When you seek the Lord Jesus earnestly and obey him from the heart, you will be rewarded with an intimate friendship with God himself.
Downloadable chapters of Joni's new book Practicing the Presence of Jesus - link below:
Hi, I’m Joni with a few questions that have obvious answers.
Like, what would you think of an athlete who skipped practice before the final game? You probably wouldn’t call him diligent, right? Or the tenth grader who shuts his books after studying for just 15 minutes? Is he a diligent student? I don’t think so. And what about someone who says they really want to know Jesus? What’s proof of that? Well, Hebrews 11 says that, “God will reward those who diligently seek him.” Now, you may be thinking, “Why should we seek Jesus if we, as blood-bought believers, have already found him? Aren’t we already saved?” Well yes, of course, we are saved, but God paid a really, really high price for that salvation, and so he doesn’t have much patience with freeloaders who show no interest in the cost of his Son’s spilled blood. That said, it’s our diligence in pursuing Jesus that reveals what we actually think of our Savior’s death on the cross.
So if we consider our blood-bought salvation to be precious, it’ll be evident in the way we live. Our salvation will be believable to others as they observe our lived-out preferences for Christ. We will work out our salvation with fear and trembling, producing abundant fruit. Your life of heartfelt obedience to your Savior will be unmistakable proof of your citizenship in heaven. And so, Christian, if God has put you on the path to heaven, then strive to diligently stay on that path, diligently seeking the Lord and obeying him.
Now I can say from experience that when you pursue Jesus, God will fulfill in you what he expects from one of his purchased ones. You’ll be like the athlete who would never dare skip practice before a big game. You’ll be like the student who thinks nothing of studying hard to show himself approved as a workman for God. And as you diligently seek Jesus, he will reward you with a sweet, intimate companionship with himself. And such a glorious prize is more than worth the work. Let me repeat that. When you seek the Lord Jesus earnestly and obey him from the heart, you will be rewarded with an intimate friendship with God himself. And God used my wheelchair in this very way. Oh, how I love my Savior. How I enjoy his company and conversation. My blood-bought salvation is so precious because my own suffering showed me the priceless cost that Jesus paid in order to win me to his side.
I just don’t know if I would grasp this were it not for the school of suffering. Were it not for my wheelchair. My paralysis is what God used to force me to obey. But now? I happily do so. Oh friend, what I’ve shared here is my way of practicing the presence of Jesus. And I wish these few minutes we enjoy together could stretch into hours. Because there’s so much more to diligently seeking out the heart of your Savior. And it’s why I am so excited about my new book, “The Practice of the Presence of Jesus” and I’ve taken today’s insights from its pages. Hey, I’d love for you to learn more about the daily practice of leaning hard into the presence of Christ. So, download sample chapters from my book right now at joniradio.org. And as I close, I am praying that you’ll be diligent in searching out the heart of the Son of God. Learn more about it; by downloading sample chapters from my new book at joniradio.org. And those are your hope-filled words for today.
© Joni and Friends