Dave’s Monday Blast – February 17, 2024
Happy President’s Day. I hope you have this day off with pay!
Relentless pursuit. I am not entirely sure what to make of Elon Musk. I do love the concept of D.O.G.E., although here-to-fore, the idea is an oxymoron. I am certain you remember that quote made famous by Ronald Reagan concerning the most terrifying words you can ever hear spoken: “I am from the government and I am here to help”.
If the end result of D.O.G.E. is truly a government that exists only to help us in our “pursuit of happiness”, I pray that the mandate is relentless and possesses the moral courage to excise all the waste and fraud from the system. It will take the proverbial “draining of the swamp”. While hopeful, I am beyond skeptical as identifying a problem is one thing, but correcting it is a very different animal.
Relentless pursuit. Fortunately I have 100% confidence in my God who is relentless in His pursuit of me. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6). Men of INTENTION know that as Scripture is read in context its meaning is clear and concise. This chapter is descriptive of the Lord and informs us of His duties as our shepherd throughout life. Verse 6 is a powerful reminder that He is good, loving and kind as He follows us ALL the days of our lives here on earth, and until we dwell in His house forever.
The First 15 devotional comments: “The foundation for our faith is not meant to be built on our works or our understanding, but rather on God’s relentless pursuit of us. We have relationship with our Creator not because we sought Him out, but because He is always pursuing us. Any elements of Christian spirituality at work in our lives are the result of His constant grace drawing us deeper and deeper into the abundant life Jesus died to give us. Faith built on anything else but God’s pursuit is faith built on our own strength, which is an unsure and consistently failing foundation”.
Take a moment and read Ephesians 1:16 – 18. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul writes to provide us with a fresh understanding of God’s relentless pursuit of His children. We need to ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of our hearts. To that point, we have a picture hanging on the wall in our home that reminds us every day to pray this prayer: “Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.” (Author unknown)
To gather a Biblical perspective on just how powerfully God pursues us, spend this week reading the story of Hosea (yes…the entire book). This book describes the relentless heart pursuing Israel using a real-life metaphor of Hosea pursuing Gomer (his wife), who time and again left him to prostitute herself. First 15 comments: “There is nothing we could do to keep God from pursuing us. There is no sin too great, no distance we could run, that would discourage God from loving us. Don’t let your sin and failures get in the way of running to the open arms of your heavenly Father”.