Okay, wow. It’s been a couple months. Where do I start? It has been such an amazing journey at this point. I would say I can’t even tell you, but I’m going to try to do it anyways.
So..
There’s this weight bench, right? It’s kind of a big thing.. pulleys.. and it’s got 200 lbs worth of plates over here.. you’ve got the bench press.. you’ve got a leg press. It’s one BIG unit. It’s been down in our basement. Well, we had our basement flood last summer. That ended up with us getting all new flooring, all across the entire basement which was—thank you Lord—that was fantastic. It was a little bit of work on our part, little bit of money on our part, but essentially, we got our basement re-floored and painted.
Wonderful. A blessing, truly.
As all of that was happening, we ended up trying to get rid of this weight bench. I hadn’t used it in over a year (since I began my meditation practice, really, and then I was doing free-weights prior to that.) The thing sat there in the basement, in pieces, for months. I had put out a couple ads on Craigslist, and—nothing.
It wasn’t moving.
I would get phone calls. They’d say, “Oh yeah, it sounds great.” If I was lucky enough I would get a phone call again, and they would say, “Well no, I’m not going to come out. Thanks, I’ve found another one cheaper,” or whatever. I had dropped the price already, which I thought was pretty reasonable. This bench was a $700-$800 unit, retail. I was selling it for $100 bucks. Finally—after some time—my wife says, “Why don’t I see if I can run it through my channels, and maybe we can still get rid of it?” I said, “Great, go ahead.”
Sure enough, we get somebody who wants to buy the bench for her husband. We make arrangements for them to come pick it up. Just an interesting side-note, these people go to our same church on Sundays. That was kind of a weird coincidence. (But, we don’t believe in coincidences, right?)
So they come over, and as they’re hauling it away there’s a concern that maybe they don’t have all of the pieces, or maybe when they do get it home they won’t be able to get it all set up properly. I’m like, “Alright, well, absolutely. Here’s my number. If you can not get it set up properly, give me a call. I’ll come out to your place (a 20 to 25 minute drive) and I will help you put it together.”
A couple days go by. I finally get the text saying, “Yeah, I think there are bolts missing.” I’m like, “All right. Where are the bolts missing?” The husband described the place that we thought maybe bolts were missing. I looked up the operations manual, found the size of the bolts, went to Home Depot, bought the bolts, and then coordinated with him to drive out during a weekday, and help him put this thing together.
In the process of all that I had given him a call at one point. His voicemail said, “Hey, this is Scott, and oh, by the way, this is also the home of Inner City Ministries.” I said, “Well, that’s kind of interesting. I like to talk about God. I’ll file that away. Maybe I’ll ask him about it.”
I’m out at his place now. We’re in his pole barn, setting up this weight-bench. We’re just talking chit-chat. He’s very personable. I ask him, “So, what’s Inner City Ministries about? What’s this ministry thing I heard on your voicemail?” We start talking. He’s telling me that he goes out into the street and witnesses to others about Jesus Christ. I’m like, “Wow, that’s great. That’s awesome. I love that.”
He turns the table then, and asks me where I’m at spiritually. I said, “Yeah, I’ve been going through this spiritual awakening lately. I’m reading things like John Main and doing some Eastern meditation.. reading some St. Teresa of Avila..” and he goes, “What? St. Teresa? You’re the only Christian that I’ve heard of who’s even heard of St. Teresa. What do you know?” I said, “Oh, I love her stuff talking about contemplative prayer, the seven mansions of the spirit, and just that evolution towards God, and going within.” He’s says, “Yeah, that’s right, that’s it.”
What ends up happening next? We have this great sharing of spiritual journeys, and he’s got an amazing story. I’ll let him tell it at some point in the future. I’m not going to steal that thunder.
(It was funny though. I had the suspicion on the drive out to his place like, “Lord, I don’t know, but wouldn’t it be interesting if this guy turns out to be a lifelong friend?” It was an odd thought that crossed the mental landscape and away it went.)
So, by the time we got done talking, both of us had gotten near tears once or twice. It was just an amazing, amazing experience. I drove away shaking because of the evidence of God in my life during that conversation. It was wonderful. I just thought, “Wow God, you are the Great Orchestrator. The way that weight bench sat in my basement for so long, and then finally moved with this family. The issues, and the voice mail, and just the layers of things that had to stack up on top of each other—the thin threads that led me to having this conversation. It’s just amazing.”
It was amazing to me.
