Three for One

On March 17, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Chronicles 28: 9

If you seek Him, He will let you find Him.

I was looking through some notes yesterday and found this note, “Seeking God builds relationship with Jesus and the Spirit.” There wasn’t much else on the page. Apparently, it was an epiphany I had one day and felt inspired to write it down.

I can testify to the veracity of today’s verse. If you seek Him, you will, without a doubt, find Him. Once upon a time, I had a decent relationship with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. I had a block, though, when it came to the Father. When I was in High School, I believed a bunch of bunk about God growing me through pain and disappointment. Even though I came to understand, intellectually, how foolish an ideology that was, in my heart I still blamed God for the bad things that happened in those years. Knowing Jesus, though, and continually seeking Him brought me to a revelation of the lack of relationship with the Father. Ultimately, that formed the basis of reconciliation with my Father.

Seeking any one of the three persons of the Trinity brings us into greater harmony with the other two. We might rewrite this verse to, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.” That is the New Testament rendition of this verse. Each person of the Trinity longs to bring you into a deeper relationship with the other two. Each one brings specific benefits and relationship characteristics. We, therefore, need a healthy and well-developed relationship with each of them; Father, Son and Spirit. Seek Him and you will find them.

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Seek and Find

On March 5, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 19: 10

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

I am re-reading probably my favorite Christian book of all time, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen. In chapter 8 the author hits on what I believe is a critical distinction. He writes, “The question is not ‘How am I to find God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be found by him?’” (Image Books, 1994, P.106) Many of you read my own story recently in a Word of the Day entitled, Lost and Found. About that momentous event in my life I often say, “I chased Him until He found me.” It’s so true. Father wasn’t holding out on me. I needed to lower a couple of walls and I needed to accept Him.

It is so enlightening that we spend so much time and energy talking about judgment when Jesus explicitly said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world,” (John 12: 47). He came to seek and save the lost. He meant us. He isn’t judging us; he is seeking us. We were lost and now we are found. However, that is not the end of the story. We think of this as a salvation message and that is not wrong. It is not the fullness though.

Remember in my story, I was already saved. So, why was God seeking me? He had already found me, right? Not completely. I was saved, spirit filled and going to heaven, none the less, I was separated from Him here on earth. It was not as if I did not know the Father at all. In fact, if you had known me before the fateful trip to Anaheim, you would have said I was a pretty religious person. However, there was much more for the Father and I to share, much more that He wanted with me and for me. It makes me wonder; despite our closeness now, how much more does He still want to give me? Does He still wish to “find” me in new ways or at new levels? Is there more Father?

This is the reality I want us to ponder and question. Though we have come to know the Father, have we really allowed ourselves to be found by Him? Are we allowing Him to speak to us, express Himself to us, love us? Though you may have been saved for fifty years now, I think the need of seeking Him has not lessened. It seems the more of Him we have, the more we can have and even the more He longs to give. The closer we get to Him the more of Him radiates on us. Therefore, my admonition to you is, “Seek and be found.”

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Focal Point

On February 24, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

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.

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Longing

On February 10, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 30: 18

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.

We have talked about seeking the Lord. I actually began the seeking series by saying that this is the message the Lord has given us for 2021, that we might seek Him in new ways or just seek Him anew. It isn’t only the message for 2021, it is an everyday message. Isaiah, speaking for God, goes a step further today. He encourages us to “long” for God. What would that be like?

I guess a reasonable analogy might be that of young lovers. Do you remember how it was when you first met your love? You wanted to be together every minute and when you were not together, it pained you. You call them several times a day when you’re apart. You just can’t get enough of each other. You want to talk about everything under the sun and everything they say is fascinating. How wonderful to be in love.

Imagine longing for our Father like that. Can you imagine it? Blessed is the person who longs for the Lord. God longs to be gracious to and show you His great compassion. His grace and compassion are things we do long for, don’t we? All we want and need, the acceptance, love, compassion, grace, mercy, and forgiveness is there, in His embrace. As you continue to seek more of Him, talk with Him about this verse. Ask Him to increase your longing if you want. The more you want, the more you find. And the more you find, the more you long for. Seek more, have more – of Yahweh.

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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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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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