10-29-19 The First 15

The Overview One of the most scandalous truths of the gospel is that our Creator longs to be encountered by his creation. God longs to meet with us. His greatest desire is for relationship with us. I can’t fathom why God in all his holiness and goodness makes himself available to us, but it is the powerful truth of Scripture. God is pursuing each of us with his relentless love, seeking out those who might respond to his open invitation by opening the door of their hearts to him. My prayer is that in response to God’s desire to meet with his people we would be those who say yes to centering our lives around his nearness. May your week be marked by the reality of God’s presence and love. The Scripture “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” - Psalm 14:2 The Worship Experience Kim Walker-Smith Song: Insatiable

The Devotional We serve a God who longs to be encountered. Our God is not distant. He is not a recluse. Every morning there is an open invitation set before us to encounter the peaceful, tangible presence of the living God. In fact, it’s because of God’s desire to be encountered that Scripture so often commands us to seek him. He is not a God who hides, but he is also not a God who forces himself on us. He quietly beckons us to a life marked by his nearness, asking us to seek him that our heart might be open and receptive to him.   1 Chronicles 16:11 commands us, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” And Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” May we be a people who center our lives around God’s longing to be encountered. May we seek him with all we are.   I’ve lived so much of my life as if I’m on my own. I was without a true revelation of just how close God is to me. I was without a true knowledge that the God I serve longs to be known by me. You see, the foundation for my spending time with God was that I should, not that he actually desired relationship with me. As soon as I got a glimpse into the heart of my heavenly Father to simply love me and enjoy me, I was hooked.   No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you serve a God who longs to meet with you. He is knocking on the door of your heart today, asking you to simply let him come in. He is quietly beckoning you with his love, simply speaking to you, “Don’t shut me out.” God has an incredible life filled with an ever-increasing awareness of his love for you. He longs for your heart to be wrapped up in his presence when the world rejects you, speaks lies to you, or tries to pull you away from the comfort of his love and peace. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Seek the presence of your heavenly Father today in faith that he longs to be encountered. Trust him at his word that he will reward your seeking with the wonders of his nearness. Seek a deeper, more intimate relationship with him in light of the truth that he is always fully available to you. May your life be ever filled with communion with your loving heavenly Father.

The Prayer 1. Meditate on God’s desire to be encountered. Allow Scripture to stir up your faith to meet with God.   “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8   “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9   2. What have you believed about encountering God that doesn’t line up with his heart and his word? Where do you feel like you can’t encounter God? What parts of your life are absent of his presence and the fruit of his nearness?   3. Seek the presence of God today. Take time to open your heart and in faith trust that you can encounter God. Commit yourself to centering your day around his presence and doing nothing apart from an awareness of his nearness.   “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25   “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” Psalm 14:2   “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8

How amazing is the heart of our heavenly Father that he longs to be encountered! Through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus we can live in communion with God. Jesus paid the highest price for us to simply have close relationship with our Creator. Let us not be a people who forsake the sacrifice of Jesus. If God would send his only Son to die that we might live in relationship with him, it must be absolutely the best thing in this life. Taste and see how good your God is today. Let him into all you do. May your life be filled with the presence of God as you open the door of your heart to the reality of his nearness. Extended Reading: Revelation 3:14-4:11 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Revelation 1-11.