The God Who Wants to be Found
August 5, 2005
Sometimes I think we imagine a God who plays hide and go seek with His children. "Catch me if you can", He taunts, before ducking away into another dimension. It's true that we will never in this life understand the depth of God's character; there are mysteries that are beyond our comprehension. "How exactly does that Trinity work again?" "God did what for me?" As much as we can rest in awe of the mysteries of God, and as helpful as it can be for us to talk about things like "pursuing God", we need to make sure we don't miss the point. I tried pursuing God; I caught Him. Actually, He let me catch Him.
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) This well-known verse shows us the overarching theme of God's revelation to us: He wants to be found. Why then does He seem so hard to find at times? We can't miss the caveat in the verse: seeking with all our heart. It's one thing to say we're looking for answers about God, and looking to know Him more, while cherishing some earthly pleasure. It's sort of like the child who pretends to pay attention to his parent while peeking out the side of his eyes at whatever shiny object presents itself. But if we seek with all our heart, offering ourselves to Him, we will find Him, because He has made Himself findable. Even Daniel describes the Lord as "the God who reveals mysteries."
Paul prays for some believers that God would fill them "with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..." (Col. 1:9-10) A gem we find in this verse is that it is pleasing to God that we grow in knowledge of Him. He wants to be known better! He is not a distant God who wants to remain mysterious; rather He is revealing His character, His love and holiness, to us. Sure we cannot fathom at once all that He is; but as we walk in this life, He wants us to get to know Him better. This is not just intellectual knowledge, of course, but personally knowing Him as a child knows his father, or a bride her groom.
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col. 2:2-3) And what is the mystery that God has revealed? Christ! A few verses earlier this is expanded upon: "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known, among the Gentiles, the glorious riches of this mystery: Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col. 1:26-27) Not only is Christ the revelation of God's character, but if we have put our faith in Him, it is true that He lives in us. And guess what? In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If God did not want us to know Him, He would not have placed Christ in us.
Confused? Want to grow? Looking for purpose? Look to Christ! The Spirit He's placed in us, who searches even the deep things of the Father, will teach us all things, giving understanding of how Christ reveals the Father. Don't know Him at all? Ask Him in; He does good work from inside.
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July 13, 2005
"We always thank God when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints - the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you." (Col. 1:3-6)
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Christ Jesus for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time..." (Titus 1:1-2)
In Colossians we read of faith and love, springing from hope; in Titus we read of faith and knowledge, resting on hope. A foundation of Christianity is the hope for what God has promised. How central this is in Scripture! Why do I think about hope so little?
Hebrews 6:19 - "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
Hebrews 7:18-19 - "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God."
1 Peter 1:13 - "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
1 John 3:2-3 - "But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."
Titus 2:12-14 - "It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
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Get Ready
May 19, 2005
Joshua 1:2-3 - "Get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."
Get ready! The Lord wants to bring us into the promised land of walking in the Spirit - are we ready? In this land of abundance, flowing with milk and honey, the prerequisite is faith, for there are trials and enemies far beyond our ability to overcome. What we need is to trust in the Lord, step out of the way and watch Him be victorious. We get the milk of the Word, that grows us up in our salvation, as well as the honey of the Word that delights our souls. Let us not grow weary or lose heart by seeing the obstacles in the land; as the spies had earlier returned more full of fear at the size of the enemies than the hope of the size of the blessings, so we too must not fear, but be strong and courageous, trusting that the Lord will provide what He's promised, and He will take care of every issue that comes up. Ministry is too hard for us - let us learn from the Israelites and watch the Lord have victory, again and again.
God promised to give them every place they set their feet; the amount of faith they had dictated the amount of blessings they would receive. Just as the widow in Elisha's time received in as many pots as she gathered (2 Kings 4), so we will see blessings proportational to our faith. Lord, increase our faith.
But to this same request Jesus replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." (Luke 17:6) So let us not be daunted by not having enough faith; let us cast our mustard seed to the Lord and watch the Lord grow it and grow the ministry He desires to work through us.
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May 15, 2005
"...the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me." (John 14:31)
Jesus, about to go to the cross, states that a purpose of the cross is to show the world His obedience to the Father. "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8)
He was obedient and disciplined in every way - resisting temptation in the wilderness, rising early in the mornings to pray on the mountains, and resting His will on the Father's in the garden. I find myself quite unable to be disciplined, quite unable to be obedient to the Lord - even in simple things. But I'm in luck - this same Jesus now lives in me, working to be obedient to the Father in my flesh.