Oh, but there’s more. I’m going to stop here though. I have more to tell you about. This story gets even deeper. In my next post, I’ll be talking about regeneration, salvation—all sorts of stuff—you know, like renouncing yoga. Stay tuned.
A billboard reads “Cain killed Abel with a rock. It’s a heart problem; not a gun problem. Jeremiah 17:9” I first shared this graphic on Facebook on October 3, 2015, after yet another school shooting. What came next was a brief but emotionally-charged conversation over gun control. A polarizing issue; some folks clamor for it while some reject the idea outright.
I say the gun, the bomb, the sword—they’re all just inanimate things with no minds or ill-will of their own. The issue is the intent behind their invention, continued production and use. If there was a true respect for life in humanity, there would be no need or desire for these things to even exist.
Therein lies the “heart problem”.
As I’ve entered a period of regeneration in my Christian walk, I’ve been getting clear on God’s guidance in regards to the hot topics that face our fallen world today. One of the ways I have been doing this has been by plugging into learned teachers of the Christian faith like Greg Bahnsen, Joel McDurmon of American Vision and Jeff Durbin of Apologia Church.
Since I’ve begun voraciously listening to the Apologia Church crew via their Apologia Radio broadcast, I’ve stumbled over a troubling pro-gun, anti-legislation stance that isn’t sitting well with me. I normally really respect the apologetic training and message these folks are producing. Their work has been vital in helping me clarify what I believe and why I believe it. Still, this “biblical” slant on the right to bear arms feels out of place when held up next to what is usually spot-on biblical interpretation. In his October 2015 argument against additional gun legislation, Pastor Jeff returns to one of his primary influencers, Dr. Greg Bahnsen.
During a landmark debate against Dr. James Atwood over the issue of gun control, Dr. Bahnsen attempted to illustrate God’s will for us to protect ourselves according to Scripture. The examples he gives are the following:
Exodus 22:2 – Killing a thief found breaking and entering.
While lethal force is not actually condoned by God here, this passage provides legal advice depending upon whether the thief breaks in during the night or by day.
Judges 15 – The story of Samson killing many Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.
This revenge story seems to be an account of God’s justice being meted out upon the Philistines through Samson’s berserker rage.
Nehemiah 4 – The builders of the wall armed themselves.
A historical account of the steps Nehemiah’s men took to protect themselves as they worked on the wall; not a call to arms by God. Though Nehemiah trusted God would support their efforts, he and his men were still worldly enough to hold fast to their weapons.
Luke 11:21 – “When a strong man, fully armed, keeps his palace; his goods are in peace.”
When taken in full context, this reads a bit differently. The text goes on to say, “But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” The exegesis here is a reference to Satan being overcome by Christ and being “plundered” of his stolen souls. If anything, Christ is pointing to Satan’s error by trusting in his own power; not telling us we should go out and follow Satan’s self-reliant example.
Luke 22:36 – Where Jesus told His disciples to buy a sword.
Here Jesus is setting the stage for one of his last lessons before his death. Christ does not condone the use of the sword. This is evident when he admonishes the overzealous apostle for cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant (Luke 22:49-51). Just as certainly as he understands his anointing for burial (Matthew 26:12) and foretells his betrayal (Luke 22:22-23), he obviously foresees the lesson of the sword. This is why he orders the apostles to produce a sword, even if they must sell their cloak and buy one (Luke 22:36). When they offer two, his response is, “It is enough.”
So, I don’t agree with Bahnsen and I don’t agree with Durbin and company. I don’t believe God ever redacted that pesky sixth commandment “Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17). When the Israelites were led out of Egypt, did you ever notice it was God that doled out the justice? Not once was an Israelite citizen commanded to pick up a weapon and smite their enemy. I believe Scripture when I read:
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. (1 John 3:11-15)
If we stop a moment and mentally follow the time-tested litmus test of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), I hope it becomes obvious to us Christ wouldn’t be walking the Earth today carrying a concealed pistol. And if we truly believe he is the Truth, the Way and the Life, we know it is his example we are to chase and emulate; not an apostle’s, not Nehemiah’s, not Samson’s, nor that of anyone standing behind a microphone today.
Christ’s example to us was one of shocking love and meek sacrifice to sinners; not self-defense or self-reliance. Even as he prayed in the garden, his words were “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) If it is God’s will you be attacked in the dead of night, may I offer what is likely to be a grossly unpopular response to this?
God has allowed this to happen.
