SEEKING SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS

“They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, come and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten” (Jer. 50:5 NKJV).

Speaking about Israel’s return to God, Jeremiah gives four important principles that are necessary for anyone seeking spiritual blessings.

The concern in seeking God - “They shall ask the way to Zion.” It all starts with concern. Few are concerned about their soul’s eternal destiny. If a person is not concerned about salvation, they will not get saved. And for the believer, if we are not concerned about spiritual growth, we will not grow spiritually, or about service for God.

The character of seeking God - “With their faces toward it.” The Israelites had their faces pointed towards Zion (Jerusalem), the place they were seeking. Hypocrites will say they are seeking God, but their faces are not pointed in His direction. They say they are interested in church but they do not attend the services. They say they are interested in the Bible, but they do not read it.

The centrality of seeking God - “Join ourselves to the Lord.” For the Israelites, going to Zion meant joining themselves to the Lord. He was the central focus of their interests. The Lord Jesus Christ must be the central focus of our spiritual pursuits. The apostle Paul declared in Phil. 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ.” This is the focus that we all need in seeking spiritual blessing.

The commitment of seeking God - “In a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten.” Some folks only seek the Lord on a temporary basis such as in sickness or in poverty. But when good times come, they forsake the Lord. In God’s business there are no temporary commitments. If we want spiritual blessings, we must be fully committed to God forever.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Christ frequently gives us the desires of our heart, though not at the peculiar time we desired, but a better time!”

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813 – 1843)

Scottish Preacher, Pastor and Poet

Word Study

Dragged

In Acts 21:30 we read, “And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut” (NKJV).

Dragged is the Greek word helkuō (ἑλκύω = hel-koo'-o). It means to drag or draw toward without necessarily the notion of force. More specifically, helkuō predominantly refers to drawing someone or something to a certain point. In classical Greek helkuō usually signifies an act of relative gentleness. In the Septuagint helkuō was used to describe the inner compulsion or drawing of love (Song of Song 1:4; Jer. 31:3). And in the New Testament, helkuō also has the idea of drawing by inward power, by Divine impulse. This is theologically important because it captures the idea of the drawing power of love. In John 6:44, it speaks of the Father attracting men to the Son. And in John 12:32, it speaks of our risen and exalted Savior drawing all people to Himself, not by force but by the divine attractions of His love.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would ascend into heaven (Dan. 7:13-14)

New Testament Fulfillment – Acts 1:9-11

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus is able to save completely (Heb. 7:25).

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Revelation, why did the New Jerusalem had no need of the sun or moon?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: Why were the other disciples angry with the brothers James and John? They asked the Lord Jesus for a special favor (Mark 10:35-40).

Names of the Lord Jesus Found in the Bible

“Wisdom of God”

"For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God!” (1 Cor. 1:22-24).

1. Meaning – The Lord Jesus is our wisdom from God.

2. Insights – Although the references to wisdom in the Book of Proverbs is not a strict prophetic word about the Lord Jesus, the concept of wisdom as a person and associate of God is fulfilled the Lord Jesus. To know the Lord Jesus is to be connected to the wisdom of the ages.

3. Related Titles – Compare personified wisdom (Prov. 8:22-31; cf. Luke 11:49).

Did You Know – Christian History

James Milton Black was born August 19, 1856 in South Hill, New York. He was an American composer of hymns, choir leader and Sunday school teacher.

Black acquired an early musical education in singing and organ playing. Around 1881, he moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania where he work with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Teaching music during the week, he was a song leader, Sunday school teacher and youth leader in his spare hours. In addition to all this work, he edited hymnals.

Black loved young people and tried to win them for Christ. One day, passing through an alley, he met Bessie, a ragged fourteen-year-old girl and the daughter of an alcoholic. He invited her to Sunday school and youth group and she began attending. Although interested, Bessie was worried that her clothes were not nice enough. Black mentioned her need to some of the Methodist ladies who gladly took her some church clothes.

Bessie was faithful in attending. And although her father was abusive and her home-life was far from ideal, Bessie was drawn to the love of God by the love of God’s people. However, one day when Black took roll, the girl did not respond. Each child had to say a Scripture verse when his or her name was called. Black saw a lesson in her silence: “I spoke of what a sad thing it would be when our names are called from the Lamb’s Book of Life, if one of us should be absent.”

Black was not the kind of man to let the matter die with a moral lesson. After Sunday school, he went to Bessie’s home to find out why she had not showed up for class. He found her dangerously ill and sent for his own doctor. The doctor said she had pneumonia, and would likely die since that was before the days of antibiotics.

When James Milton Black got home, tears filled his eyes. His wife at once saw that he was deeply troubled. He tried to find a song to fit the thought of a heavenly roll call. Finding none, he was impressed to write one himself. Black then sat down at his piano and in a few minutes wrote the words and composed a song that is familiar to most American church-goers: “When the Roll Is Called up Yonder.”

A few days later, Black had the sad opportunity of explaining in public how he came to write the song when it was sung at the funeral of the girl whose absence at roll call had inspired it. During his life, Black edited a dozen gospel song books and wrote nearly 1500 songs. He also served on the commission for the 1905 Methodist Hymnal. Black died December 21, 1938 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

A Little Humor

Did you hear about the one about the ministers who formed a bowling team? They were called themselves the ‘Holy Rollers.’

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“It’s natural to be religious; it’s supernatural to be a Christian”