{"id":7261,"date":"2013-01-12T00:01:44","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T05:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=7261"},"modified":"2013-01-22T13:46:20","modified_gmt":"2013-01-22T18:46:20","slug":"seeking-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/12\/seeking-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeking Him by Coleen Hayden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_1391\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Each Saturday for the next four weeks, we will look in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful quiet time.\u00a0 Last week I had the privilege of sharing with you a few thoughts from some friends about their own quiet time.\u00a0 Gathering from their experiences, there seem to be a few basics which include:<\/p>\n

Bible reading
\nPrayer
\nPraise Songs
\nMeditation
\nSeeking the Lord<\/p>\n

This week in our current series, Seeking Him<\/i>, we are focusing on one of the most important building blocks of a devotional time\u2014spending time reading the Bible<\/b>.\u00a0 If we are to come to know God, we must begin to seek Him where He has made Himself known…and that is in His written Word, the Bible.<\/p>\n

I would venture to say that almost every single one of us owns a Bible (at least one).\u00a0 Did you know that the Bible continues to be the best-selling<\/span> book in the world?*\u00a0 One reason the Bible is so popular is that it is God\u2019s Rule Book. He reveals Himself within the pages of the Bible.\u00a0 In the words of His written Word, we find that:<\/p>\n

The law<\/b> of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
\nThe testimony<\/b> of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
\nThe precepts<\/b> of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
\nThe commandment<\/b> of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
\nThe fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
\nThe judgments<\/b> of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
\nThey are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
\nSweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
\nMoreover, by them Your servant is warned;
\nIn keeping them there is great reward.
\nPsalm 19:7-11<\/p>\n

So, we learn that the Bible\u2014which contains the Lord\u2019s law, testimony, precepts, commandments and judgments<\/b>\u2014is to be desired!\u00a0 It can be, as the Psalmist wrote, more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey!\u00a0 And, in keeping (obeying) the words of the Bible (the Lord\u2019s law, testimony, precepts, commandments and judgments) there is great reward!\u00a0 Such encouragement then to spend time reading the Bible<\/b>, wouldn\u2019t you agree?<\/p>\n

One of my oh-so-very favorite Scripture passages is Psalm 119.\u00a0 (And, yes, it directly correlates to the psalm we just read\u2014Psalm 19!\u00a0 You noticed that, hmmm? Watch, you\u2019ll see!)\u00a0 Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of any of the 66 books of the Bible; it totals 176 verses.\u00a0 Each of these 176 verses communicates a truth about the Lord\u2019s law, testimony, precepts, commandments and judgments<\/b> along with His ways, statues, and ordinances<\/b>.\u00a0 I find it so amazing (our Lord IS so amazing!) that every single verse tells us something new and different!\u00a0 Reading and considering and meditating upon the dynamic truths contained in this ONE chapter could be a continuing study for your quiet time.\u00a0 Perhaps these three verses would be a good place to start:<\/p>\n

With all my heart I have sought You;<\/strong>
\n Do not let me wander from Your commandments.<\/strong>
\n Your word I have treasured in my heart,<\/strong>
\n That I may not sin against You.<\/strong>
\n Blessed are You, O Lord;Teach me Your statutes.<\/strong>
\n Psalm 119:10-12<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our desire, our intention, our focus, our goal, our purpose, our heart is to seek God!\u00a0 He is what we yearn for…being with Him!\u00a0 And these three verses express that desire so simply.<\/p>\n

Here is a link to a cd that I think you\u00a0will find a useful tool for your devotional time.\u00a0 It is called Psalm 119 in Song<\/strong> by Susie Kimbrough, \u00a0a compilation\u00a0of the 22 songs from Psalm 119 all of which are original musical compositions.\u00a0 Listen to each of the selections and meditate on the Scriptures being sung.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.shepardmusic.com\/ps119cd.php<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep Seeking Him<\/i> and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!\u00a0 As you do, He will keep you from wandering, help you not to sin, and will teach you His statutes.<\/p>\n

Praying for each of you!\u00a0 I know that the Lord will answer your heart\u2019s cry as you are Seeking Him <\/i>with all your heart!<\/p>\n

<3 coleen<\/strong><\/p>\n

*The Bible is the best-selling book in the world:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.booksellerworld.com\/bestselling-booksever.htm<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.guinnessworldrecords.com\/world-records\/1\/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

If you are interested in more information about GCH:decaf, email us at: GCH_Decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this series, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each Saturday for the next four weeks, we will look in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful quiet time.\u00a0 Last week I had the privilege of sharing with you a few thoughts from some friends about their own quiet time.\u00a0 Gathering from their experiences, there seem to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":7262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[144,145,147,1360,235,365,411,425,486,673,791,1404,1403,1290,1039,1043,1047],"class_list":["post-7261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens","tag-bible","tag-bible-reading","tag-bible-study","tag-christian-teens-fellowship-group","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-faith","tag-gch-decaf","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-heart","tag-meditation","tag-prayer","tag-psalm-119","tag-psalms","tag-seeking-him","tag-teen-girls","tag-teens-2","tag-teens-online-bible-study","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IMG_1391.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-1T7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7261"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16916,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7261\/revisions\/16916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}