I love that Jesus treats us the same way. He invites us to be close to him just where we are in our journey. If we are skeptical, we are invited. If we are hopeful, we are invited. Strong leaders and insecure followers are all invited. Wherever we are in our journey of faith, God invites us.

Today we have a simple invitation. I want you to consider to what degree you can resonate with this verse. When you read John’s testimony, are you nodding along and taking him at his word, or are you stirred in your heart calling on memories of witnessing God’s glory?

As we spend time seeking the Lord every day in prayer and through his word, I wonder if we can begin having eyes that look outward to see God in our world. We will learn to identify his presence in the sanctuary of worship, discern the true from the false, perceive his work in the world around us, and be ready to respond to his leading.

Matthew 7:7 has become a recurring verse for abiding daily. I find that the odd simplicity of Jesus’s words here always catches my attention. I’m caught between two thoughts. First, I obviously know that being a Christian does not mean I can ask for anything and just receive it. Secondly, I have seen over and over how God provided for his people just because they asked.

As we enter into a time of prayer and seeking the Lord this morning, we are well aware of the dangers and suffering that others are facing across the world. In times of intense trial, verses like Psalm 56:3 are a gift of simplicity and power.

God desires for you to be abiding in him and for him to be abiding in you. It becomes a beautiful cycle of connection and intimacy that deepens in every breath.

I want to encourage you that nothing replaced the immense value of seeking the Lord. I want to remind you that all throughout scripture we see stories of God responding to people who see him. Remember that while he supernaturally intervened in the lives of many, he was close to those who would seek him.

Pressing on is about longing to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes that means that we have to overcome barriers and walls due to trials, sin, or rebellion. That is what Hosea is talking about in our verse for today. The key to pressing on is that we are after more than getting some religious reward. We are engaged in the process of discovering and knowing God like never before.

Today, abiding means allowing to Holy Spirit to help you turn all fear into peace and all worry into hope. This is exactly what God does. This was his purpose on the cross. He did it because he loves to see his people living in freedom.

The journey of abiding in Christ is allowing the truth of who he is, holiness undeniable, faithfulness unchanging, and divinity unchallenged, to contrast with the tenderness of his heart, love unconditional, mercy everlasting, and salvation eternal.

God is such a generous God. When he brings a blessing, he brings nothing but blessing into our lives. This proverb reveals the depth of God’s goodness to his people. He is more than an all-powerful God. He is a good God and a father that loves to give good gifts to his children.

Abiding becomes truly transformational when we understand the place we have before the Father as adopted sons and daughters.

While God desires our partnership with him to work in his kingdom, that desire is not the same as his desire for our freedom. He set us free out of the goodness of his love so that we could simply stand in freedom.

We have the privilege and invitation to boldly approach the throne of God’s grace because Jesus boldly paid for our freedom with his blood on the cross. Whenever we come into prayer in the secret place or throughout our day, God is prepared for us to come right into his presence and seek his guidance, deliverance, and help.