A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Wednesday,
October
20,
2021
Decorative gourd with Scripture
(Photo by Doris High, who along with her husband Cerwin, are local friends)
"Hide And Seek" (Part 2)
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"'You will
seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you,' declares the Lord" (Jeremiah
29:13,14). "Seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). “And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him
must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who
earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
This two part teaching is in part prompted by observing our kitten Gracie, who likes to hide and she likes to seek.
Three days
after we got her on August 31st Ester had her playing on her
phone, watching a fish video. Well, now she likes to watch
cat videos on my big monitor screen, often interrupting me
when I'm trying to type, since she must think I should
always have fish swimming in my monitor. She jumps up on me
and then to the desk and stares at the screen, initially
chasing after the mouse pointer, but is really happy when I
pause to open a cat video on the big screen!
Yesterday we
considered a vital "hide" in the spiritual discipline of
hiding and seeking. We considered how we are to "hide" or
internalize God's Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Today
we consider what we are to "seek" or follow after.
"A famous
story in the annals of physics tells of a 5-year-old Albert
Einstein, sick in bed, receiving a toy compass from his
father. The boy was both puzzled and mesmerized by the
invisible forces at work, redirecting the compass needle to
point north whenever its resting position was disturbed.
That experience, Einstein would later say, convinced him
that there was a deep hidden order to nature, and impelled
him to spend his life trying to reveal it." (Brian Greene)*
Indeed
Einstein famously spent his life seeking after scientific
knowledge but only eternity will reveal whether he found the
ultimate source of the "deep hidden order to nature". We
know what that Source is don't we!
Everyone is
ultimately seeking something in life. Some seek fame,
beauty, a muscular build or an attractive figure, others
seek wealth, power, prestige and on and on the list goes.
The main focus is the object of our seeking and to use the
words of the Psalmist our highest seeking should be seeking
God. "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I
seek after!" (Psalm 27:4).
Today's first
text is from a letter written by Jeremiah to the exiles in
Babylon which is recorded in Jeremiah 29. What a message of
assurance during a dark time! In spite of years of rebellion
and rejection the promise was, "'You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart'". That's
a great promise for us to hide in our hearts and
practice. May we have that word of blessed assurance today,
“I will be found by you,” declares the LORD.”
The second
text has likely been memorized by many of our readers. A
song from the seventies was an aid to us in easily
memorizing this verse. "Seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” should be a lifelong pursuit. It is the main
thing. We do that first, both in order and primacy, and all
the other stuff of life will fall into place.
The final text
we use today is another rather famous verse and likely
memorized by many of our readers. Today we just focus on the
last phrase, "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”.
That reward is presented to those who earnestly seek Christ,
both present and more fully in our future life. Let us all be God seekers!
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Holy God, I
want to seek You above all others and above all
other pursuits, for as long as I live. Thank You for
the promise that when we seek You with all our heart
we will find You. I want to have faith that pleases
You. I do believe You exist and are a rewarder of
those who earnestly seek You. Help me to seek Your
kingdom first and foremost! Amen.An
article in National Geographic featured a story
about a massive super accelerator known as the Large
Haldron Collider in Europe that physicists use for
testing. In school Physics was and it remains to me
the hardest type of science to in any way
comprehend. But I still found the article
interesting.
A main focus in the experiments is to discover the “Higgs particle”, which also has the designation “the God particle.” According to the article it’s the missing evidence in a theory in physics that explains a basic characteristic of the universe.
A main focus in the experiments is to discover the “Higgs particle”, which also has the designation “the God particle.” According to the article it’s the missing evidence in a theory in physics that explains a basic characteristic of the universe.
Now
(and this where it becomes absolutely
incomprehensible to me) the article states that the
Higgs particle will last “less than a millionth of a
billionth of a billionth of a second before decaying
into a spray of other particles.”
Now
many of us have stop watches on our phones that
measure time to the hundredth of a second. But
really, I have to believe really, really, really
hard that there is any way a time measurement of “a
millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second”
can be determined with preciseness. You know what, I
think the scientists do as well, though many would
never admit it. And yet in
the article it’s stated as an absolute fact, with no
words like believe, conjecture or even estimate, but
merely a matter of fact statement.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
The autumn color changes are beginning in our area as seen in this road in southern Lebanon County we passed yesterday.
A young mother hauling her two young sons in a small cart behind the scooter near New Holland. In our area the Amish ride brightly colored scooters to get around.
"Seek
Ye First" Video
Maranatha Music This is one of the first
Scripture choruses we learned as young
Christians in the seventies. Putting Scripture
to music, as many of you know, is a great aid to
memorization and hiding God's Word in our
hearts!
"Yes
I Will" Video Anthem Lights
*
"How the Higgs
Boson Was Found" Brian
Greene Before the elusive particle
could be discovered—a smashing success—it had
to be imagined.
For the terminally
curious
here's the fish video our kitten so
immensely enjoys. Perhaps some of our readers
avail it already for their felines. Even if
Gracie is not near the computer she hears the
splashing water sound and comes running to
jump up on the desk to watch!
Many have heard and been
praying concerning the kidnapping of
missionaries in Haiti. We learned this is
related to Christian Aid Ministries which has
a strong presence in our area. May the Lord
grant grace, peace, strength and wisdom to
each of them, including children, and all
those seeking their release.
The autumn color changes are beginning in our area as seen in this road in southern Lebanon County we passed yesterday.
Colors are also changing in the
Midwest in this Autumn scene at Prairie
Lakes Park in Cedar Falls, Iowa taken by
Steve Ephraim, an Iowan reader.
A young mother hauling her two young sons in a small cart behind the scooter near New Holland. In our area the Amish ride brightly colored scooters to get around.
Finally
today:
When
we first got married in 1976 we got two
pets, a puppy we named Enoch and a kitten
we named Coon. Here's Coon peeking out of
a hole in our propane tank! (Editor's
note: Stephen was 21 the year we married
but still very much a young boy in pulling
pranks - since he no longer lived at home
with a younger sibling he liked to tease
the pets which is evident in this photo.)
A
good message on a church sign and an
important reminder that our only hope is
in Jesus, the Lamb of God!
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a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
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Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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