"The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psalm 24:1
This post begins something new for me. I am trying my hand at 'vlogging' i.e. video blogging. Admittedly, I have a lot to learn about videography (things like the shading a hat will cause 😏) but I hope you can see past my mistakes and are blessed.
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| https://www.dropbox.com/t/BJpf32zoSJVIFb2W |
https://www.dropbox.com/t/BJpf32zoSJVIFb2W
If you don't have time to watch the video, or prefer to read, I've included my thoughts below.
If you've been around me at all in the last year or so, you've probably heard me talk a lot about knowing God. Some people just look at me like I'm daft. I imagine them thinking, "Ya I know God, so what of it?"
Well, maybe that's uncharitable of me, but it's kinda like when you fall in love and you just can't help talking about how wonderful it is. That's how I feel about knowing God. And so, I am looking through most of what I read with those glasses on...the idea that God wants me to know Him, not just about Him, but really know Him.
"This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah." Psalm 24:6
When I read this verse, I couldn't help myself. I am a part of that generation that seek God. Just because I have received salvation decades ago, just because I go to church each week and read my Bible daily, does not mean that I automatically become of the generation of them that seek Him.
Seeking Him requires an earnestness. It's demanding. It requires a deeper investigation than a quick read of Scripture before running into the day. It requires putting to practice what is learned not for outward appearance but for the sake of discovering God in those practices, discovering God through those practices, discovering God because of those practices.
But the last part of that verse really stuck out to me: "that seek thy face, O Jacob."
Why Jacob's face? Well, Jacob is the human side of Israel. When the Old Testament, especially the prophets, talk of Jacob, it is usually referring to the humanness of Israel, their fallen state.
When we dig into the Bible, looking at the stories, God reveals Himself. He shows us His character, His nature, how He longs for us to know Him, really know Him. To seek Jacob's face is to seek to find God in the situations the people of the Old Testament found themselves in. To seek Jacob's face is to search out God's interactions with man and discover how He is revealing Himself to us in these sacred stories that tell of how He worked within the lives of Biblical characters.
To know God, you need to know His chosen people, Israel. It's through them and His working in them, that He reveals His character and His desires and His love.
So, routinely reading the Bible to just check it off your list of duties for the day isn't going to cut it. Attending church because people expect you to or because you want to see your friends, isn't seeking God and isn't likely to bring you into that beautiful love relationship you can have with Him.
Like any relationship, your relationship with God takes work. It takes desire and devotion to the occupation of seeking God in all things.
But when you do it, He will be found. It's what He desires, and He rushes to the person who truly desires to know Him more.
"He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Psalm 24:5
