March 14, 2026

Encouraging One Another

SeekingHimLogo

Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
Psalms 66:16-17

Listening to others tell me about what God has done in their lives is like reading a good book or watching a good movie. I always get excited and sometimes my eyes water. I love hearing about how doctors tell women they are infertile but, by the grace of God, they get pregnant with no trouble! Or how circumstance after circumstance piled on top of a person and they just couldn’t make sense of any of it and felt that all hope was gone but, God showed up and changed everything!

I especially like the stories of how a person prayed…waited…hoped…and struggled…waiting for God to fulfill a desire. Somehow those stories make waiting a little more bearable.

It is easy for us to get consumed and weighed down by our circumstances. I oftentimes find this is the case when we get into the mindset that somehow we are the only one in the world who has ever experienced, is experiencing, or will experience our situation.

And that’s why as Hebrews 10:25 advises us to,

…not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Fellowship with other believers is important.

Fellowship with other believers isn’t about “paying” a church or getting attendance records up. No, fellowship with other believers is about encouragement. We are reminded through the lives of our fellowbelievers that we are not alone! Together we are stronger.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12.

We aren’t called the body of Christ for no reason!  We are meant to work together.

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *  

Lord, I am so thankful for every person you have placed in my path to spur me forward on my journey. You have given me strong friends in the most unlikely places and from the most unlikely people. Thank You for reminding me that I never know how similar I really am to a person until I get to know them. You are so awesome for creating such diversity among Your people and only the Creator of the universe could bring us together…in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Finding Peace

SeekingHimLogo

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12 NIV

Ever had one of those days where all you want is for someone to listen to you and there is no one around who does not seem to have issues that far outweigh yours? I have. There are some days where I want to vent and I have no one to speak with. Sometimes when I do, and I start to describe what I believe is occuring, it all seems rather silly and unimportant. I begin to wonder why I allowed those thoughts to come in and linger as long as I did. Then I remember that I have God who can and will hear me.

God sent His son Jesus to be that perfect example of what it looks like to share His thoughts.  Ultimately, we have to put our ‘self’ to the side and wait for the Holy Spirit—the Helper—to relay the message from our Father.  When we truly seek our Lord and truly share our burdens, then God is able to use us, an empty vessel for His Kingdom.  When we choose to let go of past hurts and even current ones, God can make us clean. We have to be willing to be on our knees or on our face and have a heartfelt cry out to our Father. Without God at our center, we are nothing but a bag of bones floating along life’s way. I want to dance, I want to sway to the music of God in my soul!

As we go through our week, let’s put away—one by one—the past. Let us focus on what can be, not what could be. Let us remember what it was like when we first believed in our Father. Remember the excitement and longing to do all that God has planned for us.

Paul writes in Galatians 5,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We have to make an effort to follow these seemingly simple instructions. Each day it can become easier with God’s help and seeking His peace in our frantic, busy lives. We just need to make time for God!

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *  

Father, help us today to not get so caught up in our busyness that we forget to focus on You. We desire to have the relationship that brings us peace. A peace that is only accomplished by a more intimate relationship with You, putting You first in our lives. We want Your love and light to shine so brightly, that others desire to know what is creating our joy. Help us to choose joy in our everyday life. In Jesus Name. Amen.

He Always Listens

SeekingHimLogo

 

In those days when you pray, I will listen.
Jeremiah 29:12

Finding God is not a difficult task. He is all around us! The Bible explains, “They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:19-20). Stepping outside and basking in what God has made can bring you near to Him.

Even better, we have been gifted with the privilege of prayer. Should we need to find God we simply need to “go a-calling.”

