Verse of the Day 10/7

 

Isaiah 55:6-7 "Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;

⁷ 

7 let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Yesterday we considered whether we are seeking the approval of man or of God.  If we are seeking the approval of God, we will be seeking Him.  This will involve learning more about Him which comes from reading, studying, prayer and acting upon His promptings in response to those efforts.

 

I read the following quote on Ray Ortlund's blog yesterday.  It comes from pastor and author Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of my favorite authors from the past century.  He had this to say about seeking God.  It was written to pastors, but it could also be applied to teachers, Bible study and small group leaders or other ministries.  He writes, "Seek Him! Seek Him!  What can we do without Him?  Seek Him.  Seek Him always.  But go beyond seeking Him; expect Him.  Do you expect anything to happen to you when you go to preach in a pulpit? .... Seek His power, expect His power, yearn for His power, and when His power comes, yield to Him. Do not resist. .... Let Him loose you, let Him manifest His power in and through you."

 

Wow!  Take a look at some of those words - seek Him always, expect Him, yearn for His power and yield to Him.  How different would our lives be, how much more effective would our service to Him be if we applied that to our lives on a daily, ongoing basis in and through the ups and downs of life?

 

David knew something of that and going through those ups and downs, the peaks and valleys.  We'll close with a verse from David, who "earnestly", with His whole heart, sought the Lord.

 

Psalm 63:1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  English Standard Version (ESV)

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

 

Isaiah 55:5-7The Message (MSG)

Buy Without Money

^1-5 "Hey there! All who are thirsty,
    come to the water!
Are you penniless?
    Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
    Buy without money—everything's free!
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
    your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
    fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
    listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
I'm making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
    the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I set him up as a witness to the nations,
    made him a prince and leader of the nations,
And now I'm doing it to you:
    You'll summon nations you've never heard of,
and nations who've never heard of you
    will come running to you
Because of me, your God,
    because The Holy of Israel has honored you."

^6-7 Seek God while he's here to be found,
    pray to him while he's close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
    and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
    come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.