If we truly believe in God’s omniscience and omnipotence, that not a molecule in the universe is out of place; and if we truly believe in his protection and plan for us, we cannot doubt that either
we will be spared of any wrongdoing through the most elegant, divinely-orchestrated serendipity, or that
God intends to use our purgation in a redemptive, meaningful way, or finally
we’ve earned God’s wrath.
Lest we forget, we are not our own but His alone.
So, is deeper legislation the answer? Well, from a world-centered point of view, it may be a step in the right direction (depending upon the legislation, of course.) Through ensuring the right to bear arms, the founding fathers intended to keep a level playing field between the people and a wayward government or invading force. There is no way they could have foreseen the advances in warfare, technology and moral decline we’ve come to enjoy today. Still, this is man’s self-made law; not God’s.
So, is legislation the answer? It’s an aspirin to a headache. It treats the symptom, but it does little to address the underlying cause.
Yes, I agree tougher controls and legislation are needed in the short-term. Curiously, I’ve seen folks in this discussion make the leap to compare men and their guns with women and abortions (which is ennobled as ‘health care’).
(Retrieved from http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/uncategorized/epic-response-to-treating-abortion-like-gun-control.)
There have been over 54,000,000 abortions in the US since it was legalized 1973. (For perspective, the WWII Holocaust killed over 11,000,000.) While gun control is definitely an issue, crazed assault weapon owners haven’t even scratched the paint in taking this many innocent lives.
I see both issues as ‘heart’ issues. Both gun control and abortion could be removed from the table completely if humanity’s heart was in the right place. The fact we mass-produce killing machines and glamorize violence in our entertainment and media is indicative of the same heart sickness we suffer when we fail to recognize the value of human life in utero.
If we, as God’s people, held a true respect for life, guns and other instruments of warfare would be reduced to relics in a museum; dusty reminders of a medieval mindset that took way too long to dry up and blow away.
Church websites are often underfunded. While not surprising–as most are are non-profits–this underfunding often leads to ugly websites. No one likes an ugly website. The enigmatic, ubiquitous “they” say the first couple seconds someone visits your site determines whether or not they’ll decide to stick around. If your church website is not compelling, don’t expect anyone to stay for long. Home-grown church websites have a tendency of falling into the following traps:
1. The Christian colors
Although the pastel collection of Easter colors are beautiful in what they represent, using them all at once on your website may not result in the look you’re going for. Websites like this usually end up looking outdated and just plain tacky, so we would recommend avoiding them on your church website. Try using subtle color combinations that are warm and welcoming. Reds, browns, and creams are good examples.
2. Let’s talk about your pictures
Many ministries try to expand their photos, adjusting them for the website. This often times makes them warped and stretched. Be sure to get some quality staff photos uploaded. This will help you be more relatable to your website visitors. And speaking of images…
3. Seeing double
Lots of ministries grab stock photos for their websites. This is a great temporary solution but don’t keep the photos up longer than needed. It’s important to accurately represent the church. People that know your faces are more likely to visit the building.
4. Everything plus the kitchen sink
It’s great to have a website filled with content (Google loves that,) but there are exceptions. All your content shouldn’t be on a single page, otherwise you’re coming on a little strong. Make sure to spread things out a little bit so when someone visits your page they don’t have such a full plate.
Having a website is very important but it’s almost better to have no church website at all than to feature an ugly one.
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Let’s talk about loving God and loving God’s gifts.
Now this is something I am really still struggling with a lot. Let me set some stage here.
I was talking with a good friend of mine recently and he was talking about how he didn’t want to go to a prayer group because he felt like his concept of God was wildly different from the more conventional Christian mindset. He gave an example where one of his friends in that worship group made a reference to adultery or sex. The friend said that absolutely he shouldn’t be coveting his neighbor’s wife but by all means he should be able to go home and make sweet love to his wife as much as he wants.
On one level you can say, “Well, sure. That’s in accordance with the commandment of not coveting another’s property or another’s spouse or anybody else’s relationships.” That’s all good.
God Versus God’s Gifts
But I think if you take it a little bit further, we have a tendency as humans of gravitating towards the physical. The physical: All of the stuff that we have around us—our cars, our homes, our clothing, our jobs, our friends, our social circles—the things we possess. Even our bodies—our physical appearances.
It’s all God’s gifts, right? You’ve got God, the Giver, the Creator and you have God’s gifts. I don’t know many folks who aren’t in this trap already, a daily trap of being fixated on God’s gifts.
