To Whom Shall We Go

 John 6:68
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

This verse reminds me of the old gospel song, “Where can I go but to the Lord.” We live in a mixed-up sinful world. A world looking for answers to the meaning of life. What is my purpose of existence? The world is full of seekers who desire love and happiness, but many are going to the wrong place to find it. Some seek it in the pleasures of sin, others in their work, and others in relationships. We are all born to this earth, but our journeys in life are not the same. The faithfulness of the Father calls all of us to Himself. He sent His Son to make it possible for all who desire to find their purpose in life. Like the disciples, we look all around us and see that the only answer to a fulfilled life is to give ourselves to Jesus. He not only has the words of life, but He is the Word of life. In Him all things are created and in Him all things exist. When we get to the end of our human resources, when life becomes overwhelmed with the cares of life, we have but one place to go. He is the answer to all of life’s problems, and in Him, we can rest assured that all will be well. Love and happiness on earth is found in Christ, and He alone can fill and meet our every need.

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.

More of Him

Matt. 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We seek what we desire. If we desire the things of God, we find time to get more of Him. Seeking righteousness is not done by accident, it is intentional and with purpose. Those who look for ways to fill their lives with good things will find satisfaction. God is ready to bless those who hunger and thirst after Him. Those who read His word, find time to pray, worship Him in the place of worship, and desire to live a consistent life of holiness. We live in a culture where people are entice to live to seek the pleasures of the flesh. To follow the fleshly desires that appeal to the carnal heart. Desires that are forbidden in God’s word. As we seek God for salvation and sanctification, He deepens our desire for more of Him. As we seek for more of Him, He fills us with His Spirit and empowers us to live holy.

Seeking The Lost

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

We all are lost. We entered this world not knowing that sin is rooted in the heart of all that are born to this life. Our personality may be formed and taught to be pleasant, good natured, and even kind, but the nature of sin still lives within each one of us. Like sheep without a shepherd, we wondered about life trying to find our way. The great shepherd of our soul, the Son of God came to earth as a man to seek and save us who are lost. The problem with most people is that they don’t think they are lost. They don’t accept that they need a God, for they are a God unto themselves. God sent His Son to give His life for the world. His coming was not just for a selected few who He choose to save. Being saved is to believe that we are lost and to believe that we can be found by believing in the only begotten Son of God, Jesus.

Beautiful Creation

Ecc 3:11  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:…

It’s a beautiful morning, the sun shining through the morning brisk air heating up the surface of the land. In His time, He chose this morning to allow the beauty of creation to shine into my life. Not every morning is this way, but in His time everything in life is planned and created for His glory. We were all made beautiful and in the image of God. Made to love and desire Him. We seek beauty in this world and a measure of beauty can be found through relationships and His creations, but true beauty is found when we seek Him with all of our hearts. How beautiful it is to walk with God to live in His presence. We live not for the beauty of this world, but for the world to come.

Keep From Idols

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Literal idol worship is not seen in large numbers in the USA. There are religions that worship “things” and will bow or give credence to an erected object, but in a country that mostly calls itself “Christian” idol worship is not seen. But an idol is more than just an animate object, it is anything that we think is more important than serving God. The definition of idol is expanded to be anything that keeps you from doing what is right and being what God desires you to be. This takes on many forms and is different for each person. There was a day that I would forsake the worship of God on His day to stay home and watched a football game. I did not want to miss this game, and putting the worship of God in His house would keep me from this game. The football game became my idol, I saw it as more important than worshipping God. When I truly gave my life to the Lord and made Him Lord of my life, I made the choice to always put the things of God 1st if it was in my power to do so. There are so many “idols” that I would not know where to start and finish, but God who knows the heart, and can discerns the thought and indents of the heart, knows if we seek Him first or our own desires. May we always make the right choice, and keep ourselves from idols that will hinder us from being all that God wants us to be. 

Make the Right Choice

Gen 13:11  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

Making the right choice is not always easy to make. We sometimes faces choices that appear to be easy to make. We choose the way that seems to less difficult to travel or a path that is already path for us. By nature, we take the way of least resistance. Why ask for more work than we need to do. The easy way is not always the best way. As Lot found out, he thought he was making the profitable choice by choosing the well water plains of Jordan, but Lot failed to seek God. We will never know what God would have told Lot if He had been sought, but the matter is that Lot made a choice without God. Taking a direction without the leadership of God often leads to unwanted circumstances. Making life choices that are strictly done with selfish indent are always a recipe for disaster. God wants us to make choices that will not hinder us from drawing closer to Him. Any choices that draws us away from God is probably the wrong choice. Choices that can determine our destiny must be made prayerfully and with a motive to please God. May we always seek God for those choices that are life changing. 

Seeking God First

Mat. 6:33 “ But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”-

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, human nature is seeded in sin. The choices in life that are made are influences by this sin nature. Self preservation is part of the human nature. People will do unconceivable things to preserve self. Even after we commit our live to God is full surrender, we still live in these vessels of clay. Vessels that are weak and subject to failure. That is why we must always seek God and call on His wisdom and power to help us make the choices in life. When we are in want, it is tempting to worry and complain of our circumstances. Jesus knew that we would face time of discouragement and stress. He understands what the effects of sin as done to humanity. That is why He came to this world. He wants to help us overcome our human nature and give it to God. With God nothing is impossible. All are needs are met when we seek first the face of Jesus and trust Him to take care of our needs.

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!