Seeking Jesus

Thoughts about seeking Jesus...

> We don't seek Him for His sake...I have heard that we can't search for Jesus because He is not lost...True, Jesus is not lost, but this does not mean that we can't seek after or look for Jesus...it's the frame of reference that defines what it means to seek or search for Christ...we look, not to find Jesus, but instead to find ourselves clothed in Christ.

The way The Scriptures speak of seeking Jesus is for our sake, not His...we are the one's who are lost without Him...

So it's not that Jesus needs us to find Him, it's that He provides what we are looking for...

There are loads of Scripture that speak of our necessity to seek Christ...but here are three great ones for reference:

* Psalm 34:10

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

* Jeremiah 29.13-14

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.

* Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple

Charles Spurgeon On Prayer

Great thought from Charles Spurgeon about The urgent desire in prayer...

Along with a definite object for prayer, it is equally necessary that there should be an earnest desire for its attainment. “Cold prayer,” says an old divine, "asks for denial.” When we ask the Lord without passion, we actually stop His hand and restrain Him from giving us the very blessing we pretend that we are seeking. When you have your object in your eye, your soul must become so possessed with the value of that object, with your own excessive need for it, with the danger that you will be in unless that object should be granted, that you will be compelled to plead for it as a man pleads for his life. Feeling that the thing we ask for cannot be wrong and that He has promised it, we have resolved it must be given, and if not given, we will plead the promise again and again, till heaven’s gates shall shake before our pleas shall cease. Oh, those cold-hearted prayers that die upon the lips — those frozen supplications. They do not move men’s hearts; how should they move God’s heart? We must be earnest. Otherwise, we have no right to hope that the Lord will hear our prayer.

Prayer Quotes

Love the play on words in the following quote about Prayer!

"Seven days without prayer makes one weak."
Allen E. Vartlett

For more great quotes on Prayer, see the following link: Prayer

Opportunities Of Faith

Hebrews 11.6, which states the following three things, has given me a framework for living...I know that God is always with us, but at times, it will feel like He is not. Why? Because He wants us to trust Him. Note the following three points of Hebrews 11.6:

1. Without faith it is impossible to please God
2. Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
3. We must believe that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Falling Backwards Leads You Forwards = Knowing and Trusting
You see, even though God is always present and active in our lives, we still must come to embrace the fact that it is impossible to please God without faith...so there is a dynamic juxtaposition of living a life of adventure and opportunity when it comes to following God...a "knowing" and a "trusting."

It's kind of like the "Trust" drill that you play in team building exercises...you fall backwards into your teammates arms...you know they are there to catch you, but it is still scary to fall backwards where you can not see...all you can do is trust they will catch you...sometimes we must fall backwards to move forwards...

God's Control, Our Opportunity
What this means is that while God is in control, He still gives us the opportunity to take responsibility in being major players in His game plan for life. We can't sit around wanting God to do everything...He wants our involvement...I see this as an honor and a blessing.

The drawback is that it can be scary and daunting and fear will creep in...but this is what I love about following God... He is going to lead us to Opportunities of Faith...we will be scared, but at the same time, we will be excited...I like how Mark Batterson puts it:

"Don’t let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The greatest experiences will often double as the scariest experiences. The defining moments will often double as the scariest decisions."

Batterson also says a great thing about how blessings come to be: "The genealogy of blessing always traces back to God-Ordained Risks."

God Creates So That We Will Conquer
You see, when it comes to God-Ordained opportunity, God will create them, but He then wants us to conquer them...God was with David, Joshua and Caleb, and Jesus, but at the same time, David had to sling the stone, Joshua and Caleb had to conquer the land, and Jesus had to embrace The Cross...

Your Stone, Your Land, Your Cross
What is it for you? Where do you need to Trust God...where do you need to offer up a faith that pleases The Lord?...Just like David, Joshua, Caleb, and Jesus, and a host of other Biblical heroes, It's the same for us...God has a plan and a will for our lives. We can achieve our best for His Glory if we simply stay on task...Here is a good statement from Rick Warren about God's Will in your life...

