Seek Me That You May Live

Today’s Word Of Encouragement From Wayne:

“For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, ‘Seek Me that you may live. But do not resort to Bethel and do not come to Gilgal, nor cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and Bethel will come to trouble. Seek the Lord that you may live’”

Amos 5:4-6

“Seek Me that you may live.” This sounds like a great way to live, for every day of our blessed Christian lives!

The literal rendition of this twice repeated exhortation, in this verse from the prophet Amos, is “Seek Me and live.” It’s that immediate. As soon as you start seeking Him, knowing where He is, you start living, drinking in His life.

Hallelujah, beloved of our Lord God, we certainly know, as priests unto our God Most High, that every single time we seek Him to minister to Him, that we are in the living presence of our living God, touching our one true life abundant and eternal.

Let us Go to God. Let us go directly to God, not trusting in any other. As soon as we seek Him, He immediately is present to us, and life is the result!

“Do not resort to Bethel,” which means the house of God. As a priest to my Lord Jesus, I go to Bethel, the house of God within me, that I may minister to Him. Bethel is not my life. Jesus is. Bethel did not save me. Jesus did. Don’t settle for trusting Bethel to give life, because it can’t.

Fellowship with brothers and sisters in Bethel can be beautiful, helpful, and life-giving. But don’t be mistaken - your only life comes from God Himself and He directs us all to “Seek Me that you may live.” God is saying, “Don’t trust Bethel for your life, safety, and salvation, because ‘Bethel will come to trouble,’” as we have so often witnessed.

“Gilgal” means “a place of rolling” and Beersheba harkens back to Abraham’s covenant with Abimelech. Child of the Living God, please don’t get confused or ever give up on God by resorting instead to church (Bethel), traditions of man (Beersheba), or going with the flow, rolling around (Gilgal). Instead, each day, simply and fully, “Seek Me and live.”

In other words He’s not “out there,” in Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba. Rather, He’s “in here,” “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27)!

The best part about “Seek Me that you may live” is that we know this is true. Every day of our lives, as New Covenant priests of God, we are following, abiding and meeting with our very God of life, our resurrected “Lord” and “priest forever” (Psalm 110:1&4), Jesus Christ. And every time we seek Him the payoff of life to us is immediate.

It can be sad to witness people these days running around, to and fro, hoping to be blessed, but they miss the point about God, His Covenant, and our priesthood. They resort to Bethel, they go into captivity with Gilgal, and they cross over to Beersheba, while all the while the Savior and God of their lives is saying “Come to Me... and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus Christ says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

Look to God and receive Him, every day. Seek His face and you will always be blessed with life in Christ. And if you see some people losing hope in our living God and slipping back into trusting in other ways, please encourage them with this Scripture from Amos, to not go elsewhere but to “Seek Me that you may live.” Hallelujah!