Seek Him Wholeheartedly

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

God told Jeremiah to deliver a letter to those Judeans exiled in Babylon. God has told them they would be in bondage for 70 year.

He told them that He had plans-good ones- for them. Two verses later the Lord speaks of what the Judean people would have to do in order to seek Him. Those exiled could seek Him only if they sought God with all their hearts. How else can we find God?

When someone seeks to have God in his or her life, that person has to sincerely ask Him into his or heart. Sincere comes from the Latin language and means “without wax’. When we have a sincere heart, we have no pretense of who we are. It does us no good to pretend, before God, we are something not in our personas. When we sincerely come to Christ, all the masks disappear and God can then work in our hearts and make us in to what He desires for us.

Even when we don’t understand the situation that we are led to pray about, we should admit it to God. It helps us to focus on what He will tell us or even show us what we need to know. I, personally, have found myself doing this several times, lately. In those instances, I have had to let God be God.

Graphic:www.godlywoman.co

Splendor and Majesty in His Presence

Strength and joy in his dwelling place.”

1 Chronicles 16:27 (NIV)

“Splendor and majesty flow out of him,

Strength and joy fill his place.”

1 Chronicles 16:27 (MSG)

As we read about God and heaven, we find ourselves awestricken by the way our future home will look. We cannot fathom the beauty and the brightness God’s home will radiate.

Heaven will exude power; for all who enter. Joy (gladness) will wash over us shortly after we enter the gates. We will have this joy because:

*We will be with Jesus.

* We will be rid of pain.

* No one there will be suffering.

* We will not shed tears.

* We will find our mansions ready.

As a child of God, I sometimes get frustrated with the events that transpire in our world. I find myself longing for a better world. After a while, I eventually conclude that God is in control of all those circumstances. We should be very thankful that God has all things under his power.

When we go into God’s presence we pour out our hearts to Him. We listen for His words of comfort, guidance or love. We come away filled with awe. He refreshes us with His presence. We praise Him for Who He Is.

Graphic: thehedge.wordpress.com

God’s Presence, Our Joy

 

“How can we thank God enough for you in return

for all the joy we have in the presence

Of our God because of you?”

1 Thessalonians 3:9 (NIV)

Paul penned these words to a very young church. He, Silas, and Timothy He asks a question of whoever reads this letter. “How can we thank God enough for you?”

Paul and his missions team, like the present day evangelists, receive great joy when we someone comes to know the Lord. Present day. We become joyful when someone makes a commitment to the Lord.

When we have friends do something for us, how can we thank God for them? We can pray for them. We can praise the Lord for their help.

When people choose to turn their lives over to Jesus and let Him guide them, how can we thank Him for their new lives? We can pray for them? We can praise the Lord for their salvation?

Being in God’s house with like-minded believers gives us added joy. I find myself somewhat down when I haven’t been able to be with my brothers and sisters-in-Christ. We buoy each other up and we find ourselves re-energized, ready to face what the world and life has in store for us. God is so good.

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His Presence Fills Us with Joy

 

“You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence,    

With eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:11 (NIV)

David wrote these words as an expression of joy for the benefits a person derives by living in companionship with God. The Lord made known the path of life to David. He gladdened the shepherd’s heart. God gave ever-lasting kindnesses to the man who became king.

We even receive these gifts when we enter into His presence.  When we seek God’s presence, we focus on what He has to say to us. As we come away from being in God’s company we have a feeling of relief and exhilaration because:

1.) We have been in God’s presence.

                     2.) He listened to us as we made our requests.

               3.) God directed us in the way to proceed.

We feel humbled by being allowed to enter God’s presence, honored by His listening to our pleas, and uplifted by His directing us though our plight.

Even if we don’t hear God’s voice, we feel better about our need because we have been in His presence and He heard our pleas. When we pray for a friend, we honor him or her. We do this because God tells us to be ready to pray at all times.

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Graphic: sheddinglightonthepath.blogspot.com

Hearts at Rest in His Presence

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3: 18-20 (NIV) 

“. . . let us not love with words or tongue. . .”

