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.

God's Plan for the Unborn

 Jeremiah 1:5
 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The announcement of our 2nd grandchild was great news. We were eager to know if it would be a boy or a girl, but we had to wait until the “Gender Reveal” event day. Modern medical advancements have made it possible for parents to know whether their newborn will be a boy or a girl. Many parents choose to wait until the day the baby is born to find out the gender. The miracle of the birth of a newborn baby starts in the mind of God. God, who is all knowing, the creator of heaven, earth, and life, knows the beginning to the end. He is the Alpha and Omega. Before the time of inception, He knew the gender of the unborn baby. The creation of life is a beautiful thing. The Bible is clear that life starts before the baby takes its first breath of air. A baby is born, and God has already made plans for this newborn. The US Supreme Court ruling of Roe Vs Wade, allowing women to choose if they want to take life before the baby is born has caused a divide in our nation. Those who choose to keep life are referred to as Pro-Life, or Anti-abortionists, and those who choose to take life are called Abortionists. They choose to abort the life that God has created within them.  We live in a sad world where taking the life of the unborn is legally allowed and often encouraged by our society. The reasons are justified and often done for reasons of convenience. We realize that there are circumstances that cause us to justify aborting life. The life of the mother sometimes becomes a major factor, and we understand the hard decisions that are made. But God has a plan for each life that He created. He sets apart each life for His purpose, and ordains each life to serve the creator. He who is all knowing will bring to pass that which is good.

Put Off and Put On

Eph 4:22

Regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires.... and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature]..

The way we lived before coming to Christ will look different for everyone. Before Christ, we looked at life through a different lens. In our sinful state, we were focused on our own desires and contentment. For some, it may have been the pursuit of a career and financial security. Others focus on personal and social relationships, and there were those who looked for contentment by partaking of the pleasures of sin. But we have come face to face with Christ, and our way of life has changed. The looking glass of life has been renewed and we now see life through the eyes of Christ. Life takes on a new perspective, we may still desire to have career goals, social relationships, and even some of the pleasures of life that God has blessed us with.  But we now seek to please our Creator in everything we do. Christ is the center of our life and through the help of the Holy Spirit, we put on behaviors that will please Him.

Began a Good Work

 Phil. 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

The work began in me on Feb 21st, 1974; a teenage boy raised in a home without a father for most of my life, but with a mother who put her life into providing her children with a place to call home. But, God who knows the story of my life, wrote my name in the book of life on the day I gave my heart to Him. The work of this new life in Christ began. No doubt, His hand was in my life before then, guiding, directing events in my life to bring me to the cross of Jesus. The journey continues, many struggles, battles, and victories along the way. No doubt there is still more to come. I don’t know when God will end this journey and close the book of my life, but I know that each day that I live, my greatest desire is to live closer to Him, and allow the fruit of righteousness to show forth His glory in my life. I’m confident that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him until that day.

Seed Casters

Mark 26, 27 …So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground… and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how.

Seed casters. Living in Christ will make us seed casters. The kingdom of God grows as the seed is cast into the world. The seed is referred to in scripture often as the Gospel. The good news that Jesus came to save us from our sins and we can have new life in Him. The seed we cast can also be seen as casting our fruit before men, that they may see the grace of God working in our lives. We cast out words of kindness, acts of mercy, God’s love when others are hurting. Seed casting is more that just being a Bible thumper. We do have a responsibility to warn others of the dangers of sin and the eternal consequences, but to be a true seed caster we must live in the image of Christ, and give ourselves, so others can also experience new life in Christ. We are called to be seed caster, the rest is left to God. The Holy Spirit takes our seed and begin the work in the life of someone else. We may never see that life emerge, grow, and bloom, but we can rest assure that we have obeyed God and have committed our lives to casting seed.

A New Heart

Ezek.36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

The promise of God is to restore man. He takes a heart that is callous and cold, a heart that is void of spiritual life, dead in trespasses and sin, and breathes in new life. The old heart’s affections were set on thing of this earth, its focus was on pleasing the carnal nature. The new heart given to the one who turns their heart over to the Creator is made alive. God, through Christ fills the heart with His Spirit and a new life in Christ has begun. The blood of Christ now flows through. cleansing the heart of all impurities. We are no longer harden by sin and enslaved to the world. His Spirit has given new life. “All things have passed away, behold all things are become new.” (2 Cornith 5:17)

Transformation in Christ

Acts 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Transformation is not always instantaneously, Like Paul there are many who do a 180 degree turn from a life that destroyed to a life that heals. It is certain that God can clean up a sinner, breaks the habits of sin and make a new creature in Christ. Transformation of the heart is always done instantaneously, but life style and knowing how to live for Christ is most often done over time. God changes our heart, but learning to walk with God is a journey that we all take. Habits are sometimes broken like chains that bind, but not always. God is always working on us, molding us, and shaping us into His image. God has opened our eyes to see clearly the mysteries of His word. Our eyes have been open to a spiritual world once bond in darkness. We have been transformed by the renewing of our minds, and now walk in the light to live and do His will. 