"God gives you enough time to do His Will. If you can't get it all done, you are doing stuff out of His Will or doing it a wrong way."

Do the impossible and you will find God. If you crave comfort you will miss out. If things are not working, then re-evaluate. It's Time to Trust and Conquer! Soli Deo Glori!

Science Will Win?

Just watched an interview on ABC news where Diane Sawyer interviewed astrophysicist and one of the greatest scientist of all-time, Stephen Hawking...

...in the interview, when Sawyer asked if there was a way to reconcile religion and science, Hawking said, "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."

Just before this statement, Hawking says that human life is an accident...here is his quote:

"They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible." (emphasis added).

...and then to conclude the interview, Sawyer asked what three pieces of advice Hawking gives his children...Hawking says the following:

"One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it," he said. "Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away."

Do you see the contradictions?

> One, how can science win if it can not explain with certainty the origins of the universe based on observation and reason?

> Two, if human life is an accident, why would someone tell their kids that work gives 'meaning' and 'purpose?'...and why would love matter?...if human life is insignificant and accidental, then nothing has purpose and love is just an illusion...

> Third, In his new Discovery series, "Into the Universe," Hawking said intelligent alien life almost certainly exists, even speculating on the shape of creatures that could exist on other planets and moons.

Wait, I thought science wins because it is based off of observation and reason? Has anyone observed an alien...and why is it that it's always intelligent alien life? If aliens exist, who says they are intelligent?

Look, Stephen Hawking is freaking brilliant, and I can understand that he may wonder why he was diagnosed with ALS...he was diagnosed with ALS at 21...he is now 68...once diagnosed, he was told that he would not live more than a few years...

...you know what I think? I don't think Stephen Hawking is an accident and I don't think it is a coincidence that he has defied all odds by living well into his 60's...I believe he has purpose and his contributions to life are significant...

In terms of family Hawking has fathered 3 children and has one grandchild...do you think they would say he is an accident or insignificant? Nope. And I don't believe he would say his children and grandchild are insignificant either...

In terms of work, as physicist Kip Thorn at last week's World Science Festival event honoring Hawking, said, "Stephen has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of the universe, particularly of warp space and warp time in the universe, black holes, the origin of the universe..."

...so could it be that God has used Stephen Hawking to show that despite circumstances, a human life is capable of doing incredible things...Life is not insignificant nor accidental...We know love because God is love...we have purpose because God created us for His Glory...I pray that Stephen will come to see that God loves him and has used him for specific purposes...

Is There Really A God?

Great article by Ken Ham & Jason Lisle, who write for answersingenesis.org...the article is in reference to the often asked question, "Is there really a God?"

They offer great points and counter points that increase our faith and give substantiation to our logical and reasonable claims that God is the creator of all.

...here is the link, followed by a great excerpt (green ink) from the article:

Is There Really God?

"But if the universe were merely a chance accident, then why should logical reasoning be possible? If my brain is merely the product of mutations (guided only by natural selection), then why should I think that it can determine what is true? The secular, evolutionary worldview cannot account for the existence of logical reasoning.

Likewise, only a biblical worldview can really account for the existence of science—the study of the natural world. Science depends on the fact that the universe obeys orderly laws which do not arbitrarily change. But why should that be so? If the universe were merely an accident, why should it obey logical, orderly laws—or any laws at all for that matter? And why should these laws not be constantly changing, since so many other things change? (emphasis added).

The Bible explains this. There are orderly laws because a logical Law-Giver upholds the universe in a logical and consistent way. God does not change; so He sustains the universe in a consistent way. Only a biblical worldview can account for the existence of science and technology." (link added).

• • •

Those are great points, if we are created by accident and random chance events, why is order or logic even possible?...if evolution states that we are created via chance and adaptation, why is it that the very laws of the universe have not changed? It seems like the gravitational acceleration should no longer be 9.8 m/s squared...or why is the speed of sound still 340 m/s? You can not claim that we exist by random chance and disorder and then magically believe that we now exist off of order and structure...that violates not only Scripture and logic, but it violates science and the second law of thermodynamics...disorder can not create order...