November 24, 2024

The Door to a New Life

March 11, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

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So Jesus said again, Truly I say to you, I AM the Door of the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and outlaws:
but the sheep did not give ear to them.
I AM the Door: if any man goes in through Me
he will have salvation, and will go in and go out, and will get food.
The thief comes only to take the sheep and to put them to death:
he comes for their destruction:
I have come so that they may have life and have it in greater measure.
John 10:7-10 BBE

Thief – a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.  Doesn’t that sound like Satan?  Think about it…he steals our joy when we relive the lies people have spoken to us from our past or are currently speaking.  Satan secretly tells us we are not worthy of God’s love and forgiveness, when it is there for us to embrace and make our own. 

When we accept Jesus into our hearts, He makes us new from the inside out.  He lifts us up out of the pit and builds us up.  Just like a loving father, God wants to show us the easier way through life.  A life without fear.  A life without sadness from the things we did or said.    A life of blessing and for us to bless others.  He wants to show us the freedom of living His way.

As verse 9 states, Jesus wants to give us salvation. All we have to do is ask.  Then believe we are forgiven of all of our sins.  Change our lives and begin living for God.  This changes everything.  Believing and developing a trust in God will empower you in every area of your life. You will believe you can speak before a crowd to share your testimony with others.  You will be able to tell your story with such conviction and self confidence.  You will be proud.

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Father, we want the salvation Jesus spoke of in Your Word.  We want to be lights in this world.  We want others to look at our lives and see You and Your ways.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

10,000 Reasons

March 10, 2015 by
psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name
 
The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before, o my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name
 
You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find
 
And on that day
When my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
10,000 years and then forevermore, forevermore
 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name

Singer/ Songwriter: Matt Redman

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Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless His Holy Name!
Psalm 103:1

This song makes me forget all my troubles and focus on what is most important—worshipping our Lord God with every fiber of my being.  And lifting Him up in every area of my life.

As you begin your day and as you go through your day, stop and worship God. Praise Him for whatever you are going through. Have the confidence for Him to show up and show off. I have done this recently. I was doubting myself and doubting God. But I decided to praise God and tell Him whatever happened, I would trust it to turn out for my best. God is so awesome. He shows us who He is. All we have to do is trust Him… He will love us no matter what we have done.

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Father, thank You for caring enough to be there for us when we do not deserve it.  Thank You for second, third, even 100 chances.  Thank You for Your grace and for sending the Helper to be our conscience.   Help us to always heed the prompting of our Friend.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Beauty For Ashes

March 3, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

He gives beauty for ashes
Strength for fear
Gladness for mourning
Peace for despair

When sorrow seems to surround you
When suffering hangs hangs heavy o’er your head
Know that tomorrow brings wholeness and healing
God knows your need, just believe what He said

When what you’ve done keeps you from moving on
When fear wants to make itself at home in your heart
Know that forgiveness brings wholeness and healing
God knows your need just believe what He said

I once was lost but God has found me
Though I was bound I’ve been set free
I’ve been made righteous in His sight
A display of His splendor all can see

Written by Randy Scruggs, John Thompson
Performed by Crystal Lewis, Ron Kenoly

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The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
    Because the Lord has anointed Me
To bring good news to the poor;
    He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
    And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the year of the Lord‘s favor,
    And the day of vengeance of our God;
    To comfort all who mourn;
To grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    To give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    The garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
That they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV

What a beautiful song, based on the Word of God.  Jesus came into this world to save us, not to condemn us. He came to deliver us from man made rules, our shortcomings and the self inflicted guilt and shame.

God sent His Son to live among us. To be seen, heard, and to teach about His Father’s great love and compassion for us. We are created to have a close friendship with God. God wants to be our everything. He wants to be the first one we think about running to with good news and bad…not the third or fourth person.

God will take care of those who would cause us harm, those who speak or think ill of us. God wants to bless us. But we have to be smart enough to surround ourselves with those who believe as we do—those who study God’s Word and do what He directs us to do.

God will give us the courage to embrace the role we were designed to live. He will give us the courage and the knowledge to speak when we need to, to be silent when necessary, and to reach out for help. God is in control.

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Father, thank You for Your words. Thank You for the prophets, thank You for Your people. Without them we would not have a Bible, we would not have a Savior who came down from His throne in heaven to be with us on earth. Thank You for loving us enough to be included as one of Your children. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen!!!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hunger for the Word of God

March 2, 2015 by

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

Jesus said to them,
“I AM the Bread of Life;
whoever comes to Me shall not hunger,
and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 ESV

(context)

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How many times have we heard a great teaching in which we know we need to align areas in our lives with what God teaches us? …Many times.  We start really strong spending time with God, reading His Word, praying, listening to only uplifting music.  Then we allow other things to take up that time.  Work may get into our devotional time, household duties may get in the way.  We need to develop a covetous attitude toward our time with God.

