Heart Talk: A Seeking Heart

Seeker-friendly

We're all too familiar with that passage in Matthew 7:7 where Jesus encourages us to ask and we shall receive, knock and it shall be opened and SEEK and we shall find.

Many people today are believed to be "seekers" of the things of God. But in reality, not many "seeking" people are really after the genuine TRUTH of God. In fact, big (yet superficial) churches today are labeled to be "seeker-friendly" or "seeker-sensitive" just because they try to cater to whatever worldly and carnal pleasures many people want to have in a church. These churches make sure that their image is "cool" for the current trend of the time. Disco lights, coffee shops, shorter sermons, a more casual atmosphere and things as such are just some of the many requirements that a "seeker" of today might want to have met in a church setting.

But what is it really that God wants a "SEEKER" to do? Is it enough for one to want to be in a so-called church community that isn't too intimidating, that allows one to still enjoy the simple pleasures of this world and to go along with the flow? What was the kind of seeking that God really meant when HE talked about seeking in the Bible? Surely, it is not about those who seek the comforts and pleasures of this world in the pot of so-called modern Christianity. 

God is looking for a different kind of seeking heart...

Seek and you shall find...

The word "seek" is considered a transitive verb. Transitive verbs are action words that REQUIRE AN OBJECT. If used alone, one can be left wondering what comes next for the action word. For example, "give". You must have an object to come after the action word "give" in order to have a sentence that makes sense... in order for that action verb to make sense! Give what? Give __(you fill in the blank)___.

SEEKING is the same. As a transitive verb, it needs an object to make full sense of this action verb. SEEK WHAT? 

You might find it interesting that when you study on the word "seek" using a Bible concordance, you'll find that it comes up with a whole LOT of verses that admonish you to SEEK THE LORD.

God's Word is rich in scriptural encouragement, admonition and challenge for all of us to SEEK THE LORD and all His Glory! It is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY that we should seek. The object of our seeking has to be THE LORD GOD ON HIGH! 

It is interesting to know that both in the Hebrew root word and the English (Merriam-Webster) present day definition, to "seek" literally means to resort to! 

Do you know that when we "resort to" someone or something, we are actually frequenting, going to, habitually visiting one that affords aid or refuge?!

No wonder the Word of God tells us to SEEK THE LORD! If we truly OBEY that passage in Scripture, we are actually going to frequently, habitually GO TO THE LORD for refuge because HE IS ABLE TO AFFORD AID & REFUGE!

Those who are true "seekers" are looking for refuge and aid. But come to think of it, we ALL NEED refuge and aid because we ALL have sinned (Romans 3:23) and we all are destined for eternal damnation (Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27). We ALL are BROKEN & UNDONE because of mankind's fall in the garden of Eden. We ALL NEED something that could help our brokenness and aid us into complete healing and deliverance of whatever bondage we are in!

However, people who come to a church community looking for things like the kind of lights and music they should have during worship, or the length (or the lack thereof) of their sermon time, or a coffee shop and an internet cafe and many other "services" and "ministries" a church can possibly offer to people, have got it ALL WRONG just because the object of their seeking isn't really GOD--the One who affords aid or refuge. 

They come to church NOT because they're seeking after God, His Truth and the things of God, but because they're seeking to meet the needs of their flesh and carnal minds for superficial comfort and relaxation on a Sunday morning. Or, they are running after the comfort and sufficiency of one's own religious efforts, which they then consider a "spiritual" experience and some "spiritual" points for heaven because they've gone to so-called "Church" for that day and have done their duty.

Listen, beloved... ARE WE REALLY SEEKING AFTER GOD & HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS?

"Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; 

seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger." (Zephaniah 2:3, KJB)

TRUTH for a seeking heart

God speaks to us through His Word. Hebrews 1:1-2 clearly states that:

1"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"

Remember, that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS GOD (John 1:1). And this Word BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US (John 1:14). And all Scripture testifies about HIM and all of Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for everything we need to grow spiritually and everything we need to KNOW & FIND GOD (2 Timothy 3:16)!

If God's Word is the available source of His Truth for us today (John 17:17 says so) THEN IT IS A MUST FOR US TO STUDY AND READ FROM THE BIBLE FREQUENTLY, and HABITUALLY in order for us to FIND GOD and be afforded HIS aid and refuge!

If we are TRULY SEEKING AFTER GOD, we will be DRAWN TO HIS WORD and will be DRAWN TO OBEY HIS WORD! 

You see, many of us THINK we are seeking after God but we're really just going around looking for others to agree with our preconceived ideas. We aren't really completely willing to LISTEN TO GOD'S TRUTH and OBEY & ABIDE BY GOD's WORD! 

We may THINK we are seeking God, but it is NOT UNTIL WE TRULY SEEK HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS that we will be WILLING ENOUGH TO HABITUALLY READ HIS WORD, SUBMIT TO HIS WORD & YIELD TO HIS WAYS.

Listen, beloved. God said...

"11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, 

and I will hearken unto you. 

13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. " 

(Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Are YOU READY to truly SEEK THE LORD, beloved? Are YOU really ready to LISTEN TO HIS WORD? Are YOU completely WILLING to abide by HIS WORD? 