The thing I love about prayer the most is that prayers don’t have to be formal for God to listen. I can recall many times when I have briefly thought about things (not specifically praying for them) that have come to pass. To name a few:

  • Prior to being saved, I wished that I had a friend in my life who knew who I had been and could appreciate and celebrate the progress I had made. The Lord spoke to me and told me that He was that friend and now I have plenty of friends who are walking this faith journey with me. I never would have imagined such a “small” desire would have such a tremendous affect on my life.
  • I had the idea of working in daycare well before the opportunity presented itself. And now I work at a preschool.
  • I had a passing thought about writing for GCH when I first got connected with this community. And when I say passing thought, I mean just a passing thought. It was a quick “Oh, I’d like to write for them.” Of course, my negative mind chatter came up with a million and one reasons why I couldn’t and I didn’t think anything more about it until the opportunity presented itself.

Intentional prayer is important. However, I believe that God listens to all our requests. He hears the ones we cry out. He hears the ones we bow our heads for. He hears the ones we kneel for. And He hears the ones we whisper in our minds. God listens. Even when we may not be talking to Him directly…He always listens.

*   *   *   *   * 

Lord, thank You for seeing me. Thank You that the words I speak and the thoughts I think reach You. And thank You for caring enough about the “little things”—the things I feel are “too small” to bother you with—to answer the whispers that I don’t intentionally bring to you. Thank You for always listening.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Seek Him in Prayer

SeekingHimLogoOne sees rich sand in his hand and scrapes more toward him on the beach to build a sandcastle. One holds bright snow in his hand, then piles and shapes more snow on the wintery ground to build a large snowman. Likewise, one can take a verse and find other passages to support and magnify the truth and concept of the original verse. The act of building can accentuate the original in such a way that the “take-away’ is an accentuated memory or a more impactful lesson learned.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:12

Never believe that you can live without complete dependence on God! If you try to do so, you’ve made one of the biggest mistakes of your life! When I turn through the pages of the Bible, I see many examples of those who called upon God…yielding their lives toward Him in prayer. Come to Him, and He will hear you.

NEHEMIAH

When Nehemiah heard about the destruction of Jerusalem, he at once sought God in prayer for Israel. “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, ‘O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you (Nehemiah 1: 4-7).
To see how God wonderfully worked through this praying servant, read Nehemiah 1-13.

JESUS

Jesus sought God and said a prayer of thankfulness to God for hearing His prayers and to bring God glory before He performed a miracle—bringing Lazarus back to life. “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth…” (John 11:41-44).
God always heard Jesus’ prayers. Jesus came to earth to do the will of the Father. As Jesus went and prayed to God, so should we. God will hear our prayers!

BELIEVERS IN ACTS

When Peter healed a crippled man by the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 4, Peter and John were brought before the Jewish Council. “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’” (John 4:18-20).
Then, the believers sought God and prayed for boldness. “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31) A prayer-activated boldness through the power of the Holy Spirit is the only kind we should desire!

Seek God, pray at once, and believe with a thankful heart that He hears your prayers and will answer them. Great things, like miracles and boldness, can happen if you seek God and pray to Him. He will hear His people when they come to Him!

Dear God, let us all come to You in prayer. In crisis, in calm, in confusion, and in everyday, let us be a dependent people who recognize that we need You to help us and guide us. With You in all things, our lives are made better and with purpose. We recognize our need. We recognize Your love. Let us recognize You as Lord. In Jesus’ precious Name I pray, Amen.

Pray to the Father

SeekingHimLogo

You will call to Me and come and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12

 Do you ever feel alone? Do you ever feel like you have more on your list than you can handle? Do you ever feel like there is no hope? Do you look for a miracle; perhaps you receive it or you do not receive it? Do you ask for something only not to get it? I think that everybody can answer yes to these questions—at some point in their lives.

Yet, many people rely on the outside world to find answers to these questions. However, the world itself cannot truly fulfill the answers to these questions/feelings. We must call on the highest power—the power of God—to answer these questions. He does not leave us. He will be there for us and help us when we feel like we have too much to handle. God brings us hope, love, and peace. He gives us the miracle we need (not what we may think we need).

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

 Prayer is our way of talking to God. We should pray daily. Through prayer we can talk to God about our problems and request help for situations that we cannot control. If we hold true to our faith in God, He will bring relief to us. He will show us mercy and listen to us. As His children, God always has our best interest at heart. We may not like how God answers our prayers, but He answers them in ways that are always for our good.

