In Hot Pursuit

On August 25, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 21: 21            NIV

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Yesterday we saw from verses 17 and 18 of Proverb 21 that the pursuit of pleasure leads to poverty. Today we are fortunate to get to see the other side of the coin. If we wish to have abundant life, prosperity and honor then we must pursue righteousness.

Now, before we fall on our faces, let us review our thinking on righteousness. Many of us were trained in the notion that righteousness equates to good works. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, that kind of “righteousness” is repugnant to God. It is a rancid odor in His nostrils. Righteousness, in a word, is Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5: 21 reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This means that Jesus, who is and was the righteousness of God, traded his righteousness for our sin. He became our sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. Therefore, our pursuit of Jesus, is necessarily a pursuit of righteousness.

There is an interesting passage about this very topic from the Apostle Paul. “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9: 30 – 32). The stumbling stone was Jesus. I find this passage amazing. The Israelites, the chosen ones, who pursued righteousness through their works failed while the Gentiles who by faith sought Jesus attained righteousness. Wow!

Shall we, though, take it one step further? The verse for today also says that those who pursue love find life, prosperity and honor. This one is really easy, isn’t it. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4: 8). Yeah, you don’t need a theology degree in order to knock this one out of the park. God is love. Therefore, if one pursues God, then that is a pursuit of love and thus the result is life, prosperity and honor. 1 Corinthians 14: 1 says “Pursue love . . ..” It really is that simple.

So, what is the conclusion of all this? Our happiness, prosperity, peace, joy, well-being, life, and honor are found in the pursuit of the Father and the Son, merely in the pursuit. It is not in the tracking down or even in the finding. Your Father and God does the revealing. Your only part is to pursue. “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” (1 Chronicles 28: 9).

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What we Need

On August 17, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 105: 4


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

If you need strength today, it is in the Lord. You do not even have to seek strength just seek Him. All of the wisdom and knowledge you need are in Him also, so when you seek Him you gain all of the strength you need as well as every other thing you need. Really, all of life can begin to boil down to this concept because if we will seek Him he will give us all that we need in every arena of life. He is willing and able to assist you in every single area of your life. From locating your misplaced keys to the wisdom you need in making an important decision, He is there to assist you. Seek His face continually and He will fill your life with His very essence wherein all good things exist.

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The Seeker

On August 4, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 6: 33


But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.
One encounter with God can change your life forever. Having an encounter with God is worth everything. There really is nothing greater than a touch from Him. But how do we find god in our everyday lives? We must seek Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. In Him is the answer to every question we have as well as every need. Our job is to seek Him out and it is His job to provide us with the resources we need. Everything we need, want or desire is in Him. Seek Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength and he will give you the desires of your heart. He will be everything you need or want. His touch will fill your heart and heal your hurts. This type of seeking requires commitment and surrender though. If you will be determined to seek Him out, you will most definitely find Him. Seek Him in His word and through your prayers. He will be found by you.
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Melting Away

On June 6, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Colossians 3: 8 – 9

But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech from your mouth, do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.
As we set our eyes on those things above, we must take care that we do not resurrect those things from our old self. But the good news is that as you keep your eyes on Jesus, those old things will feel foreign. They are inconsistent with your new self and soon they become uncomfortable. Then they will begin to melt away from you.

It is interesting how many of the above offenses are committed with our mouths. Getting our mouths under control is the bulk of the battle but with our eyes fixed on Jesus, he lends his strength to us so that in our weakness, we are strong. As we focus our attention on seeking Jesus and our Father, his power is made alive in us. Our worship and love of him draws us away from our old behaviors. They will eventually become as repugnant to us as they are to Him because we are drawing closer to Him every day and becoming more like Him.

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Seeking and Finding

On June 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Colossians 3: 1

If you then have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
I love the “seeking” scriptures because they remind me of the principle task which God has assigned me. I am reminded that my job is to seek Him and it is his job to take care of everything else. That is good news to me. Jesus promised us that if we seek, we will find (Matthew 7: 7). He also told us to seek those things above and God would add all the other things we need. We focus our eyes on Him and he takes care of our earthly worries. This pattern relieves us of worry and draws us closer to Him at the same time. That is a pretty good deal.

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Wants Fulfilled

On March 17, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 34: 10                    Index Card 3

But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

Jesus said he came to earth to bring us abundant life (John 10: 10). That implies, doesn’t it, that he wants to fill our lives with good things? So, these two verses (and many others) work together. Jesus wants to pour good things into our lives so he had his prophet teach us to seek him. Didn’t Jesus say it himself during his days on the earth?  “Seek and you shall find” (Matthew 7: 8).

In him is everything pertaining to life (2 Peter 1: 3). Now, if I told you that I had a million dollars for you, you would seek me out, wouldn’t you? Essentially that is our position with Christ. He has it all, he wants to give it to you, you just need to go see him to get everything you want, everything you need. You shall not be in want of any good thing. That’s simple, isn’t it?

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Closer to Thee

On November 20, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

James 4: 8

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Do you desire a close personal relationship with God? Do you really want to be one of the people that talks with God, rather than at Him? Well, you can be. That kind of closeness and relationship is available for as many as who desire it. You have to initiate that kind of rapport though. God has given us free will and He is not going to violate yours. He is not going to force you into a close friendship with Him. But, if you initiate it, then He will joyously join you.

But how do you really draw near to God? The first and easiest thing to do is to spend time in His word. His word is part of Himself. When you read and search the word of God, you search the heart and mind of God. You will learn a lot about Him and you will find Him in those pages. 

Secondly, spend time talking to Him. Forget traditional ideas of prayer. Just talk to Him like He was your best friend. He likes being part of everything that is important to you. Tell Him everything. Talk to Him about everything.

Lastly, learn to praise Him and be appreciative of all that He does for you. In the beginning you might not be aware of how many things He does for you in a day but as your relationship grows, you will begin to see His fingerprints on many things in your life. When you sincerely tell any friend how important they are to your life, it always draws the two of you closer. Learn to express your gratitude.

As you begin to do any of these things you will find your relationship with Him growing and becoming closer. It all begins with drawing closer to Him.

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