This morning two of my good friends and I were talking about some of the popular things people think and how, if they followed through what they were thinking to the logical conclusion, they would see the beliefs they hold as being wrong. I think that much of the problem is that we don't think for ourselves anymore. We like holding onto thoughts and beliefs that sound good, but haven't actually sat down and thought through what we say we believe. We don't want to be bothered with pondering, but rather just want somebody to give us what we want without effort. We were talking about how we have become more and more reactive to the news, and apparently stopped thinking for ourselves.
We see this same thing in church, where we just want someone to tell us what we should believe. We don't want to be bothered with thinking things through for ourselves. I think that it is a rare place that is OK with the fact that people can have different opinions and thoughts than the leadership. We have created a bunch of non-thinking people, whose only relationship with God is based on what someone tells them about, not real experience, not having worked things out on their own, having read and pondered and asked. We have ceased self-feeding and thinking and instead want everything delivered in short edible chunks The problem is that God is found by those who ask, seek and knock, and wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to know Him personally. We would prefer the wholesale generic relationship of the masses. Lord, help us to understand the great value there is in You and our relationship with You! Here are some good verses that speak about seeking the Lord.
Isaiah 55:6 NIV: "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."
Matthew 6:33 NIV: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.?
Matthew 7:7-11 NIV:
[7] “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [9] “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? [11] If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
Lord, help us to seek You and find You. We want to know You, and be known by You. A.W. Tozer, one of my favorite authors, said this: "Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts." Tozer, "The Pursuit of God"
Amen!
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