Here are some ways to do this:

  • Let those in your household know you need some quiet time to spend studying or meditating.
  • Go to an area where you can concentrate.
  • Choose a specific timeframe…it may be early in the morning,  later in the afternoon, or late in the evening.
  • Start out intending to spend 10 minutes a day. You will be amazed how much time God will grant back to you. Eventually you will be able to increase your time to 15, 20, 30 minutes a day.
  • Be obedient to learning God’s ways.

By asking for God to enter into our devotional/quiet time, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.  By allowing the Holy Spirit to be with you, God has the opportunity to speak life into the areas of your life which are closed or where truth and healing can begin.  Trust in God and have faith so He can bring new life.  Let the bread of his Word feed your soul and renew you.

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Father, thank You for Your love that never fails us. You know what we need and how to help us achieve what is best for Your Kingdom. Help us get out of the way and allow Your Holy Spirit to work in us. Help us to see self-pity is not from us. Help us to focus on others’ needs in a healthy way.  We can do this with Your guidance.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jesus is the Light

February 26, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Door
I AM The Resurrection and the Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM. The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

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Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I AM the Light of the world.
Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness
but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:12

Jesus had just finished speaking to the crowd about the woman caught in adultery. He knew that the Pharisees were always looking for a way to trap Him and wanted to find a way to discredit Him before the people.  Only Jesus knew what they were trying to do.

Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is given wisdom to know what is going on.  While on earth, Jesus wanted to teach His people all that He could in the short time He was here. He knew how burdensome the Pharisees, Saducees and Scribes would make life to live.  With all of the man-made rules on top of what was in the Old Testament, it was such a burden for the people at Jesus’ time.

Now Jesus spoke about the ‘yoke’ the rulers and lawyers had created for the people.  God, as always, sees and hears about our lives here on earth, that is why He sent His Son Jesus when He did. He knew then was the right time for His Son to liberate His chosen people.  And also, when they did not receive, then it was time for the Gentiles to hear and receive the wonderful news about Jesus.

Always know that God is watchful over us. He knows our comings and goings, He knows our needs now, just as then. He will always be a Light to us in our world. When we seek His ways and obey His words we will have Light in all areas of our minds. We will never have those dark places unless we let it back in.

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Father, help us keep our focus on You. We want to have Your Light in our hearts at all times. Help us know how to keep Your Light within us, not focus on the darkness. Bring into our lives those that You know will help us to seek You more.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Lord, I Give You My Heart

February 24, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjvThis is my desire
To honor You
Lord, with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord, I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every Breath that I take
Every moment I’m awake
Lord, have Your way in me

Songwriter: Reuben Morgan / Performed by Hillsong United

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The Lord our God is so worthy of our praise!  For us to praise Him should be part of every facet of our lives. He is sure to be there when we lift up our voices to praise Him for all things in our lives—the good and the bad.

All through the Scriptures God is praised. From Genesis to Revelation we find praises being made. In Genesis we see Melchizedek, king of Salem blessing Abraham, praising God:

And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:20

Then we see the women giving praises to God along with Ruth after she followed Naomi home.   Ruth was not member of the Jewish nation, but because of the love she had for her mother-in-law, she was willing to stay with her, return to Naomi’s people, and be accepted.

The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,
Who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.
May He become famous throughout Israel!”
Ruth 4:14
Even in Daniel we see King Nebuchadnezer praising God when Daniel’s friends were saved from the furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel
and rescued His servants!
They trusted in Him  and defied the king’s command
and were willing to give up their lives
rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”
Daniel 3:28
Even when Jesus was on the earth performing His miracles, people were praising God for the miraculous works Jesus performed.
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Father, thank You for taking care of us throughout history.
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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

February 17, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down;
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
‘Til in heaven we take our place,
‘Til we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise. 

Written by Charles Wesley

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God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16

Since we just finished celebrating St. Valentine’s Day, we should not stop celebrating the Author of love, God our Father.  He wants to love us in a way that no human ever could. I was listening to a podcast earlier in the week, in which the person made a comment that caught my attention. He said,

“God wants us to love each other as He loved His Son.”

How many of us do that? Now, how many of us put our kids before our spouses? We should not do that!  We are to love our husbands the way we love our son or daughter.  Our children are important, but not more than our spouse.

Or even God….  God should always hold first place in our lives, our thoughts, and our actions. Then comes our spouse…and then our children. We may not have seen it modeled for us, but now we know.  With all that in order, our families would be okay. God will help us, all we have to do is ask for the help from the Holy Spirit.

