freespiritseedcompany

Set Your Heart to Seek God

These verses talk about setting one’s heart to seek God. That is, to follow him deliberately, in a totally premeditated kind of way. I encourage you not to follow him half-heartedly. Don’t just go with the flow of the Christians around you. Don’t let yourself follow him 99.9%. Go all the way in. Set your heart – right now and every day – to be all the way his.

1 Samuel 7:3 – And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

2 Chronicles 11:16 – And those who had set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

2 Chronicles 19:3 – Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.

2 Chronicles 27:6 – So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 30:18-19 – Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers.

Ezra 7:10 – For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

2 Chronicles 20:3 – Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

2 Chronicles 26:5 – He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

Daniel 9:3 – Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Psalm 57:7 – My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!

Psalm 108:1 – My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!

Psalm 112:7 – He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

What can happen when you don’t set your face to seek and obey him:

2 Chronicles 12:14 – And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

There is cause-and-effect here. The reason he did evil was not because he had resolved to. It was because he failed to set his heart to seek the Lord.

Let us set our hearts – today – to seek him fervently and go all in.

Increase Your Happiness Now by Living in Light of Coming Judgment

If you feel overburdened by how much there is to do, you may find a lot of freedom by living in light of coming judgment. And what I mean is this.

There are many things we will be held accountable for, but there are so many things we will not.

We will give account for how well we loved people (our choice), but not for whether we made other people happy (their choice).

We are responsible to speak up (our decision). We will not be asked on Judgment Day, however, whether we successfully changed the tide of culture (others’ decisions). Over the centuries, millions have spoken out in obedience to God and the culture rejected them instead of listening, Jesus being the obvious example. But he doesn’t call us to make people change, only to obey him.

Also, we involve ourselves in a lot of things that seem good but perhaps God didn’t call us to them. Maybe we choose what’s good in our eyes instead of what’s best in his. And at the Last Day, we only answer for what he / we are only rewarded for what he called us to do.

So if we feel very weighed down by having too much to do, it may simplify some things if we live more in light of coming judgment.

The One Reason You Deserve Massive Respect

Imagine you take your car or truck to a mechanic, and just as you walk out, you notice something. On the floor is a towel with one of your favorite pictures of yourself on it. But people are not respecting it. They walk right across your likeness over and over, wiping their shoes on it as they go. Then you notice more. The cashier has begun cleaning the desk with another towel bearing the same photo, wiping up grease and spilled coffee. She sees the angst on your face and dismisses your concern with, “Oh, we go through a lot of those, about a thousand every three months. This place stays a mess. We always keep a bunch of boxes in the back.”

You would likely find that behavior rather offensive. It’s not because of the inherent value of the cloths, though. It’s because of whose image is on it.

Similarly, you and I and all humans deserve tremendous respect for one reason only – we bear God’s image. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). We have his photo printed on us, so to speak.

To say it a different way, everything good about you is part of God that He put on display through you. Creativity, love of music, healing the sick, and being organized are a few things that were present in God first, which he maybe now puts on display through you. That is precisely why you have those characteristics. We might say he created you so he could tell the world, “This is an example of what I am like.” Other good traits about Him – and you – may include being scientific, a good leader, a good listener, or a nature lover. He loves animals. He loves babies and little kids. He likes strength. Loyalty and honesty in friendship are high priority for him, and love is of utmost importance.

That is exactly why you deserve to be treated with dignity, and it means so many things for you. It’s ok for you to stand up for yourself (e.g., “Treat me with dignity or we can’t be close”), or even to leave an abusive relationship. Abuse is never how his image – you – deserves to be treated. Even if someone dislikes you, they still owe you dignity. Nobody gets to say or act like you are worthless or ‘less than’ or an unwanted mistake. Those are lies, because God and God alone has the right to define you, no one else. After all, he made you in his image, with his photo printed on you. We aren’t equal with God, but he did fashion us to portray him in many ways.

It’s ok for you to have an opinion because you matter. When someone cuts you down for feeling upset, excited, or any other feeling, they have made a grave mistake. That’s because God’s image deserves never to be insulted or invalidated. You reflect God’s nature by the good things in you, so nobody gets to tell you your feelings are stupid. Not all emotions are healthy to hold onto, and many should never be acted upon. But, you have the right to feel what you feel. Even your emotions are part of God sharing with the world a sample of what he is like, because he had emotions first. They’re part of Who He Is.

He wept, John 11:35.

He grieved, Luke 19:41-44.

He got angry over injustice and hypocrisy, Luke 11:37-52.

He felt joy, John 15:11.

He had compassion, Mark 6:34.

Everything good about you is God showing the world, “This is what I am like.” And that is why you deserve massive respect.

You may also enjoy Boundaries as an Act of Worship in Three Paragraphs, https://freespiritseedcompany.com/2023/03/19/boundaries-as-an-act-of-worship-in-three-paragraphs/,

and Everything Good About You is Part of God that He Put on Display Through You, https://freespiritseedcompany.com/2025/02/11/everything-good-about-you-is-part-of-god-that-he-put-on-display-through-you/

On Finding God’s Will

To my children:

These are excerpts from Exodus 35:21-22,26, and 36:2, passages about building the tabernacle shortly after leaving Egypt.

‘And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord ’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments… All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets … All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. ‘ ‘And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. ‘

God’s means of accomplishing his purposes in this scenario was not via prayer and fasting, but simply people doing what their hearts wanted to do. The point seems further corroborated by the phrase ‘every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill.’ Where did the skills that their hearts stirred them to use come from? Yes, God deliberately, calculatedly, put the talent in their minds.

I do not say we should obey our hearts, only that we should listen to them. Moreover, this context only supports following your heart with regard to specific skills – what we do with our hands – not who to marry or how to behave, which are matters of morality.

So when I urge you to pursue a path in life that you love, be it mechanical engineering, video games, flying, dancing, crocheting, drawing, singing, this is what I’m getting at. I believe God put specific desires in each of you, deliberately, methodically, and he wants to accomplish his purposes by you following your heart to use those skills.

When We Stress over the News

Sometimes it’s hard to stomach mainstream news channels. Lots of foundationless accusations, plenty of spinning the truth to serve a godless agenda, all replete with bad logic.

Then I read this. It’s the exact same tone as the news today.

“And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”” Luke 23:2 ESV

It smells the same as Satan in the garden. Accusation. Half truths. Selfish agenda. No fear of God.

It makes me less stressed reading the headlines, because it’s not a new thing, not a ‘crisis.’

How should a godly person respond? With a view toward the long term.

“For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” Psalm 73:3, 5, 16-17 ESV

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭5‬, ‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Three Paragraphs on Disorder

A lot of things appear disorderly, but aren’t. Pi, for instance, is 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679. That string of numbers looks pretty random to me. I see no pattern. But in fact, that is the only possible order for the first hundred digits of Pi.

I wonder how many of the things God does or allows are like that. We see no meaning in them. To us, they seem all out of order. God does not appear to be in control of our situation. But we must remember that our understanding is so very minuscule, whereas his is vast, boundless.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Everything Good About You Is Part of God that He Put on Display Through You

How many of these he has displayed through you?

Creative
Healer
Forward thinking
Imaginative
Compassionate to the underprivileged
Loves to sing
Loves animals
Artistic
Strong
Influential
Organized
Free Spirited
A good leader
Visionary
Loves relationships
Good at expressing yourself
Stalwart
Has good boundaries
Loves babies and children
Mechanically inclined
Science lover
Good at math
Poet
Likes to write
Very competitive
Sensitive
Laughs
Gardener
Likes a pleasing aroma
Feels things deeply
Passionately pursue who you love

A Letter to My Children

There is a strange little treasure in this verse.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You will find as you continue maturing that things you enjoy satisfy up to a point. That is good. They are gifts from God to you personally. Yet there’s this threshold beyond which they just don’t fill you.

Everything good comes from God to point us back to him.

You see it in the culture and hear it in music – people searching and trying everything to fill them up. People look in love, money, fame, but they can tell something’s still missing. Maybe the most classic line is “I can’t get no satisfaction. I try and I try and I try and I try, but I can’t get no satisfaction.”

If you want your heart and soul and mind to be filled to the top, hunger and search for righteousness. People who do that will be satisfied.

The reason they – and only they – will indeed be satiated is because fullness of joy is found only in God himself.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If you hunger for righteousness and holiness, you are hungry for God.

Food and romance, influential power and wealth don’t quench our desires all the way down for a reason. They were only ever meant to point away from themselves to God. That’s why he invented them.

“What do you have that you did not receive?” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬a. The implication is that truly everything we have is a gift. Even the things we got through our own hard work, we still received because the ability to work hard is a gift from God.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭17a‬. That is, everything good that we have is a gift specifically from none less than our Creator.

Fame, romance, money and relationships are not evil. God will give them to his people in inconceivable abundance in the next life, and in smallish ways in this one. Both here and in Heaven, they are gifts from God to draw our attention to the Giver.

Everything good comes from God to point us back to him.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We must let all the Good Yet Not Totally Satisfying things of earth draw our attention upward into hunger for God. Then our appetites will be fully satisfied.

Four Reasons God is The Original Party Animal

His very first miracle was to improve the party.

This was when he turned the water into wine at a wedding banquet. John 2:1-11. He didn’t beef up the party with more meat or pastries, but with wine — about 150 gallons of it (not for debauchery, though, Ephesians 5:18.) Try to imagine a bridal reception running out of drinks, and someone trucks in that much wine. What would that do to the party? How would you feel about the one who brought it? This must be a generous and extremely happy God, indeed.

He sings, and he celebrates with fervent excitement.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17. According to Oxford Languages, ‘exult’ means ‘feel or show triumphant elation or jubilation.’ In our lingo, that sounds like people screaming at the top of their lungs when their football team crushes their arch rival. Try to imagine God celebrating like that. Picture him singing and singing loudly. What would that sound like? Ponder him singing at the top of His voice because he feels extreme enthusiasm and is overjoyed about you. What would that look like?

He hosts the marriage feast of the Lamb and all humans are invited.

Revelation 19:6-9. Wedding festivities in Bible times often lasted a full week. It was a big deal. All nuptial celebrations are only foreshadowing, such tiny little hints of what’s to come. When God Almighty throws a banquet for his bride, which is his people, exactly how big of a party do you think that will be? He sustains all the power of the atom with his mere word (Hebrews 1:3), and does with each molecule as he wills (Psalm 115:2). He measures the universe in handbreadths (Isaiah 40:12). When he spoke a few words, all the galaxies, all the stars, all the planets came into being. He stretches out the heavens (Isaiah 40:22) and rolls them up (Isaiah 34:4) as he pleases. This is the kind of power he wields, and it takes him zero effort. So if he turns that power to throwing a feast for billions of party-goers and he loves to sing loudly and celebrate, what oh what will that party be like?

God’s presence is where all the delights are, and where all good things come from, including parties.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” James 1:17a. All the good Christmas parties, birthday get-togethers, and all the fun times with good friends are gifts directly from the heart of God to us. Plus, the psalmist says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11. A paraphrase could be, “When I am with You, Jesus, I am finally all the way happy. With you, I have pleasure forever.” Where in this life do we have endless pleasure? At our very best celebrations, we get tired and need sleep. Our stomachs get full. We run out of wine. Doesn’t it make us hungry for the next life where the celebration never dies, and it always goes according to plan? God loves joy. He is a happy, jubilant God, he loves pleasure and excitement, and he loves to make his children happy in him. He is where all the happiness and beauty are (Psalm 96:9-11), and he wants us to have all of him.

How to be Better Imitators of God

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Next time you read the Bible, consider asking Him to show you how to imitate him better. Here are a few examples.

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬
We can look for ways to be more merciful, and to show more grace. We can be slower to anger, and increase the amount of love we show others. Perhaps there are chances to be more faithful in the little things.

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬
God is slow to anger, but he has his limits. He hates certain things. Jesus was angry in the temple, with righteous indignation. Maybe we should be more outraged, but only in the ways God is. “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jesus had a reputation of being a Friend of Sinners. Are there ways we can be not just compassionate, but truly a friend of those who are at the bottom of society?

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God is the Creator. When we, too, are creative, we emulate him. The same idea appears in ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭8‬, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” When we make things with our hands, we imitate him.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” ‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In this verse, God is a rescuer, One who calms children, one who celebrates, and he is a singer. When we behave in these ways, he is expressing part of himself through us. Some of us may benefit from singing even more than we already do, or putting extra effort into rescuing (whatever that means for you), or being freer to celebrate things that deserve a party.

When we go to God’s Word, we can ask him to expand our vision of how to be imitators of Him. Everything good comes from him, James 1:17, including the ability to be super analytical, gifted in caring for animals, or being a good leader. Maybe ask him to increase your vision of how you already are imitating him and just weren’t aware of it.