Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Tag: Seek the Lord

When you are barren …

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On January 29, 2016

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 25:19-21 records of the generations of Isaac, through his wife Rebekah, who was blessed to be the mother of millions by her family when she left them to join Isaac (Genesis 24:60). Except there was one problem – Rebekah was barren. So Isaac pleaded (intreated) to the Lord for his wife and the Lord heeded to his prayer and Rebekah conceived.

There are two vital lessons that we can learn from this account. First, when we are barren, we need to seek the Lord and pray / plead to him. Second, our prayers (requests) must be in line with God’s will. God’s will and blessing was to continue the line of Abraham, not through Ishmael, the son of a bondwoman (Hagar), but through Isaac, the son of the free woman (Sarah). If Rebekah had remained barren, God’s word would not come true (at least in a logical physical sense). God’s word always comes true and as Isaac prays to God, he was in essence praying for God’s will to come true, which is what happens.

Points to ponder:
Though we should be hard working, when we are barren, we need to seeking God first and plead to him to bless up. Work hard, but only after prayer. Seek God’s Kingdom first and all things shall be added unto us (Matthew 6:33), according to God’s permissive will and pleasure. In other words, seek God first and see him turn your barrenness into blessings. Second, when we pray, let us pray so that the Lord’s will is done in our lives and not just give him a wishlist of our own heart’s desires. Are you barren? (in life). If so, you know what to do. Tarry no further.

Genesis 25:19-21
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Wanna be prosperous? :: Seek

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On February 4, 2013

In Christian, Prosperity Theology

Disciple: “What must I do to be prosperous?”
God: “Seek me!”

The Bible tells us the story of Uzziah, the King of Judah who was sixteen years old when he was made king. Uzziah reigned for fifty two years and in the early days of his reign, Uzziah did right in the eyes of the Lord and he sought the God and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper (2 Chronicles 26:5).

Points to ponder:
Wanna be prosperous? Seek the Lord God and his kingdom first, and all other things (that tend to make you prosperous) will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Would you consider yourself as prosperous? In other words, “are you seeking him?”.

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 (KJV)
3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
4 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah did.
5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

Lesser known characters :: Asa

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On August 10, 2011

In Character-(istics), Christian, Lesser known characters

Asa, whose life story is recorded in 2 Chronicles 14, 15 and 16 and 1 Kings 15, the son of Abijam was a king of Judah . Abijam was an evil king of whom it is said that his heart was not perfect (1 Kings 15:3), but because of God’s promise to David, God gave Abijam, Asa as son, who reigned over Judah as king after the death of Abijam. Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 15:11). Through the voice of Azariah, the son of Oded, on whom the Spirit of God had come, God promised to be found and to remain with Asa, if Asa sought him but warned him that if he forsook God, God would also forsake him (2 Chronicles 15:1-19). Asa chose to do the right thing and seek the Lord. He took the wicked out of the land and destroyed all the idols that were erected by his father. He even removed his own mother, Maacah, from being queen, because she had erected an idol in a grove. He destroyed that idol and burnt it by the Kidron brook (1 Kings 15:13). He commanded that the people in Judah seek the Lord and do his commandments, and fortified Judah’s cities (2 Chronicles 14:4,6). Once when Zerah, an Ethiopian came against Asa with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, Asa cried out to the LORD his God and said “LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in your name, we go against this multitude. O LORD thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee.” and so the LORD smote the Ethiopians and made Asa prevail.  The silver, gold and vessels that he and his father had, he brought into the house of the LORD and had them dedicated (1 Kings 15:15). Of Asa, it is said, that his heart was perfect with the LORD all his days (1 Kings 15:14; 2 Chronicles 16:17). During his reign, there was peace until the thirty fifth year of his reign.

On the thirty sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha, the king of Israel, came up against Judah and closed the borders so none could go out or come to Asa. However, instead of seeking the Lord as he did when the Ethiopian came against him, Asa, instead sought the help of Benhadad, king of Syria and sent him the treasures of the house of the Lord (which he had dedicated to God) as bribes. God sent Hanani the prophet to inform Asa, that he had acted foolishly to rely on man, than on God and the result of his foolish act would lead to the cessation of peace in the land. Hanani informs Asa, that “the eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro the whole earth, to see if there is one who heart is perfect toward God.” Instead of repenting for his mistake, Asa compounds his foolishness and in rage imprisons Hanani the prophet and oppresses others. In the thirty ninth year of his reign, Asa started to suffer with a foot disease, but instead of standing on the promises of the Lord, that if he sought the Lord, the Lord would be found and would remain with him, he did not seek the LORD, but sought doctors/physicians. One year later, Asa died and was buried.

What can we learn from Asa?
Even a person who is said to have a perfect heart can forget the commandment to seek God and do something foolish and when God gives a second chance to return to Him and rely on Him solely, let us not continue to remain in our folly. We cannot compromise on following God and condone the actions of idolatry by anyone, even if it is members of our own family. We must rely on God alone and not put our confidence in men (Psalm 146:3). We must be willing to accept God’s corrections through his people and his word, for the Lord chastises whom he loves (Hebrews 12:6). We can stand on nothing else but on God’s word, for they are true and reliable.

The eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro, the whole earth, to see if there is one, even one, whose heart is perfect toward him and when his eyes sees you/me, would God looks at you/me, would He be able to stop that search and say of you/me, “I have found the one whose heart is perfect toward me”?

2 Chronicles 16:9 (KJV)
9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Seek the LORD – the How-Tos?

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On September 4, 2009

In Christian, Seek the Lord

No matter what, the right thing to do in our living moments is to perpetually seek the Lord as it is not only a matter of a conviction but also a commandment that ought to be followed. But we find ourselves consumed with our commitments to our own matters of life, from our family to our employer and in some cases even extra-curricular activities seem to take priority over our spiritual relationship with the LORD God. In a world that makes one believe the lie, that their is no time to spare, what are some practical ways we can seek the LORD. In other words, How can one Seek the Lord? The answer can be found in the Bible as well. In the book of Daniel, Daniel writes “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:” (Daniel 9:3).

We can seek the Lord by

  1. prayer and supplications
  2. fasting
  3. sackcloth and ashes

Prayer: When was the last time we prayed and presented our request to get to know what was in God’s own heart. Sadly most of our prayers have been reduced to “Lord bless me, my family, my work and my plans” and in some cases we pray with the request to make our will God’s will instead of praying for God’s will to be revealed and to be made our own. Prayer like any communication is a dialog and while it is absolutely essential to present our requests (supplications) to God, what is even more important and needed is that we take the time to hold our peace and be silent before the Lord so that we may hear Him speak and tell us what He has in His heart.

Fasting: Fasting is not merely the missing of a meal or the abstinence of food (or food items) for a period of time. Food (bread) is what sustains us and fasting is a demonstration on our reliance on God and his word to sustain us and not just merely depend on food. When the disciples questioned Jesus as to why they were unable to cast the spirit that had possessed and taken captive of a little child, Jesus responded that power over some demonic kinds are only possible with prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). In other words, prayer (telling God what you would like to have done) and fasting (relying totally on God to do it) equals Power (the demonstration of God coming through and the people giving Him the glory)

Sackcloth and ashes: The Dictionary of Cliches defines “to wear sackcloth and ashes” a “to be contrite, penitent or chagrined over something on has done. It was an ancient Hebrew custom to wear sackcloth dusted with or accompanied by ashes as sign of humbleness in religious ceremonies.” In other words, to seek the Lord with sackcloths and ashes is to humble ourselves with a contrite and penitent heart, one that God will not despise (Psalm 51:17).

So How do we seek the Lord? With

  1. prayer and supplications – communing with God to find out what is in His heart
  2. fasting – relying totally on Him and
  3. sackcloth and ashes – humbling ourselves with a penitent and contrite heart

Let us ALL seek the LORD.

Daniel 9:3 (KJV)
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Seek when …

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On September 2, 2009

In Christian, Seek the Lord

We have been exploring the aspect about ‘seeking’ as in what to seek and what not to seek, but there also is the aspect of ‘when’ to seek.

We are advised to seek the Lord continually. To seek the Lord continually is to long to see him (his face) and his power (his strength) now and then seek him again the very next moment until perpetuity.

Our prayer must be like that of David,  who said “This one thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (seek his face) of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

What do your seek and how often do you seek the LORD?

Is it the Lord, his strength, his face and is it continually?

1 Chronicles 16:11 (KJV)
11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

What Seek Ye?

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On August 31, 2009

In Christian, Seek the Lord

Zephaniah 2:3 reads Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.

We are advised to seek the following three explicitly –

  1. Seek the LORD.
  2. Seek righteousness and
  3. Seek meekness 

Seek the LORD – To seek the Lord is to not only give him the priority but also preeminence in our lives. In all we are, we are to be as if unto the Lord. We let Him reign in our lives. In seeking the Lord we ensure that we have no other gods before us. We are about his kingdom business, doing what he wants us to do and not just following our own futile pursuits. In the words of Jesus, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To seek the Lord is to let Him have PRIORITY and PREEMINENCE in our lives.

Seek Righteousness – To seek righteousness is to seek to be in rightstanding before God and man, to be upright and blameless before God. God wants us to be Holy because God is Holy and we are to conform to his image. In the words of Jesus, Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. To seek righteousness is to seek to be PURE.

Seek meekness  –  To seek meekness is to humble oneself before God and let him increase while we decrease. In the words of Jesus, Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth i.e., all these things [of the earth] shall be added unto you. To seek meekness is to POSITION ourselves and our personal interests only after consideration to God and to others has been given.

Jesus as recorded in Matthew 6:33, said the same thing but in slightly different words when He said that “We must Seek first the kingdom of God (Seek the Lord) and his righteousness (seek righteousness), and all these things shall be added unto you (seek meekness as the meek shall inherit the earth).”

The question that remains then is – What seek ye?

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