Touch Him

On February 3, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Acts 17: 27       NIV

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

It is an interesting thing to think about, but God has made Himself vulnerable to our whims. When He created us, He gave us freewill. He wanted a family, not a cadre of marionettes. Nor did He choose to make us slaves to His will. He left the decisions and choices in our hands. It seems remarkable that He would have developed such an elaborate plan and yet left so many of the pivotal decisions to humans. Remarkable, yes but also laudable. This truth says a great deal about the nature of God and the dynamic of our relationship with Him.

He created paths for us to follow, paths which lead to Him. He gave us the means and the motivation to seek Him. The New American Standard Bible reads, “perhaps they might grope for Him.” What image does that generate for you. A blind people, lost in the dark, reach out searching for enlightenment and understanding. He gave us truths to undergird us so that we might have the ability to seek Him and find Him. He whispered His truths in our ears so that in our moment of epiphany we would know for whom to reach out.

In our hearts, those saved and even those not yet in the household, we know who He is. When we fall to our knees in the dark, we know the truth and it arises from our own spirits where the Father planted a bit of Himself. When we seek Him, when we reach out for an initial introduction or simply because we want more of Him, our searching hands find Him for He is with us. At this very moment, He is not far from any one of us, nor has He ever been. Even in our loneliness, He was there. Had we sought the light we would have found His hand reaching out to us with even greater purpose and determination.

He is here. He is with us and He wants more of us. He wants to be closer to our hearts, more integral to our days, and more intertwined with all that we are. Bless the Lord. Seek His face with all your heart, soul and mind. Reach out your hand and touch Him. Be Blessed!

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Praise Power

On February 2, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 22: 26

The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!

There is no better way to a deeper level of communion with God than by praise and worship. A good song of praise can get you unstuck and free your spirit. When I am really struggling, I sing to God, which, by the way, I learned from Him. Funny story: one day I heard Him say, “Sing our song.” I didn’t even realize we had a song but like young lovers, we did, and it only took a moment to realize which song He thought of as ours. What a joyous time together that ended up being and there was no doubt about His presence in the room with me which is always the greatest of all joys.

This verse says that those who seek the Lord will praise Him. Which comes first? Praising Him is a way of seeking His presence. Some people praise in song, others simply speak. It certainly can be awkward at first. Some people are very good at it. Others, not so much. I am one of those who is not quite so eloquent, so I usually sing a praise song. What I find is that even though I may begin in awkwardness, as I stay with it, I relax. As I relax, I get in better touch with my own spirit. Praise lives in my spirit so once I am connected to my spirit, it becomes easy to pour out words about His greatness and His unfailing kindness.

I hope you will employ this way of seeking the Lord and a deeper relationship with Him.

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Bless the Lord

On February 1, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 134: 1

Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.

I feel like this psalm goes along with the series on seeking the Lord. When I think about blessing the Lord, I am drawn towards expressions of intimacy. It is crazy thinking that the God who created the heavens and earth could be blessed by our spending time with Him but that is exactly what He longs for. As we enter into our second month of 2021, I hope we can focus again on what it means that He is calling to us. He wants us to turn to Him in a more dedicated, devoted way this year. Does that mean prayer? Sure but I think the better answer is an intent to get to know Him better and to draw closer to Him.  And that, amazingly, blesses the Lord.

I welcome your thoughts.

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Methods

On January 29, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 105: 4

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.

That is some good advice if I have ever heard it and it brings up a good point. This is a message for the ages. This is not the first time God has instructed His people to seek Him. So, the message for 2021 is a message for every day of the Christian life. It isn’t new, just what God wants to focus our attention on for this year. Let’s look at other ways to draw near to the Father as we answer the question, “How do we seek Him?”

Prayer, or better still, communication with Him is another key. What does that mean? We have lots of tools at our disposal but just chatting with Him is number one with me. Often, when we discuss prayer a more formal image comes to mind. Also, we usually think of prayer as a form of solicitation or request. Those are important communiques but in search of intimacy we need normal, not formal, conversation with Him. Yahweh is interested in everything you are interested in. So just talk with Him about those things. You will be surprised by some of His comments.

Here are some other ways to connect you may not have thought of. We can also journal, paint, sing, etc. These can all be ways to interact with God. What if you yielded your spirit to the Holy Spirit as your paintbrush hovered over the canvas? What if you just let what the Spirit is feeding your spirit flow out of the tip of the brush? Can you imagine that?

What about journaling? Is that something you like to do? Here is a journaling method you may not have yet discovered. It is called two-way journaling and you can find out more about it at Communion with God Ministries’ website. You can also go my website to see some of my journaling of scripture. Just click on “Journaling with Ivey.” It is a good jumping off place for your own journaling.

What other ways can you think of to draw you deeper in your relationship with God. What are other ways to seek Him?

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Seeking Covenant

On January 28, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Chronicles 15: 12

They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul.

This is us, entering into a covenant to seek the Lord, perhaps more intensely than ever before. How, though, do we seek the Lord? What are the practical tools at our disposal?

Most of us know the denominational church model of Christian service and worship. It is what we were raised in. Of course, we have watched that model shift over the years but still, it remains largely dependent on our church building. What do we do now that we are on our own? Of all the times, when we need the leadership of our pastors, we are isolated from them. How do these changes affect our answer to God’s call to us?

