A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #46, September 1994 (Internet Edition) P U R S U I N G Many hope to find Christ, but their longing is in vain, for they are not pursuing Him. ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective 1 - Knowing Where to Look Perspective 2 - What We Hope to Find Perspective 3 - The Pursuit ----------------------------------------------------------------- Let me tell you about picking green beans. Bush beans are easy. The simplest method is to straddle the row, with the bean plant between your legs. Bend over at the waist; with one hand pull all of the plant to one side, to move the large, shading leaves out of the way. And there they are: all the beans plainly revealed, hanging there, within easy reach, waiting to be plucked. Then there are pole beans. For the agriculturally disadvantaged, pole beans grow vertically, in a vine, rather than horizontally, in a bush. They require some sort of vertical support: a fence, wires, cage or, curiously, a pole. We've found pole bean plants to be more hearty, more plentiful with their fruit, and to bear fruit longer in the year. But their picking is quite different from their bush brethren. Picking pole beans is like hacking your way into the Amazonian jungle--like wading knee-deep into the forest primeval. Before you stands a wall of seemingly impenetrable, dark green foliage, a massive tangle of vines and leaves, stalks and stems. With nary a bean in sight. Large, daddy-longleg spiders patrol the twisted terrain. You gently move aside one or two leaves, but still: no beans. You must go in. You must brave the dark recesses of the hideous, vegetable jungle. You gather your courage and your pith helmet and go in. Beneath the sheltering cover of leaves lies a dark and humid world of vines and stalks of tortuous convolutions. Their combined strength could support a grown man. Everything is colored in green monotones; everything looks the same. Where are the beans? You push deeper, moving aside the heavy vines--vines weighed down by their own explosive growth. Spiders drop down onto your hands, skitter silently up your arms. Mysterious brown bugs move sluggishly out of your way. And there! There they are. The beans! Clustered together like grapes--like elongated, green grapes--the beans have shown themselves amidst the vines and leaves. Finally they can be grasped, by the handful, and removed from their dark and foreboding place of generation. The reward? Ah, one has not lived until one has feasted on green beans and bacon, simmered atop the stove for most of a steamy August afternoon, then served piping hot alongside ears of sweet corn and barbecued cow parts. Before such a feast there is never any doubt that the reward is well worth the pursuit. ____________________________ One finds only what one pursues. Oh, it's true that we can find something by stumbling upon it accidently. But the quality of the thing found is usually determined by the quality of the search. Many hope to find Christ, but their longing is in vain, for they are not pursuing Him. Again, it's true that many come to Christ initially by "accident." The event is orchestrated by the Spirit, but to the newborn it is as if they have stumbled blindly into a new and wonderful thing. When we replace the word "find" with the word "know," however, the point becomes clear. We cannot really know Christ and God the Father unless we pursue Them. We may stumble happily into one or more snapshots of Their truth, but to truly become knowledgeable to the point of acquiring His nature for ourselves, we must pursue Christ. Like the pursuit of those delicious green beans, the pursuit of God is not chasing after something that is actively trying to get away. The beans are just hanging around, waiting to be found. Just so, God patiently waits for us to learn of Him, to really know Him--and to be like Him. And too, just like the beans, the reward of knowing Jesus, the Christ, far exceeds the rigors of the search. ____________________________ Psalm 63:1 NASB O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perspective 1: K N O W I N G W H E R E T O L O O K ------------- So where do we find Him? Where do we go to conduct this pursuit of the living Christ? Where do we begin a pursuit of eternal God? A.W. Tozer wisely points out that we needn't go far, for our God is all about us: "A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality."(1) We begin pursuing Jesus by first acknowledging His presence and His intimate pursuit of us. Psalm 139:1-5 NIV O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. [2] You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. [3] You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. [4] Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. [5] You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. ____________________________ Most people prefer keeping God at arm's length. This is easy to accomplish, because even though our God is intimately acquainted with us, He is nevertheless a courteous God. He does not push His way into our lives, twisting our arm up between our shoulder blades, forcing us to spend time with Him whether we like it or not. While He is with us, and all around us, it is up to us to acknowledge that presence--to hear His voice in the wind that sifts through the leaves of the cottonwood tree; it's up to us to see His face in the fresh beauty of a spring morning, and the glowing warmth of a summer eventide; and it is up to us to feel His hand in the soft caress of a loved one, or the comforting touch of a friend. Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." So we look first for Him where we are. We pursue Him in the stillness of solitude, in the peaceful dwelling He has made in our own lives. Some reserve their pursuit for Sunday morning, in the corporate worship service, expecting to find God waiting for them there. He may be. But how successful are marriages in which contact between husband and wife is limited to only one hour per week? How well do we know the friend that we have seen for only sixty minutes every seven days? How much better to court Him, to seek Him out and spend happy hours with Him throughout the week, whether standing within stained-glass walls or before the kitchen sink. ____________________________ I rarely find myself disagreeing with the learned Bible teacher, Chuck Swindoll. But recently I heard him denigrate the phrase "practice the presence of God" as something meaningless and trite. He assigned it to the category of overused evangelical catch phrases, muttered blindly by people only because they've heard it muttered by someone elsewhere. If, however, we accept that God the Father and Jesus Christ dwell with us at all times, and if we confess that we often go about our daily business ignoring their presence, should we not, instead, develop the habit of recognizing and nurturing that Presence? Should we not pursue Them on a daily, even hourly, basis? "God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there. [This] is more than a doctrine to be held; it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day. The presence of God is the central fact of Christianity. At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian's privilege of present realization. According to its teachings we are in the presence of God positionally, and nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence actually. The fiery urge that drove men like McCheyne is wholly missing. And the present generation of Christians measures itself by this imperfect rule. Ignoble contentment takes the place of burning zeal. We are satisfied to rest in our judicial possessions and, for the most part, we bother ourselves very little about the absence of personal experience."(2) Into the Word ------------- Isaiah 57:15 NIV For this is what the high and lofty One says--he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." Genesis 28:10-17 Psalm 37:7 Psalm 46:8-11 Psalm 139:1-18 Jer 23:23-24 Matthew 18:18-20 Matthew 28:19-20 Acts 17:22-28 Eph 1:18-23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ------------- I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today; I know that He is living, whatever men may say; I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him, He's always near. Refrain He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. In all the world around me I see His loving care, And tho' my heart grows weary, I never will despair; I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast, The day of His appearing will come at last. Rejoice, Rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.(3) ____________________________ "The air which our body requires envelops us on every hand. The air itself seeks to enter our bodies and, for this reason, exerts pressure upon us. It is well known that it is more difficult to hold one's breath than it is to breathe. We need but exercise our organs of respiration, and air will enter forthwith into our lungs and perform its life-giving function to the entire body. "The air which our souls need also envelops all of us at all times and on all sides. God is round about us in Christ on every hand, with his many-sided and all-sufficient grace. All we need to do is to open our hearts."(4) ____________________________ Why should it be necessary for us to pursue God? Can't we just relax and enjoy? After all, doesn't Scripture say for us to "rest in the Lord" (Psalm 37:7)? Consider at least one reason for pursuing the Lord: Who is it that pursues you? 1 Peter 5:8 NASB Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Making it Personal ------------------ In your life, has "ignoble contentment taken the place of burning zeal"? How much do you want to pursue God? What are you pursuing? The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness. (Proverbs 15:9) What is your personal definition of "pursuing righteousness"? How do you pursue righteousness? How should you? Into the Word ------------- The Bible is God's revealed word to us. There we have not only His commands and guidelines for our lives, but His revealed character and personality. One cannot seriously pursue God without becoming a serious student of His written word. Begin a personal plan for using God's word on a regular basis to come to a deeper understanding of who He is. One way might be to spend a year reading through Scripture.(5) As you do, make notes of those passages that reveal the personality of God to you. For example, as you read the first chapter of Genesis, you might note that God is Creative, Concerned with Details, a Trinity (1:26), Generous, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perspective 2: W H A T WE H O P E T O F I N D ------------- We live in a world that, if it cares about God at all, cares only to redefine God into a benevolent buddy who abides by its standards. Instead of pursuing a God who exists on His own terms, this world seeks only to pursue a God of its own making. Many people doggedly avoid any pursuit of God for fear of what they'll find at their goal. The result of their search will surely be uncomfortable, and certainly inconvenient. God the Father is too holy and detached, they assume, and Jesus the Son is too dated to be of any use in the present age. But we cannot thrust our bony finger of condemnation at the world without first pointing it at ourselves. This reluctance to pursue God has a comfortable dwelling place even within the body of Christ, as Tozer reminds us: "Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image. The flesh whimpers against the rigor of God's inexorable sentence and begs like Agag for a little mercy, a little indulgence of its carnal ways. It is no use. We can get a right start only by accepting God as He is and learning to love Him for what He is. As we go on to know Him better we shall find it a source of unspeakable joy that God is just what He is. Some of the most rapturous moments we know will be those we spend in reverent admiration of the Godhead. In those holy moments the very thought of change in Him will be too painful to endure."