Seeking God
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29;13 NIV)
While visiting the Grand Canyon last summer, Susan and I enjoyed breakfast in a beautiful lodge overlooking the canyon. Our friendly waiter, Jeremiah, introduced himself and told us Grand Canyon stories. At one point during our brief conversation, I told him that I liked his name, Jeremiah, and that it was one of my favorite books in the Bible. As soon as I told him that he said, “I’ve never read it. I’m not religious.” I said, “Well, my favorite verse in that Old Testament book is Jeremiah 29:13, which says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Later, after Susan and I had returned back home, I remembered the short conversation with Jeremiah and his comment about not being religious, and I prayed for him. I asked God to touch his heart, to send others to speak to him about Christ and that he’d be receptive. There are people all around us like Jeremiah, who need to know that God loves them and that He has put together a plan for them to know Him personally. Here are some Bible passages that explain it.
God so loved the world that He gave eternal life
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16-17)
All have sinned
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (ROM. 3:23)
The wages of sin is death
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
Jesus gives an invitation
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)
Salvation is only through Jesus
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Forgiven when we confess
”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NIV)
You are saved by God’s grace
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
You become a new creation
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17)