Our Father loves us dearly. He answers our prayers in the ways that He knows we need. We may want something very much, and pray for it, but if God knows that it is bad for us, He will answer us in a way that protects us. He answers our prayers in the ways that are best for us. He knows what will harm us, and as any father would do, He protects us from what is not good for us.

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *  

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for looking out for us. Sometimes we do not know what is best for ourselves or our families. You do. Without You, we might make the wrong decisions and put ourselves in harm’s way. Continue to protect us and look out for us. In Jesus name, amen.

 

With All Our Heart

SeekingHimLogo

 

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12 and 13

I feel like I am always looking for something.  I lose something, my kids lose something, my husband needs something, or I need to find a report at work; whatever it may be, I feel like I’m always looking.

There are a few ways we can search for things in our lives:

  1. Casually looking—we wonder where something might be but we will be okay if we find it or if we don’t find it.
  2. Assign the task to someone else, maybe our husband or our kids.
  3. We look passionately, and almost frantically, for something like our keys (that we can’t find right before a doctor’s appointment or before a big meeting).

The interesting thing is this is also how we seek God at different times in our lives.

  1. Casually looking—we wonder where something might be but, we will be okay if we find it or if we don’t find it. When things are good, when we are busy, when the phone is ringing, our kids are calling from the other room, your husband needs something, the tv show is calling…. I know how hard it is to have a busy life; some things have to go by the wayside and fall into this casual category. I was guilty of this, and I was gently reminded that there are things that we can casually search for, but Christ is not one of them.
  2. Assign the task to someone else, maybe our husband or our kids. I think it is a great thing to listen to inspiring things on the radio, or watch tv shows that touch our heart mind and soul, but we need more than this. We need to take the time to read His Word and apply it to our daily lives. In addition to someone bringing the Word to us, we need to bring ourselves to the Word.
  3. We look passionately, and almost frantically, for something like our keys that we can’t find (right before a doctor’s appointment or before a big meeting). This way of looking might be used when things are bad, or when we’re facing a crisis; it might be used as a New Year’s resolution; and prayerfully we use this way of looking into our everyday walk of life. We need to look (according to Jeremiah 29: 12-13) with all our heart.

He commands us to seek Him and search for Him with all of our heart. I know that the way I seek Him needed some serious reevaluating; I needed to change how I searched for Him. It was too casual, it was based on convenience and free time, instead of daily and with intention. This week I am going to intentionally focus on this phrase “with all my heart;” will you join me? Write it…read it…live it.

*   *   *   *   * 

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gentleness, even when we are seeking You casually You continue to surround us with Your love. Lord I pray that we intentionally strive to seek You daily with all our heart; I know that we will see a change in our lives and I know we will draw closer to You.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

With All Our Hearts

SeekingHimLogo

Then, you will call upon Me
and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.
You will seek Me and find Me,
when you seek Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13

Would you go to the swimming pool to swim and only put your big toe in the water? Would you give a bracelet as a birthday gift and only put part of the bracelet in the box? Would you love someone only on Mondays?

It would be equally silly (and quite sad, I might add) to not seek God with all your heart. Take a moment to think of your relationship with God. We are to come to Him and pray and seek Him with all of our heart. To go back to the three analogies: dive into that pool with all your heart—totally submerging yourself to seek Him!!! As a gift, think of giving your heart whole-heartedly to God! And with your time, seek Him every day of the week! (That’s not bits and pieces of our time here and there like on special occasions, holidays, and emergencies! If you go to Him surrendered with all your heart, there’s not a day that comes and goes when your relationship with Him does not matter! Seek Him whole-heartedly!)

But even though we come to Him often, let’s always be in awe of the fact that the great God of the universe loves us and is willing to listen, care, and respond to our needs just like He did with the people in the Book of Jeremiah. Let’s not ever get over the fact that He can save us, restore us, forgive us, guide us, strengthen us, and help us. Let’s call to God, come to God, pray to God—knowing and believing that He will hear us if we seek Him with all of our heart. If we do, we will find Him (verse 14)!
Jesus doesn’t want partial heart commitments.

