Seeking God's face is all about intimacy with our almighty Creator. It is intentionally bringing God's personal, unconditional love & holiness to shine upon me. Like an eager, tentative child looking to her father for approval as she explores or a spouse's knowing glance from across a crowded room.

One of the most accessible ways of seeking God's face is by reading His word. The more I study God's word, the more clearly I see His face. As a blind person knows faces by touch, I feel the magnificence of meeting God's Holy gaze through scripture! He wants us seeking His face in times of joy & also during trouble for support, conviction & correction.

Otherwise, He may turn to other ways of getting our attention & discipline, as the book of Hosea details. For example, chapter 2 verse 6 states that God used thorns & a wall to stop Gomer from her sin of harlotry.

Before Jesus became the face of God among us, it seems that seeking Him was more arduous & strict but it was also a much more accepted part of everyday life compared to now.

Either way, it still isn't easy to: 1). hear & see God & accept the Gospel. In fact, in our natural state of spiritual death this requires God's intervention; & 2). stay strong on God's path.

Now & in the past, the material world compels us; we get distracted from & forget our need to seek God first & foremost. 

​Furthermore, many people do not acknowledge their need for forgiveness. People can be morally good & do great things, which is wonderful but without accepting the saving grace of God's son Jesus Christ, they remain spiritually dead in sin. 

The book of Hosea makes it clear to me that God wants everyone to know that our greatest need is spiritual met by Him alone!  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6) "For there is no savior besides Me." (Hosea 13:4).

Personal happiness is of top priority in this secular, consumeristic world. Reading through the Bible, it seems this has always been the case. When things are not going our way, we're apt to take matters into our own hands & look to other 'gods' that are expertly marketed as more palatable & profitable. All the while, God pleads with us that it is especially during difficult times that we should look to Him even more closely, noticing for instance, the way His eyes weep or sparkle & smile with ours. "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord." (Hosea 6:3). This is how we grow beyond ourselves.

There are numerous Bible verses that display God's call for everyone to seek His face. Here are two:
1). “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other." (Isa. 45:22).

2). Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." (John 7:37).
​
​If you think you do not belong to God for any reason, may God's intervention change your mind. Hosea 2:23 states, those who used to be considered "not My people" (e.g. non-Jews), are in fact God's people. Furthermore, at least twice, the New Testament records Jesus saying: "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt. 9:13 & Mark 2:17). Note: 'sinners' means everyone.

A wise daily practice it is to humbly confess our blind spots (e.g. "Please my Lord, show me the errors in my way.") as well as sins we’re aware of. Bringing our failures, weakness & brokenness to God almighty is not for the faint of heart. Think of Saul being blinded by the light of God shining upon his sins. "Seek My face" means facing all of ourselves in light of the Father, 'El Roi' (the God who sees me) & 'Galah Raz' (revealer of mysteries). He knows our guilt for sin even before we are born.

Throughout our lives, He works on us, kneading & softening us like clay! Allowing us to feel the wages of sin & thus our need of Him. Graciously He provides us a way back to life with Him, if we so choose it. Within all the frustrations & trials, such a joy-filled sense of relief & gratitude fills me in being set free of death unto life through Christ Jesus. I pray it fills you too, amen.

There are many ongoing theological debates amongst Christians, one of which I've been looking into lately is: can Christians be possessed by the devil, demons & evil spirits? Jim Osman, in his series, Spiritual Warfare: Truth or Territory (American Gospel); Justin Peters Ministries (Christ Alone: American Gospel), Matt Mcmillan Ministries & Doreen Virtue all say an emphatic "No!" & advise against deliverance ministries. Quoting scripture such as:

"...does not sin..." is the key phrase in the second verse (I'll briefly touch on the first verse later). Jesus is the only one born of God who does not sin! Therefore, Jesus is the only one not touched by the evil one. Living in this fallen, sinful world of duality, we can't avoid being influenced & impacted by the knowledge of both good & evil.

While I definitely also have major concerns about large, showy deliverance ministries, I also can't help but wonder & even doubt that those advising against 'deliverance ministries' in general, have contended with extremely painful/limiting & persistent circumstances or experiences not sorted out by other means, either secular (e.g. psychological & medical help) or 'ordinary' Christian practices (e.g. repentance, Bible study, prayer & obedience). The 'out there' intensity of massive healing gatherings at mega churches (e.g. Benny Hinn; Kenneth Copeland & Joel Osteen) demonstrate how greedy, power-hungry so called Christian leaders, take advantage of people who are desperate for health & freedom. We must understand that while it's true that Christians are FREE IN SPIRIT with eternal life in Christ ("...sealed with the Holy Spirit...) we are not yet fully free in body & soul. The Holy Spirit indwelling, works His way into all our dark parts (those damaged by evil & sin) to heal & resurrect us whole, amen!

I want to add a contrasting point to what I've said above that I haven't heard from those advising against deliverance ministries: the value of the concept of deliverance. It can be very empowering for people who are ill, injured, disabled or struggling with addiction, to have an external force to fight against to help them overcome their situation rather than let whatever hardship they are going through, kill them. To frame cancer as ‘an attack of the devil’ can help people rally & fight for their life instead of easily becoming too passive to survive in the face of extremely challenging symptoms & medications that makes them feel even worse.

These well-known deliverance leaders I've mentioned above are simply 'moving peoples' energy'. By that, I mean they are re-arranging a person's broken pieces, which looks fancy & dramatic. It's possible that a few people get lasting healing from the belief that it will help but what about those who pay large sums of money to bring their dying child but get nothing in return?