Heart Talk: Stubborn & Rebellious Know-It-Alls

The know-it-all

I bet you that you've already encountered one of the most annoying difficult personalities in the world in Mr. or Ms. "know-it-all." These are the individuals who seem to really know it all, and I mean ALL, no matter what you try to converse them with. They are full of their opinions and could never hold a decent conversation unless they say the last word and make the strongest point.

These are those with hearts that are already full of their own ways. 

You can't really tell them anything, suggest to them something nor teach them new things because they live their lives convinced that they already have the answer for everything!

They are resistant to change and the opinions of others, as well as are very adamant about putting their defenses down. These are hearts that are closed and hearts that are hard. And because of that, they have a haughty spirit that goes with it. 

Fools despise instruction

Although resistance to change is a good character trait to have in life (so as not to be gullible in many ways), it is important for us to understand that it has to be had in MODERATION. Anyone who puts their guards up for anything that might lead them to folly and downfall is commendable. BUT, anyone who puts their guards up EVEN IF THEY ARE BEING PRESENTED with TRUTH and WISDOM is to be considered A FOOL! 

Anyone who despise the instructions of God is a TOTAL fool!

Don't look at me as though I label people. It is the Bible that speaks of those who hate knowledge as "Fools." You see, the world may contribute to one individual's quest for knowledge about things, yes, but one can NEVER grasp the entirety of the world's knowledge with the finite mind. Most importantly, there is a kind of knowledge that is based on the ways WE PERCEIVE things and may never really be in-line with pure Wisdom and Knowledge from above.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 

but the end thereof are the ways of death." 

(Proverbs 14:12, KJB)

The know-it-alls will always be convinced that THEY are ALWAYS right... That their thoughts about matters of life and their opinions on just about everything is the only way to go. A website even puts it this way: Their opinions are gospel and yours is lower than dirt! Sigh... Their motto is usually "My way or the highway." 

The danger to knowing it all is the fact that there is a way which SEEMS right to us, but the end thereof are the ways of death. We may THINK we KNOW IT ALL but the things we hold as true in our heads may not be the RIGHT things in the end.

What kind of wisdom and knowledge should we pursue and what should we test OUR ways against with? Whose voice should we HEARKEN most importantly?

Everything should be tested against the TRUTH in God. And we SHOULD (not an option) really hear what GOD has to say about everything!

God's words and his commandments

God GIVES wisdom and understanding. And He gives the kind of wisdom and knowledge that leads to life. Proverbs 2:6 tells us that the LORD giveth wisdom... and that OUT OF HIS MOUTH comes knowledge and understanding.

If what God has spoken (out of His mouth) gives us knowledge and understanding, then there is a need for us to SEEK EARNESTLY TO HEAR HIS WORDS in order to gain the wisdom that comes from Him. What gain is there for us to run after the wisdom of this world, when we stand to be NOTHING before the throne of God at the END of it all?!

God's WORD is where we receive knowledge and pure wisdom. It is a GUIDE to us, just as the Psalmist said "It is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." 

Look at how God puts everything in perspective in His Word for us. His ways lead to LIFE and life abundant with Grace and is everlasting...

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, 

and find the knowledge of God.

6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; 

yea, every good path.

10When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, 

from the man that speaketh froward things;

13Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

16To deliver thee from the strange woman, 

even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

(Proverbs 2:1-17, KJB)

Many people today do not care about God's Word. In fact, just recently, this article was published regarding a GREAT falling away of people in trusting in the Word of God. Many simply are abandoning the Bible and go their own way thinking, believing and convincing themselves that THEIR WAY is the best way!

I've seen people who are blessed by God to be in power and to receive so much from above, but never really acknowledge whom it was that their bounties and graces are coming from. These hearts believe in their own capabilities and trust in their own selves. 

The WARNING we all must take heed

Unfortunately, though, there is a GRAVE thing written about stubborn, know-it-all hearts in Scriptures. Those who REFUSE... and I mean, really REFUSE to hear God's voice in His Word has an END to their stories.

God, who uttered the guiding principles and cues above, also uttered these words for those who forsake His wisdom and instructions:

11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

12So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

(Psalm 81:11-12)

21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...

(Romans 1:21-22)

28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

(Romans 1:28-32)

God's way is the ONLY WAY we should consider in our lives. And His VOICE is the voice we MUST allow to speak in our lives. HIS KNOWLEDGE should be the only wisdom and knowledge we pursue and RETAIN in our minds. 

There is a grave danger of being given over to our own stubborn and rebellious know-it-all ways. We may end up really getting what we wish for... and that end is not something we want to find ourselves in, as we will already be given over to reprobate mindedness which views evil as good and good as evil. 

We will become too drunk with the wine of our OWN counsel that though we know the judgment of God, and that those who commit such evil things will fall under His wrath, we will no longer be sensitive to any of it and will LOSE THE FEAR OF THE LORD WHICH IS THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE. We will be given over to a mind which finds pleasure in doing the very things that God detests!

Will YOU take a look at your life and see if you are seeking God's Wisdom and Knowledge, beloved? 

Will YOU take a moment out of your busy life and ponder upon whose counsel you are listening to? YOU might have been listening to YOUR OWN VOICE FOR A LONG TIME NOW...

There is no time waste, dear one...
It is NOW time to be turned back to God... 

"Turn us again, O God, and cause THY FACE to shine; and we shall be saved. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause THY FACE to shine; and we shall be saved." 

(Psalm 80:3,7)