Category: seek

To know you

Ruth Kirk

Their eyes were opened and they knew Him (Luke 24:31; NKJV).

To know you is to love you, Lord,
To love you is to care
For you in all, to seek your face,
And find you everywhere.

To know you is to trust in you,
To trust you is to long
To be your home on earth,
And serve you, Lord, in everyone.

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; NIV).

References 

I love you, LORD; you are my strength (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT). 

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek (Psalm 27:8; NIV).

There is one Lord… who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

Trust in God, and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT). 

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT).

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else (Mark 10:43; NLT).

Strengthen us

Ruth Kirk

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation (James 1:2; NLT). 

Strengthen us, Lord,
To endure
What you send,

Whilst praying
For others
Until our life’s end;

Seeking forgiveness
And healing
For all,

And pleading:
May everyone, Lord,
Hear your call. 

The Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7; NLT).

References 

Verse 1:
I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things (Isaiah 45:7; NLT).
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21; CSB).

Verses 2-3:
Pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them (1 Timothy 2:1; NLT).

Verse 4:
God our Savior… wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; NLT).
Christ Jesus… gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone (1 Timothy 2:5-6; NLT).

A reading from Isaiah 53:10-12; JB. 

Yahweh has been pleased to crush him with suffering. If he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life and through him what Yahweh wishes will be done.

His soul’s anguish over he shall see the light and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself. 

Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death and letting himself be taken for a sinner, while he was bearing the faults of many and praying all the time for sinners.

Paradox

Ruth Kirk

Today I saw that we live in God, just as fish live in water. However, we may not always recognise His constant presence within us, around us, and in all things. The following Bible verses, from several different translations, encapsulate this particularly clearly for me:

– There is… one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).
– There is one … God and Father of all, who is over everything, through everything, and in everything (Ephesians 4:5-6; GWT).
– In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28; NIV).
– Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV).
– I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! (Psalm 139:7; NLT).
– Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38; NLT).

Unfortunately, it is possible to go to church, read the Bible, and even pray, without ever realising the astonishing truth that we are living in God, and He in us. As Jesus said: “They may indeed look, and yet not perceive; they may indeed listen, and yet not understand” (Mark 4:12; CSB).

In the light of Jesus’ words, here is today’s blog, which is called, “Paradox”:

In the morning I earnestly seek for God (Isaiah 26:9; NLT). 

We seek you, Lord,
Whilst living in your hand,

And search for you,
Whilst gazing on your face.

We long to hear your voice, Lord,
Whilst you speak,

And fast, in darkness,
Till we see, and taste.

Taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8; NET).

References 

Verse 1:
The life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being (Job 12:10; NLT).

Verse 2:
I gaze on you in the sanctuary (Psalm 63:2; CSB).
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek (Psalm 27:8; NIV).
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you (Psalm 63:1; NLT).

Verse 3:
Let me hear your voice (Song of Songs 2:14; NLT).
God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it (Job 33:14; NLT).

Verse 4:
You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people (Isaiah 58:5-6; NLT).

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God (Isaiah 50:10; NLT).

Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon” (Isaiah 58:9-10; NLT).

On behalf of all

Ruth Kirk

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them (1 Timothy 2:1; NLT). 

Lord,
On behalf of all
Who never pray to you:
We pray;

And, on behalf of those
Who never praise your name:
We praise.

Lord,
On behalf of all
Who never thank you,
We give thanks;

And, on behalf of those
Who never seek your face:
We gaze.

Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36; NET).

References 

They… wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord (Psalm 14:4; NLT).

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms (Psalm 68:19; NLT). 

Give thanks to him and praise his name (Psalm 100:4; NLT). 

Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20; NLT). 

Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! (1 Chronicles 16:11; NKJV). 

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land (2 Chronicles 7:14; NLT). 

You make me hear

Ruth Kirk



He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak (Mark 7:37; JB). 

Lord,
You make me hear,
And help me speak.

Though I am nothing,
You guide me
As I seek

Your light, your truth,
Your kingdom,
And your face.

May I reflect, and spread,
Your love
And grace.

All of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT). 

28.1.24: Seeking God

Ruth Kirk
Christ Pantocrator, a reproduction.

Seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
(1 Chronicles 22:19; NLT).

Some seek the Lord our God
In vain,
Not realising he’s here –
In pain;
Whilst others search for him
In peace,
Not realising he’s here –
In grief.

Some blindly grope
Amongst the dead,
Not realising he’s here –
In dread;
Whilst others scratch round
Everywhere,
Not realising he’s here –
In prayer.

Some go prospecting
Far and wide,
Not realising he’s
At their side;
Whilst others look
To heaven above,
Not realising he’s here –
In love.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(1 John 4:8; NLT).

31.12.23: To love you

Ruth Kirk
Ruth Kirk.

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
(Psalm 42:1; NLT). 

To love you
Is to long for you;
To thirst, and pray,
And weep.

To love you
Is to seek you
In the darkness
Of the deep.

To love you
Is to yearn for you;
To grieve, and plead,
And sigh.

To love you
Is to meet you
In your glory, Lord,
On high.

Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
(Psalm 93:4; RSV).

References 

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV). 

All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God (Isaiah 26:9; NLT). 

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2; KJV). 

Keep on seeking, and you will find (Luke 11:9; NLT). 

Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul (1 Chronicles 22:19; NLT). 

The LORD is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth (Psalm 113:4-6; NLT).

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there (Psalm 139:8; NIV).

We who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17; NLT).

19.12.23: I enter your darkness

Ruth Kirk

Moses went into the darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21; BST).

I enter your darkness;
I enter your silence;
I enter your stillness;
I enter alone.

I enter your castle
To seek you within –
I’m the flesh of your flesh, Lord,
And bone of your bone.

You are my stronghold,
My refuge, my bedrock,
Yet I am your temple,
Your child, and your home.

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23; NLT). 

References 

Be silent before the Sovereign LORD (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).

Be still in the presence of the LORD (Psalm 27:7; NLT). 

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT). 

God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God – the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout (Psalm 18:1-2; TM).

Keep on seeking, and you will find (Luke 11:9; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT). 

This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23; CSB).

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  …I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge (Psalm 73:26,28; NIV). 

We are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16; NIV).

You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26; NLT). .

7.12.23: No need

Ruth Kirk

Be still in the presence of the LORD (Psalm 37:7; NLT).

No need to move,
And no need to speak;
No need to think:
Lord, I love you.

Nothing to hear,
And nothing to see;
Nothing to search for:
I love you.

No need to pray,
And no need to bless;
No need to praise:
Lord, I love you.

Nothing to ask for,
And nothing to do;
Nothing to say, but:
“I love you.”

I love you, LORD (Psalm 18:1; NLT). 

20.11.23: Glory

Ruth Kirk

✝️  Glory in God’s holy name; let the hearts that seek YHWH rejoice! Turn to YHWH – to God’s strength – and seek God’s presence constantly (Psalm 105:3-4; TIB).

Let’s glory in God’s holy name:
May every heart that seeks the Lord
Rejoice!

Let’s turn towards His perfect strength:
Safe in His presence, always,
Day and night.

Let’s live in love for everyone:
Then we will live in God,
And He, in us.

Let’s dwell in heaven, here, on earth:
His kingdom within us,
Walking in His light.

✝️  Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12; NLT).

References 

Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV).

I can never get away from your presence! (Psalm 139:7; NLT).

You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues (Psalm 31:20; NLT).

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).

Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT). 

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).

The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21; KJV).

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).