Tag: Food For Growth

⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” ⁹ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ~ Psalms 27:8

It’s so easy to get into a rut after your initial repentance. It’s easy to stop searching the Scriptures, hungry to learn something new, or to stop praying diligently because you already saw the answered prayer you wanted, but we are instructed to continuously seek the face of God. This is beyond dispute. No way you can argue against it. No, how can you deny it? You just can’t. We are to chase the presence of Almighty God. The Psalmist is crying out to the LORD not to hide His face from Him. Not to remove His presence from him. He knew that if God removed His presence from him, it would take away his help, and the anger of God would be against him. He knew that he would become like one that has been cast off.

Cain said that God was driving him away from the land where the presence of God dwelt, so then he will be hidden from the face of God. Resulting in him losing his way and becoming a wanderer upon the earth. And if it weren’t for God placing a mark on Cain’s head, Cain would have become a victim of anyone or anything that wanted to kill Cain. This was the fear of the Psalmist. This should be the fear of all of us. We should all continuously be striving for the presence of God so that we might never take it for granted and be removed from His Holy presence.

LORD God, help me to always seek your face. Help me to never get tired of Your presence or Your Word. Clean my heart so that I might delight myself in the things of You. Help me to always dwell in Your presence. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. ~ Philippians 3:12-15

When Paul says that he presses on, he is saying that he is working hard to pursue at least three things: the things of God, the purposes of God (his calling from God), and the presence of God. You cannot pursue those things without pursuing the Giver of those things. It’s impossible. Besides, Paul said to let the mature think this way.

To me, it’s one of two reasons why a pastor would preach against men and women of God pursuing His presence. An excuse for spiritual laziness and because of a lack of understanding. I know that it’s a lot of work to maintain and grow a strong, vibrant relationship with Jesus, but anything good is not easy to achieve.

So, I suppose that is the reason why those same pastors who preach against chasing the presence aren’t seeing miracles in their services because they don’t chase after the presence. And without the Presence, there are no miracles. Healings. Signs. Wonders. Or Salvation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Press On.

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¹⁸ Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.” ¹⁹ And He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰ But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” ²¹ And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, ²² and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” ~ Exodus 33:18–23

Moses had just seen miracles upon miracles, yet he still pleaded with God to see His glory. God was already sitting down with Moses and talking with him like a man talking with his friend, face to face. Moses wasn’t satisfied. He had a strong desire for the LORD, as David described in the Psalms. Moses was like a deer panting for streams of water.

This is how God wants all of us to be. He wants us to know more. He wants to show us who He is. And just as God granted Moses his request and placed him in the cleft of the rock and then caused all of His goodness to pass by Moses, so will God grant our requests to see His glory and know Him better.

We don’t serve a distant, far-off God. Our God is close and personal. He dwells with us, in us, and through us. God desires us to seek Him with all that’s within us. Jesus describes seeking out mankind like a shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the 1 lost sheep. This is the same kind of love that God desires us to have for Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek and Desire God.

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⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ~ John 15:7, 9, 11

It’s all about RELATIONSHIP. Jesus said if you abide in me and my words in you, that is relationship. Now listen to me. You cannot maintain a good and proper relationship without communication. Meaning: You have to actively pray and seek the LORD. You have to actively praise and worship the LORD. You have to regularly read and study your Bible so that Jesus can speak to you.

Now benefits: You can ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you, and then Jesus reiterates the requirement: Abide in my love. It’s imperative, essential, and critical that we establish, nurture, and maintain that relationship if you want the benefits, that is.

Therefore, if we meet the requirement, then we can have the benefit. The benefit is: Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for us. This word “wish” is a strong desire or too long for eagerly.

Now, I want you to understand that this is not a Christmas list that you hand over to God. Oh LORD, You know how I’ve been longing for a Lamborghini, and voila, it’s parked off in the driveway the very next morning. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way at all. I wish it did. I have a few things on my wish list that I wouldn’t mind asking for and getting. But it’s not like that.

The next benefit is this: That His joy may be in us, and our joy might be full; that is: to make complete. It’s joy unspeakable and full of glory. Joy that the world cannot give, nor can it take it away. The kind of joy that the heathen does not recognize, nor can he comprehend it. It’s joy in times of trouble. Joy in times of persecution. Joy in times of hardship. Joy in the good times. And joy in the bad times. Your joy is complete.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek His Joy.

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Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” ~ John 4:39‭-‬42

One of the most powerful weapons we have as Christians is our testimony. You don’t have to know the Scripture better than the greatest preacher. You don’t have to be able to explain every controversial verse in the Bible. All you need to witness is your testimony because in it is the power of God. That’s all this woman used. All she did was say what Jesus had done in her life, and many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of what she said. It stirred something in them to seek Jesus out for themselves. That is a powerful thing.

