Seek His Face!

Hello Dear Readers,

  I hope this week finds you doing well. That your relationship with God is growing and you are seeking Him in everything you do. As we continue to do this we are practicing His presence. The more we pay attention to His presence; we are learning what the presence of God is like. We can sense it in our hearts and we can know that He is working in our lives, at that moment. He is always there, but we don’t always sense it.

“The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them.’” 2Chronicles 15:1-4

  This is one of the most important things to remember, that when we seek God every day, He will be found by us. We can know when God is doing something in our lives in the moment, because we sense His peace in our hearts. Also, it is important to be alert to His promptings so we are able to do what He asks of us, because we are paying attention and listening carefully for His guidance. Me personally, I am calm in the moment God is working through me, doing as He directs, but after when I look back at what He was doing, I am exhilarated by His power working in my life!

   There is a down side in this, but it is for us to learn from. When we don’t seek God, He will not be there to guide us, and we are left on our own. This may seem fine in the moment, but when we look back at the situation and realize God was not in it, we then regret not asking God to be there with us. There is a sorrow that follows, but it is good for training us to keep seeking God’s face in all we do. Hopefully we learn from our self reliance and realize God is everything, and all that we need in order to walk in peace, protection, and guidance.

  As we grow in our understanding of God’s presence in our lives, we grow in confidence knowing that we are walking each day with Him. This guidance can be so detailed and precise down to each moment as we seek His will for everything we do. For example, “Lord, what should I do about this situation?” Listen for His response and then move forward in obedience to that response.” When you are walking closely with Jesus, He will respond promptly in each moment to moment request for guidance. This is so reassuring, knowing He is helping when we seek His help.

  Jesus does not force us to seek Him, He waits for us to turn to Him. The thing to remember though is that He loves you and me so deeply and longs for us to seek Him all day, every day. If this is hard for you to develop, ask Jesus to help you to get better at this. It may not be immediate, but He will give you the material, or people in your life that you need to help you overcome any obstacle that keeps you from doing His will. The key is what do you desire? God knows what is in your heart and what you desire, so if you truly desire to follow Him whole heartedly, He will make a way for you to do this. There is hope for everyone who desires in their heart to follow God each day. But we must act on those desires and work towards them. God will provide for you in beautiful ways as you grow in Him, each step of faith you make in obedience toward a closer walk with Him makes God’s heart fill with great joy, because you desire to know Him more intimately.

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” 1Chronicles 28:9

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:4-5

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Psalm 105:4

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

Jesus said: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Join me everyday as we seek God’s face in all we do. I know you will be blessed by His presence and in the process, you will be a blessing to God!

We will continue reading IIChronicles 10-24 for one more week.

Blessings,

Tricia

Humbly Receive God's Grace

Hello All Who are Loved by God,

“…if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7:14

  There is great security and comfort knowing that God loves us so much and deeply desires to forgive our sins through His Son Jesus Christ. There is nothing more valuable in this whole world than this one gift. But our hearts must be humble and willing to receive His grace in order to receive this forgiveness. Through the Holy Spirit’s help we are given the knowledge of what God calls sin. Then we must choose to humble our hearts before Him, and turn from our sinful ways.

  Having a humble heart, means we deeply desire to live our lives for Jesus. We understand and apply the things we have learned from Holy Spirit and God’s Word. When we understand what God calls sin, we can apply that knowledge to our everyday lives. There are still going to be times when we sin, hopefully this becomes less and less as we mature in Him. But when we do, we must realize what we have done and repent immediately. We do that by humbling our hearts under God’s authority and asking for forgiveness. If our hearts are truly humble, God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  It is very important to be sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit, because when we are, we will receive His guidance when we are sinning against God. I receive these important signals by listening to close friends whom I trust, God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit Himself. The more sensitive we are to His guidance, and the more humble we are to receive that guidance; we are better able to stay walking in God’s grace and growing in our daily walk with Him. Then, all that He has planned for our lives will come about in His perfect timing.  When I realize that I am sinning in some way, I immediately turn to God, ask for forgiveness and repent. When I do, I am relieved that God hears my prayers and responds in His loving way. There are so many times God has cleansed me from my sin. The only thing we need to do is call on the name of Jesus. He will come to those who fear Him, and He will heal our hearts and restore us to walking closely with Him every day. This is God’s desire for all of us.

  So let’s learn about God and His boundaries for us every day. These boundaries are for our protection so we can grow. Seek His face in all we do to do His will, and He will give us the desires of our hearts. Let’s walk with Him every day so we can get to know Him in a more intimate way. When we honor God with our time by doing things that teach us about Him, God is pleased and He will surely bless us.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7

“Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

“For the hearts of these people have grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and I would heal them.” Acts 28:27

  Let’s all desire the greater life God has for us, by following Him closely with our hearts focused on Him in all we do. God will honor our love and devotion to Him in beautiful ways that reflect His glorious nature. Come join me today in a close walk with Jesus.

  We will start reading IIChronicles 10 – 24 for two weeks.

Blessings,

Tricia

God's Great Love is for All

Hello Blessed Children of God,

  I hope this letter finds you well this week, and that you are walking in God’s will and receiving His great blessings. God’s great love for all of us is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. The love and provision of God is even greater for those who put Him first in their lives and seek His face in every part of their life. When God is in complete control of a person’s life, that person will receive God’s blessings that are far beyond what we could imagine.