As children of God, we are to show our love in practical ways. When we know someone is hurting, we are to put feet to our prayers. In the writing craft, there is a rule that a writer is to “show, not tell” We need to show our love to our fellow man, not talk about how we love Jesus.

“. . . but with action and in truth.”

We are commanded to love one another. If we choose to love all those around us, we are to demonstrate that we do by helping another person.

“ . . how we know that we belong to the truth. . .”

When I was a child I heard people say ‘how do you know.’ As an adult, I have heard ‘ and you know that, how.” When we give our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to rule our lives, we become children of the truth.

“. . . we set our hearts at rest in his presence . . .”

When we enter into God’s presence, we see Him on His throne. We begin to let go of any anxiety or fear we might have in our hearts. We can do this because God loves us.

“ . . whenever our hearts condemn us.”

Because we are human, we have times of doubt and discouragement. But if we turn our hands palms upward and ask God to take over the issue we face. He will step in and work on the particulars.

“For God is greater than our hearts. . .”

God is bigger than everything-The giant Redwood trees, Niagara Falls, and the Grand Canyon.  Yet God protects the smallest child. He makes the fragile rose petals. He loves us and wants to comfort us. We should learn to yield to Him and allow Him tend to our hurts and attend to our hearts.

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graphic: freeimageslive.co.uk.

God’s Shelter

“In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men;

in your dwelling place you keep them safe from accusing tongues.”

Psalm 31:20 (NIV)

David, the shepherd king, speaks here of God protecting those who fear Him. The Lord had protected David from King Saul, and from his own son. David gives credit to God for protecting him from the secret plotting of those whose aim was to bring harm to him.

As followers of Christ, we ask Him to keep us and our children and our loved ones safe from harm. When we hear of a family’s need, we ask God to wrap His arms of love around them. Draw them close, and whisper appropriate words into their ears.

God keeps his children safe because He loves them. He loves us even when we are unlovely. If we were to think about it, we would realize that God has kept us safe many times. The semi that ran a red light and would have hit you, if you had accelerated right after the light turned green for you. The bare electrical wires rubbed against the conduit and arced every time the wind blew. The incident with the semi happened when I by myself. These things happened to us except God was with us.

As I prepare to advance-post this entry, our area of our state is awaiting a winter storm that could dump 12 inches of snow on our area. Then after that front heads east, we are supposed to have subzero temperatures for almost 2 ½ days (the forecasters keep saying 55+ hours.) Our next door neighbor, who also does our handyman work for us, works for a man who clears snow from parking lots and apartment complexes in Indianapolis. My husband and I recently had a conversation about this young man and the things that could go wrong while he does this job. My response was, “Haven’t you prayed to God and ask His protection over him?” Hubby replied that he had.

When we ask God to protect ourselves or anyone, I believe we can trust that God will do what we have asked. We place the situation with God and He takes over. I wish people would learn this and then practice it. We all would be better off if we did. Again, that is my personal thought on the issue.

A Praise Song:Under the shelter of Your wings

Graphic: quotespictures.com

Blameless and Holy in His Presence

  

“May he strengthen your hearts so you will be blameless

and holy  in the presence of our God and Father when

our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul states that God will make the Thessalonians and future readers strong so that they, and we, will be innocent and holy when we all come before God when Jesus comes to reign on earth.

What does it mean to be blameless as we stand in God’s presence? Jesus has taken away our sins, every one of them. He looks on us as we have not sinned.(Justified) We are deemed innocent by Jesus. When we go into God’s presence, we are not kept at arm’s length. God beckons us to come closer. He wraps His arms of love around us and draws us up beside Him.

God doesn’t think of us as anything but His children. He speaks words of greeting into our ears. He makes us feel at home because we are. We feel special. He has set us apart for His Kingdom’s work. We have been used of God while we were on earth; we will continue to be used of God when we enter His presence.

Someone may ask us why God does this for us. The only answer that makes any sense is that He loves us that much.

Dear Father:

               Thank You for loving us so very much. Thank You for taking away our sin. Lord, we thank You for looking upon us as Your dear children. Please guide us through the tough times and help us to grow in knowledge of You. We give You praise. In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN

A very special song:In the Presence of Jehovah
Graphic: gardenof praise.com