A verse was shared at church that has been rolling over in my mind like laundry does in the dryer. I have not been able to get it out of my head. It’s in Psalm 27:8 it reads: “When You said “Seek My Face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Many questions and thoughts came up regarding this verse but the one that has stuck with me is this “when we are seeking God’s face, what are we looking for?” “what do we see?”
I got to thinking of what is my own answer to that question. No one has ever really seen God’s face yet we do see His face in many forms at many times. But are we aware of His face when we see it? Do we acknowledge it? I have a girlfriend that told me that when her daughter was born, she saw the face of God. God captured her heart through the birth of her daughter. I’m amazed by that.
It makes sense if we are not seeking the LORD then no, we won’t see His face. I’m reminded of the verse in Jeremiah 29:13 where God says “you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”. It’s interesting that in the verse in PS 27 it’s the 'heart' that will seek God’s face. Again there is the word heart. God is plainly telling us that we have to seek Him with our heart to find Him.
In the book of Proverbs it says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”. When I read that while thinking about seeking the LORD’s face, it occurred to me that not only is our heart the wellspring of our life, but in essence, when we are to seek God with our heart, we are really to seek Him with our life.
God desires for us to seek Him. He places things in our paths to stir our desire and hunger for Him so that He can show Himself to us more and more. Let’s pray and ask God to help us see His face when He reveals it to us as we seek him – with our heart.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Relationships
Recently my husband was away for work for quite a while. In that time I hunkered down and asked God what He wanted me to hear Him on while my hunny was away. God didn’t delay. He brought several things to my mind that all had one important aspect. Relationships. Mine with Him and mine with others. I thought of struggles with family & friends and even Jesus’ relationship with the Father.
I thought of Jesus and how he loved the un-loveable. I thought of the stories in the gospel how He spent time w His followers and w the Father. I thought how to keep peace in my relationships? (At least at my end).
For me, it starts through being humble as well as knowing who we are in Christ and having our relationship w Him as the example. That's a pretty big example. It’s really like the “golden rule” do good to others etc. but w Christ we have to accept those who don’t do us good (Matt 5:43-48). Do I really pray for those who hurt me? Do I really love and forgive those who are angry at me and ignore me? Do I really let it go and choose peace and love instead of the attitude of “I’m right” or talk & think negatively about them while letting strife and bitterness take root? We are to put on the same attitude of Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5). That's a pretty tall order but doable!
If I want my end of the relationship to stay in peace then I have to choose to do as Christ did. It may sound hard and my human feelings go against everything in me but He didn’t leave us hanging. We are told in the bible that walking in the flesh reaps things of the flesh but walking in the spirit reaps of the spirit (Gal 6:7). I’m learning to choose the Spirit. Jesus left us a helper, His Holy Spirit. He even said it’s better for US if He goes so the Spirit can come (John 16:7). How awesome is that!
We need to learn who the Holy Spirit is and have a relationship with Him to help us through the times of loving, forgiving and accepting those in our lives who we have relationships with. Mind you it's not easy but with Christ all things are possible (Matt 19:26). Also, God gives us grace (2 CO 12:9) and He knows it’s a process for us and all He asks for is one day at a time (Matt 6:34). It’s not rocket science and it CAN be done. Through the grace God gives us, we need to extend that grace to other’s as well as ourselves. And remember, “I can do ALL (forgiving, loving, accepting) things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
I thought of Jesus and how he loved the un-loveable. I thought of the stories in the gospel how He spent time w His followers and w the Father. I thought how to keep peace in my relationships? (At least at my end).
For me, it starts through being humble as well as knowing who we are in Christ and having our relationship w Him as the example. That's a pretty big example. It’s really like the “golden rule” do good to others etc. but w Christ we have to accept those who don’t do us good (Matt 5:43-48). Do I really pray for those who hurt me? Do I really love and forgive those who are angry at me and ignore me? Do I really let it go and choose peace and love instead of the attitude of “I’m right” or talk & think negatively about them while letting strife and bitterness take root? We are to put on the same attitude of Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5). That's a pretty tall order but doable!
If I want my end of the relationship to stay in peace then I have to choose to do as Christ did. It may sound hard and my human feelings go against everything in me but He didn’t leave us hanging. We are told in the bible that walking in the flesh reaps things of the flesh but walking in the spirit reaps of the spirit (Gal 6:7). I’m learning to choose the Spirit. Jesus left us a helper, His Holy Spirit. He even said it’s better for US if He goes so the Spirit can come (John 16:7). How awesome is that!
We need to learn who the Holy Spirit is and have a relationship with Him to help us through the times of loving, forgiving and accepting those in our lives who we have relationships with. Mind you it's not easy but with Christ all things are possible (Matt 19:26). Also, God gives us grace (2 CO 12:9) and He knows it’s a process for us and all He asks for is one day at a time (Matt 6:34). It’s not rocket science and it CAN be done. Through the grace God gives us, we need to extend that grace to other’s as well as ourselves. And remember, “I can do ALL (forgiving, loving, accepting) things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
Hey Everybody!
Wanted to give a shout out and say HI and introduce myself a bit. I've been walking with the LORD for about 10 years now and the last couple years I've been seeking Him like never before. Lately I've been praying for an open door of any kind to get out of my comfort zone and share the name and glory of Christ Jesus thus the new blog you are now reading.
In my seeking God as of late He has been speaking to me of the importance of relationships - not only ours with Him but also with each other.
I will be sharing the "downloads" from God I've previously shared w some of you by email, which I will now be blogging.
My prayer is that this edifies the LORD Jesus Christ and draws us more near to Him. Amen.
"And now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You." Psalm 39:7
In my seeking God as of late He has been speaking to me of the importance of relationships - not only ours with Him but also with each other.
I will be sharing the "downloads" from God I've previously shared w some of you by email, which I will now be blogging.
My prayer is that this edifies the LORD Jesus Christ and draws us more near to Him. Amen.
"And now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You." Psalm 39:7
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