November 24, 2024

Light of Lights

February 24, 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.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

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 HCSB

“The visible light of the world is the sun and Christ is the Sun of Righteousness. One sun enlightens the whole world.”
– Charles Spurgeon

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines light as “the form of energy that makes it possible to see things.” Isn’t that an appropriate description of Christ?  He lights up our lives with truth and grace.

One of the most important symbols of light in the Old Testament is the pillar of fire.  The pillar of fire is mentioned in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Nehemiah, Psalms and Revelations.

Nehemiah 9:12 (NASB) states:

…with a pillar of fire by night to light for them the way in which they were to go.

That is what Christ does for us, He illuminates the way for us to go…IF we choose to follow. I love how John 12:46 (NLT) puts it:

“I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world,
so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark.”

We do not have to remain in the dark!  When we choose to trust Christ, the darkness must flee. It is our choice whether or not we continue in darkness.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Lord, thank You for illuminating my world with Your Light.  Help me to clearly see the path You have lit up for me.  Remind me I no longer have to remain in the dark.  I can remain in You instead. In Your name I pray – Amen, it is so!

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A Heart Like You

February 21, 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

 

Singer/Songwriters: Love & The Outcome (Chris&Jodi King Rademaker)

Burn bright in my life
Burn away the things I hold tight
Give me eyes to see
Your kingdom the way You want it to be
What can be worth more than You?
What do I have I wouldn’t lose
If it means You and I look more alike?
That’s what I choose

I’d give up the world to find my soul
Pour out my life, give You control
I just want to be what You want me to be
I just want a heart that’s true
A heart like You (a heart like You)
I just want a heart like You (a heart like You)

As Your ways take shape
All my guilt and shame start to fade
And Your love takes their place
I become a well of Your grace, Your grace

I don’t mind the price it costs
I will count all I have as loss
When this fades away, what’s true remains
What can be worth more than You?
What do I have I wouldn’t lose?

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This Week… Love In Deed and Truth (1 John 3:16-18)

February 20, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us.
So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If someone has enough money to live well
and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—
how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other;
let us show the truth by our actions.
1 John 3:16-18

Last week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we looked at what LOVE is (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).  This week, our devotional writers have focused their thoughts and words on what Jesus’ love was and is.  In one simple word: action.  Our Lord set the high standard and gave us His perfect example in giving His life for us.  As our focus Scripture states, “And so we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” Please listen to some of the highlights of what Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee about giving and loving….

In A Model of Love, Laura shared a personal story about giving selflessly; she also wrote,

“My father has taught me many valuable lessons over the years, like this one. There are always going to be people in need. If you can’t give them the shirt off your back (not literally) then you try to find some way to help them…

Jesus gave in the same way, but He took it to a bigger need—the biggest need we would ever have. We needed someone to save us from our sin and to bring us back to God. Jesus knew our need before He came here. He saw it while He was walking here on Earth. He set the perfect example of love by sacrificing Himself on the Cross so that we could go to Heaven. Yes, Jesus preached love, but He also showed it through His actions here on Earth and on the Cross.”

❦

In Sincere Love, Cynda reminded us of Jesus’ words:

I give you a new command: Love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.
John 13:34

And she shared…”My struggle with selfishness is a daily battle.  It is so easy to profess love.  But getting my actions to match my words is where the rubber meets the road.  Romans 12:9a (HCSB) states “Love must be without hypocrisy.”  OUCH!  Real love is demonstrated by deeds.  It requires a deliberate choice.  That choice doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary.  Encouragement and support cost nothing, except perhaps a little bit of time.  Sincere expressions of affection and labors of love show God’s love DOES dwell within us.”

❦

 In Love With Actions, Tina encouraged us to love others who are struggling.

“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.”

❦

In God’s Love IS Possible, Ahmee reminded us of David and his good friend, Jonathan…and the selfless love they shared.

“Love is more than just a warm feeling.  Love does.  Loves does many things!  As I’ve said before, “Love says ‘yes!’ even when faced with impossibilities.”  David and Jonathan had a love for each other. Jonathan was David’s friend.  He had sworn his allegiance to David and loyally honored it, because love is faithful…But his love reflected in his actions and, thus, Jonathan helped David on many occasions.

Everything he had he was willing to give up for his friend.  Love does that. Jonathan sided with what was right, because love can conquer all evil. This one human relationship shows that not only Jesus can love in the same way that God loves. We can. God’s love is possible!”

❦

And in Love Gives, Ann encouraged us to give (as God gave Jesus and Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gives us gifts) to others.

