Bible Verses
Jer 29:13-14 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord.. I will bring you back to the place from which i sent you into exile.
Jer 29:18-19 those who do not pay attention to my words that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, you would not listen… I will pursue with the sword, famine and pestilence
Ps 17:3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.. keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings
Ps 17:15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Rom 6:10-11 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
Rom 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either to sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Devotional Thoughts
God loved Israel with such an incredible love. He pursued them, sending his prophets over and over to bring his message of repentance. (Jer 29:18) He promised them that if they would just listen, forsake their idols and turn to Him, he would bless them. But, they did not. He promises that if they would seek him, they would find him. He promised that he would restore to them all they had lost. (Jer 29:13-14) But, they needed to seek him, but they would not. So, instead of finding God’s favor, they received God’s justice. (Jer 28:18-19)
God longed for his people to seek him like David did. Amazing that David could say, “You have tested me, you have tried me, but you didn’t find anything, because I set my heart not to transgress!” (Ps 17:3) Wow! What a statement.
What Paul says in Romans 6:16 is true. What you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey. Israel set their hearts on their idols, and it lead to their destruction. David set his heart on obedience, and it led to life. More than that, David says in Ps 17:15 that as he beheld the face of God in righteousness, he saw the likeness of God in Himself. That sounds like what Paul describes in 2 Cor 3:18. We are changed into His image by beholding Him.
Paul said, “You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6:11) it’s only when we consider ourselves dead to our own desires, dead to our idols, dead to the things that we give ourselves as slaves to obey… when we consider ourselves dead to those things, only then will we be able to behold His face in righteousness and wake up to the satisfaction of His likeness being seen in our life.
Prayer Outline:
- I pray we will recognize the things that we obey… the things that we are slaves to. As we recognize that, may we repent of those things.
- I pray you will listen to God’s message through his Word, His Spirit and His people, and respond to it… don’t be like Israel who failed to listen even thought God persistently sent people to bring his message to them. (Jer 29:18)
- I pray you will pursue God with the heart of David who purposed in his heart that his mouth would not transgress.
- As we seek the Lord, may we will continually be changed into His likeness (2 Cor 3:18)
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