Focus: SEEK ...

Jeremiah 29:13
SEEK: to search out, to strive after
in this verse, this is the meaning

Jeremiah 29:13 HEB: וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֥ם אֹתִ֖י וּמְצָאתֶ֑ם NAS: You will seek Me and find [Me] when KJV: And ye shall seek me, and find INT: will seek and find when

Many of us are familiar with a verse that precedes this one in Jeremiah and use it out of context for our good or the good of someone else struggling (Jeremiah 29:11) but the verse in between and all the previous ones in chapter 29 are important. [the link goes to an article about this, however, I (and perhaps you) are unable to read it without subscribing] so I will just link to another one here or more extensively here] and I'll make my point just by looking at Jeremiah 29:10-13 (or maybe even before this) but mainly the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to a group of "exiles" under God's judgement:

"... 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Before I get to my verse, I need to realize that I need to call on the Lord.
Pray to the Lord and listen to the Lord.
(also previously in this chapter, it speaks of "false prophets" & lies being propagated)
{Hmmm, sounds a little too familiar.}
Then
SEEK HIM and find the Lord
by SEEKING HIM with all my heart
which means truly searching for Him and striving after Him
turning back our hearts & repenting
being accountable
before
God
<>Whew!(sorry)
I did not come here for this, I really just wanted to share the image and continue on with the verse I chose before I moved onto some other part or different verses with SEEK. Then I got off on that little tangent of mine (without completing my thoughts or a solid lesson about this).

I have encountered quite a few reading plans on SEEK at You Version, even one on SEEKING Justice (for another time). But because of these plans I decided to share more, starting with the various definitions of SEEK (as I started out with above) but not all of them:

"Seek (verb): to go in search or quest of to try to find or discover by searching or questioning to try to obtain to try or attempt to go to to inquire

I did one of the plans: 21 days of Seek, back in Jan. of 2022, in a "season to minimize the distractions & routines" of my life as I started out the new year that year, hoping to hear God's voice & focus on what He is saying to me. It was an intentional time of prayer as I generally do each year. Besides the scripture verses & daily devotions, I found the different topics each day & prayers to be very helpful. Here is a prayer, I've chosen (but not from this plan):

"God, thank You for Your Word and how You speak to us so personally and lovingly. Thank You for being a Good Father who wants to help us understand Your instructions. Please reveal to me in a personal way how You want me to seek You as my vital necessity in my daily life."~ *Rebekah M. Barrett, day 2 of 3 from "Seek Me First"

I'm really enjoying the daily plan & videos from Jovita Sheppard in her plan
"SEEK in SEVEN"
{I think because it's a seven day plan}

"... As we SEEK after God & place ourselves in the posture for an encounter, and as we encounter God, we, too, will begin to thirst after the life- changing experience that comes from being in Almighty God's presence." ... (Psalm 42:1-2)  " (God) is faithful to come and dwell  when we SEEK Him ... " Jovita Sheppard

this is just a taste of her "devotional for a God-first lifestyle"
which leads me to my next chosen verse with
SEEK
[since there are so many verses & choices]
*"SEEK ME FIRST"(for coffee drinkers-lol)

"SEEK the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 NLT

I will be focusing on the seven verses given in Jovita Sheppard's plan for each day.

Psalms 27:8; Job 5:8; Psalms 34:10; Psalms 34:4; Psalms 42:1-2; 
1 Chronicles 16:8-12
"... and SEEK His face always"
when facing troubles & trials, what I encourage myself & others to do is
"SEEK His face, not just His hand"
or 
as this blogger shares 
"Seek God's face before you Seek His Hand"
which is ultimately what we need to do
SEEK both, SEEK Him
completely
"SEEK GOD Through It"(another YV plan of 10 days)
says it this way:
"...God wants us to seek His face, not His hand. Seek His heart, not His power. In genuinely seeking Him, we gain the abundant life that Jesus provides." day 4
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🙏🙏🙏
As I share thisI SEEK Godfor a miracle for loved ones(1 involved in a tragic car accident)and hope you will join me prayingin Jesus' name
🙏🏼 

Focus: on the One Word for this Week

but

"... SEEK first His Kingdom... "

"Give your entire attention ..."

(MSG)

The One Word for this week rhymes(with week)it's
SEEK
"to search out by any method""to inquire or search carefully for something""to try to acquire or gain; to strive after"
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There are so many Bible verses with SEEK; but the one given is:
Ecclesiastes 3:1 

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven"

I'm sure many of you know or are familiar with a verse or two with "SEEK" and as you can see it's not in the NLT version above.
In fact, I didn't see "SEEK" in any of the versions;[Voice; MSG; AMP; CEB; etc]which is usually how this author does her devotions each week in her book"Focus: How One Word a WeekWill Transform Your Life" - verses without the One Word in them -but I assure you that the devotion focuses on that One Word
However, there are no shortage of verses with
"SEEK"
andCleere Cherry Reaves (author)will definitely show us how to focus and"SEEK"through her message
[Note: I don't generally read her devotional for the week ahead of sharing these blog posts. I may make an exception in this case. I often read & reread throughout the week as I focus & read one of her scriptures given, sometimes in different versions. besides research & look for other Bible verses with the One Word for that week.]