“So in our focus Scripture this week, we are commanded to act in love the same way we were loved and given the free gift of Christ as well as gifts of the spirit. Brethren, we are in this physical world and so our love can also be expressed by sincerely helping persons in need.

  • We can do this by sharing our earthly possessions with them (James 2:14-17)
  • If we refuse to give of our food, clothing, or money to help others in real need it is to close our hearts to them (Deuteronomy 15:7-11)
  • This also includes giving our money to help bring the gospel to those who have not heard (through evangelism) (James 4:9-10)

May the good Lord help us as we decide to express love
by giving with all our hearts without murmuring.”

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A Model of Love

February 19, 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

One of the hardest lessons I ever learned was that of selfless giving.  It happened when I was in middle school. My mother used to make these shirts. She would cut patterns from fabric, iron them onto shirts, and paint outlines around them. She had this pretty candy cane pattern that she put on a sweat shirt for me. At a family Christmas dinner, my great-aunt’s mother was there, and she liked the shirt. (I just happened to wear her size.) My dad told me to give her the shirt. I refused, and I said that I had dropped food on it. (Yes, I lied to my father.) My mom gave her shirt to her aunt’s mother, and both of my parents were disappointed in me. My mother could have easily made me another shirt. My great-aunt’s mother was old, and she had arthritis and other issues that would not have allowed her to make the shirt herself. I could have been generous and given the shirt to a lady who loved it and probably needed it more than I did to make her holiday a little bit brighter.

My father has taught me many valuable lessons over the years, like this one. There are always going to be people in need. If you can’t give them the shirt off your back (not literally) then you try to find some way to help them. He taught me that not everyone is as blessed as I am or could possibly be.

Jesus gave in the same way, but He took it to a bigger need—the biggest need we would ever have. We needed someone to save us from our sin and to bring us back to God. Jesus knew our need before He came here. He saw it while He was walking here on Earth. He set the perfect example of love by sacrificing Himself on the Cross so that we could go to Heaven. Yes, Jesus preached love, but He also showed it through His actions here on Earth and on the Cross.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Dear Heavenly Father: Thank You for showing Your love to a people who most desperately needed it. You are the perfect example of showing love through action. May we also model that example. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God’s Love IS Possible

February 18, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.
So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need
but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
1 John 3:16-18

Love is more than just a warm feeling.  Love does.  Loves does many things!  As I’ve said before, “Love says ‘yes!’ even when faced with impossibilities.”  David and Jonathan had a love for each other. Jonathan was David’s friend.  He had sworn his allegiance to David and loyally honored it, because love is faithful.

Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David.
But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,
told him what his father was planning.
“Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.”
1 Samuel 19:1-2

The king of Israel—his father, Saul—commanded Jonathan to kill David.  At one point Saul reminds Jonathan that as long as David is alive Jonathan will never be made king.  Jonathan put his own fame and claim to the throne, as well as royalty and prosperous family life on the line to honor God and his friend.  Jonathan by birthright had right to the throne, not David the shepherd.  But his love reflected in his actions and, thus, Jonathan helped David on many occasions.

Everything he had he was willing to give up for his friend.  Love does that. Jonathan sided with what was right, because love can conquer all evil. This one human relationship shows that not only Jesus can love in the same way that God loves. We can. God’s love is possible!

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

Lord, help us to love the way You do.  Not just in our minds, not just in our dreams, not just in our hearts, but in our actions.  Help love to conquer any fear or obstacles that would hinder us from loving the way You love.  And show us those people whom You would put in our path for us to love specifically because of their need for Your love. Amen.

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Sincere Love

February 17, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech
but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).
1 John 3:18 AMP

This verse always steps on my toes.  Today’s ‘me first’ mentality is encouraged and supported by society.  Yet, John 13:34 (HCSB) instructs us on what Jesus says we are to do:

“I give you a new command: Love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.”

My struggle with selfishness is a daily battle.  It is so easy to profess love.  But getting my actions to match my words is where the rubber meets the road.  Romans 12:9a (HCSB) states “Love must be without hypocrisy.”  OUCH!  Real love is demonstrated by deeds.  It requires a deliberate choice.  That choice doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary.  Encouragement and support cost nothing, except perhaps a little bit of time.  Sincere expressions of affection and labors of love show God’s love DOES dwell within us.

Galatians 5:13 (NLT) says we “have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”  We have a choice to make—live in bondage to our selfishness or live in freedom by putting our love into action.  The decision seems to be an easy one but persevering is the real challenge.