Look at this excerpt from the Scriptures:
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer asked him a question to test him.
‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’
And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:34-37

It’s always the heart condition and amount of heart-surrender that matters to God! We are to give Him our all! He alone to the full extent knows who seeks Him with all their heart and who does not.

But if we could see it, I wonder what we would see. My imagination takes me to a place of wondering. Join me for a minute….
Imagine if all people wore a necklace that had a representation of a 5-inch heart that served as a gauge dangling from it. Imagine that the hearts would be completely shaded in red for those who seek God with all their heart. Now here’s the hard part: As we moved about our lives at the grocery store, at church, at school, or work, and within our families and friends…I wonder how many dangling hearts would be sadly empty, only partially-shaded, or completely shaded red? How much of your heart and mine would be shaded red when we look into the mirror?…How does this hit you?

If this imagination exercise is here to convict any or all of us, let the conviction take us to a place in our heart to strive to live (through the power of the Holy Spirit ) “a completely, red-shaded heart for the Lord” and also desiring and praying for the same for others! Let’s all seek Him with our whole hearts!

*   *   *   *   *

Dear Lord, Let us always seek You and find You because we come seeking You with all our heart. Wherever each of us is in our relationship with You, let it grow even more. Thank You for being our Rescuer, Restorer, Deliverer, and Comforter. We give You all praise and glory, and we thank You for being a faithful God Who does not change, waiver, or hide from us. Let our hearts be drawn to You daily and completely! In Jesus’ precious Name I pray. Amen.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

Wholeheartedly

SeekingHimLogo

 

In those days when you pray, I will listen.
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 NLT

I want to seek the Lord wholeheartedly. I’ve uttered these words plenty of times in my almost 4 year journey with the Lord. I’ve also assumed the fetal position and/or thrown a tantrum at some of God’s responses to my bold statement—after all, wholeheartedly is much easier to say than to do.

There are areas of my life I feel comfortable with God having control over…and some that I do not. For instance—my finances. I know a lot of what the Bible says about finances and, yet, I’ve hesitated when it comes to submitting to the Lord in this area.

Whenever we seek Him the Bible says,

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
Lamentations 3:25

How good?

Daniel sought the Lord and, in doing so, defied the decree of the king (Daniel 6:1-28). And he was tossed into the lion’s den for it—but he was saved. The Lord is good to those who search for Him.

Joseph sought the Lord and, in doing so, was betrayed by his brothers, promoted in slavery, set up by his master’s wife, promoted in jail, forgotten about—and ultimately—promoted in the kingdom of Egypt. The Lord is good to those who search for Him.

The bleeding women suffered many years, was deemed unclean and unworthy of social contact, made an outcast. The Lord sees and heals, He is good to, those who search for Him.

Father Abraham was given a promise from God Almighty and, though the fulfillment of this promise seemed physically impossible, the Lord delivered and (then shockingly) asked Abraham to offer up the manifestation (his precious son, Isaac) of that very promise. The Lord provides and blesses, He is good to, those who seek him wholeheartedly.

Wholeheartedly means to hold back nothing or be sincere. As a living sacrifice, I must daily commit to a wholehearted relationship with the Almighty. I stumble, I fall, but I always get back up. One of my favorite verses says it like this, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked” (Proverbs 24:16). Wholeheartedly is not about perfection. No, wholeheartedly is about a heart position. It’s a choice we can make at any millisecond of the day, after any mistake (killing off Christians), doubt (when walking on water) or even outright denial of Jesus (three times).

And as always with our loving God, His way has its perks.

