Focal Point

Exodus 32: 29

Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today.”

As you know, I believe God’s message to us for this year is for us to draw nearer to Him, to seek Him with new gusto. I was thinking on Saturday that this is a call to rededication. Sunday I received an email from YouVersion with a prayer to “refocus” our attention on our relationship with the Lord. These are all the same message. It is a call to devote ourselves more whole-heartedly to our relationship with God.

Rededication or seeking the Lord with a fresh passion need not be a trial or a duty. God calls us to Him because He wants to hold us close and care for us. He wishes to get more of Himself to us and to give wisdom and guidance. All that we desire is in the Lord. Those things flow to us through our bond with Yahweh.

We are living in times when we need a closer connection with Him. Our protection is in the security of His presence. We need to hear His voice so we can avoid danger. It is His voice which we follow to the promise land. Without the Father’s leading we easily stumble and lose our way.

In conclusion, I still believe this is the message He would have us hear, still the missive for 2021. Moreover, the reason Father wants us to seek Him with a new zeal and dedicated passion is because He knows we need a closer walk with Him this year in order to protect ourselves and our families and to walk in His blessing. He is not a selfish God. He is a giving Lord. If He has called us to seek Him, then He has a good reason, and that reason is for our benefit. Rededicate yourself to Him, refocus your attention on Him, seek His face. Regardless of the phrasing, the ideas are all the same. Use your energy and determination to draw closer to your Father this year.

Word Seek

Psalm 132: 7

Let’s go into His dwelling place; let’s worship at His footstool.

I told you that I have been listening to the Lord speak to me about year 2021. I do not seek the Lord each year about what He has to say about the year. However, sometimes He speaks to me specifically about the year ahead. Last January He said to devote the year to prayer and to seek out Christians who would dedicate themselves to prayer. When I reached out to you with that message, I had no idea how prophetic the message was. Now we see. I suppose, ultimately, that is a message of faith. We are to take God’s messages at face value and obey. He does not intend to begin a game of 20 questions, nor do I find He plays that game well. So, we just listen and obey. The truth will be revealed.

In November of 2020, I began hearing the Father say, “Raise an army.” My immediate thought was that it was to be an army of prayer warriors. Before I could finish the thought, though, I heard Him distinctly negate that idea. Now, truth be told, any devoted Christian is a person of prayer. What then, is the difference, Father, in this call from last year’s? I have been listening and seeing nuances but have not been able to wrap English around it. In the devotional, Science Made Faith (1/12/21), I wrote that I believe part of the call of this year is seeking the Lord in the Word. Last year was about petitioning Him, about enlisting His help in what would turn out to be a catastrophic event. This year I believe He is calling us into devoting ourselves, and our time, to our relationship with Him.

This may be a stronger call from the Lord than last year. I don’t have the fullness of His message yet, but I know He want us to go to His dwelling place and worship as devoted believers. It’s not because He is an ego maniac and needs millions of adoring vassals. It is because something is released in the Spiritual Realm when we engage in heart felt worship. We may not know the fullness of this dynamic until we get to heaven but what we do know is that obedience is sufficient for us. It is enough that God is telling us something to do. We are not His equals that we get to question Him. And, at some level, both faith and love require us to unquestioningly obey.

I know some people have trouble with the word “obey” but here is what I would say to those people. There is freedom and liberty in obeying the Lord. He only calls us to do that which is good and healthy for us. It is the other guy who tries to imprison us. Therefore, I believe obedience to our Father always serves our self-interest. Let us worship. Let us seek the Lord. In seeking, we always find. And like the Easter eggs at an Easter egg hunt, there is a prize inside.