Follower of the Lord

1 Thess 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

I became a follower of the Lord on this day 43 years ago. This is my story. I grew up in a religious home. Went to church every Sunday, taught to respect the sacred things of God. The church was my religion. I had a sense of security knowing I went to a church that promised that as long as I kept the tenants of the church and was faithful to its teaching, that I would have a place in heaven when I died. I never recalled anyone telling me that I could have a personal relationship with God and know Him through Christ. Yes, there was a lot of symbolic rituals that pointed toward having communion with Christ, but I was never told that I could go personally to Christ and asked for forgiveness and that the Bible taught that He and He alone is able to forgive. I never was encouraged to read the Bible for myself. We had a large  Bible in our home, but it was never opened and read in our home. We were sent to church school to learn about the teachings of the church, but I never recalled ever opening a Bible. So at the age of 15, I began my quest to learn what the Bible taught. A whole new world was opened up to me. I thought I knew a lot about God and His love, but His Word opened my heart to truths that went far beyond the teaching of the church. It was in the Word that I learned about the life of Jesus, how He lived and how He wanted me to live. Reading the writings of Paul opened my eyes about human nature and how we overcome the flesh and the temptations of life. I found that stories in the OT held truths and life applications that were invaluable. Being a follow of the Lord was more that going to church on Sunday, it was a life style that I would seek to live to this very day. I don’t claim to be perfect, and I have made my share of mistakes in life, but this one thing I know, once I was blind, but now I see. Thank God, I became a follower of the Lord and received His Word in much affliction, but with joy in the Holy Spirit. 

The Religion of Christianity

Mark. 6:12 12 And they went out and preached that men should repent.

The commission of Christ to believers is to spread the news that men need to repent of their sins and turn to Christ to have their sins forgiven. Those that heed, and repent will find a personal relationship with Jesus that will bring everlasting life. Such relationship goes beyond a mere religion of following a set of rules and rituals. The religion of Christianity is without sin. To be in harmony with Christ, and to abide in the Vine, a person must repent of a life style that violates His commandments. Repent is to turn away from the way you were living and turn to Christ for a new life. To abstain and repent of sin without Christ is to follow a man made religion. Christianity is not a man made religion, it is a religion that God created in order to have fellowship with man. This fellowship in Christ results in man loving God with all their hearts and their neighbor as themselves. Therefore, pure religion is undefiled before God and the Father, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (Jame 1:27)

Beauty For Ashes

Isaiah 61:3 “...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness...”-

Jesus came to change lives. Live that are hurting, lives that have been wasted without purpose, and lives that see that they are lost without Him. From the ashes of sin and despair to the beauty of living in Christ. He came to heal the brokenhearted, to them that come meekly to Him and ask for His help, He lifts us. He sets the captive free and give a new song, a new life of freedom. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and the heavy burden that we once carried is gone and is replace with praises to Him. Life happens, and we will face circumstance that will break our hearts and cause our joy to turn to sadness, but He is faithful to send His Spirit to carry us through and turn those things into something of worth. He is worthy of our praise, for He is Jehovah, and He will provide a deliverance. 

New Vessels

Jer. 18:4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it.”-

Our life is a vessel that needs to be remade into a vessel that can be used by God. From birth, our vessel was damaged, disfigured, and full of debris. In order to be used for God, the vessel must be crushed and made into clay, and be reshaped into a vessel that is fit to be filled with His love. God takes our self-will life and turns it into a life that seeks only the will of God. God can not only take the sin in our life and forgive us making us new vessels, but He also can take the imperfection that human nature creates and mold and make it a vessel of honor. We all have places in our lives that need improvement and reshaping. We need to let God mold us, make us, and use us for His work and kingdom. 

In Jesus Name

Matt 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”- 

That wonderful Name, that beautiful Name, the Name of Jesus! The meaning of His name brings joy and peace within the heart. To know that Jesus is able to save us from our sins and wipe away the pain and sorrow that sin brings. In the Name of Jesus, demons are made to vanish, in His Name we are able to call out and command that the mountain be removed. We approach the throne of God in Jesus Name and heaven is open wide. We have access to the Father in the Name of Jesus. Our petitions to the Father are made possible because we come in His Name. We need no other, when we have Jesus as our Savior. History has recorded names of people who have done great things, but there is no other Name that has done more for man than Jesus. He is the one that makes eternity possible. In the Name of Jesus we have eternal life and power over death and hell. I never grow weary of hearing that Name. For it is through His Name that life is made perfect.

New Life in Christ

2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.”- 

It was Feb 21st, 1974 that I began my spiritual journey as a new babe in Christ. The life I lived before Christ was a short 15 years. The sins of my life were washed in the blood of Christ. I became a new person, and slowly my life style started to change as I grew in the knowledge of my Lord. Life now had new meaning and purpose as my eyes were open to spiritual truths. I now look at life through the eyes of God’s Word. Christ became the center of my Life and everything I did was focused on pleasing Him. Almost 40 years later, and I don’t regret the path that I choose to take. A life of full surrender and adventure as I journey this earth with the Lover of my Soul by my side.