Set me apart to hear from heaven

Oh how we want our land to be healed and how we long for change throughout the world.  And here is how it happens, put simply, put plainly and without opportunity for doubt.  We need to humble ourselves, seek God’s face, turn from our wicked ways and then God will forgive us and heal our land.  Simple??  So why are we not doing that, why do we continue to struggle, continue to battle sin within the church and outside of it?  Is it a lack of knowledge of God’s truth or do we seek to reinterpret his truth to suit ourselves?  On the day of writing this it is Halloween, how many Christians are participating in this is some way, albeit by posting stuff on Facebook endorsing this, perhaps denying that it’s an issue or trivialising it, maybe just endorsing it as “harmless fun”… God calls us to turn from our wicked ways and today is maybe a great day to search our own hearts and consciences and hand over to God anything that is getting in the way of our relationship with him.

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

SEARCH ME

Search me God, search my heart, search my mind and show me what you find, Father I come to you as I am and ask that you will heal this Land, first heal me, I get down on my knees and ask forgiveness for times I go astray, I turn from my wicked ways, I turn from thoughts that are impure, from selfishness and greed, free me from addiction and over the top reactions, take away my anger and create in me a new heart, set me apart to hear from heaven to hear your instruction, forgive me my sin and bring revival, heal this land as we await your arrival

Seek God, insist on experiencing his presence

Searching for God is something I didn’t really do knowingly for many years, but when I did realise there was more to life and he had more to offer I spent a lot of time actively searching for answers, sometimes from God and sometimes from other sources.  Strikes me we should never stop searching for God, even once we have found him and given our lives to him it’s still important to seek out more of him.  I strive to get closer to God every day and through writing, reading his word and praying believe I am getting closer and my walk is more personal

• Jeremiah 29:13 -You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
• Matthew 6:33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well
• Proverbs 3:6 -in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
• Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you

SEEK GOD

Seek God as if your life depends on it, look for God in every situation, seeking God, well it’s an adventure don’t be content with no explanation for all your questions, seek God himself cos Google does not have all the answers, seek God, don’t be content just to know he is there when you could share in his gifts and blessings, seek God, insist on experiencing his presence cos he tells us he rewards those who diligently seek him, seek God cos meeting with him is the greatest experience, finding God the greatest achievement drawing you from worldliness into holiness, abandon the world and run to God, draw near to God he draws close to you, gives you wisdom to know and courage to follow through, seek God through his word, ask him through prayer, seek God you know he’s there waiting to get to know you better, waiting for you to let him in, waiting for you to turn from your sin, seek God it’s the best thing you’ll ever do, seek God right now, he’s waiting for you.

If I could ask God one thing what would it be?

Been looking back through my Blog and found that I have referenced Psalm 27 on a few occasions and yet again this morning I have come to it and another amazing verse:

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

 ONE THING

One thing, if I could ask God one thing what would it be, what would I seek from my Loving Father?  I don’t think it could get any better than this, that I live in his House all the days of my life that I get to see his face, gaze on the beauty of my Lord and Saviour, to receive his grace and favour, what could be greater?  Use me Lord as I seek your face, use me as I wait to spend an eternity with you, search me oh Lord and show me what I can do, prepare me to follow the plans you laid down for me before time began, I want to do all I can to serve, to observe your commandments, to obey your word, to share your amazing love with others, to spread the news that you are a forgiving, loving Father who showers your children with love and affection, gives us direction and loves us without question, how can I express my love, how can I give back just a part of what you give to me, Lord take me, mould me, use me, Holy Spirit fill me as I dedicate my life to thee.

 

Seriously he brings us joy and peace not just at Christmas

Was reading something this morning about the Christmas story and how it is a story of a miracle that offers salvation as well as purpose, hope and grace, comfort, joy for those who seek and believe – found it to be really thought provoking sometimes too easy to forget the real purpose of the nativity – I have referenced some Bible verses below.

The Miracle Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given

Purpose Luke 4 18 – ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free

Hope and Grace John 3 16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Comfort– Psalm 147:3 – He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.

Joy – Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is your strength 

Believe and Seek – Hebrews 11:6 Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

The Christmas story

Miraculous, full of purpose, hope and grace, comfort and joy for those who seek and believe, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, a miracle from heaven and he shall be called wonderful, his birth full of purpose, his objective deliverance and the Lord has anointed us to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for those shamed and imprisoned, to give sight to the blind and to set the oppressed free, that is why he was born in a stable, that is how I am able to seize the hope and grace that God’s gift offers me, hope and grace summed up by his amazing sacrifice, for God so loved the world he sent his only son, a sacrifice for whoever believes in him, not a selected crew, a select few but whomever believes shall not die but live forever he never meant for us to suffer but through the plans of the enemy the human race fell, hell became a reality for those who failed to see that the miracle of Christmas, God’s amazing gift for us is real, freely given with purpose and reason, the Christmas season simply serves as a reminder of our brighter tomorrow, when his comfort will wipe out all sorrow, he will heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds, revealing to all physical, mental and spiritual healing, relief from the pressures of our human frailty, Jesus came as a baby to bring joy and cheer, he is here now and the joy of the Lord is our strength, we are victorious in Jesus, seriously he brings us joy and peace not just at Christmas but all through the year, so have no fear do not be afraid, believe in him and you are saved, seek to know him, seek to find him, anyone who comes to him and believes in his existence and the reality of the baby growing up to be our Saviour has understood the greater story behind the nativity, God gave his son to set you free so you can see what the miracle of Christmas really is, God’s purpose can be achieved in your life through hope and grace he gives comfort and joy for those who believe and seek his face.

