The devotional “Awaken” by Priscilla Shirer brought much needed encouragement last week …
“But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, NLT)
In this Scripture, Mary finds Jesus in the Temple after He had been missing for a few days. He then asks a thought provoking question: “Why is it that you were looking for Me?”
He may be asking each of us this very same question this morning – Why is it that you are looking for Jesus?
Are you looking for peace, direction, guidance, healing?
The devotional asks us to think about this:
“Renew your commitment to the fundamental disciplines of your faith – prayer, meditations on Scripture, worship. You will always find Him here.”
“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 search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
Where will you search for Him today?
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The devotional guided us to read Proverbs 29:23; Proverbs 25:27; Philippians 2:3; and Psalm 115:1.
The topic? Pride.
We need to examine the motivation of our hearts and asking ourselves these hard questions may be a good starting point:
- What compels us to do the things we do?
- Is it a need to impress others or receive recognition?
- Would we be content to do if there were little thanks, or no reward at the end?
“The approval of others is never a suitable replacement for the Father’s.”
(from “Awaken”, page 60)
We need to fight the temptation to feed our egos or to be prideful.
“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. But to Your name give glory; Because of Your mercy; Because of Your truth.” (Psalm 115:1, NKJV)
“This psalm begins with a bold declaration that all believers are and do is not for their benefit. Rather, it is for God’s name that everything should bring glory. Life does not revolve around man but around God … God’s loyal love is never rescinding but forever strong.”
(Holman Old Testament Commentary, Vol. 12, page 213)
The devotional prompted us to do a bit of soul searching by asking >>>Â How have you sensed pride creeping in lately? What are some proactive steps you can take to slay it?
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“The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh.” “ (Jonah 1:1-2, NLT)
Upon reading about Jonah and his call to Ninevah, we asked ourselves: What, or who, might be our Ninevah?
These trying days we are in can present to us countless opportunities.
“Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32)
God will open up opportunities and possibilities right in front of us, if we are willing to but see them.
Has God been calling you toward a Nineveh? Instead of listing your objections, list the opportunities.
What would happen if instead of saying “no”, we stepped into the opportunity?
These days are hard for sure. But we have to believe there is purpose in these present moments. Praying that we would not run from, but rather, to our Ninevah.
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When we slay the pride hidden in our hearts,
and seek Him,
we will run to our Ninevah.
Photo 1: by Pawel Janiak on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
I landed somewhere in the house yesterday with no idea what I wanted, and asked myself outloud, “What in the world are you looking for?”
The question stopped me in my tracks, because I do this in the spiritual realm all the time, running to the refrigerator to be “filled,” checking my SM feed to feel “liked,” when the God of the universe is right in the room with me, waiting for me to seek and find all in one motion.
Amazing how all we are experiencing is pulling things back into perspective. May we know and remember that He is all we need to seek. The best part is that we will always find Him!
Joanne, thanks for this call to get back to the very basics, the core of our faith in Christ. The essentials.
This post? For such a time as this.
Beautiful.
Thank you, Linda. We so need this realignment now and then. I want to remember the lessons I am learning at this time. Blessings and stay safe!