Our Prayer

Pray this with me:

God, I believe that You are. I can see Your hand in creation. The order in nature is not a coincidence, nor did it happen by accident. You are Creator. The heavens declare Your glory.

I believe that You reward and bless those who diligently seek You. Today, I choose to seek You as I would seek a treasure. You are my goal. You are a loving father. I want to know You. I accept Your offer to seek You while You may be found. I want to call on You while You are near. You are speaking to my heart, calling me to know You better. I will not be afraid to seek You. I am willing to give up my time to seek You because are worth it.

I will seek You in the scriptures; I will seek You in prayer. Thank You for showing me how to seek You and for revealing Yourself to me. Thank You for loving me so much that You are drawing me to You. Thank You for helping me in my quest.

You are awesome and it's a privilege to pray to You and know that You hear me because Jesus has made the way. I come to You in His name. Amen.

Limited Time Offer

That all-important coupon that I was searching for has an expiration date. I think it expires in December. It is said that "the opportunity of a lifetime must be ceased during the lifetime of the opportunity." Opportunities, like coupons, can have expiration dates. I can't say that my coupon is that deep—it's for a free 30-day membership at a fitness center. Nah, anything dealing with exercise is hardly worthy to be called an opportunity of a lifetime. But that is a good deal. The usual deals are only for seven-day trial memberships.

On March 31, I signed up for a free 60-day trial with an online music service. I can listen to any of the music on any device without being charged. I like being able to select the album I want to hear when I want to hear it. Again, this is not a lifetime opportunity, but the other deals are only a free 14-day trial or 25 free listens a month. The day I signed up was the last day of the opportunity.

I believe that God has an offer on the table right now. This one is not just for me; it is for you too. He knows you're reading this.  :-)   God is calling you and me to seek Him right now. He is touching our hearts and stirring something within us. For me, He reminded me:

. . . that you have left your first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works,      Revelation 2:4b-5a NKJV

Plus I have a sense of anticipation like something wonderful is just waiting to happen. So His offer to us is this:

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6 NKJV

This is an opportunity of a lifetime. God is calling us right now. He is speaking to our hearts right now. This is the moment where we can find Him because the invitation has been extended. Does it mean that we will never be able to seek Him if we don't do it now? Probably not, but it may be like the 60-day offer compared to the 14-day offer. We'll get the better deal right now while He is speaking to our hearts (while He is near).

It may mean that there is something special that He has prepared for us and we could miss it if we don't go for it right now. I want the best deal. I want what He has for me now. Why postpone something good?

Father, I know that You are speaking to my heart and my friend's heart. You are calling us and drawing us to seek Your face even more. I pray that we will remember and obey what your Word tells us in Hebrews 3:15:

            “ Today, if you will hear His voice,
             Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

And by the precious name of Jesus Christ, I ask again that we will say like the psalmist:

When You said, “Seek My face,”

My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 NKJV

My First Love

I put on rubber gloves, took the garbage outside and continued to look for that coupon in the trash. My daughter found the coupon I was looking for in the DVD case. I had been  looking for the little sticker on the plastic wrapper that said there was a coupon inside. Oops! I'm not sure what lesson I learned from that. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon.

Hmmm, I guess my lesson was that I can do what it takes to find what it is a priority to me.

The other day while I was praying, I stopped to listen. It's not surprising to hear His voice. Jesus said,

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.    John 10:27 NKJV

He spoke to me by bringing to mind part of a scripture. I didn't know all of the words, but that's what computers are for. :-)

The words I heard were "do your first works." I searched for the scripture with "first works."

³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. ⁴ Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works,     Revelation 2:2-5a NKJV

Ouch!

This was during that time that I was writing about my bout with depression. In The Diagnosis – My Story Part 2, I discussed how I determined to seek God until I learned what my problem was.

Even years before, I had a daily habit of seeking God – my first love.

³I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.

⁴But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].

 ⁵Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord],                  Revelation 2:2-5a AMP

I had different habits that I have to learn to revive now.

God Is Not Lost

"I've been played. This is a set up." I said yesterday as I sat on the floor rooting through the kitchen trash. 

Yeah, yeah I get: If I can dig through the trash to find a coupon, I can "diligently seek" God who is much more important. I'm sure this is a coincidence that when I am going to write about seeking God I have to dig through rubbish. Yeah right. God has a sense of humor. :-)

About a year ago, I was watching a movie that was kind of lame. At one point one character asked another, "Have you found Jesus?" To which the other answered, "I didn't know He was lost."

I laughed. That was a stupid line, but I'm going to admit that I laughed. Why? Because He's not lost! I guess when I read the scriptures about seeking God and finding Him, I had never thought about it in those terms. That's a surprise because I usually think about things in goofy ways.

So what does it mean to seek God? Not everything we seek is something that is lost. Sometimes when we seek we are making something our goal or it is our desire. We can seek fame and fortune. We can seek an audience with the King.

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

The Amplified Bible explains "seek."

If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 AMP

When we crave, we usually try to satisfy our cravings with that desire. "Require as necessity" makes me think of my next breath. I don't think about my next breath unless it's not there. I have to have it. God should be like our breath: if He's not there, we'll die. I have to have You or I die.

¹²Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

¹³Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

¹⁴I will be found by you, says the Lord, Jeremiah 29:12-14 AMP

One definition of find is "to meet; encounter." That's what we're looking for: an encounter with God. It's up-close, real-life, and personal. He wants us to make an effort to meet Him. We're not going to meet Him by accidentally tripping over Him. We have to seek Him.

Father, I thank You that when we seek You, we don't have to dig through garbage. But sometimes we have to dig through the clutter in our minds and hearts and through all the worthless things that distract us. I pray that we will say like the psalmist:

When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8 NKJV

Next: God Rewards

This is where we separate the men from the boys or the true believers from the (demons?). Yikes! We believe God is; now we have to prove it.

We look back at Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

We prove our faith by seeking God. For me, the first part is easy. Of course I believe God is. I believe He rewards and blesses those who diligently seek Him, too. But I have room for improvement on the "diligently seek Him" part. Yes I seek God by reading the scriptures and by praying, but my actions aren't up to the level of faith where I think they should be because I don't seek Him as much as I should.

¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. ²⁰ How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? James 2:19-20

The smart aleck Denise version would be: You say you have faith because you believe in God. Big deal! That puts you right up there with the demons. But they tremble in fear and awe of God (do you even do that?) If you really believed, your life would prove it or what's the point?

Wow! That was kind of painful to write. It was like slapping myself upside the head.  In James, the scriptures talk about good deeds as in charitable acts and helping those in need. Good deeds include seeking God and obeying Him.

This is the fruit I expect as a result of planting seed in my heart about who God is. I expect my desire to spend more time with Him to increase.

¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. Jeremiah 29:12-14a NIV