It’s Fall… the time of year when we smell the crisp air and crunch dead leave under our feet. We sip hot apple cider and enjoy all the beautiful colors. When I look out at the falling leaves, I am sometimes reminded that I need to fall deeper in love with Jesus. 

Maybe you were like me when you were a teenager, and tried to picture your perfect spouse? What kind of expectations did you have?  What were you looking for?  I had a list, I wanted a man devoted to Jesus, a man who would lead me closer to Jesus, I had other things in there, like a nice tan, and a poetic soul… that poetic soul thing,  I am glad now I do not have, I couldn’t stand to be married to the male version of me… Finding a spouse is great but, the one we really need to find is Jesus!  He is the only one who can meet our every need. Just how do we find Him?

When I became interested in my husband, I made sure he saw me. I started to show up at the snack bar when he was working, stopped to talk to him when he was in the student lounge or the cafeteria….  Started spending time with his friends… I wanted to find out everything I could about him, to see if he was all I thought he was.   I wanted to get to know him.  

We wont find Jesus if we don’t actively pursue Him.  We need to get in the Word and read what was said about Him… we need to stay in the house of God and hang out with His friends… we need to go where He is and avoid where He isn’t.   What does the Bible say about finding Jesus? 

Have you ever played hide and seek when you were a kid? Think about a time when you were the one seeking, and the anticipation you had on your search… and then remember the excitement you experienced when you found who you were looking for!  Now think of a time when you were hiding, sure you wanted to have the best hiding spot, but do you remember a time when your spot was so good that you would drop hints to your pursuer so that they would be able to find you… you were so happy to be found… I see God like that, He hides himself so we will pursue more of Him, and when we are having difficulty finding Him, He is dropping hints of his location… He is waiting for us to want Him so bad that we drop everything else we are doing just to be where He is and get to know His heart.  When we find Him, He will overtake us!

Hebrews 6:19 – which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which endures into that within the veil.

Our hope, secured through the price Christ paid is our anchor. Hebrews 9:18 talks about how God confirms his oath with two unchangeable things: It is impossible for God to lie and the hope that is set before us.   When we find God, we will begin to find His promises to be true. We can anchor into what He has said that He will do.  We are not in this race in vain, there is a hope!  We have an eternity to look forward to when Jesus is our Lord!

Jesus Christ, our hope, is our anchor… latch on to Him and know His promises are true.. they will not fade. If he said He will do it, He will do it.

How do we cling to Him? Find out what He is saying. Study the Word of God…. we will never keep our thoughts pure and our focus in the right place if we do not consume His word.  If you find your mindset is not one that glorifies God, if you find yourself worrying or depressed,  it’s time to re-position yourself, get the Word in your heart so you can cling to your anchor, your hope! (Philippians 4:8)

We need to love God.

Mark 12:30 – And you shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.  (Deuteronomy 6:5)

John 14:15- “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

John 14:21 – Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

1 John 2:4-6 – Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him; whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.

One we surrender to the love of God, his love will begin to be perfected in us, so we can love Him… and love our brother in Christ.

We need to love our brother.

Mark 12:31 – the second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. Read it, it will challenge the way   you love.

1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love

Romans 12  talks about how we need not think we are better than anyone else, how we need to accordingly use the gifts God has given us to build up the body of Christ, how (V9) our love needs to be without hypocrisy, and we need to hate evil and cling to what is good. We need to love each other and bless our enemies. Rejoice when someone rejoices and weep with those who mourn.  It is time to leave our security bubbles and love like Jesus. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.

Psalm 37:4-5 – Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 6:25 – Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more     than food, and the body more that clothing?

Psalm 9:10 – And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 26:3 – You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 

Psalm 112:7 – He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

When things are exploding around you, don’t run away from God, lean on Him. Trust that He will do what He says He will do, He will take care of you and secure you under His wing.