Seeking and Finding God

 

Only by coming to God can we experience His true light within us. It is impossible to have a relationship with God without first repenting of our sins and asking Jesus Christ to be our Savior and King.

If we seek God, we shall find Him. If we knock, He will open a door for us. If we ask Him to abide within us, He will answer us.

If we are convicted of our sin and pray a prayer, it is valid only if we are truly converted. Otherwise, we simply said a prayer with no lasting spiritual fruit.

We know we are converted if we experience a hunger for holiness and God's truth. There is a change in our life that leads to repentance and gradual spiritual maturity.

Justification transfers our sin onto the cross of Christ and the righteousness of Christ into our spirit. God's Spirit begins His sanctifying process in our soul and teaches us that we are a new creation (Romans 8:29).

God sets us free from the destructiveness of sin (Romans 6:22) and calls us to walk worthy of our new name and the calling into His family that we receive (Ephesians 4:1).

 

He implores us to take the narrow road and to forsake the broad road in life (Matthew 7:13-14). We submit to God's will as a living sacrifice and a spiritual act of worship, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).

Prayer:

Father God, as we mature in Christ, we trust You more and completely surrender to Your call on each moment. Remind us to listen when we pray, as well as to praise and make our requests known to You. We do not reap the full benefit of prayer if we do not sit still and contemplate You as the God of our life (Psalm 46:10).

Prevent us from being pulled from Your presence by the lies and temptations of the flesh, the world and the devil. We love You with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). We draw near to You, knowing that You will also draw near to us (James 4:7).

Thought for the Day:

All the riches in the world, which are desirable and sought after, are not even close to comparing to the gift of Christ in our life. - Job 28:15; Psalm 19:10, 119:127

 

God's Word is Sweet

As new Believers we desire the milk of the World. With a voracious appetite, we devour whole chapters, eager to read more and more about God and His plan for us.

As we mature in Christ, we get more familiar with God's Word and we start to focus on verses rather than chapters. We read a few verses, until one grabs our attention.

Then we meditate on that verse all day long. We look up similar verses when we get a chance to focus our thoughts more specifically. We chew around on the passages and slowly digest them, savoring each morsel.

We taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). His Word is like honey on our lips, sweeter actually than the honey comb (Psalm 19:10). God illuminates our thoughts to see the deeper meaning of the verses on which we are meditating. 

His Word is more precious and valuable to us than the finest of gold and refined silver (Psalm 12:6, 19:10, 119:103). The scriptures are sweet to our soul and healing to our bones (Proverbs 4:22, 16:24).

God's Spirit enlightens us to apply the verses to our everyday life. He gives us a chance to share the verse in conversation or on our blog or social media site that day, inspiring others to read and meditate on God's Word as well.

Our heart is glad as we meditate on God's life-giving Words. They bring life to a broken spirit and to our bones in the dessert of life (Proverbs 17:22).

In the prison of depression and a broken spirit, we cannot find anything to focus on that brings us joy; yet, when we enjoy God's Word, our face reflects the joy in our spirit and soul regardless of our circumstances (Proverbs 15:13).

Prayer:

Father God, it is easier for us to endure physical ailments than wounds to and in our soul, which break our spirit and pull the rug right out from under us (Proverbs 18:14). This depression causes physical ailments that have no real physical source. We are emotionally afflicted and needy due to the wounds within our soul.

Heal our many afflictions - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Help us to change our focus to the innumerable blessings you provide for us each day. Open our eyes so that we may taste and see that You are good (Psalm 109:22, 34:8). We worship You and give You praise in the good times as well as the trying events in our life. You are the source of our strength always.

Thought for the Day:

When our soul is discouraged, it breaks our will to live, our productivity, our courage and our desire to walk in God's will for our day; if we allow Him to, God will always give us a joyful heart, which is the best of medicine for troubles and trials. - Proverbs 15:13, 17:22

Life-Changing Bible Verses - Part 1 - Molded by Grace

The Bible is the Word of God, and it is life to our soul and strength to our bones (Proverbs 17:22). The scriptures are given to us by God to encourage, strengthen and mature us in our relationship with Him.

Every word is given to us by the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). God did not create us and abandon us on this earth. He gave us His Word and His Spirit as our comforter and guide (John 16:13).

He also provided us with His Word to help to direct us on His paths of righteousness - a place of safety and security to all who walk in them. We depend on His Word, ingesting it daily to nourish our body, soul and spirit.

Some verses actually take us by surprise when we read them. They are so profound, that they touch a place deep within us and mold us by their truth and wisdom.

For instance, God loved humanity so much that He gave us His only Son to die in our place, and to pay the debt that we owed due to our sins. If we choose to believe in Him, we will not perish in Hell, but enjoy everlasting life now and for eternity (John 3:16-17).

Yet, if we choose not to believe, we condemn our self to an eternity in the fires of Hell (John 3:18). God never condemns anyone to Hell, we do that to our self by our unbelief.

God intends that no one should perish, but that we should all enjoy the benefits of His Kingdom as co-heirs with Christ (2 Peter 3:9). It is simply a matter of humbling our self before the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:5-14), and accepting Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.

This fact leads to another life-altering verse: Christ is our life (Colossians 3:3). We are not placed on earth to build our own kingdom and to leave a financial legacy for our children; although if this fits into God's plan for us, it is a wholesome goal.

Instead, we allow Christ's life to consume us as we burn brightly for His Kingdom (Matthew 5:14-16). As we seek first His Kingdom and righteousness with our thoughts, words and deeds, He in turn supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19).

Prayer:

Father God, this thought leads us to another amazing verse. It is often hard to trust You as we traverse the switchbacks of life. Yet, You had mercy on us and did not plan for us to perfect our self. You give us both the desire and the ability to walk in Your ways (Philippians 2:12-13).

You require that we walk in faith (Romans 14:22-23); yet, You are even willing to help us when we waver in faith and have a hard time keeping our faith focused on You (Mark 9:24). The road to hell is paved with Satan's lies, so help us to walk in Your everlasting Truth.

Thought for the Day:

As we seek the Lord with our whole heart, and stop depending on our human reasoning to make it through life, He will reveal His will to us and direct each step we traverse. - Proverbs 3:5-6