(6) ____________________________ The first thing we find, when we actively pursue God, is truth--and for many, this is the first point of discomfort, for we live in a world in which there is no truth. Truth is subjective; it ebbs and flows with fashion, trends, politics and opinion. But with God, truth is not subjective, but objective. Truth is an absolute; it has only one source and is thoroughly dependable. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth . . ." Twenty-six times in the Gospel of John alone Jesus says this.(7) And from where did He obtain this truth? John 1:14,17 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus came from the Father, bearing the Father's truth. Therefore, the Christian needn't ponder, as did Pilate at the arrest of Jesus: "What is truth?"(8) We know that the truth resides in Christ. And how do we obtain this truth? By pursuing Him. ____________________________ The second thing we find when we pursue God is perspective--specifically, His perspective. The psalmist, Asaph, realized this when he looked about him and observed wicked people enjoying great success in their lives. He was downright envious of them because Psalm 73:4-12 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. [5] They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. [6] Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. [7] From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. [8] They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. [9] Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. [10] Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. [11] They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" [12] This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth. Asaph was confused by their success, and began to question the wisdom in his choice of a life of purity. Psalm 73:13-14 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. [14] All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. But then the big picture became clear to him, as soon as he sought God. Psalm 73:16-17 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me [17] till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Asaph gained God's perspective, which gave him comforting insight into the Lord's plan--in contrast to the transient fragility of the world. How do we gain God's perspective? By pursuing Him. Into the Word ------------- Psalm 40:16 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!" Psalm 53:2-3 Psalm 69:32 Psalm 70:4 Psalm 119:2 Prov 15:9 Prov 21:21 Prov 28:5 Prov 29:26 Isaiah 45:19 Isaiah 51:1 Matthew 7:7-8 John 8:28-32 Acts 17:24-28 Col 2:2-3 1 Tim 6:11 2 Tim 1:12 2 Tim 2:22 Hebrews 11:6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ------------- Let me come closer to Thee, Jesus, Oh, closer day by day; Let me lean harder on Thee, Jesus, Yes, harder all the way. Let me show forth Thy beauty, Jesus, Like sunshine on the hills! Oh, let my lips pour forth Thy sweetness In joyous, sparkling rills! Yes, like a fountain, precious Jesus, Make me and let me be; Keep me and use me daily, Jesus, For Thee, for only Thee. In all my heart and will, O Jesus, Be altogether King! Make me a loyal subject, Jesus, To Thee in everything. Thirsting and hung'ring for Thee, Jesus, With blessed hunger here, Looking for home on Zion's mountain, No thirst, no hunger there. Amen.(9) ____________________________ "I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. The prophets habitually said, "Thus saith the Lord." They meant their hearers to understand that God's speaking is in the continuous present. We may use the past tense properly to indicate that at a certain time a certain word of God was spoken, but a word of God once spoken continues to be spoken, as a child once born continues to be alive, or a world once created continues to exist. And those are but imperfect illustrations, for children die and worlds burn out, but the Word of our God endureth forever. "If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God."(10) Making it Personal ------------------ Truth and God's perspective are only two benefits of pursuing God. What else would you expect to find as a result of this pursuit? What part does the Holy Spirit play in your pursuit of God the Father and Jesus Christ? What would be the result of a pursuit of God without the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Into the Word ------------- Read Daniel 1 and 2:19-23. Daniel was someone who knew how to find God--even while in Babylonian captivity. And his pursuit of God paid off for him. What was the condition of Daniel's heart? How did God reward his pursuit? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perspective 3: T H E P U R S U I T ------------- Jeremiah 29:12-13 NASB Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ____________________________ The god of this present age is Time. Because the automobile is faster than walking or the horse, we spend much time behind the wheel. Consequently we now have drive-up everything: drive-up food, drive-up banking, drive-up weddings, drive-up funerals--even drive-up church services. Because some of us are too busy even to get in our car to drive to the therapist who is helping us cope with the pressures of time, we now have mobile therapy: the van picks you up at the office and drives around town while you chat away at $125 an hour. We now have telephones in our autos and in the vest pocket, so we may never again miss the opportunity to order that pizza. Everyone seems to be "sooo busy" or "sooo stressed." Time. Gotta make time. The simplest get together, the smallest chat with a friend must now be checked against the appointment-stuffed datebook and "scheduled." And through the blustering cacophony of all the busyness we hear a quiet, patient voice saying: Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The temporal view of pursuit is with an agenda, an "action plan," datebook and cellular phone. The quarry is success and the pursuit is executed with a ruthless passion. But the pursuit of God is not such a sweaty exercise. ____________________________ Years ago, when we still lived in San Diego, there was a favorite place of mine. It was a high outlook of huge, boulder-shaped rocks that offered a panoramic view of the desert floor far below. It was a high and windy place, scorched by the sun and blessed with an exquisite quietude. There one could sit quietly for hours, gazing out over the expanse, contemplating things more ultimately important than calendars and phone calls and freeways filled with cars. There one could pursue God. Where is your rock? Where is the place you go to pursue eternal things? You say such benign activities are a waste of time? You say you haven't time in your busy schedule to come away and be quiet? Jesus Christ had all of three years to change the world. In less time than it takes people to attend college, Jesus had to begin His ministry, find and teach His disciples, and change the world forever. Yet, under time constraints that would make an executive crazy with anxiety, He took time to go "sit on His rock." Mark 6:31-32 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." [32] So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. The goal, in pursuing God, is to become like Christ; the method of pursuing God is to behave like Christ. Jesus understood the importance of quiet times with the Father. Where have we picked up the arrogance that says our activities take precedence over something that was so important to the Lord? Go, find your rock. Pursue the Lord on His terms. Fresh green beans offer a hearty, filling repast; their pursuit is well worth the time and energy expended. A deeper, more Spirit-filled knowledge of the personalities of Christ and our Father offers not a simple meal--but a veritable feast that will fill us for eternity. ____________________________ Don't you be in such a hurry, `Cause it only leads to worry, There's a time to work, but there's a time to pray. Try to find a quiet place to hear His voice and seek His face; Can you hear the Spirit calling "Come away?" Come away, come away, Come and spend some time with Me, come away. Let your heart and mind be stilled, Let your empty cup be filled, Come and spend some time with Me, come away.(11) Into the Word ------------- 1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. Psalm 63:1-7 Psalm 105:1-5 Isaiah 55:6 Jer 29:10-14 Amos 5:4-14 Zeph 2:3 Matthew 6:31-33 Matthew 7:7-8 John 8:19 John 14:1-14 John 17:3 Romans 2:6-11 Phil 3:7-11 Titus 1:15-2:1 1 Peter 3:10-12 1 John 2:1-6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ------------- May the mind of Christ, my Saviour, Live in me from day to day, By His love and pow'r controlling all I do and say. May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph only through His pow'r. May the peace of God, my Father, Rule my life in everything, That I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing. May the love of Jesus fill me, As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, this is victory. May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe, Looking only unto Jesus as I onward go. May His beauty rest upon me As I seek the lost to win, And may they forget the channel, seeing only Him.(12) ____________________________ O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer, This is my constant longing and prayer; Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures, Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear. Refrain O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness-- Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart. O to be like Thee! full of compassion, Loving, forgiving, tender and kind; Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting, Seeking the wand'ring sinner to find. O to be like Thee! while I am pleading, Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love; Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling, Fit me for life and heaven above.(13) Making it Personal ------------------ In our culture, the word "pursuit" has a very active connotation, such as the police pursuing an escaping criminal with sirens blaring. And, in a sense, our pursuit of God is active; we must make a point of doing it, else we gradually slip away from Him under the pressures and influences of our society. But any pursuit of God must include a more passive component: Listening. In our prayers we traditionally do most of the speaking; the Father waits eagerly to counsel us--if we would only shut up long enough to hear His voice! What percentage of your time in prayer is given to silently listening or meditating? What things--both internal and external--are making it difficult for you to quietly listen to God? What things--both internal and external--are making it difficult for you to come away from everything else that surrounds you and spend quiet time with your Lord? What can you do to improve this situation? Into the Word ------------- Find other passages in the Gospels like Mark 6:31-32, that describe Jesus breaking away from His ministry activities to rest and revive His connection with the Father. What do you learn from these moments? ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1 A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Christian Publications, 1982), p52. 2 Ibid., p37. 3 Alfred H. Ackley (b.1887). 4 O. Hallesby in Prayer, as quoted in the August 15, 1994 issue of Christianity Today, p40. 5 An excellent (as well as convenient) way to read through the Bible in a year's time is to use The One Year Bible: Arranged in 365 Daily Readings, The New International Version (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.). This volume is available in paperback at a reasonable cost, and contains the complete text--but organized with each day's reading to include an Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, a Psalm and a few Proverbs. For example, the January 1 reading includes Genesis 1:1-2:25, Matthew 1:1-2:12, Psalm 1:1-6, and Proverbs 1:1-6. 6 The Pursuit of God, p101. 7 John 1:51;3:3,5;3:11;5:19;5:24-25;6:26;6:32;6:47;6:53;8:34; 8:51;8:58;10:1;10:7;12:24;13:16;13:20-21;13:38;14:12;16:7;16:20;1 6:2;21:18. 8 John 18:36-38. 9 J.L. Lyne (19th Century). 10 The Pursuit of God, p82. 11 Morris Chapman and Tom Coomes; c 1984 Coomesietunes/Word Music, Inc. 12 Kate B. Wilkinson. 13 Thomas O. Chisholm. Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. 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