by David Brenneman
“Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6.
“Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11.
“For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live.” Amos 5:4.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.” Psalms 34:4.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.” Lamentations 3:25.
“and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.
We seek many kinds and forms of joy and happiness...for you my Dear Reader...is a life in Godliness something you seek?
It took seconds to search "seek the Lord" to gain that list above. What's bothersome to me is just how most people aren't truly seeking the Lord in their daily lives. They think they are seeking Him on the days and times they go to Church but rarely in-between those times.
Are you a truly committed fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ or aren't you?
Are you seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness or aren't you?
Is your life best described as you idea of a balance between what you think you want and what you think God wants of you? May this never be! As Paul would most likely say.
The description of a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ comes from the mouths of the Disciples themselves. "Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”” Matthew 19:27.
I highly doubt that Peter was referring to whatever time they had leftover in their day.
Many of the Disciples were married and still were fully devoted followers of Jesus.
We seek out what makes us happy or at least stuff we think will make us happy. We just often aren't equating happiness with being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
Yet there indeed is happiness in following Jesus.
Some fear the accountability that comes from knowing more about Jesus and the Word of God.
What would you rather look forward to, an open rebuke for failure to do and be who you were meant to be in Christ or to hear "Well done! Enter into the joy of your Master".
It's extremely saddening to watch more fire, more zeal, more excitement, come from a Believer's mouth about worldly desires and things than they have about something that the Spirit is teaching them.
We aren't still here after coming to Christ for salvation in order to create our own personalized Heaven on Earth. We are not yet still here aftet coming to Christ for salvation in order to survive until we die. We aren't still here to seek happiness in this world in whatever we put our minds to.
We were created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. So that people can see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.
These are the things that a person who seeks first His kingdom and His righteousness reveal about the work of the Spirit in them.
It's easy to go with the flow of the world in seeking out personal happiness. The Scriptures direct us to stand firm in the Lord.
Do you intentionally start your day in the Scriptures and prayer?
Do you find yourself praying during your day when the moment comes?
Do you take time in your evenings to be again in the Word of God and in prayer?
These are some of the traits of a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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