We may occasionally be thankful for God’s gifts. We may occasionally show gratitude for God’s gifts. But usually we’re concerned about losing God’s gifts or we’re praying to God for more gifts. “Lord, please help me with my car because it’s making new sounds,” or “God help me out with a better job, a higher paying job, more responsibility, less responsibility.” “Help me out with my spouse. We’re fighting all the time.” “Help me out with my kids. Make them more harmonious,” or “Help me to put some more jeans in the wardrobe.” Whatever.
First, God is not Santa Claus, right? We can agree to that. God is not Santa Claus.
But then, two, are we loving God or are we loving God’s gifts?
I think for me, this was a recent revelation. I’ve been eyeing cars. I think my car is about to fail (maybe.) It’s making new sounds and it’s an older car. A while ago, I was listening to some Dave Ramsey material. If you don’t know who Dave Ramsey is, he’s a financial expert. Through the results of one of his talks, I said, “All right, Lord. This information’s coming in. I need to probably adopt it. I’m going to sell my Jeep Grand Cherokee.” I loved the vehicle; I loved it, loved it, loved it. But I was paying over $300 a month for it and that was not so acceptable, so I took the information that had come to me and I put it into action. I ended up selling the Jeep. I was a little heartbroken about that, but with the proceeds from selling the Jeep, I was able to go out and pay cash for my next car; an older Toyota Camry. I bought it with 171,000 miles on it.
Well, now it’s got almost a quarter million miles on it and it’s making sounds and the struts are gone. The car is only worth about $2,000 but struts will cost about $1,700 and now it’s making some brake noises. You start shopping. You think, “Ooh, that car looks good,” and “Oh, that might be a nice car.”
You Are Not Your Belongings
We fixate on other people, we fixate on other things, and so much of it comes from identifying with the body as being us. We think that this fleshy vehicle that we use to maneuver through our day is us. It’s not us. We are souls. We are not bodies. If you cut off an arm, are you still you? Yeah. You’re still you. Your body has one less arm. That’s it.
An outgrowth of being fixated on our bodies is being fixated on other people’s bodies, it’s being fixated on things to cover our bodies, it’s being fixated on our comfort, it’s being fixated on our appearance; all of these things—our homes, our cars, our clothing, our people—it’s all God’s gifts to us. We live in this experience. We surround ourselves, we collect, we amass these collections of stuff and it separates us from God. We start to fixate. I think this is why Christ says, “It is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.” It’s because we’re fixated on all this stuff that we surround ourselves with.
“And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! …how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:23-25)
If you’re fixated on all of the material around you, where does that leave room for God?
What Is Your #1 Priority?
It is only by reducing our attachment to our stuff—to our bodies, to our clothing, to our relationships—who is the most primary relationship in your life? Most of you will probably say spouse. Many of you may say kids. You may say parents. You may say best friends. Ideally we would say God, but how much time do we spend with God as opposed to everybody else? Well therein lays your priorities, right? If God is your priority, what are you doing to close the gap between you and your Creator? What are you doing to clear away the clutter in your life in order to make more time for pursuit of God? Because guess what folks? We are intended to seek God. There’s over 40 references in the Bible to seeking God. It is not enough to be born again and to relax and rest and say, “Christ died on the cross for me. I’m forgiven. I’m done. I’m good. I belong to the club.” It’s not enough.
Begin Paring Back
If you are seeking God—if you’re seeking to close the gap between God and you, by continually diving into scripture, by meditating, by praying, by acts of service to fellow man and womankind—one of the other things I would suggest is to cut back on things that take up your time, things that take up your resources, things that separate you from God mentally and physically.
That’s my message today:Are you loving God or are you loving God’s gifts?
Are you in love with God’s gifts? Are you in love with the life that you have wrapped around yourself, the live you have accumulated for yourself? Yeah, you can say, “God’s given me everything and I’m really thankful.” Okay, but why do you do what you do? Is it to sustain the accumulation that you’ve brought to yourself or is it to honor and point others to God?
That’s the challenge. That’s what I’m struggling with. I would love an Audi A7. I would love a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I would love to infuse more clothes into my wardrobe. I would love to take my family on more trips. I would love to do things to our home like new paint here or different maintenance things. Oh, goodness. You know, more vacations, more free time, more just more, more, more, more, more.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (riches).” (Matthew 6:24)
When is it enough? Recently, I have found the most peace I’ve experienced in years in chasing after God. I have spent years on seeking to build businesses and build communities and do all this stuff and it’s all been about making a dollar, improving my own personal income, therefore my own household’s income and therefore quality of life. More comfort, more options.
