learning Archives - A Sweet Smelling Savour

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

S is for seek. To seek means to search for, to look for, to request, to aim at, or to try. Where do you find yourself today, my friend? Are you all about self? Are you just going with the flow of life not wanting to make any waves? Or do you find something within yourself that yearns for purpose … something that gets such a grip on your heart and life and will not let go?

Do men and women really seek after God today? Oh, many have become very gifted with words … what to say, how to say them and even when to say them. They can make them sound however they want them to sound … and very convincingly to boot! They may fool every single person around them and the entire gamut of social media. But, God is not fooled, my friend. God knows the heart. I Chronicles 29:17 “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness …”

How many churches yesterday had houses that overflowed out into the yard and the street and the neighborhood? In the United States? I guarantee none. Because men do not seek after God as they try to lead others to believe. Men are lovers of their own selves, their own gain, their own pleasures, their own comforts, and their own time. They love to have the control.

They have no intention to truly seek after God. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me that when men seek God, they find Him! Matthew 7:7-8 tells us that those who seek, shall find. I am reminded here of the woman in Luke 15 who lost a piece of silver … just one piece … and what did she do? Verse 8 tells us that she first lit a candle … she shed some light on the issue. Secondly, she swept the house … she did not leave anything to chance. Lastly, she sought until she found it! Whatever you are seeking for, my friend, can be found in Christ. Do not stop searching for it. It can be found!

The saddest thing of all is that men who claim Christ as their Savior do not even seek Him! They do not read their Bibles. They do not pray. They do not heed His Word. They do not fellowship with His children. They do not attend His house except sporadically aka when it is convenient for them. My heart breaks to see so few truly SEEKING after God! They do not want to surrender control of their lives … if only they knew what freedom is found there!

“With my whole heart I humbly seek You … I yield my stubborn will completely.”¹

Lesson Objective: To understand what it means to truly seek til something is found. To acknowledge you and I, as children of the King, need to be seeking everyday to be more like Him! The most important thing is Him, so put your stubborn will aside and SEEK Him first!

Did you pass or did you fail?

¹http://bestillandknow-elsabeth.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-life-is-yours.html

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9

C is for clean. Clean means free from dirt or stains; uncontaminated; pure. To be clean we must be cleansed (washed; purged; freed from sin]. How are we to do that? Are we supposed to run down to the store and pick up a bottle of Dawn dish soap and some cleaning rags? No.

Our verse clearly tells us how we can cleanse our ways? What does it say? Does it say that we are to read God’s Word? No. Does it say that we are to memorize God’s Word? No.

These are good and important things, but I can read God’s Word and my mind be totally disengaged or be off in another part of the world. So, what will actually produce the cleansing that we need? It is “taking heed” of God’s Word. In other words, we need to sit up, pay attention and take note.

I am an avid [conscientious; keen] note taker when it comes to listening to sermons at church. Most of the time, I am so focused on the sermon, I do not pay attention to those around me. But, when I have, it has really puzzled me to see people not paying attention, people who did not bring their Bible (when they do have a Bible), people who do not even open the Bible in the pew, ones who do not take notes to study and assimilate later, and even ones who very loudly close their Bibles or zip their Bible covers before the pastor is even done preaching! Yikes! Do Christians really do this? Sadly, yes, they do.

You have heard that “actions speak louder than words,” and if you do those things, you are just proclaiming to those around you that you do not care to learn, you do not care to grow, and you do not care to be cleansed from sins in your life. You are making a very bold statement of “I have no need of cleansing!” aka “I want to be a failure.”

When you were in school, did you just show up when you wanted and did what you wanted to do during the class? Not unless you wanted a big, fat “F” on your report card, right? No, you made sure that you were there on time (so that you did not miss any of the material that the teacher was going to cover that day), you made sure that you had your textbook out and open and following along with the teacher, and you made sure that you were taking good notes because you knew that you would be held accountable for that information later … and you did NOT want to fail your exam!

If we did this for school, why do we not do this as Christians? Why would we want to set ourselves up for failure? Because exam time is coming and we will be tested! Why would we want to continue in sin? Romans 6:1 asks that very question, “… Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” and we find the answer to that in verse 15 “… God forbid!”

Lesson Objective: To understand what is involved in cleansing. To do all in your power to be there when class is in session (be in God’s house). To be sitting up, paying attention, and taking notes when God’s Word is preached and taught … whether it be at church or in your own private devotion time at home.

Did you pass or did you fail?

Tag: learning

Day 19: S is for Seek

Day 3: C is for Clean