Thursday, February 16, 2012

If with all your heart...

 

6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

—The words from Isaiah 55:6-7

 

Circle Church, started in the late 1960s in the part of downtown Chicago known as “The Loop,” became famous for innovation in planning highly coordinated worship services. On one occasion the worship service began in silence as a hush fell over the congregation. In the distance, the congregation could hear the sound of softly tinkling bells. The tinkling bells grew louder as a costumed woman entered the meeting room. She walked slowly around the room. The little bells on her costume announced each footstep. After circling the room she walked toward the front where someone had placed a lone chair on the platform. Using a feather duster that she pulled from a pocket in her costume, she began to dust the chair as if preparing it for use. Satisfied with her work, she gave a nod of her head and stood aside, making a gesture of welcome with her outstretched arms. At this moment, the choir began to solftly sing:

The Lord is in His holy temple
The Lord is in His holy temple
Let all the earth keep silence.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.
Keep silence. Keep silence before Him.

As you might imagine, this very dramatic beginning to the worship service directed the congregation’s attention to the fact that every time God’s people gather for worship, He is present with them. As the Scripture reports Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:20:

20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

The truth is that God longs to respond to us when we seek Him. That’s what makes the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post so very special. Part of the reason for the Incarnation—the coming of God’s Son, Jesus, to earth to die on the cruel cross of Calvary and to rise from the dead—was to give us even greater access to God. The Holy Spirit draws men and women and boys and girls to the foot of the cross where they can receive God’s gift of salvation from their sins, a new life here on earth, and an eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

In my last blog post, I shared a video from Felix Mendelssohn’s magnificent work “Elijah.” That work also contains a most wonderful tenor recitative and aria that expresses what it means to seek the Lord. I invite you to please click here listen very carefully to the words of this piece all the way through to the end.

I urge you to determine today to seek God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Give God the opportunity to dwell within you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Accept His gift of salvation. If you already belong to Him, greet each new day as yet another opportunity to serve Him with the totality of your being.

God waits for your call. He waits to hear your voice. He listens undistracted for the cry from your heart as you seek Him.

Will you pray with me?

Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Dearest Father, unto Whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from Whom no secrets are hid, be pleased to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy Name. Hear our heart’s cry as we seek You, O God. Enable us to receive the grace and mercy that you freely give us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thank You, Loving Father, for Your constancy and for Your ever-listening ear that allows us to come to You, at any time and as often as we choose, knowing that You long to respond to the cries of Your dearly loved children. We thank You and praise You for answering our prayers. We stand before You as ones who bask in the glory of Your Holy Presence.

Thank You for the preciousness of Your Word and our ability to learn from You. And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Copyright © 2012 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

 

No comments: