Tag Archives: God

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/

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.

We Should Seek More Glory

It is true that we should not look to increase our own glory.

”It is not good to eat much honey: So for men to search their own glory is not glory.“
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

What then does Father mean when he says this?

”He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I think the answer is in which source we want glory from. Here he lists two different ones:

”But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.“
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Men can praise us, or God can. If the idea of God praising you seems strange, like it does to me, that’s what the Bible says. A famous example is when Father says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” Matt 25:23. (Praise is different from worship, if you think about it.)

So we can choose. We can seek the glory from man that is small and short-lived, or seek the glory that comes from The Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, Who Is, and Who Was, and Who is to Come.

You’re Broken, Not Defective

You might be broken, but you’re not defective. They’re not the same thing, not at all.

You could think of it like this. You make a clay pot and put it in the kiln. When you take it out, the handle falls off, and the bottom crumbles. That’s defective. It wasn’t made well. It’s junk. You make another clay pot and it turns out beautiful. Then someone drops it on the floor. Now it’s broken. It was made perfectly, but later it got damaged.

That is me, and maybe you, too. Most importantly, it’s Jesus. Brokenness is something he, you, and I all have in common. He was perfect, but he got thrown on the floor and broken. He was abused, taken advantage of, and violated in the worst possible way. (See also
https://freespiritseedcompany.com/2022/01/22/2/)

He was broken — all the way broken — maybe just like you.

Your heavenly Father defines who you are, not your brokenness.

He was forsaken by his friends, beaten repeatedly, tortured.

But that is very different from being defective.

Your heavenly Father defines who you are, not your brokenness. Not other people. And not even you. He made you wonderful, the Bible says (Psalm 139:14). He is The Highest Artisan, and he personally handcrafted you, right there in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).

Maybe someone lied and said you’re a mistake, an accident, should never have been born. I’m gonna be honest and say your Creator drew the detailed blueprints for you way before you were ever conceived. Before time began, to tell the truth. So no, you’re no accident. You have purpose. You should ask him to reveal that to you. It might be as simple as, “He put me here to praise him.”

A defective pot is worthless and useless. But a handsome, beautiful pot that has been shattered only needs to be put back together. He can do that with you, just like happened with Jesus. It’s his specialty.

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.” ‭‭Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

That is an agricultural image. Picture endless miles of crops. Millions of insects descend on it, devour, and leave it in shreds. Maybe that is like many of the years in your life. It is mine. Somehow, he is slowly restoring to me ‘the years the locust has eaten,’ piece by piece. He’s putting my broken pieces back in place. It’s mysterious, but he can repay to you everything you lost, as he promised. Just keep following him, and don’t give up.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬
If he can make us from the dust, can’t he remake us, too?

“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.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

It’s Ok If You’re Afraid

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

Somebody is afraid. Maybe with good reason. God is not angry at you for feeling scared. Are you going to bring it to him? Or carry it yourself. He is not mad, but just understand you don’t have to be afraid.

Isn’t that what Psalm 23 is about? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” That means you’re surrounded by evil. It’s dark, shadowy. The normal response is to fear. Father says you can be inside the evil and not fear it because He is with you in it.

Five Verses for Easter 2023

I’ve spliced into these verses another name of Jesus found elsewhere in the Bible.  Each is in all caps.

“Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged JEHOVAH, delivered him to be crucified.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And THE ALMIGHTY said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When YAHWEH had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” ‭‭John‬ ‭19‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But when they came to the HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO IS, AND WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” ‭‭John‬ ‭19‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered THE CREATOR up to be condemned to death, and crucified him… And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.” ‭‭‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭13‬-‭14‬, ‭19‬-‭20‬, 31 ‭ESV‬‬