How often do I fail to look up to you Lord?

Psalm 123

I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven             

KEEP LOOKING UP AND SEEKING GOD        

How often do I fail to look up to you Lord, how many times will I forge ahead on my own course forgetting that you are the source of my revival, it’s a basic question of survival and I must stifle the urge to go it alone, smother the instinct to distance myself from you when I encounter difficulty and putting it simply open up my heart to you, talk about the things I do and why I try and hide when my life is wide open to you, you know and see all that I do and yet still I deny that I am in conflict, too proud to admit that I am struggling and it’s bugging me that I can’t shake it, Lord I know that you can take this from me and give me the victory, next time I am weak, help me to seek you, not to hide, help me to raise my eyes to you and purposely seek to do what you would have me do, intentionally get down on my knees and ask for release from a mind that seeks to cause me pain so that I may be free from insane urges to cause harm, may feel safe and secure in your loving arms.

My life, a bit like hide and seek?

Feeling a bit low today and this always seems to happen the day after counselling, and I do recognise that, it’s how I deal with it that counts and so have been seeking God’s word and have come across the following:

Deuteronomy 4:29 

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Perhaps sometimes I just forget to really seek God particularly when I am struggling and I really need to put in more effort to truly seeking his will and help, instead of trying to go it alone.

HIDE AND SEEK

My life, a bit like hide and seek, hiding the bits that I don’t want to share, the bits that I feel no one will care about, or maybe they’re the bits that I’m scared to show lest you may know that I don’t cope, that the scope of my ability to deal with my feelings is possibly too revealing, showing me up as failing, failing to seek you hard enough, failing to work through all the stuff that gets in the way of building friendships, of the most important relationship I can have with my amazing, loving God.  And then there’s the seeking, seeking to find answers to my questions, seeking to build up good relations based on equal status, seeking to be free from all that traps me in my mind, and so I need to seek to truly find your grace, to seek your face with all my heart, and this a start, a starting point today just got to say I don’t want to play hide and seek anymore I don’t want to be cowering behind a door I want to be out in the open, walking hand in hand with you God, to seek you and to find you, to welcome you into my heart, into every recess of my mind, nothing to be left behind as I turn to you with heart and soul and seek for you to make me whole.

Ask, seek and knock… I am listening

My daily reading today was Luke 11: 1-13 which covers the amazing promise from God that we can ask, seek and knock and God will always provide.  I was also reflecting on a scripture God gave me yesterday Psalm 107 and in particular v 16 which was exactly the same message I also received earlier in the week from Isaiah 45 v 2

for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

So not only can we ask God for anything and he will provide but he also goes before us to pave the way, however difficult the path may be God can make all things possible (flatten mountains, cut through iron, knock down gates of bronze, sheer brilliance!)

AMAZING PROMISES

So today let’s talk about the amazing promise from a God of love and forgiveness, who gives us more than an earthly father can, who became man so that we could become closer to God, direct access to the Father whose love I will never be able to fathom, so rather than stay in heaven and get madder and sadder about human behaviour, God paved the way by sending our Saviour to teach us and reach us in ways previously unheard of, to show in person that God is Love, to reach down from his home above and touch the world with heavenly love.

So what I am saying is through him paying the price of our sin, we win.  We win salvation, a relationship with such a loving father, and rather than turn us away he has promised that if we ask it is his task to openly give to us, if we seek he will show us the way and if we knock, the door will be opened.  He has taken our brokenness in his stride, his love, so deep and so wide, he is our shield and protector, he is director of our lives, he goes before us to flatten mountains, breakdown gates of bronze and cut through iron bars, oh yes, God who created the moon and stars goes before me to pave my way, looks down on me every day, listens to me when I pray, what can I say except I love you Lord, thank you that my life’s restored and I am safe now in your arms, you shield and protect me from all harm.

So don’t be shy about your prayer life, God has shown you the light and now delights in providing for you, his word is true, he provides breakthroughs in every situation, is the foundation of all that is good and right, be bold in your ask, no task too difficult for our God, no task too large, search for his answers, he enhances your understanding of his word, he’ll show you the way to go, and knock.  Knock at the door and don’t turn away, be persistent, resistant to distractions or outside influences, resist temptations to give up too quickly, feel you’re too busy or can’t find the space to seek out God’s face, ask, seek and knock, God is our rock, on him you can depend, giver, provider, Father, friend.