We must develop our other skills and other methods of drawing close to God. Foremost is one you probably already utilize but could grow into a bigger role for you. That is studying the Bible. Searching the Bible for answers and wisdom is seeking God and I find it always leads to communication with Him. One may simply need a rededication to time in the Bible or, perhaps, a new study tool is in the offing. I remember buying a Strong’s Concordance a long time ago. That was before online searches were available. The point is that it changed my study time significantly. One thing you can do is search out a theme. Using online search engines you can easily find every verse on a given theme or even a given word. Or maybe you are due a new daily devotional. Just be sure it is word-based. These can draw you deeper into the Word.

Another great option is to buy a Christian book. I have been so blessed by various books throughout the years. I remember how some of them stopped me in my tracks. The key is that they have to be Bible based rather than just opinion. I have read some really good books about Bible figures like Paul, Moses and David. The good authors don’t make these dry histories. They use the lives of those sages to reveal truths about our own.

Above all, be sure to stop and talk with God about what you are learning. Don’t let any of this become an intellectual pursuit of the mind. Make it about getting to know the Father better and hearing His thoughts. Don’t make Bible study a dull ritual. Dive in there and find life. Find out what books you enjoy the most. Let your spirit be engaged. That is the key for when you do, you are going to find life more abundant.

Email me and I will tell you my favorite book of all time. Also I might be able to recommend a book or two for you.

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Lost and Found

On January 27, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Chronicles 22: 19

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.

I want to tell you a little story today. It is about when I set my heart and soul to finding the Lord and the effect that had. It was July 2005. I was very frustrated at not being able to hear the Lord clearly. I was getting dressed one morning and had Christian programming on the TV in the other room. I heard this minister talking about when he first got saved. In the middle of his story he told about something he heard God speak to him in those early days. He was newly saved, a baby in the things of God and yet God spoke to Him. Worse yet, he heard and recognized God’s voice. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I was incensed that a babe in the woods should hear God’s voice so clearly while I struggled. In no uncertain terms, I told God what I thought, and I did not mince words.

There was a conference coming up in Anaheim. I knew God would be there, so I bought a plane ticket, made a hotel reservation and put God on notice that I was “going to get Him.”

Now when we talk about setting one’s heart and soul, or seeking God with all our strength brother, that described me. I was determined to go to Anaheim and get God. I pursued Him. The result? I sought Him and He found me. I went to get Him, but He got me. He must have been laughing in heaven at my threat to “get Him.”

The end of the story is that I came away from that conference having seen the Holy Spirit with my own eyes, had a prophetic dream, had prophetic words pouring from my mouth and more, more than I can describe. My life changed dramatically because of that event. You can imagine that it would. It turned out that God wasn’t holding out on me. Instead, I had a block in my heart that I couldn’t see but which he resolved through the dream. God touched me and it all began because I sought Him with all my heart and soul.

He is a good God, loving and kind. He wants an intimate relationship with you but as I learned during that week in 2005, we are in the driver’s seat. That is why the scriptures tell us to seek Him. He leaves the power in our hands.

Seek Him with all your heart and soul! What does that look like? Well, there must be persistence in it, right? There has to be determined purpose. I didn’t pray just once. I sought Him with absolute determination. And let me say, the rewards have been well worth the search. More than anything, I now know that God is attentive. He is listening to me but also listening for me. He is awaiting the sound of my footsteps approaching His throne room. I know that if I seek Him, I will always find Him. My desire, now, is for each of you to have this same kind of experience or if you have had one, to have another. Seek Him with all your heart, soul and mind and enjoy the rewards.

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2021 Message

On January 26, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Deuteronomy 4:29

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

There is no doubt that God is calling to His people. Whether or not this is the last of the end times, we don’t know, but we are certainly seeing signs which Jesus gave us as indicators of the last days. God is calling. He is calling you.

In November of 2020 I heard God saying, “Raise an army.” At first, I thought He might go on to instruct me to build the prayer team bigger. I thought He might be speaking of an army of intercessors or simply a prayer army. I thought He might encourage us to prayer again this year. No. As soon as I thought those things, the answer came through as, “No.” Prayer is an important part of any Christian’s life and this year, as last, we are fools if we are not praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). God is communicating something different this year. He is calling us to a different place in Him.

I believe with all my heart that what God is telling me to tell others is that He is calling His people to Him. He is asking us to step into a more devoted and immersive relationship with Him. The image I see is of dedication. I see us dedicating more time to seeking the Father and getting to know Him. I believe He is calling every single one of us to draw closer to Him.  The word I cannot escape is, “devoted.”

Let’s be honest with one another without judgment. You know that most of us are not as committed to our relationship with Yahweh as we might be. We used to go to church on Sunday and maybe participate in a Bible Study too. Those were the bigger parts of our connection with God. Christianity is no longer about Sunday church. Covid changed that. Instead of church services, Father is calling us to His bosom. He wants our breath and His interconnected. He wants to live in the midst of us. We need a transformation in our church, but it begins in our own hearts. Leadership come from below which means, it comes from you and me.

What does this look like? In the following days, I will endeavor to show you some of the ways you can deepen your relationship with the Father. To begin this journey, I ask you to seek the Father’s opinion about this message. I believe the 2021 message He wishes me to convey is that He is calling us to a deeper, more personal relationship with Him and that this is begun by seeking Him. Ask Him if I have it right. Is this the call that He has issued? Is this the message He wants you to hear for 2021?

You can use this link to post a question, https://iveyministries.org/ask-ivey/ or contact me directly at irorie@nulliveyministries.org.

 

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