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Dear Father, as Charles Wesley wrote in his song, “Let us see Your great salvation perfectly restored in You; changed from glory into glory, ’til in Heaven we take our place, ’til we cast our crowns before You, lost in wonder, love, and praise.” We will one day stand before You. Let us never forget to love and to forgive as You have shown us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Love With Actions

February 16, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If anyone has material possessions
and sees a brother or sister in need
but has no pity on them,
how can the love of God be in that person?
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech
but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:16-18 NIV

For the last few years our military men and women have been in other countries fighting for freedom.  Some have paid the greatest price—they have been killed in the line of duty.  Some of those who have served in the police departments and fire departments have also given their lives in doing their jobs.

Now we are hearing of people in the Church being martyred in other countries because of the persecutions occurring there.  This is what the verse is speaking of—“lay down our lives…”.  I pray that we would be brave and strong. And that we would stand up when we need to for our religious freedom.  That we would encourage our children to speak up when our God is being put down and not be embarrassed to speak about His glory.

When we see a brother or sister in Christ having trouble we should not hesitate to help them.  God will surely honor us in this act of kindness.   We will be changed when we do this.  We will understand the struggle of our fellow Christian as they share the struggle they have been through and we can usually offer sound advice. But we will be surprised at being blessed by the other person who shows how their faith has grown as they have gone through the struggle and hurt they have experienced.

“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are My disciples,
if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35 

As Jesus told us, we are to love one another and in doing so we show that we are His.  It is not about a competition to see who can do more, do better; it is about what is in our heart that makes a difference.  God is looking for those whom He has called to step up and bring the good news to everyone.

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Father, help us to reach out to those who are hurting and lost. Remind us to pray before we act to know what You want us to do to further Your Kingdom.  Reveal Your Word to us so we can know we are hearing from You, not ourselves.  We want to do what is right.  In Jesus’ name, amen!

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I Keep Falling In Love

February 13, 2015 by
I am found in Your embrace
Covered by Your love
You’re my deepest dream I know
Your love so strong, Spirit come
 
You lift me up to heaven’s door
You restore my soul
I come here without Your touch
I need You so much, I need You more
You’re my Rock and my Redeemer
The Rock on which I stand
 
I keep falling in love with You, Lord
Every beat of my heart, breath that I take
Through the seasons that change, Your love remains
My hiding place, my home…falling in love


Songwriter: Scott Haslem / Performed by Hillsong 
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God is the husband to those who are not married.  He is the husband of those who are widowed.  God is the ultimate mate for us.
He knows what we want and need before we ever speak it.  Remember our words are what will happen.  If we speak positive over our lives, it will be be positive. If we speak negative, only negative will occur.  And, oh, how we struggle with our tongue.
Most of our lives we are not admonished on what we say. It is hard to break habits and begin to always speak positive words to ourselves and to those around us.  We often speak of where are are in our life.
When we allow God to be our Rock and our Redeemer, our words will change.  Even if we have been a believer we can sink back into our old ways.  We are so blessed to have a Father, Husband, Friend who loves us more than any human ever could.
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Father, help us to keep our focus on You. Forgive us for taking our eyes off of You—as Peter did when walking on the water with Your son Jesus.  Help us keep on track to seeking You.  Help us to forget the wrongs we imagine or even those things that are real.  Unforgiveness keeps only us captive, not the one who wronged us.  Help us become free to truly love as You made us to.  Help us to love You more deeply while developing our trust.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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Forgiveness is Love

February 12, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogoLove is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails….
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

Wow, Paul sure gave the Church alot to live up to. We are not to hold grudges, not to gossip with others, not to lie about each other, not to  boast about ourselves.  We are to be encouragers—a light to those around us.  We are to show love to each other when we would rather be hateful or angry.

Human nature says ‘an eye for an eye,’ but God tells us we are to love at all times.  When things happen to us we are to seek His counsel first. We are to lay it down before Him and pray for discernment to know how to react or how to handle the situation.

Paul understood what God wanted. He knew God wanted our best, but in order to give our best we have to let go of stuff!  Stuff we have hung onto for years.  Stuff we have let stay in our lives for far too long.  God wants us to forgive those who have wronged us in order to receive His greatest gifts.  As we forgive, we are forgiven.  For those who are holding on to unforgiveness, hard times are experienced, sometimes illness.

When we forgive, a weight is lifted from our hearts.  We will feel light, we will feel as if the world is at our fingertips, as when we first believed in Jesus Christ.  We can have that now.  Unforgiveness weighs a ton and sometimes we don’t realize it is piling up.

We need to release those who have wronged us and forgive ourselves.  We need to let God take away everything that holds us from reaching our dreams.  Stop believing the lies Satan has told us.  God wants us to love always, and not hold on to the wrongs in this world.

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Heavenly Father, help us forgive.  Help us to love You as You designed us to.  Show us ways to forgive.  Help us break away the chains that bind us to unforgiveness.  You can show us where we need to forgive and move along to become freely serve You and Your kingdom whether in our own home, in the community, or in the world.                                                             In Jesus’ name, amen.

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