  God calls us to put Him first in each of our lives. This is a personal choice that we have to make if we belong to Him. If we do decide to stop living for ourselves and start living for God, He will give us all we need to accomplish His will. God gives us the desire to make Him first through many influences that He provides in our lives. We receive these Godly influences when we choose to surround ourselves with Christian’s who live each day for God, Christian music that glorifies God in their words, reading His Word, and following His Voice. If we don’t have any Godly influences like this in our life, we won’t receive God’s providential guidance on what direction we should go in our life. This can leave a Christian feeling discouraged; lacking spiritual growth needed to follow God.

  Once we have started growing through God’s leadership, our job is to continue to seek His face in all we do. We can then be confident we are walking in God will that He has for us. Then once we have grown spiritually and endured many trials that cause even more growth, we can be sure He will move Heaven and earth to accomplish His plans for us.

  This is how much God loves us. As the saying goes, “He loves us the way we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way.” He desires for us to allow Him to do a good work in our lives. When we do this faithfully as He leads, He blesses us in unimaginable ways.

  Just as God blessed King Solomon with great wisdom and knowledge, God desires to bless each of us with special gifts that we can use to glorify Him in all we do. So let’s seek His face and put Him first. God is faithful to bless us as He sees fit. Walk in faith each day as you serve God in obedience to His leading.

“…I pray that you, rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

“The man who loves his life will loose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” John 12:25-26

  Seek God’s face in all things and He will give you the desires of your heart. This is His promise to those who love Him.

  We will read 2Chronicles 1-9 for one more week.

Love Tricia

God is Sovereign Over Everything

Hello Dear Ones,

  By the Sovereign grace of God we are all filled with life and the ability to do everything that we do everyday. God is sovereign over all people, all the earth, and the universe. It all belongs to Him and is controlled by Him. Nothing happens without Him knowing about it. There is no one like God.

  After making all the preparations for building the first Temple, “David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, ‘Praise be to You, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all; you are the ruler of all things. In Your Hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise Your glorious Name.’” 1Chronicles 29:10-13

  When we realize who God is, and His sovereignty over each of our lives, we will love and adore Him. We will come to understand all the ways that He has helped each of us in our lives, with the help of His Holy Spirit. Are there instances in your life that you suddenly realize that it was God who was there with you in a particular situation, good or bad? That is the Holy Spirit teaching you and ministering to your heart about God’s sovereignty in your personal life.

  The awesome fact about God is He is everywhere and in control of all things. He commands nature and rulers. He blesses the humble and brings justice to those who are proud. He is aware of every single person and every detail of each of their lives. He knows them better than they know themselves. I am humbled and in awe of God.

  He causes everything to happen at the perfect time in order for His purposes to be accomplished. There is nothing He can’t do for those who are willing to let Him be Lord over their life. But those who refuse to surrender to His Lordship over their lives will not receive His very best. I would like to encourage you to examine your relationship with God and ask Him to show you anything in your life that you are still holding onto. He will show you what you need to let go of if you are listening. Then let go of what ever He shows you and wait for His perfect timing to shower blessings and provision in your life. Remember our timing is not God’s timing. So we may have to wait for God’s perfect will to be accomplished in our lives. But if it is from God, it is worth the wait!

  “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessings from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who see Your face, O God of Jacob.” Psalm 24:1-6

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven.” Hebrews 1:3

It is a awesome thing to understand the immensity of God. That there is no way to fully understand Him, because if we could, He wouldn’t be God.

We will now start reading II Chronicles 1 - 9 for two week.

Blessings,

Tricia

Give God your All - Surrender Completely

Hello Dear Ones,
  My heart is at peace as it rests in the arms of my Savior Jesus Christ all day long. There is nothing that compares to knowing that your life is completely in the hands of the God of the Universe, because you have surrendered your whole life to Him. 
  The Christian has two choices to make after receiving Jesus as their Savior. They can choose to run their own lives and make their own decisions and hope for the best. Or, the Christian can choose to surrender their whole life, body, soul and spirit to the will and purposes that God has for their life.
  The latter is the only choice that will guarantee that the Christian will live a life filled with divine purpose. They will be shown and lead to live the perfect life and destiny God has prepared for them.     If you’re wondering how you will know what your divine purpose is for your life, you need to grow close to God through reading His Word,  prayer – not just talking to God, but listening for His Voice that will be able to give you guidance every day. It is very important to also ask God for guidance in leading you to strong Christian brothers and sisters that will help you in your walk as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. 
  For me it has been a nine year journey with Jesus that has been slow but growing for the first five years. Then it started picking up speed as God brought me into contact with someone who was able to help me learn and grow in the Lord as no one else that I know could. But we have also helped each other along our journey together. Jesus has just kept teaching me more and more things as I am ready. He has brought me to where I am now, which is a wonderful place to be. I would have to say that the past year has been the biggest year for me in regards to surrendering my life to Jesus. It hasn’t been hard to do His will; the hard part has been knowing what He wanted of me. Once I knew what that was, I was instantly ready to make a change to please my Jesus. There is nothing more important and fulfilling to me than being completely surrendered to Jesus and seeking His will for my whole life. This is what puts a smile on God’s face and great pleasure in His heart for His children. I have also found that when you have surrendered your all to Jesus, He is better able to be heard in your heart on a constant day to day basis. What a glorious thing that is. 
  I am now working more intently on seeking Jesus for everything I need and what to do for every situation. This is the way Jesus lived here on earth as He stayed in constant communication with His Father; and He is our example. So let’s desire the greater walk with Jesus today and for the rest of our lives. Then our eternity with Him will be filled with rewards that were earned because we served Him according to His will; not ours.
“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me…If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” John 12:26
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” Psalm 37:4-7
“…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33
Let’s finish reading 1Chronicles 10-29 for one more week.
Blessings,
Tricia