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Abba Father, this is a struggle I cannot beat on my on. I truly want Your love to be seen in me by my actions and how I love. Please help me conquer my selfish desires so my expressions of affection will be sincere. In Your mighty name I pray – AMEN, It Is So!

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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.

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

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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Love Gives

February 15, 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

What made God give us Christ Jesus?—It is Love
What made Christ give us the Holy Spirit?—It is Love
What makes Holy Spirit give us gifts?—It is Love

For God gave us Jesus Christ (John 3:16) and Christ (as He was ascending into Heaven) said that He must go but gave the Holy Spirit who would be with us always (John 14), and the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us gifts (1 Corinthians 12).

So in our focus Scripture this week, we are commanded to act in love the same way we were loved and given the free gift of Christ as well as gifts of the spirit. Brethren, we are in this physical world and so our love can also be expressed by sincerely helping persons in need.

  • We can do this by sharing our earthly possessions with them (James 2:14-17)
  • If we refuse to give of our food, clothing, or money to help others in real need it is to close our hearts to them (Deuteronomy 15:7-11)
  • This also includes giving our money to help bring the gospel to those who have not heard (through evangelism) (James 4:9-10)

May the good Lord help us as we decide to express love
by giving with all our hearts without murmuring.

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You and we bless You because You are God. We honor You because You are the I AM who I AM, the omnipresent God. Blessed be Your Holy name in all the earth. Immortal God, invisible God, You are so great. Thank You for Your love for us. The free gifts to us are so precious that we glorify Your name because of such wonderful gifts. Teach us to love one another as You loved us, as Christ loved us, and as Holy Spirit loves us. Thank You for hearing our prayer and granting us the desire of our heart. It is in Jesus’ name that we have prayed. AMEN!!

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This Week…Love is (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

February 13, 2015 by

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Love 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

Such a well-known, oft-quoted passage of Scripture!  But is it well and often lived out in my life?  Have you asked yourself this question, too?

This week, our devotional writers…Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina have shared some insightful points regarding what {Biblical} love is.  There messages have helped me and encouraged me to hold to the Truth regarding what love is.  Here are a few things they have had to say…

In Forgiveness is Love, Tina reminded us of the importance of forgiveness being a part of how we love.

“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.”

❦

In Jesus’ Love IS, Laura shared some examples from her own life and pointed us to our Lord’s love.

” Jesus’ love is the same way.  It is patient and kind.  Jesus’ love is slow to anger, and it keeps no record of our wrongdoings because we are forgiven by that love.  We are saved by that love.  It protects us from evil, and it always perseveres.  This is why Jesus’s love will win in the end. ”

❦

 In Imperfect Love, Ahmee reminded us, though we are imperfect, we can strive to love perfectly by being examples of our Lord’s love.

“Love is meant to be unconditional.  But, like many other things the human race has gotten it’s hands on, it can be tainted.  And we need to remember this.  We aren’t going to love perfectly.  In a perfect world we would, but we don’t live in a perfect world.  I’m not saying we need to excuse or ignore the fact that we don’t love perfectly, but we need to be kinder to one another.  Some of us have had poor examples of what love actually looks like.  What we know in our minds sometimes does not translate in the real world, because we just don’t know what it’s supposed to be like.

We are imperfect.  Our love will be imperfect.  Together, we can strive for Godly love.  Together we can show one another (and unbelievers) what love truly looks like. We can be examples of the Lord’s love—He loves us, so we can love others. Together, we can get it right.”

❦

In Selfless Love, Ann gave us some great examples of 1st Corinthians-love lived out by men  (Paul, Moses, Joseph…and Jesus) throughout the Bible.  And she wrote…

“As believers let us encourage one another to have selfless love and do as the Word says in the passage (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) we are focusing on this week.  We were made in His own likeness and so we have to show the likeliness of God.  In whatever we do, how we speak, the way we carry ourselves…let those who see us thank God and turn to God. We should not grieve the Spirit with our deeds and cause the name of the Lord to not be worshipped. ”

❦

And in Utterly Unselfish, Cynda gave us a little exercise so that we had some perspective about living out 1 Corinthians 13.  And she also shared,

“Utterly unselfish love, possible only with God’s help

Whew!!!  That’s a tall order.  Try reading that passage with your name in place of {Love}.  (Did anyone besides me just say OUCH?!?) I am not all those things yet…but I can continue to work towards them. What I need to remember is that is not important how many times I fail, but how many times I get back up. Perseverance is key. Hebrews 12:1b (NIV) encourages us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” James 1:4 tells us we must “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” God will always be there to help if I am willing to persevere and ask Him for help. The neat thing—God has already provided us with everything we need.”

❦

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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.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

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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