*  *   *   *  *   

Lord, I want my life to be one of wholehearted devotion to You and You alone. Everything (every idol) I have held on to and given pieces of my heart to, I ask that You show me these areas and then give me Your truth so that I may submit these areas to You. And when I want to squirm, Lord, give me the courage to stand strong instead! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   

Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

Seek Him First

SeekingHimLogo

 

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me
and I will listen to you.
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13

Strategic timing is often involved in the fulfilment of Gods promises. God fulfils His Word and His promises both in relation to the fullness of His redemptive purpose and in response to His faithful peoples’ earnest prayers.

Jeremiah prophesied that at the end of the seventy year captivity a new ‘fullness of time’ would occur. God would then move within a holy remnant so that they would seek Him in prayer with all their hearts. And there God would listen, answer from heaven, and fulfill His promises of restoration.

Note two principles:

  • When God desires to do great things for His people, He moves His people to great praying; and,
  • The timing of God’s answers to their prayers is often linked to God’s purposes for His people as a whole

 The lions may grow weak and hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:10

Note that the promises in this psalm are conditional and reserved only for those who seek the Lord. God promises to deliver us from fear, save us from trouble, send angels to encamp around us, supply our needs, give us abundant life, hear our prayers, comfort us with His presence and redeem us – but only if we seek the Lord.

Ask and it will be given unto you,
seek and you will find
knock and the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7

When we are seeking, it implies earnest petitioning along with obedience to God’s Will. See that doors and gates are opening for those that are seeking the Lord diligently. I therefore request you, my sisters, to seek the Lord at all times. For it also says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteous and all the things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).  It is only when we seek the Lord that all things shall be added unto us. The doors to prosperity, to good health, to divine protection, etc. will be added unto us. All the prophetic messages we heard on New Years Day concerning 2014 will be fulfilled when we diligently seek the Lord.  Let us seek the Lord not in vain. Let us seek Him with all our hearts.

I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’
I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
Isaiah 45:19

   *   *   *   *   *  

Father, we come before You for we know there is no one who is like unto Thee and You alone we seek for we know we can’t go wrong and all these things will be added unto us. Create in us a steadfast spirit, Lord, in Jesus’ name we have prayed. Amen.

  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

Seeking Him

SeekingHimLogo

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.
You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 ESV

Have you ever had those times where all you do is seek God with all of your heart?  I have—so many times.  He created us to seek a relationship with Him.  When we walk away He is sad…like a lover we have left behind; yet we are always pulled back toward Him.

As the New Year begins, we want to start with a clean slate and clean hearts; yet we don’t know how or we lose our way. By making that commitment to seek out His Word we will be able to.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV

I do not make New Year’s resolutions because I often do not keep them.  But what I do seek to do is to make a lifestyle change.  Something I want to have in my life day to day.  Striving for the relationship I need to have with God is my goal every day. Distraction comes in many faces.  Some seem harmless, some are just very harmful. Pray and ask God to reveal to you what your distractions are, and choose to eliminate them from your life. It may be very hard at first but you will be rewarded with a new insight into the heart of our Father.

One of the things we have experienced in the Marin household is having my mother-in-law come to live with us. She is such a joy to have around! It is just difficult for her to adjust to living here without her husband of 55 years. Plus with 2013 being the mildest summer and the winter of 2014 being the coldest in a while is not helping her either. (She moved from Florida to Tennessee). We are a busy household. Between work and exercising to keep healthy, we are not home with her a lot. She has her room, her TV, music and movies. She also sews, knits beautiful scarves, and helps us wherever she can.

Her faith has also been tested. She was angry with God for a while. Through the Holy Spirit, He is showing her why Carlos needed to go home to Him. We love her and try to keep her busy with little projects.  Our daughter,  Nikki, and I will take her out shopping, to hair appointments, and whatever else we can do to entertain her. By faith and by seeking Him, she is settling into a routine. One that I hope is satisfying and that will allow her to grow in her walk with God.  We will continue to find ways to entertain each other.  As long as we are truthful we will be able to have fun along our journey.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and Your mercy.  Thank You for giving us the ability to minister to others and to be ministered to.  Help us seek You more and to have the faith we need to love Your people as You do.  In Jesus’ precious name.  Amen.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   

Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!