Life Action

Seeking Him

"Your face, Lord, I will seek." What does it mean to be a seeker of God? How can we orient our passions and priorities to develop the most important relationship of all? How do we seek Him?

Articles In This Issue

The Ocean of Us
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  • Virgil Tanner
  • Tue, Jun 28, 2005
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I think the actual word for it is undulation. It is the phenomenon of going up and down—ebbs and swells, highs and lows, peaks and valleys. I am pretty sure that everything that lives undulates. Does your spiritual life ever seem like that? Mine does. Sometimes my love for Jesus is a fiery white-hot passion, and sometimes it’s just not. Some weeks I am fiercely obedient and absolutely devoted to His purposes in the world. Bible study, worship, prayer, and fellowship are the greatest pleasures I can imagine. Other weeks my heart can go stone cold and the ...

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
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  • John Piper
  • Tue, Jun 21, 2005
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The point is this: We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things. The sun of God's glory was made to shine at the center of the solarsystem of our soul. And when it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart. The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attracting place at the center. We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon ...

When Passion Loses Its Punch
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  • David Bryant
  • Tue, Jun 21, 2005
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The Church’s perennial need for spiritual awakening warns us that passion for Christ’s Kingdom can peter out. Like chewing gum, it can lose its flavor. Like an airplane in the midst of a steep climb, it can stall. Not just sometimes. Frankly, too many times this becomes the experience of His most devoted followers. It’s a daily battle for all of us. Circumstances beyond our control as well as life’s disappointing outcomes can unsettle us. Desperate to reclaim the devotion we once held toward our Lord, we wonder how to rekindle the fervor. Setbacks tempt us ...

I Long for More, Lord
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  • Byron Paulus
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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I recently read a report about a fighter jet that crashed during maneuvers at an air show. Four planes were flying upside down in formation at a high rate of speed. After the planes passed over the crowd, they began a dramatic ascent. Tragically, one of the airplanes went the wrong direction, exploding in a fiery ball of flame. Upon investigation, the cause of the crash was determined to be "pilot disorientation." The pilot had become confused about which way was up and which way was down, pulling the wrong way on the flight stick and causing his own death ...

What does it Mean to Seek God?
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  • Dan Jarvis
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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I was lost. I knew the store existed, but today I could find little proof. The first gas station attendant only knew enough English to tell me that I wasn't in Cleveland, I was in Akron. Thank you. At the next stop a lifetime resident had never heard of the store I was searching for.     Finally I stopped at a Christian rescue mission downtown (a fitting place to find directions!) and was able to call the store, only to learn they had moved. Of course, I was miles from their original location anyway, but that didn't really matter ...

Surprised by Togetherness
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  • Ruffin Snow
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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Investing the time to seek God corporately We sat down with two senior pastors who recently decided to take a radical step-setting aside everything else on their church calendars in order to seek the Lord together as a congregation.

Now with the benefit of hindsight, they reflect on their experience with Life Action Ministries and share a few of their lasting impressions with us.

Spirit of Revival (SOR):
What was the value of seeking God together as a church family? Pastor Ruffin Snow: I think of the Scripture from 1 Samuel 7 where all of Israel came to Samuel at ...

From Fictional Utopia to Real Revival
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  • Kevin Adams
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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SORO: What sparked your interest in revival? Kevin Adams: I immediately got interested in revival because the history of the Welsh church is a history of revival. Revival, full of emotion, great preaching, life change, and growth, is practically a national concept in Wales , the DNA of the nation itself. As I look at history, I see God involved with creation, and sometimes He's intensely involved. That "intense involvement" is what I call revival. How could anyone not be interested? SORO: Why do you think God works through revivals? It seems like there are periods of great advancement, then ...

Seeking Heaven
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  • Jonathan Edwards
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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Let the consideration of what has been said of heaven stir up all earnestly to seek after it. If heaven be such a blessed world, then let it be our chosen country, and the inheritance that we look for and seek. Though it be so excellent and blessed a country, yet God stands ready to give us an inheritance there, if it be but the country that we desire, and will choose, and diligently seek. God gives us our choice. We may have our inheritance wherever we choose it, and may obtain heaven if we will but seek it by ...

Portrait of a Revived Community: 100th Anniversary of the Welsh Revival
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  • Kevin Adams
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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Editor's Note: Revival has the power not only to transform individuals, but whole societies as well. The Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 spilled out of the churches and deeply altered the moral climate of the entire nation. One hundred years later, the Welsh Revival is a powerful reminder that Seeking Him Together is the key to releasing the healing power of God in our sin-sick world. The Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 saw thousands of people commit their lives to Jesus Christ. Evan Roberts, the most public of the many revivalists involved, felt that God had indicated to him that 100 ...

Early to Rise, Early to Seek
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  • E. M. Bounds
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.   Behind this early rising and early praying is the ardent desire which presses us into the pursuit after God. Morning listlessness is the index to a listless heart. The ...

Getting Close to God
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  • Dan Jarvis
  • Sun, May 1, 2005
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"Come near to God, and He will come near to you," explains James, the New Testament writer. But wait a minute. Isn't God everywhere, all the time? What of the Psalmist's cry, "Where can I flee from your presence?" And what of the stories where God arrives unannounced, as with Moses at Sinai, or with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, or with Paul on the Damascus road? Perhaps an analogy will do, although as with any human attempt at explaining the divine, it will inevitably fall short. Think of a little child, playing in the family room ...