The enemy will try to tell you that you’re not good enough to witness or you don’t know enough Scripture to witness. All you need is your testimony. That’s it. There is power in a changed life. It’s even more powerful to live your testimony. I remember being a child and not really liking my uncle. He was rough, to say the least, but when he got saved, there was a physical change in him. His language changed. He was loving. He was kind. I genuinely enjoyed his company. If his testimony didn’t affect anyone else, it affected his 13-year-old because I truly saw the power and love of God change Him. Your testimony isn’t just for you. It’s so that others can see Christ in you. Don’t keep your testimony to yourself. Share your testimony with others. Live your testimony as my uncle did. Let your light shine so that others might see Christ in you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your Testimony.

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⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ~ James 1:5

So many of us read the Bible and never fully understand what God is saying to us. We know Bible verses, but we don’t know how to put them into practice or how to use them. The Bible is our sword; therefore, when we don’t know how to use our sword, we are like a child wildly wielding a sword, expecting to defeat our well-trained enemy.

We can’t overcome our enemy if we don’t know how to use our Heavenly weapon from God. It’s only by these Heavenly weapons that we have the chance of overcoming the enemy. And it’s only through understanding how to use our weapons that we can overcome our enemies. Therefore, spend time in prayer seeking the wisdom of God. Seek the wisdom of understanding the knowledge that you already have.

Dear LORD, please open my spiritual eyes so that I may see the spiritual connotation of Your Word. Show me what You mean when You wrote, and not what I want to see or what I believe. Teach me according to Your Word that You spoke, not what I interpreted. Remove the blinders of my biased beliefs from physical and spiritual eyes so that I might see Your Truth, Your way, and to fully comprehend it all. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. ~ Zechariah 1:17

The LORD promises that if we cry out to Him, He will hear us, and He will pour His blessing out on us. We almost take for granted what God is actually saying, though. God isn’t just saying to call on His name but to fully and completely humble ourselves before Him. Often times we think that we can live our lives however we want, ask God for something, and then continue living our lives as if He doesn’t exist. But that isn’t at all how it works.

God desires a relationship with you. He isn’t a genie, and neither does He want to be treated as one. God desires for you to want to spend time with Him and get to know Him. That’s when He will bless you when you’re dwelling in His presence. So, when God tells us to cry out. He’s saying to come before Him. Pour out everything we have at His feet. He wants us to say, “Here I am, God. I’ve tried to do this on my own, and I can’t. I need You. You’re the missing piece to make me whole. Please, God, help me.” That’s what God’s looking for. He doesn’t just want us to call on His name to get stuff. He wants us to call on His so that He can come down to us and dwell in our midst.

LORD God, please help me not to take Your mercy and grace for granted. Teach me to empty myself out before You so that You can fill me. Teach me to seek Your presence, Your Spirit, and Your love above all else. Teach me to seek You first. Help me to not see You as just a genie or a get-out-of-jail-free card. Help me to love You the way You deserve to be loved. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. ~ Genesis 1:1–2

In the beginning, there was God. There was no earth, no skies, no heaven, no hell. There was nothing except God. God was from the very beginning, and from the very beginning, the concept of a triune God was introduced. In the beginning God…And the Spirit of God was hovering…

We do not serve three different Gods, but there is only one God, one LORD, and one Holy Spirit. As the Scriptures declare, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

We are to worship God as one God because, after all, that is who He is, One. Yet we give honor and acknowledgment to each member for who they are as individuals. It’s a concept that is not easily explained, nor is it easily understood.

But in this New Year, let’s make an effort to understand who God is, and the base to start is “The LORD our God is One.” Get to know each member of the Trinity and accept what each member has to offer in terms of support and growth. Remember, we serve One God, three individuals, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet one.

Father, give us the understanding to comprehend that You are a Triune God, yet You are One. Just because our minds are finite helps us not to discard the truth of our foundational beliefs. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scripture Reading

John 1:1–18

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. ¹² But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about Him, and cried out, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶ For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.

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^2b …Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ^5a but for Cain and his offering He had no regard… ~ Genesis 4:2b-5a

Cain and Abel both brought offerings to God, but only Abel’s offering was accepted by the LORD. At first glance, it could appear that Cain’s offering was missing blood, but if we keep digging, we’ll see there’s more to the story. If we look a little deeper, the Scripture says that in the course of time, Cain brought an offering of fruit from the ground, but Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

The truth is Cain only brought an offering. It was not the firstfruits, nor was it of the best. He had done the same thing the priests were doing that upset God in Malachi chapter 1. God wasn’t upset that they did not bring a blood offer but that they did not bring the first and the best. They merely did what Cain did; they brought any old offering. Just because you bring an offering to God does not mean it’s an acceptable offering. God doesn’t accept any old thing. God expects us to bring our best before Him because He is worthy of more than we could ever imagine.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bring Your Best Before God.

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