Building One Another  

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11

                       Keep on Seeking

Dear Friend,

A congregation once described three kinds of people: the churched, the unchurched and the over-churched. The churched are people who are active in a local church. The unchurched are people with no meaningful relationship with a church (in fact they could even be members of a church).

The over-churched are not, as you might think, the over-involved in church activities. The over-churched are people who experience church without experiencing God!

Sometimes we speak of seekers and believers – the seeker who seeks and finds God through faith in Jesus and in so doing becomes the believer. While this is true enough, we know the most vital believers never stop seeking.

It is remarkably easy for believers to become “passive receivers” and to forget to remain seekers, to become “busy” at church yet slowly grow out of touch with their Lord.

Passive receivers sit in pews listening to sermons and songs – perhaps reading books about other people’s experiences of God – but without experiencing a vital growing relationship with God themselves.

Our Lord does want us to “receive,” but imagine how much more you will receive when you are active rather than passive – actively pushing to receive and to grow and to know God.

You might say“seekers” seek a first encounter with God and believers seek deeper experiences of God. For example, David was a believer and a seeker: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:2

Be a seeker all your life-long! “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8*

Joy to you – E. Stanley Ott

©Copyright 2019 E. Stanley Ott
*Scripture from the ESV

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1. When you think about your relationship with your Lord, do you think of yourself as actively seeking to grow that relationship or pretty much passive assuming your relationship is a good one?
2. What are ways that you could increase your active thirst for the living God?
3. Choose one and do it!