This past week, I did a graveside service for a veteran. I had never met the man, nor did I know anything about his life, his family, his experiences, or his dreams or his manner of life. At a time like that, I can only talk about the One I do know . . . Jesus.

We sing a chorus here, which is based on a passage of scripture in which the Lord says, "Let not the rich man boast in his riches, nor the strong man boast in his strength. If any man boasts let him boast in this . . . that he knows Me, the only true God."

Not that long ago I was speaking to someone about the importance of knowing the Lord. In my words to him, I said things like: "I don�t know how I even functioned before I came to know the Lord," and "Knowing the Lord has made all the difference." As soon as I say things like that, I have this thought pop into my head. "Can a person really know the Lord . . . I mean really know Him?" If so, how does it happen? What can you and I do to know the Lord?

When I met Judy, I knew I was going to marry her. We faced the challenge of being citizens of two different countries. After we were married a while, I also discovered that we were from two different planets!

During that trip to Canada, we spent every possible moment together and ultimately got engaged. My visa expired and I had to go back to the States until my immigration status was settled. So here we were . . . committed to spend the rest of our lives together and forced to be thousands of miles apart.

We did two things: we wrote letters (this was before the widespread availability of e-mail) and we set a record for the most long distance charges.

I used to read and re-read every letter. I used to try and picture the look on her face, as we talked about our future together on the phone. Knowing the Lord happens in similar ways. He has sent us letters [the Bible]. He has also sent us living �epistles� or letters . . . people that know Him and model for us what it is like to know Him.

This morning, I want for us to get into the Word and find out what the Lord says about the possibility of our getting to know Him better. I am convinced that once we begin to know, not only that He the Lord exists, but also what He is like and how He feels about us, that we will not rest until we know Him better.