I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me. Proverbs 8:17.

God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14.

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 ESV.

I love what Dallas Willard wrote in Hearing God: “It is true in general, as G. Campbell Morgan has written in How to Live, that “wherever there are hearts waiting for the Voice of God, that Voice is to be heard.” Meditate: Savor God’s words recorded in Proverbs 8:17. How is someone who loves and seeks God likely to experience His daily moments of mercy and guidance? If you wish, ask God to help you become one who loves Him, one who seeks Him, a heart waiting for His voice.”

I loved in the sermon yesterday about how Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, calls us so we can be open to Him, and I think He calls us throughout our lifetimes and we reach that point where our heart responds to His call. Our heart knows. And as we walk with God, and as He walks beside us, He can begin a work of correcting our misconceptions so we can see how wonderful His truth and His love are. A process of growing to know one another and in knowing, to trust that His love is for our good always. His love is our abundant life with Him and our abundant life is in His love! And look at our chapter…Jeremiah 29…God told Jeremiah to send a letter to the exiles in Babylon where God had sent them. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper…Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in My name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My good promise to you and bring you back to this place…For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity.” v. 4-14. Can you imagine how that was received? God Himself had a plan for them and He has a plan for us, too. And just like people in every age, there were those who did not want to listen to God. V. 24-32 talks about Shemaiah the Nehelamite and what his end would be.

There is a difference in living your life on your own and in living your life walking beside Creator God. With Him beside us we never walk alone. He knows you intimately. He wants you to know Him. And He is here for you always. He will help you understand things you could never understand walking on your own. How can we begin to understand the One who created all things that exist unless we turn to Him? Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. That is why it is said: “Wake up sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:11-14. We are so afraid of exposure, but God exposes our darkness so the light of His love can help us see what is true; and He corrects all that the darkness has done to our understanding that brought us such great harm. In the darkness we are dead. Why do you think Jesus came? He wasn’t sacrificed like the helpless animals sacrificed at the temple. He took our darkness to the Cross! And then He rose and sits at the right hand of the Father! Wake up, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.