Good morning Lord Jesus. We had a great weekend and beautiful weather. Kids had ball games, church, Clay and I went on a date with Afton and Craig, just all kinds of fun stuff. Thank you Lord.
Today I was in Hebrews 11:6. "And without God it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those that earnestly seek Him." This is only day 2 of the Believing God study and I am just nearly thrown back that we are already talking about rewards. There is one thing Beth Moore is not - she is not a teacher that is all concerned about you getting what you want - prosperity teacher - or all about the blessing. So to come to the second day of the whole book and it be about seeking Him and then being rewarded really stands out and must be important.
There is no doubt in my mind that God longs to bless us, reward, us, give to us, shower us with many different things. God wants to bless us 100 million more times than I even do my children. And He does................ but in order for us to live out the fullness of His blessings and truly receive all that He has for us, it takes some action on our part. And yes, I did say some action. It takes more than just sitting and believing, we must live out that belief and faith in action - once again as I say so often - Putting Feet to Faith!
I like things that are concrete and direct. I like knowing exactly what there is for me to do and then trying to complete it. Even when I do complain I do like a honey-do list because I know exactly what Clay expects or would like to see done. AND I really like the crossing off. So in this scripture when it says it is impossible to please God without faith - I like that. I know exactly what is keeping me from pleasing You Lord. The only thing is that the object of that pleasing is a bit abstract. Faith - is that something I am to muster up, something He gives to me, something I can increase on my own, something I can lose????????????? We will answer all those questions as the times goes by.
I am blown away by the end of that scripture. There are 2 very definite things we must do to please 1) believe that He exists and 2) believe that He rewards those that earnestly seek Him. Believing that He exists is something we all go through usually at the beginning of our growth. It is a common trick Satan uses to trip up a new believer or one that is just beginning to take off in there faith. But believing that He rewards those that seek Him earnestly seems almost natural or something that we find the easiest to do since we are such "give me" kind of creatures. We are constantly wanting something for nothing or at least something for a little effort. So the fact that He rewards those that seek Him is not only something we want, if the truth be told, we expect that.
This is where it requires some "Feet to Faith". Earnestly seeking Him is not just going to church. It is not just thinking good thoughts and saying praise the Lord, or bless his/her heart from time to time. Earnestly seeking Him is really gettin' with it. It is seeking Him not only daily, but all throughout the day. Living in such a way that your thoughts are towards Him much of the time. You are thinking of His desires and your dieing to self often. Am I there - NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, but i sure strive to be. The thing that i have discovered - Believing God or earnestly seeking Him is not only a mindset. It is a way of life that is exposed in actions. We see believing at times. Our actions will show what we truly believe and the condition of our heart. Our believing may take some tweaking often. We may go low on faith, have to hit the floor in prayer, and then get back up again recharged and rejuvenated!
I think the most important point here is that yes, we can pray for a reward and believe for a reward like a new house, car, big ministry event, healing, etc............ but we must not let that overtake our desire for Him or trump our seeking of Him. And that is a minute by minute evaluation and tweaking! "Lord, I really want this, but really I want more of You." I BELIEVE when He sees a heart truly living out the "more of You" part, then He just gives the reward more than we can even imagine!!!! I believe He is unbelievably amazing. Now how is that for juxtaposition!!
Oh Lord, I believe and am believing and will believe!!! Help my unbelief!! I love you!
Here is the Mr. Linky test again.................. once again, I will only do this on Fridays.....
4 comments:
I love this: "We may go low on faith, have to hit the floor in prayer, and then get back up again recharged and rejuvenated!" I signed your Mr. Linky, seems to be working! I may not be able to participate the next two fridays. I am not sure if my mom still has internet access, if she does, I'll be here.
"Seeking Him all throughout the day" - wow, that is what it's all about! The more we do that, the more He changes our desires to be more in line with His, and then He blesses us abundantly! He is so good!
"but we must not let that overtake our desire for Him or trump our seeking of Him."
This has been utmost in my life lately. I need him so--if I don't have Him none of the rest matters. It will all just be empty.
Leigh,
Found you through comments on Beth Moore's blog. You are in for such a blessing. I just finished facilitating "Believing God" in our church last month. It is life changing! For years I thought I had to "muster up" enough faith to please God...wore myself out! How freeing it was to learn that faith is simply believing God to be who He says He is, He can do what He says He can do....and, well, you know the rest! I'm so excited for you and your ladies...what fun you are going to have together! I'll be praying for you and checking in on you sista!
Tammie
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