Backing up a bit, on the other hand, a constant, long term battle against ‘the enemy’ can can be exhausting & demoralizing. How does one reconcile dying in peace if they succumb to being 'defeated by the devil' as Beni Johnson died of cancer last year, for example? Furthermore, we are taught by Jesus to: “…love your enemies…” (Matthew 5:44). Yet it is true that Amos said: “Hate evil & love good…” (5:15). I conclude like Paul (Philippians 4:8) that we must look for, submit to, find, create & focus on God & all that is good, especially in our most challenging situations & by doing this, we resist (squash/minimize the effects of) evil (James 4:7).

The evil one, also called ‘the thief’ (John 10:10) & ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44) is not omnipresent (as God is) but he doesn’t have to be to do his work of stealing, killing & destroying. He doesn’t have to possess or even ‘infest’ people to oppress & destroy them. He works by stealing the TRUTH & convincing people of that which brings suffering & quickens death. Using physiological & psychological (somatic) means, he creates "strongholds" which confirm peoples’ worst nightmares. He uses common human experiences of accidents/injuries, illness, bullying/abuse, poverty, isolation, physical & emotional pain (e.g. fear, shame, guilt, loneliness, frustration, & anger) to get us to destroy ourselves by believing lies such as the following (these 'thoughts' come from somatic imprints):

1. This illness will continue because it’s impossible to completely stop sinning (& be untouchable by the wicked one).
Biblical Truth that opposes this lie:

2. I’ll never be ‘good enough’ to be well or well enough to do enough good.
Biblical truth that combats this lie:
Thankfully God has given us clear instructions on how to 'overcome ourselves' by inviting Him in rather than by trying to be 'good enough'. The sense of not being good enough runs deep, probably into our DNA, causing all kinds of problems such as working to exhaustion, addiction & other forms of idolatry.

3. Life isn’t worth living with such ongoing pain. I'm useless much of the time yet taking up God's valuable resources.
Biblical Truth against this lie:

The evil one ‘reminds’ those like me who’ve been sick for a long time that we're 'good for nothing wastes of space' --more lies! Over the course of life, through our experiences, evil & sin plant ‘seeds of lies’ within our bodies & psyches & then can pretty much leave us to it except for checking in from time to time to make sure we stay on their 'program'. Unintentionally, we unfortunately often make some lies come 'true' to some degree.

These lies can fester & infect us, especially when we’re caught up in difficult circumstances. And, if we don’t have enough TRUTH already planted, rooted & well established within good soil, these ‘seeds of lies’ grow into massive, invasive weeds (e.g. parts of our personality & more difficult life circumstances such as poverty & addiction), that choke out truth, take over & eventually can take us down & out of life. The  ultimate goal of satan's lies is our total destruction.

We should aim to hear & know God's Biblical word of TRUTH at least one hundred fold more often as a positive 'counterweight' to the lies of the wicked one. To live from a place of: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” we must not let our experiences dominate or dictate reality or tell us what is true. Instead, we must renew our mind by letting the TRUTH of scripture inform our experience. For instance, these two Bible verses surely tell us we can & ought to "move mountains" from getting in our way of living a gloriously Godly life.

Many of satan's ‘seeds of lies’ get planted early in life & most of the time seem harmless or dormant while our lives are going well. They germinate & grow quickly when things don’t go as we hope & especially if we become disabled by pain & other symptoms. Regardless of whether these lies are inactive or wreaking havoc, whenever we get ourselves into harmonious union with God, we are blessed to be having a 'Garden of Eden' moment. As soon as we listen to the temptations (e.g. lies, 'God-doubts') of the evil one & choose to eat whichever 'forbidden fruit' he's selling us, we (once again) fall from the place of deep presence with the Lord. Fortunately, we do not fall out of God's hands or out of His mercy & grace! For we know the TRUTH:

Dear Lord, I pray for us sinners & for those who some might consider the last to ever come to Christ. Not only the naysayers but those whose hearts have completely hardened, crumbled into dust & blown away. Lost souls...but not forever. Only you can restore such deep chasms, re-form dust & soften stone into new flesh ("I will give you a new heart & put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone & give you a heart of flesh." --Ezekiel 36:26).

God, I pray also for all the good & caring people who think God is 'just religious make believe', not possibly true or relevant in "today's world". It takes just a tiny spark of hope (like the possibility of lighting a match) for your flame of warmth, truth & beauty to envelop & bring us evermore fully into your love & understanding. In your sovereignty & justice, I trust in your giving each of us the opportunities ('the matches') we need to step ever closer into your glory, amen.

To move forward, we must first remember Christ. Only in Christ, can we look at our own & others' sins from His purifying eyes & redeeming heart. Made new & holy, forgiven, we forgive & move forward, changed by grace in Christ, amen!

Balaam shows us that with his mind, he can not see the angel of the Lord but his donkey (which represents his body) not only sees the angel but becomes the voice of the Lord's message. People often stay overly focused on worldly pursuits and ultimately discontented because “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). So why not read The Word as if you believe and see what happens?

As I consistently commit to God in tangible ways, my connection with His will strengthens. Fairly often this seems slow and invisible, like growing roots of a tree, nevertheless, I feel it. But do my actions & in-actions further God's Kingdom -- whether I'm supporting a loved one, making art or I'm held up by debilitating symptoms, or repenting my sins? Starting each day with prayer "Lord please fill & fuel me with your divine purpose" makes it all for something, sharing God's forgiveness, holiness and eternal life.

"... this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Amen.