Monday, August 03, 2009, 8:08 a.m. – I woke to this song:
To Seek Your Face / Chris Machan and Mike Harland / Arr. Daniel Smith
Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)
We have not come to ask You for Your goodness;
Though ev’ry good and perfect gift has come from You.
We have not come to ask You for Your mercy;
For ev’ry morning Your tender mercies are new.
We have not come to ask You for direction;
For You have ordered ev’ry step that we take.
We have come today, before You now to say,
Oh Lord, we want to seek Your face.
To seek Your face, to seek Your face;
To know the deep abiding presence of Your grace.
We’ve been invited by Your Spirit into Your holy place
To give You praise, and to seek Your face.
Now, in Your presence there is peace and calm assurance
That nothing separates us from Your love and grace.
So before You now we stand, not just to seek Your hand,
Oh Lord, we want to seek Your face.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 25:1-14:
My Understanding: Jeremiah prophesied for twenty-three years (up to this point in time where he stated this). Wow! He said he spoke to the people again and again, but they did not listen. Can you imagine giving out messages to people who did not listen for twenty-three years? It is no wonder that Jeremiah frequently lamented his calling. Yet, even at that, he hung in there and continued to obey God even though he did not see the results of his ministry for a long time, and perhaps not even in his lifetime. He is a great example for us in perseverance in ministry even when we don’t see the immediate fruit of our labors and even when we face opposition, criticism, rejection, etc. Sometimes God gives us tough assignments.
Jeremiah’s and the other prophets’, i.e. God’s basic message was consistent:
Over and over again the people are confronted with their sins of adultery and idolatry, they are called upon to repent, i.e. to turn from their wicked ways, and they are exhorted to turn back to the One and Only true God Almighty. This pretty much summarizes the message of all scripture.
So, what are some of the things our hands have made that we might follow after and worship? This can be literally made by our hands or it can be figuratively created by man. I see these possibilities:
Most of these do not have to be bad if the person participating in these activities is living under the control and direction of the Holy Spirit and if he or she has an appropriate balance in heart, mind, attitude, time, etc. to where these people, things and/or activities do not become his or her gods and he or she does not worship them. I believe it is a good practice to occasionally do an inventory of everything in our lives to see what gets top priority, and to see what we are actually taking into our hearts and minds and what we are standing in agreement with by our participation, thoughts and/or actions. We should bring all things under the control of the Holy Spirit. This scripture is a good guide for doing that evaluation:
Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
God is a very loving, kind, gracious, forgiving, just, merciful and patient God. He keeps speaking through his word and through his servants and the message is timeless and never changes. He wants us to see our sin as he sees it. He wants us to repent – to turn from our sin and to turn back to him as our ONLY God and to worship HIM ONLY!
One day soon, though, the time of judgment will come. This is not just spoken of in the OT. This message is all through the NT, and not just in Revelation, either. God is going to judge the church and the world. And, God will repay man-kind according to their deeds and the work of their hands. It will be a dreadful day, indeed, when God removes his hand of protection and he permits our enemies full access to us. Yet, they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul. For those of us in Christ Jesus, we have a hope that no man can take away from us. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So, hold on to your faith no matter how tough things get!
If you are one of those whose life has been wrapped up in “other gods,” I pray that you will do that spiritual inventory and that you will surrender your all to Jesus today! You won’t regret it!!
To Seek Your Face / Chris Machan and Mike Harland / Arr. Daniel Smith
Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)
We have not come to ask You for Your goodness;
Though ev’ry good and perfect gift has come from You.
We have not come to ask You for Your mercy;
For ev’ry morning Your tender mercies are new.
We have not come to ask You for direction;
For You have ordered ev’ry step that we take.
We have come today, before You now to say,
Oh Lord, we want to seek Your face.
To seek Your face, to seek Your face;
To know the deep abiding presence of Your grace.
We’ve been invited by Your Spirit into Your holy place
To give You praise, and to seek Your face.
Now, in Your presence there is peace and calm assurance
That nothing separates us from Your love and grace.
So before You now we stand, not just to seek Your hand,
Oh Lord, we want to seek Your face.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 25:1-14:
My Understanding: Jeremiah prophesied for twenty-three years (up to this point in time where he stated this). Wow! He said he spoke to the people again and again, but they did not listen. Can you imagine giving out messages to people who did not listen for twenty-three years? It is no wonder that Jeremiah frequently lamented his calling. Yet, even at that, he hung in there and continued to obey God even though he did not see the results of his ministry for a long time, and perhaps not even in his lifetime. He is a great example for us in perseverance in ministry even when we don’t see the immediate fruit of our labors and even when we face opposition, criticism, rejection, etc. Sometimes God gives us tough assignments.
Jeremiah’s and the other prophets’, i.e. God’s basic message was consistent:
- Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices
- Do not follow other gods to serve and to worship them
- Do not provoke God to anger with what your hands have made
Over and over again the people are confronted with their sins of adultery and idolatry, they are called upon to repent, i.e. to turn from their wicked ways, and they are exhorted to turn back to the One and Only true God Almighty. This pretty much summarizes the message of all scripture.
So, what are some of the things our hands have made that we might follow after and worship? This can be literally made by our hands or it can be figuratively created by man. I see these possibilities:
- Public figures, whether political, entertainment or religious
- Television – shows; news; Christian TV; sports; etc.
- Movies - entertainment
- Video or computer games – entertainment
- Jobs – where you are employed; careers
- Ministry – if it is of man or if it is not in appropriate balance
- Sports – participation and/or spectator sports
- The Internet – social networks; surfing the net; pornography
- Music – secular and/or religious
- Money
- The Stock Market; savings; retirement plans
- Houses, cars, boats, vacations, etc.
- Family, friends, community, church community
- Etc.
Most of these do not have to be bad if the person participating in these activities is living under the control and direction of the Holy Spirit and if he or she has an appropriate balance in heart, mind, attitude, time, etc. to where these people, things and/or activities do not become his or her gods and he or she does not worship them. I believe it is a good practice to occasionally do an inventory of everything in our lives to see what gets top priority, and to see what we are actually taking into our hearts and minds and what we are standing in agreement with by our participation, thoughts and/or actions. We should bring all things under the control of the Holy Spirit. This scripture is a good guide for doing that evaluation:
Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
God is a very loving, kind, gracious, forgiving, just, merciful and patient God. He keeps speaking through his word and through his servants and the message is timeless and never changes. He wants us to see our sin as he sees it. He wants us to repent – to turn from our sin and to turn back to him as our ONLY God and to worship HIM ONLY!
One day soon, though, the time of judgment will come. This is not just spoken of in the OT. This message is all through the NT, and not just in Revelation, either. God is going to judge the church and the world. And, God will repay man-kind according to their deeds and the work of their hands. It will be a dreadful day, indeed, when God removes his hand of protection and he permits our enemies full access to us. Yet, they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul. For those of us in Christ Jesus, we have a hope that no man can take away from us. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So, hold on to your faith no matter how tough things get!
If you are one of those whose life has been wrapped up in “other gods,” I pray that you will do that spiritual inventory and that you will surrender your all to Jesus today! You won’t regret it!!
