IS THIS THE YEAR YOU BEGIN TO PURSUE GOD IN EARNEST ?

1/8/2020

It seems like the start of a new year always pushes us to start something new. Maybe it is to find a new career path, or a new job. Maybe it is getting fit physically and losing some weight ? Perhaps a new friendship group, join a club, find a new church. Maybe in some parts of our world it is taking the risk of leaving your home and setting out for a new place to live, a new chance for security and hope. No matter where we are, or what we are facing, deep inside we know that it is never easy to go it alone. There is an inmate part of the human spirit that needs relationship. God made us to be a part of a community, fellowshipping with each other and desiring hope, peace, and love. It is so simple, and yet so often society and the world love to shout out the false mantra’s of self control, self power, and self enlightenment. Count on yourself, figure it out, and go make yourself great. A perfect concept, until it doesn’t work. Then what ? What do I do; Where do I go: Who do I trust and seek for help ? The true lie in all this is that we were not created to do everything by our own will and intelligence and power. We were made to be in relationship with our Creator, our one true God. He didn’t draw us from the ground and breathe life into us to send us packing, out into the wilderness…..oh no, we did the ourselves.. Sadly we gave up our relationship and righteousness to pursue the promise of a different Kingdom…..one of darkness and deceit. Here we are. Separated, and on our own. What are we to do ? Maybe we should hear what the word of God says.

BUT YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, GOD’S SPECIAL POSSESSION, THAT YOU MAY DECLARE THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF THE DARKNESS NTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT. 1 Peter 2:9

AND WE KNOW THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM, WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. Romans 8:28

HE HAS TOLD YOU, O MAN, WHAT IS GOOD; AND WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU BUT TO DO JUSTICE, AND TO LOVE KINDNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD ? Micah 6:8

If that isn’t a clear and sharp contrast to what the world preaches, then I don’t know what is. The thing is, you can’t sit around and wait. You can’t sit back and spend your time in analyzing and deciding when you might take action. God has a very clear message for all of us. Pursue me with all your heart. Seek me first, and everything you hope for will be given to you…..not in the ways and desires of the world, but in the fullness and richness of a citizen of My Kingdom. The things that are important to God simply do not match up with the priorities of fallen mankind. They are in stark contrast ! And the truth is that pursuing God in earnest is the true gift of freedom to be who you are intended to be. Making your individual choice to empower your life and who you are by giving your life and goals, struggles and problems to someone way bigger than you. And by the way, God loves you more than you can even comprehend.

AND MAY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO UNDERSTAND, AS ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SHOULD, HOW WIDE, HOW LONG, HOW HIGH, AND HOW DEEP HIS LOVE IS. Ephesians 3:18

God gave His only Son, so we could be saved and forgiven. God gave Jesus the mission and suffering of the Cross so that we might live in relationship with Him for Eternity. That is what true love is, and in the core of my being and the depths of my heart, God is who I must pursue with everything i am ! How ? By getting in His Word, Talking to Him in Prayer, Fellowshipping with others pursuing Him….Asking Him to help you get there. Making Him the center of your being ! He has the answers and the time. The pursuit is up to you. May you choose to seek Him/ JA

WHEN I THINK OF ALL THIS, I FALL TO MY KNEES AND PRAY TO THE FATHER, THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND EARTH.I PRAY THAT FROM HIS GLORIOUS , UNLIMITED RESOURCES HE WILL EMPOWER YOU WITH INNER STRENGTH THROUGH HIS SPIRIT. THEN CHRIST WILL MAKE HIS HOME IN YOUR HEARTS AS YOU TRUST IN HIM. YOUR ROOTS WILL GROW DOWN INTO GOD’S LOVE AND KEEP YOU STRONG. AND MAY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO UNDERSTAND, AS ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SHOULD, HOW WIDE, HOW LONG, HOW HIGH, AND HOW DEEP HIS LOVE IS. MAY YOU EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF CHRIST, THOUGH IT IS TOO GREAT TO UNDERSTAND FULLY. THEN YOU WILL BE MADE COMPLETE WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER THAT COMES FROM GOD. NOW ALL GLORY TO GOD, WHO IS ABLE, THROUGH HIS MIGHTY POWER AT WORK WITHIN US, TO ACCOMPLISH INFINITELY MORE THAN WE MIGHT ASK OR THINK. GLORY TO HIM IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS, FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN. Ephesians 3:14-21