It is not my strivings or my discipline that is at question - only my surrender in recognition of my weakness. The limit of my reservoir of strength is now the fullness of God. "...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience..." (Colossians 1:11) "...that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)
Oh, for this mystery to become more of a reality in my life, so that I can say with Paul "We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me." (Colossians 1:29)
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Delight in…
May 5, 2005
- The word of God
- the law of the Lord – Psalm 1:2, 119:70,77,92,174, Rom. 7:22
- the words of the Lord - Psalm 111:2, Jeremiah 15:16
- the commands of the Lord - Psalm 112:1, 119:35,47,143
- the Lord’s decrees - Psalm 119:16
- the Lord’s statutes - Psalm 119:24
- the teachings of Christ - Mark 12:37
- the Lord Himself
- the Lord - Psalm 22:8, 37:4
- God my joy - Psalm 43:4
- the Lord, who has clothed me - Is. 61:10
- the works of God
- hearing the rescuing works of God - Ex. 18:9
- the Lord's deliverance - 1 Sam. 2:1
- the works of Christ - Luke 13:17
- the Lord's salvation - Psalm 35:9
- wisdom
- wisdom - Proverbs 10:23
- a wise servant - Proverbs 14:35
- a wise son - Proverbs 23:24, 29:17
- other
- revering God's name - Nehemiah. 1:11
- the fear of the Lord - Is. 11:3
- our inheritance - Psalm 16:6, Colossians 1:12
- the love of our Lover - Song of Solomon 1:2, 4:10
- the Lord's fare (provision) - Is. 55:2
- the Sabbath - Is. 58:13
- weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties - 2 Cor. 12:10
- the order and growth of a church - Col. 2:5
- sharing the gospel and our lives with growing people - 1 Thessalonians 2:8
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April 14, 2005
Joshua 5:10-12: "On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan."
The manna - God's daily provision in the wilderness - stopped as soon as the Israelites entered the land. God continued to provide for them, but in different ways.
In our walks with God, how we recieve God's provision will change as well. There are several components that will always be there, of course: studying the Word, meditating on the Word and God's character, praying about the Word. We should always be asking God to speak to us and show us how to apply the Word today. We should always be praying and lifting up requests and intercessions. We should always spend time in silence and solitude with God, listening. We should always spend time fellowshipping with and encouraging the saints. We should always have some kind of physical expression of worship, whether it's getting on our knees, lifting our hands, serving, or simply singing in praise and adoration. Nonetheless, we will go through phases in life when our walk with God focuses on certain aspects.
In my life I have gone through times where I needed to emphasize certain of these characteristics. There were times when I studied the Word hours every day, times where I memorized and meditated on the Word all day long, and times when I just needed to sing or to serve. There were times where I jumped on every fellowship opportunity, and times where I couldn't get enough time alone with God.
That's part of the cool thing about walking with God and abiding in Christ: it won't always look exactly the same. Praise God for this; this means we're growing and maturing.
Hebrews 6:1-2 - "Therefore let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity... And God permitting, we will do so."
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March 9, 2005
Lord, my Strength, help me to love You today by obeying what You call me to. Show Your servant what path You have marked out for me, what opportunities You want to bring me. Help me to be faithful, and to commune with You every moment. My body and my spirit are held together by Your hand; may my mind be conscious of this always, as I listen to You and enjoy the followship with You that is always mine.
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February 14, 2005
James
1:1-4 - trials, growth
1:5-8 - faith asks for wisdom
1:9-12 - fate of the rich / those who persevere
1:13-15 - temptation -> sin -> death
1:16-18 - gifts, birth
1:19-25 - search and apply the Word (listen, no anger)
1:26-27 - pure religion - orphans, purity
2:1-7 - don't show partiality (to the poor)
2:8-13 - perfection - mercy triumphs over judgment
2:14-19 - faith without deeds is dead
2:20-24 - Abraham's example of faith and deeds
2:25-26 - Rahab's example of faith and deeds
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1 Timothy 4:12
January 28, 2005
1 Timothy 4:12 - "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
- Speech (NKJV: word): let the words that come out of my mouth be always edifying, always giving praise to God, rather than tearing down and cursing. Then every word I say will point people to the Lord's holiness.
- Life (NKJV: conduct): Conduct: "The way a person acts, especially from the standpoint of morality and ethics." Let all my actions be such that if I am being scrutinized, I know my actions are glorifying to God and modeling the very things I say with my words.
- Love: let me actually be loving those in the body of Christ, by praying for them, taking every opportunity to serve, building them up with encouragement, and just being available for them.
- Spirit (NKJV only): Greek pneumati (wind, breath, spirit). Let me be an example of always being filled with the Holy Spirit, carrying the Lord such that when people look at me, they see and sense Christ. Let me demonstrate a spirit of compassion and concern, of humility, of joy.
- Faith: let my faith in the Lord be evident through every circumstance and situation in my life, so that how I handle things demonstrates the reality of God in my life.
- Purity: let every thought, every motive, every word and every action be full of purity, and so demonstrating truly the love of Christ, for His love is nothing if not pure. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." And He will be seen in me, as well.
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