Seek Him with all your Heart

 Jer 29:13

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Every year this day holds special meaning for me. It is the day that I found the Lord to be real to me. It was a turning point in my life that I still hold as the most important day of my life. It was a Thursday evening in a small church in Cucamonga, California. I don’t remember the message that Rev. J.E. Cook preached that revival night. I just remember seeking to find forgiveness and acceptance. 51 years ago, I knelt at an altar of prayer as these strangers gathered around me praying that God would save me from a life lived in sin to a new life in Christ. The journey since that day remains the same. I still seek and search for Him with all my heart. He has never failed me, and is always there when I need Him. It has been a life of seeking, a desire to know the will of God. “Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:33 has been the journey and destination theme of my life. The path to my eternal destination is filled with failures, disappointments, and unwanted circumstances, but through it all He has never been a disappointment or led me astray. As I continue this journey, I pray that the Lord will let me see my kids and grandkids come to Him as I have known Him. He is everything to me and each day, I will seek Him with all my heart, and will be found by Him.

Seek The Lord

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

The scripture implies that the there are seasons in our lives when God is found. We don’t decide to seek God on our timeline. The attitude of finding God when it is convenient is folly. We don’t come to God on our terms. It is the Spirit that draws us, and His Spirit will not always tarry. When is God near? When can He be found? The Lord brings things in our lives that cause us to focus our attention and awakens our spirit to our need. It is times like these that He may be found. Going to places (church) where His presences is known is a good place to find Him. His presences is not restricted to the four walls of a church, but it is a good place to start. A place where the word of God is preached, His name is lifted up and praised. Begin to read His word and let the Spirit of God work in your heart. His word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edge sword. It will pierce the heart and draw you to Him. Seek Him now, don’t wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late.

Found in Christ

Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Many are lost in the perception that they are good people because they go to church and follow a set of liturgical rituals. Their righteousness, or sense of goodness is founded in keeping rules that govern behavior. Following a code of conduct is good, but one can still be spiritually lost if they have not come to knowledge of faith in Christ. To be found in Christ is to have fellowship with Him. Good meaning people often say, “It is not a religion, but a relationship”. Good theology, is better worded, “My religion is having a relationship with Christ, and daily fellowship with Him”. Our relationship with Christ will influence our behavior. The commandments of God are not disregarded, but they now take on a new meaning. We now keep His commandment to love Him with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves because that is how Christ lived His life. To be found in Christ is to live in Christ and follow His example of pleasing the Father. Perfection is not found in what we do, but in whom we place our faith. We are lost without Him, but can be found in Him when we put our faith in God.

Prodigal Son

Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”-

The story of the prodigal son exemplifies that God never gives up on us. That He is constantly pursuing us with His love and grace. Our hearts are broken when we see our children leave the Father’s house. Children who stray away from the teaching of God’s word and leave the fold of God do so of their own free will. The story of the prodigal son conveys to us that even if you are raised in a good godly home that their is no guarantee that one will follow God. Sin is enticing, and Satan will do his best to lead people away from truth. The Father never ceased to love His son, It shows that no matter what we do in sin that God will not forsake us. As long as we have breath, we can choose to rise up and return to the Father’s house. He will not turn us away. Eternity is forever, and living this life wandering in sin will have eternal consequences. It is a matter of choice, we can live in our sin, or rise up and head on home. The Father awaits with open arms.

4:00am-

Transforming Power

Roman 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”-

The transforming power of God to change a life the is wrecked by sin and make it new again. A transformation that is permanent and everlasting. The heart is changed instantaneously by the grace of God. Old things are past away and all things become new. A new life is recreated in the person who puts their faith in Christ. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was lame, but now I walk, once I was deaf, but now I hear, once I was lost in darkness, but now I the light shines in my path. What a glorious transformation is made when we come to Christ. Then God begins a holy transformation in our lives as we present ourselves in complete surrender to His will, giving our lives in holy consecration, set apart, sanctified to live blameless without sin. We no longer conform to the ideology of this world, but we now see things through the eyes of God and righteousness. Over time as we walk with God, He shows us how to walk and how to live holy. He imparts the 3rd person of the holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit giving us the power to live acceptable and do the perfect will of God. 

Seeking the Lost

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”-

Seeking the lost is what Jesus came to do. Human nature seeks to fill the void in its heart, Christ puts the desire in each person to seek for purpose and meaning. We seek that the heart may be satisfied and that peace may rest the trouble heart from sin. Christ came to provide a way that we can be fulfilled. Sin does all it can to keep us from responding to the Savior’s call. We all like sheep have gone astray and need help from wandering our own way. It would appear that Zacchaeus went out to seek Christ. He climbed the tree because he sought to see Him, but Jesus already knew the heart of Zacchaeus, and made plans to have an encounter with him. God desires that we seek Him, for in the day we seek Him, we will find Him. For Christ is already seeking us, and desires to dine with us. Whether we realize it or not, we were all lost and headed in the wrong direction. The grace of God is reaching us where we are, and bringing us out of sin. He sought us, and bought us. He found us and knocks at our doors heart wanting to come in. He seeks to save the lost, but we must want to be saved. “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wrench like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see“.  This is why He came!