None of that really reflects on being in it to win it for God.
The Meaning of Life Discovered
Over the past year, it’s been a real shedding process of getting things out, whittling down businesses, cutting off worldly business efforts and rechambering for God, really getting in and reassessing where I’m spending my time, where I’m spending my money and beginning to focus more on studying scripture, studying supporting documentation and even getting to the place now where I’m thinking of getting into a pastoral certificate or something along those lines. Just something, some work to get me closer to God. I’m doing lots of studying right now. Most of my evenings these days are turning away from supporting clients and money-making activities and is leaning more into garnering more of an understanding about God and creation and our purpose in it, which I’m coming more and more to believe, our purpose in this is to cleave to God.
That’s it. That is our game in this environment that we’ve placed ourselves. It is our responsibility. Our primary directive is to cleave to God.
That’s it. It’s that easy.
Why are we here? That’s the answer to life: To cleave to God.
All right folks. This is enough for now. This is Matt Schoenherr. If you’ve got any questions or comments or goodness, I would love to hear from you, so if you feel like you would bless me with your opinion, place some comments and open up the dialogue. I would love to talk with you about your thoughts on this post or any of my other posts. Let’s have a dialogue. That’s how we bring benefit to the world is by sharing our journey, sharing our experience.
Where have all the teachers gone? All across the United States, the number of people interested in taking on the teaching profession has been on the decline. The state of California has been hit worst, seeing a 53 percent drop in teachers since 2008.
Absolutely share this video, folks. Why are our teachers not paid more like medical professionals? Teachers are our all-stars; not folks chasing balls across a field (sorry, athletes.. your physical prowess is great, but raising up young minds and hearts is better.) Matthew
Recently, I have been talking with a very dear friend about God and our responsibility as believers. She finished an account of her own personal spiritual journey with the following:
I believe you will get SOME of the answers you seek to your questions as you continue to seek God’s council through prayer.
Will you get all your answers? I don’t think so. If we are all knowing, where does that put God?
I’m not even a good facebooker so I presented this to you via email vs posting on your blog as I do not have the research to support.
Without my faith, I would be wandering aimlessly always searching.
I do not want to live like that again.
Tried it for 30 years, it didn’t work.
Her final comment gave me pause. I agree we can find peace in God. Absolutely. But I don’t believe we should stop seeking to close the gap between us and our Creator (and there is definitely a gap; more like a canyon.)
So, I turned to the Bible to see what it held. I find 40 entries in the form of examples and directives to seek the Lord.
I now feel I can rest into my restlessness.
Matt
Acts 17:27
that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
1 Chronicles 16:11
Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.
1 Chronicles 22:19
“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD.”
Psalms 14:2
The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.
Acts 15:16-17
‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’
Amos 9:11-12
“In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name,” Declares the LORD who does this.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Hosea 10:12
Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
Amos 5:4-6
For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live. “But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble. “Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
Jeremiah 50:4
“In those days and at that time,” declares the LORD, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek.
Hosea 3:4-5
For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
Hosea 5:13-15
When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver. I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’S anger.
Zechariah 8:20-23
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’
Proverbs 8:17
“I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. “When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
1 Chronicles 28:9
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
2 Chronicles 15:1-2
Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
Isaiah 45:19
“I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then 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.
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Luke 11:9-10
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
2 Corinthians 6:2
for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”–
Psalms 27:8
When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”
2 Chronicles 11:16
Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers.
Jeremiah 29:13
‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Deuteronomy 4:27-29
“The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you. “There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
1 Chronicles 22:17-19
David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, “Is not the LORD your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people. “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 15:12-15
They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.
Psalms 63:1
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Matthew 6:33
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Luke 12:31
“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Psalms 27:4
One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.
Matthew 13:44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
2 Kings 22:11-20
When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant saying, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
2 Chronicles 14:2-7
Asa did good and right in the sight of the LORD his God, for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment.
2 Chronicles 17:3-6
The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. So the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.
2 Chronicles 20:1-4
Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Ezra 8:21-23
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
References
OpenBible.info. Retrieved on August 13, 2015 from http://www.openbible.info/topics/seeking_god.
Knowing Jesus. Retrieved on August 13, 2015 from http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Seeking-God.