"... Stillness with the Father. Through SEEKING what Jesus wants for our lives, we are able to release some of the pressure ..." "... As we SEEK Jesus and His Promises, we receive a true peace about what He asks us to release & what He commands us to hold" ... C. Cheery Reaves

The other verses that are given for this week are:

* Matthew 6:33 ESV

2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV

Luke 10:41-42 NLT 

Ephesians 5:15 NIV

* well-known verse that does have SEEK in it

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Since there are so many verses for 

"SEEK"

I will start out my One Word verses 

with this choice from:

Jeremiah 29:13

(which uses the One Word: SEEK)

then I will SEEK more of Jesus

(& read this week's devotion again😉)

"... SEEK & you will find ... "

{As I was closing this, one of our online local church services began singing this, 

so I had to share with the original singer}

(one of my favorites)

The More I Seek You

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I'm still SEEKING my RHYTHM from last week.

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PAUSES... Week 5

Pentecost is getting closer 

There are

50 Days & Words 

between 

Resurrection Sunday & Pentecost

this week we're in the 5th week 

so there's 2 weeks after this

Fifth Week of Eastertide Day 29: Desert* -                Matthew 4:1 Day 30: Transformed -       2 Corinthians 3:18  Day 31: Devout -                Luke 2:25 Day 32: Dwell -                  Ephesians 3:16-17 Day 33: Guide -                 Isaiah 58:11 Day 34: Responsibility -    Acts 6:3-4 Day 35: Encouragement - Acts 4:36

* most versions use "wilderness"
DESERT found in CSV; DRB, GW, GNT, NAB, WNT in Matthew 4:1
from Day 29

" .. Is the Holy Spirit leading you into the "DESERT"?..." "... the DESERT is the training ground of the Holy Spirit for those who wantto be faithful, effective, and competent in the rest of their lives." The suggested Daily Practice (which this book has each day) has this for day 29: "Carve out a DESERT moment of solitude.Allow it to be a time when you can simply be alone with God & yourself. ..."

Since last week I wrote that I was looking forward to the One Words chosen (and they were very good), I quickly looked through this week's One Word Pauses and I thought, perhaps not as good as the ones from last week, until I started to look at them and their verses. Clearly, each One Word Pause is drawing us closer to a Pentecostal moment and empowering us.

from Day 30

"As people of faith, we constantly face the challenge of being credible to the people around us. In fact, it could be the greatest challenge facing us at the present moment of history. ... " "... Is there any evidence that the Holy Spirit is TRANSFORMING our self- centered lives into a greater likeness of Christ? ..." "... Constantly, we need to remind ourselves that  the Holy Spirit is the great TRANSFORMER We cannot stay the same." ... "... a process of TRANSFORMATION that causes us  to reflect the glory of Jesus ..."

{actually the entire devotional from that beginning line above to James 2:17 is transformative for me}
It reiterates that the reason for the "Daily Practice" at the end of each day after the meditation of the devotional are there to open our lives more widely to the TRANSFORMINGgrace of the Spirit."
WOW!Powerful words!
"Holy Spirit, make me like Jesus."
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So again, I look for a connection between the One Words and begin to see how they do.
I could go on like above for each day this week
stating what stands out
and I'd love to
but
since I'm not the author
I really can't (copyright, etc.)
But I have to take a risk with the following part because it's that good
and taken from Ephesians 3:17-19 for day 32 DWELL
"Ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear Jesus saying these words to you"

"I want to come and DWELL in your life. Through you I want to touch the lives of those around you. Be willing to let go of your own agendas and plans that so often keep you from living and acting in and through me. Let yourself be led, strengthened, and renewed by my own Spirit living in your inner being. As you do, you "may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and how long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God"

Spend time alone & in the silence
🕊allow the Holy Spirit to help you hear those words from Jesus💓
as you sense and know that
Christ DWELLS in you.
allow Him to 
GUIDE
you
Be
DEVOUT
TRANSFORMED
ENCOURAGED
&
"See each of your daily 
RESPONSIBILITIES
as an opportunity for you to live
in the power of the Holy Spirit"
🙏

"Learn My Unforced RHYTHMS of Grace ~ Jesus"

Maybe I spoke too soon when I wrote"Out of Rhythm"
because I do believe that I am learning still
"Unforced RHYTHMS of Grace"
I had another YV plan in draft, but chose the youth longer one 
when I wrote that blog post & I should have chosen this 7 day one first:
"FIND YOUR RHYTHM: RETURN TO HEALTHY, NOT TO NORMAL"

(perhaps this is for the younger generations also)

provided by an initiative of Christian Vision (CV)a global Christian charity with evangelism at its heart calledyesHEis

Although I have not completed this short 7 day plan, each day has a theme with "simple, practical and healthy habits" so that we can "live the deep and meaningful life God intended" which means that it helps us develop a RHTHM that is more "intentional, balanced & healthy."

