Seeking the Face of God

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” your face, LORD, I will seek.  Psalm 27:8

What does it mean to seek the face of God?  To live in this fallen world, we must seek the face of God each and every day.  We must seek the will of God to be able to live a life that will bring honor and glory to Him.  We are Christ’s representatives in this lost and dying world and we need His power to live in a way that will be pleasing to our Savior and LORD.  2 Peter 1:3 – His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  The precious, indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to live a life which will bring honor and glory to our Father but we must seek Him. 

Do you truly desire to know God?  Do you truly want to know His purpose and plan for your life?  Scripture clearly tells us if we seek God, we will find Him.  But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul – Deuteronomy 4:29.  We can’t seek God half-heartedly and expect to find the guidance we need.  We must seek our LORD with our whole heart, desiring to grow in our faith walk.  Seeking the face of God is not passive, it is intentional.  Our relationship with our Savior and LORD must be a priority. 

Seek God for godly wisdom and knowledge.  He willingly gives His children wisdom when we truly seek His face.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you – James 1:5.  As children of Almighty God, we do not have to grope around in the dark hoping to stumble upon answers when we are faced with a decision we must make.  We seek God’s face and ask for God’s wisdom to guide our choices.  Seek God’s face and ask Him to provide you with the ability to make wise choices and decisions.  He promises to provide.  God is willing and ready to meet our needs but He desire for us to seek Him, to ask Him for assistance.  When we seek God’s face and ask Him to meet a certain need, we are acknowledging that He alone is Almighty God and that we cannot accomplish anything in our own strength.  Humble yourself before Almighty God and seek His face.  Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know – Jeremiah 33:3.

Wisdom is God’s gift to us, if we earnestly seek His face.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding – Proverbs 2:6.  God’s wisdom is hidden from the rebellious and the foolish but His children who earnestly seek Him, He will provide the gift of wisdom. 

Scripture reveals that when we seek God with our whole heart, He will be found.  He will reveal His self, His will, His wisdom, and His provisions for our life.  There is nothing, when we earnestly seek our Savior and LORD, that will break our communion with Him.  Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

God alone is the only one who can satisfy our deepest longings.  He is the only one who can truly provide what we need.  Seek His face. 

Dear Heavenly Father, place the desire in our hearts for a more intimate relationship with You.  Place a thirst in our very soul that only You can fill.  We thank you Father for Your wisdom and provisions.  Help us to realize that in You and You only will we find soul satisfaction.  In Jesus Name I Pray…..Amen.

 

 

Contend for the Faith

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.  Jude 3

Our world is filled with false teachings.  We are called in Scripture to contend for the faith.  To be able to contend for the faith, we have to know the truth which is found only in God’s Word.  Jude’s letter was a reminder to the church for constant vigilance.  In addition, it was an encouragement to the church to keep strong in the faith and to oppose false teachings.  We are being called today to continue to be strong in our faith, even when confronted with false teachings.  We are being called to be vigilant and to recognize and confront the false teachings which are infiltrating our homes and churches.  But to recognize and confront these false teachings, we must know the truth which is only found in the Word of Almighty God.  

Jude was the half-brother of Jesus.  He was one of the leaders in the early Christian church.  Jude was emphasizing to the Jewish Christians the important relationship between correct doctrine and true faith.  God’s Holy Word gives us the real facts about Jesus and salvation.  Any doctrine that does not align itself with God’s Word is false doctrine.  The truth of God’s Word must never be compromised.  God’s Word should never be manipulated or twisted to fit an agenda or a belief. In verse 4, we notice that false teachers were teaching that Christians could do whatever they wanted to do without fear of God’s punishment.  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.  We must never look at God’s holiness and His justice lightly.  Be on guard against false teachers who are twisting Scripture teachings to justify their own opinions, lifestyles, or wrong behavior.  There will come a time of judgment when God will judge the false teachers for excusing, tolerating, and promoting sin. 

 How do we know the truth?  How do we contend for the faith?  We must spend time in the study of God’s Word allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to our very souls.  Without the study of God’s Holy Word, we cannot know what to defend.  The study of God’s Word needs to be a priority in our daily lives.  God reveals truth to us and speaks to us as we read and study the Bible.  We must guard our hearts so we will not be led astray by false teachings. 

We contend for the faith when we grow and mature in our faith walk with our Savior and LORD.  Knowledge of God’s Word is important but we must possess an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus.  We must possess more than head knowledge.  We have been blessed with the precious gift of the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us and teach us as we study the Word of God.  John 16:13 – But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  As we study God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will teach us truth, convince us of God’s will, and remind us when we stray from God’s will.  John 14:26 – But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

Christians have various preferences –  types of music in worship, methods of worship, methods of outreach.  That is fine.  That is a preference.  But we must be unified and defend the truth of God’s Holy Word.  We must contend for the faith.  Stand on the truth of God’s Holy Word. 

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to contend for the faith in this world filled with false teachings.  Reveal truth to us found in Your Holy Word so that when presented with false teachings we are about to recognize and confront these false teachings with the truth.  In Jesus Name I Pray…..Amen

 

 

Almighty God's Unfailing Love

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.  Isaiah 54:10

As we journey upon this earth, we will encounter change.  There is no way around it.  Relationships will change, jobs will change, our physical addresses will change, and our health will change.  Change is inevitable.  But there is one thing we can rely on, God’s unfailing love for us.  Our individual worlds may crumble around us but Almighty God’s love for us will not change.  God will always love us.  He promises us that His love is unfailing and God has never and He will never break a promise. 

Jesus Christ’s willingness to die for us is proof of His unfailing love.  There is nothing that can interfere with Christ’s presence with us.  When you accepted Christ as your Savior and LORD, you were blessed with the precious indwelling Holy Spirit.  God reveals to us throughout His Word how great His unfailing love is so that we will know that we are totally secure in Him and His love.  Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing can separate us from the love Jesus Christ has for us. 

Scripture is filled with the evidence of God’s love for us.  Throughout His Holy Word, God tells us He loves us.  Psalm 86:5 – You, Lord are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.  God’s Word is full of His proclamation of His love for His children.  Open God’s Word and allow the proclamation of His love to soak into your very soul. 

God demonstrates His love for us.  He loves us so much He sent His Son to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.  Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Before we even turned to God, He loved us.  He loves the sinners and desires to be their Savior and LORD.  God demonstrates His love through godly discipline.  Have you ever received godly discipline from your LORD?  He loves us so much He will not allow us to continue down the road of destruction without correcting us.  Hebrews 12:6 – Because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. 

There may be times when we don’t feel loved but choose to take God at His Word.  We are loved with His unfailing love.  Belief is not a feeling it is a choice.  Prayerfully ask God to help you believe. 

Author Beth Moore states in her book Breaking Free, “God loves perfectly.  His love is both vocal and demonstrative.  He balances blessing and discipline.  God’s love is unfailing, so any time we perceive he does not love us, our perceptions are wrong.  Anything we perceive about God that does not match up with the truth of Scripture and the portrayal of His character in Scripture is a lie. 

Psalm 90:14 – Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our day.  Prayerfully ask Almighty God to satisfy you with His unfailing love. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unfailing love.  Help us Father to choose to believe that You truly love us.  Draw us to Your Holy Word where You speak Words of love over us.  In Jesus Name I Pray…..Amen

Identifying Our Love for Almighty God

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  Mark 12:30

Do you truly love your Savior and LORD?  As children of Almighty God, of course our answer would be yes.  But, what evidence other than our yes is there to give identifying evidence that we love our LORD?  How do we identify our true love for our Savior and LORD?  We need to recognize that our ability to love God and to love others come from Him and Him alone.  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God – 1 John 4:7.  God is the source of love.  The indwelling Holy Spirit gives us the power to love.  Prayerfully ask God to help you to love Him more and more and to help you love others.

A person who truly loves God will have thoughts of Him.  Do thoughts of your Savior and LORD circulate through your mind often?  Psalm 63:6 – On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Our love for God will draw us to spend time with Him.  Are you often drawn to spend time with God by reading His Word and by spending time in prayer?  Psalm 27:4 reveals to us that David’s greatest desire was to live in God’s presence each and every day of his life.  Can you say that you desire to live in the presence of Almighty God each and every day of your life?  One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I ask, all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 

Prayerfully examine your heart and your life.  Does your life demonstrate a love for God?  If we truly love our Savior and LORD, our lives will demonstrate our love for God.  God demonstrated His love for us by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.  Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were sinners, Christ died for us.  We demonstrate our love for our LORD when we live a life that honors and glorifies Him.  Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way:  bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God – Colossians 1:10

Do you find satisfaction in spending time with God?  Do you enjoy spending time in the presence of your Savior and LORD?  Evidence of our true love for our LORD is seen in our enjoyment of the time we spend together.  Remember, Almighty God is the source of love.  Prayerfully ask Him to place in your heart a desire to spend time in His presence and to provide you the joy that only spending time together can bring.  Psalm 16:11 – You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal presence at your right hand. 

We show our love for our Savior and LORD by obeying Him.  Love is more than words.  It is total surrender and commitment to our LORD.  We demonstrate our love for Christ by being obedient to Him and His Word.  Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.  The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to him – John 14:21

Prayerfully ask God to help you to love Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, we recognize You are the source of love.  Place in our hearts a love for You like no other.  Draw us to Yourself and Your Word.  Help us to live a life that truly loves You and truly loves others.  Place in our hearts joy and satisfaction when we spend time in Your presence.  In Jesus Name I Pray…..Amen.