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Jesus Lures

AUGUST 27

MATTHEW 6:33_and his righteousness…

Jesus gives you something specific to seek in the kingdom of God: righteousness. God’s righteousness is to obey His principles and live in them.

When you seek God’s kingdom you discover His righteousness. One more example of you can’t have one without the other. You are designed to seek that relationship. Jesus lures you to it.

This relationship has been compared to courtship. Jesus proposes—He hopes you will say yes. If you do, then just like finding gold at the end of the rainbow—you find His righteousness. Notice, the seeking turned from Jesus seeking you to you seeking Him—and His righteousness.

God’s principles are steadfast. They have been since the beginning of time. They do not weaken or fade with time. They are as solid in the book of Genesis as they are in the book of Revelation. They are foundation material—something on which to build your life. 

Deuteronomy 33:27 (KJV), “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms …”

Wow! The everlasting arms are the foundation material upon which to build your house!

Righteousness is something God rewards, II Samuel 22:21 (KJV) “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness ….”

You can’t be righteous on your own—seek God’s righteousness!

PRAYER

Righteous Father, I want Your righteousness for the foundation of my life. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is righteousness—He will teach me!

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Your Ticket Out

AUGUST 26

MATTHEW 6:33_the kingdom of God…

If you seek God first, at a young age, you’ve made a wise decision. You are on the right path. If you are toward the end of your teen years, or mid-way through adulthood, or even in your senior years—it’s never too late. Jesus has been knocking on the door of your heart all these years. He is not one to walk out on those He seeks because they don’t welcome Him right away. Jesus patiently seeks you, wherever you are.  Whether that’s the pit, the gutter, or the dead-end street, Jesus seeks you. Don’t think you have to come out from those places for Jesus to want you. Jesus is your ticket out!

Know the most important thing in life and seek it.

Seek the first thing first.

Make the main thing the main thing.

Build a firm foundation on truth.

Proverbs 24:27 (KJV), “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.”

Work is seeking, the field is the world, and the house is your life. Build your life in accordance to God’s plan, not your own.

Another way to seek God first is in the earliest part of your day. Begin each day with Jesus. Become more aware of His presence.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, Help me seek You in the morning to be aware of You all day. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ seeks me wherever I go—He finds me!

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Seek!

 AUGUST 25

MATTHEW 6:33_But seek ye…

The word seek involves effort on your part. If you sit around and wait for something to happen—it won’t. If you pour water into a pot and place it over heat, sit around and wait, something will happen—it will begin to boil. Even that required some effort on your part. If you needed to boil water, you had to find water, a pot, and some type of heat. 

When you give time to seek something—you want it! Depending upon how much time and effort you put into the seeking—you really want it! Jesus is an action personality. If He tells you to seek, be certain it will require some kind of effort on your part. There is nothing sit around on your hands about Jesus!

At twelve years of age, while accompanying His family to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, Jesus vanished. The city was packed with people. The frantic parents searched for three days. Where did they find him? Luke 2:46 (KJV), “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors [teachers], both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Jesus was in the temple not only seeking truth, but giving it!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Help me put action to my seeking by prayer and Bible study.  Help me to seek what is true. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is a seeker of truth—He wants me to be!

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By Virtue of Being God

AUGUST 24

MATTHEW 6:32_for your heavenly Father knoweth ye  have need of these things.

If you have a pet, you are responsible for its care. You feed it. You water it. You wash and groom it. When necessary, you clean up after it. You train it in right and wrong. In the training process you have a way of discipline, and a way of rewarding.

What is the connecting thread for caring for your pet? Needs. Your pet comes with needs. It depends upon you to meet those needs. It is a pretty sorry owner who neglects the needs of a pet! The owner knows all these needs simply by virtue of being an owner.

Jesus taught us the depth of this concept when He referred to Himself as a shepherd and His followers as sheep. John 10:27-28 (KJV), “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” The sheep become acquainted with the voice of the shepherd because of his constant care for them. The Good Shepherd knows our spiritual need, “28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

Our Heavenly Father knows all our needs simply by virtue of being God.

PRAYER

Good Shepherd, Help me be aware of Your care for me, and know Your voice. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ wants me to know His voice—I will listen!

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But the Power of Jesus

NOVEMBER 29

MATTHEW 7:22_and in Thy name cast out devils…

Can these people actually cast out demons? Or do they think they can just convince Jesus they can? I don’t claim to know a lot about demonic possession, but I don’t believe there is any power to exhort them but the power of Jesus. 

Because life is spiritual as well as physical, we need to have knowledge of both. We primarily focus on the physical until we have had an encounter with Jesus and answer that knock. John 15:16 (KJV), “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

You didn’t become a Christian because it was your idea. You answered the call, the knock, the pursuing of Jesus. You responded, and now you are doing the asking, seeking, knocking, pursuing. You enter a strait gate and a narrow way to gain wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of truth. And why do you want truth? By now you’ve got this—to live free!

We must face the reality that the spiritual world consists of darkness as well as light. Jesus calls us to be light and light must be free.

Any encumbrances to light keep it from overcoming darkness.                   

PRAYER

God of Heaven, Please keep my light free to serve You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. 

Christ’s light is free from encumbrances—He frees mine!