Right on the first day, they inspired me to continue with hopes to develop a more healthy RHYTHM with these words and perhaps you'll recognize some of it from the Scripture verses found in The Message of Matthew 11:29b-30:

[image credit]

"Find & Explore Healthy Rhythms (day 1) "Your life has a rhythm. Whether you know it or not, your daily practices and habits create a rhythm. Your rhythm is the beat of your life & determines how you ultimately live. The question is, is your current rhythm intentional, balanced and healthy? Jesus invites each of us to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. He promised that He wouldn’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on us. Rather, a life kept in company with Him is a life lived freely & lightly. The problem is, life seems more stressed, fast-paced & tiring than what Jesus promises. It is as though the pressure to do more, post more & be more is stronger than our desire to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. It is as though we’ve got our wires crossed & priorities a little mixed up. If you were honest with yourself, would you say you are thriving or surviving? Does your life feel full of meaning & depth? If not, maybe it is time to slow down, trust God & begin to learn His unforced rhythms of grace. Maybe it is time to find your rhythm, explore healthy habits & commit to keeping company with Jesus. Today, spend time contemplating your current rhythm & your current life pace. List out your current practices & habits and imagine what a more intentional and healthy rhythm could look like. A healthy rhythm isn’t about reaching perfection quickly. It is about committing to growth over time with Jesus by your side."  ...

{I'm sure that I should not share the entire first day (so I did leave out some) but my hope is that maybe it will capture you as it did me so that you consider doing this plan too.}
In other words, even without having completed this, I highly recommend.If only it had a prayer each day I'd guarantee my 5⭐️ rating
so I'm sharing this verse image prayer

[image credit: YV] 
3 John 1:2

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As I mentioned above, each day has a different focus (outlined below):

Day 2 - SOUL       Spiritual Health Day 3 - MIND        Mental Health Day 4 - BODY       Physical Health Day 5 - HEART     Emotional Health Day 6 - FRIENDS Relational Health Day 7 - OTHERS  Community Health

Clearly, this is an all-inclusive package deal!
Each daily devotional with accompanying scriptures give you 
simple practices to embrace to learn & grow in 
God's 
"... unforced RHYTHMS of Grace ..."
{of course, this could be expanded on, but the devotionals are brief/concise}
As an example, I will just enumerate the 3 simple practices given for Day 2 for our SOUL (Spiritual Health)

"Read the Bible Daily" ... "Regular Prayer - a foundational habit ..." "Attend Church ..." "While each of these practices may seem rudimentary,  they are pivotal to a sustainable and healthy spiritual life."

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Once again, I am sharing the Verses of  "FOCUS ..." by C.C. Reaves for the 
One Word this week:
RHYTHM

"... Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."   Matthew 11:29b-30 MSG

As we continue to learn together
and grow in Christ Jesus
intentionally
in all these areas
to become healthy and balanced
living freely and full with
less weight
as
Jesus
invites us to rest
 & take His yoke upon us
so that we become less weary
and less burdened
because
His yoke is easy
🙏

OUT OF RHYTHM

It took me awhile to get the "RHYTHM" of this week and 'get' research on "RHYTHMS". I even read & reread quite a few times the devotion. I enjoy "RHYTHMS" in music for most of my life but for some reason I just couldn't figure out this concept of "RHYTHMS" of Jesus or what this meant. It didn't help me at all to check for Bible verses not many with the actual One Word, because most of them & the topical search on Bible Hub landed me on poetic "RHYTHMS" of syllables and meters; and singing. It didn't help at all for me to recall that when I was attempting to learn how to play guitar, I never was able to sync strumming chords with the RHYTHM either and the actual song, keeping the RHYTHM going. I guess I really didn't 'get' (understand) RHYTHMS. Yet I knew that I have RHYTHMS in my everyday life because I read that "we all do life in rhythms" ... the ebb and flow of our daily living, melodic or hum-drum. Known or not. Regular RHYTHM: a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. 

So, I began to look at sermon series (and there are so many available) until I finally came up with a better idea of what is meant by using RHYTHM spiritually; and the concepts modeled in scripture of: "Rest, Restore, Connect, Create" as Rebekah Lyons shared in her book, "Rhythms of Renewal". It was when I found this post on "Spiritual Rhythms" that I better understood that they are how we connect with God. I think my understanding of this was our routine, or pattern (habits) in our lives, and how we spend time with God, and others. I saw/read many that seemed like RHYTHMS meant like opposites; like where God built RHYTHMS into creation: day & night, work & rest, etc. I even tried a YV plan of RHYTHMS (I think intended for youth). I was also confused if RHYTHMS meant "seasons" as in Ecclesiastes.

