological upgrade - it has placed Wi-Fi hotspots around the necks of donkeys so tourists can have access to the Internet.
A representative told The Christian Post that if someone "wants to change his profile on Facebook,  for example, in the middle of the riding, now we give the opportunity to do it."

According to the attraction's website, "Kfar Kedem creates a holistic experience using all your senses ... connecting these tangible experiences with the values and spirit of the ages from the time of the Bible and the Mishnah [that's the oral Torah], that are still part of our lives today."

We have to be careful that our faith is not based on an emotional experience, but I believe that our awareness of God can be reinforced as we use the sensory tools that He has provided.   Moses got it, and taught it to the children of Israel.  And, we can utilize various ways to get Scripture into our hearts (such as the ministry of Faith Radio), recognizing that faith comes by hearing God's Word.   Evangelist and pastor Greg Laurie this weekend is using technology to share a message of hope through some 1800 churches who will simulcast the Harvest America crusade from Los Angeles.   Yesterday, Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel leveraged Internet technology to share truth for leaders, and #Catalyst became a trending topic on Twitter.   Intentionally placing visual and audible reminders, even "hands-on" reminders around our lives can be helpful in sustaining and building a greater awareness of the Lord's presence - and as we direct our attention to God's presence, it can shut out the influences of this world that could draw us away from Him.