Seeking and Finding God
In the Old Testament, God’s presence and His relationship with His people was mediated through priests and the temple system. The people of God worshiped God and prayed to Him, but it was the priests who would enter a sacred space and speak with God on their behalf.
They revered God, but they were still separated from Him.
However, the prophet Jeremiah wrote about a time when God’s people would be able to experience a direct relationship with Him. God’s Spirit would dwell in them, and they could find Him anywhere at any time.
Through Jesus, Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus sent the Spirit of God to dwell within us, to have access to God’s presence at any time.
This means that God is never far from you—just like it says in Jeremiah 29:13, He can be found when we seek Him. He is present and ready for a relationship with you.
Jeremiah also says that we must seek God with all of our heart. We don't just seek God, He seeks us as well. When you pursue a relationship with God, He wants access to every part of you. The way you think, the way you act, and even the way you feel.
He wants to transform your entire life.
At first, it may seem hard to give God access to our past, or the things we’re ashamed of. But, God is full of grace and mercy, and He wants us to be free from those things. Seeking God with all of your heart may feel risky at times, but we can trust He knows best and will love us regardless of what we’ve done.
Ask God to reveal within you any part of your life that you haven’t surrendered to God. Pray for the strength and courage to give all of your life to God. Continue to seek Him and follow Him each and every day.
Day 23 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Luke 23
“And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilæan. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle ...
Good News for Everyone
Picture, for a moment, a normal day of your life. Everything is pretty typical; nothing out of the ordinary. Then, imagine that out of nowhere, light shines down all around you. It’s so bright and warm, you can’t see anything except … an angel? An angel is talking to you!
That’s precisely what happened to a group of shepherds near Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. And here’s what the angel said:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
It’s no surprise the angel opens with, “Don’t be afraid.” The shepherds whom the angel appeared to must have been terrified! How startling to be in the middle of a normal day taking care of your flock and have something so unexpected happen! And not only unexpected—something that absolutely changed the course of history.
The angel also knew what the shepherds did not: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” The Messiah ...