One of the series I found was by Living on the Edge Chip Ingram & Ryan Ingram called "Sacred Rhythms", which finally helped me understand better and I really liked this statement:

"Sacred rhythms are a specific way we arrange our life to cultivate a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus."

So, it's resolved that I DO have RHYTHMS, at least, in my 'sacred' part of life.
Soul Shepherding shared one of the best, inclusive teaching:
"My RHYTHM of Life with Jesus"
{I was totally captured by their Soul Shepherding ministry website as their name}
😇Makes me want to sign up for a retreat with them😉Thankful that my Shepherd knows my soul & rhythms.♬He walks with me & talks with me ...
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One of the "youth" articles that I read had a Mary/Martha pendulum (Luke 10:38-42) that I liked, calling it "RHYTHMS of action and contemplation" ... now that I understand. But again the ones given just seem like opposites: RHYTHMS of "pain & joy"; ... "silence & noise";  and the same as I listed above. I'm still missing the beat and understanding of RHYTHM. 😟

The article that I shared first in my last blog post gave a plan for "finding your own RHYTHM" from Jesus' RHYTHMS & rest. Now in music, I know that there are RESTS that tell us to pause & breathe. Christianity Today had a good article from back in 2016, and it had 2 very helpful points to grasp "this simple RHYTHM and live it well" - "a two-beat rhythm of life" from Mark 3:13-14.

"To be with Him in prayer and devotion. And to be sent from Him into the world. The 'being with Him' part of the rhythm provides space in our lives for prayer, solitude, contemplation on scripture, and rest. The 'being sent' aspect gives us a mission in life through daily tasks of love. In being with him we love God. In being sent we love our neighbour. Being with, being sent – that's Jesus' rhythm of life. "

Another favorite that I encountered was "... Practicing the RHYTHMS of God's Grace" because (of course) that fits well with this blog being "aMazing Grace" and going "Back to the Basics ..." by Lauren Bowerman (on Journeywomen). Perhaps "Four RHYTHMS I learned from Jesus"  synchronized all I needed to finally understand RHYTHMS. 

I tucked away far too many You Tube videos/ series (that I didn't watch, but saved) wondering if or when I might need to incorporate them into my search for RHYTHMS and need to view, like:

💚RHYTHMS of JOY💚

my playlist of 6 videos

RHYTHMS of JESUS (playlist)

Follow Me: The RHYTHMS of Jesus

The RHYTHM of Prayer

Jesus' RHYTHMS

Chrystal Evans Hurst with Hosanna Wong

RHYTHMS for Reconnecting with Jesus

[also read a post from Chrystal Evans Hurst 

"Cultivate  Rhythms with God" 

and she lists another related post in this]

Rhythm of Grace
A few verses with the One WordRHYTHM

Psalm 96:11 And so, let the heavens resound in gladness! Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar. Psalm 149:3 So let the music begin; praise His name—dance and sing to the rhythm of the tambourine, and to the tune of the harp. Jeremiah 33:19-20 Again, the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah. Eternal One: If you can figure out a way to break My covenant with the day and with the night so they do not always arrive on schedule, the very rhythm of life on this earth Revelation 18:22 Never again will the sound of music grace your streets. The melodies and harmonies of the harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters will never be heard again. And never again will an artisan of any craft be found in your markets, And never again will the grinding of the millstone provide rhythm to your city

Believe it or not, I probably am drawn to these verses, because later in life (not when I attempted to learn playing a guitar - kinda mid-life), I began playing tambourine during worship time (and found out how much RHYTHM I have hidden in me) but it was because I took a class on Tambourine patterns (like this or this and these) and then taught younger girls. I stayed with the more simple patterns and usually did not do the ones with dance steps. But I really love to use a tambourine in worship & warfare because that's what I learned it was for ... yes, those were the days ...

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I believe that God wants us to be well-stringed symphonies of RHYTHM,
our voices, our hands, our feet, our lives
tuned and adequately rested
in sync with Jesus
which means
"Being with Him & sent from Him"
real 'sabbath' *rest, meaningful time with God,
strong connections with others
and
serving others
*not only on the Sabbath, but especially on the Sabbath
Hillsong actually has recorded a song
RHYTHMS of GRACE

"... Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:29b-30 MSG

Maybe I'm not really
Out of RHYTHM
with life or my life with Jesus
after all
{I just march to a different beat/drummer/tune & didn't know about my "rhythms" or the meaning, because I follow plenty of them.}

Hopefully 
you understood better than I did
👏