God is Looking for Us : John 4:23 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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God is Looking for Us - John 4:23

The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. That time is now here. And those are the kind of people the Father wants to be his worshipers. (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Remember playing hide and seek as a child? Part of the fun in playing was being found. Jesus tells us that the heart of worship is honoring God as our Father for the salvation he brings us. Today, he reminds us that God is seeking us as we worship him. When we approach God to worship him, we should understand that God is rushing to meet us and welcome us into his holy presence. God seeks us. This is truly an incredible thought. But then, isn't that the image we have of him coming to meet with Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden? God longs to not only receive our worship, but to be with us. What incredible grace!

Today's Prayer

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Father, I confess that I cannot adequately understand your majesty and holiness. Your greatness humbles me. To know, dear Father, that you run to meet me in worship totally overwhelms me. Thank you for loving me so completely. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart and the works of my hands be pleasing in your sight. Accept my praise in Jesus' holy name. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more followers than John. (But really Jesus himself did not baptize people. His followers baptized people for him.) Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard about him. So Jesus left Judea and went back to Galilee. On the way to Galilee Jesus had to go through the country of Samaria. In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar. This town is near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip. So Jesus sat down beside the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to that well to get some water. Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink of water." (This happened while Jesus' followers went to town to buy some food.) The Samaritan woman answered, "I am surprised that you ask me for a drink! You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman!" (Jews are not friends with Samaritans. ) Jesus answered, "You don't know about the thing God gives. And you don't know who I am that asked you for a drink. If you knew these things, you would have asked me and I would have given you living water." The woman said, "Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. Are you greater than Jacob our father ? Jacob is the one that gave us this well. He drank from it himself. Also, his sons and all his animals drank water from this well." Jesus answered, "Every person that drinks this water will be thirsty again. But the person that drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. That water I give will become like a spring of water flowing inside that person. That water will bring that person life forever." The woman said to Jesus, "Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again. And I will not have to come back here to get more water." Jesus told her, "Go get your husband and come back here." The woman answered, "But I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right to say you have no husband. Reallyyou have had five husbands. But the man you live with now is not your husband. You told me the truth." The woman said, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship." Jesus said, "Believe me, woman! The time is coming when you will not have to be in Jerusalem or on that mountain to worship the Father (God). You Samaritans worship something that you don't understand. We Jews understand what we worship. Salvation comes from the Jews. The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. That time is now here. And those are the kind of people the Father wants to be his worshipers. God is spirit. So the people that worship God must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said, "I know that the Messiah is coming." (Messiah is the One called Christ. ) "When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus said, "That person is talking to you now. I am {the Messiah}."

— John 4:1-26 (ERV)

Then Paul stood before the meeting of the Areopagus council. Paul said, "Men of Athens, I can see that you are very religious in all things. I was going through your city and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: 'TO the god who is not known.' You worship a god that you don't know. This is the God I am telling you about! He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord (Ruler) of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples that men build! This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from people. God has everything he needs. God began by making one man (Adam). From him God made all the different people. God made them to live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live. God wanted the people to look for him. Maybe they could search all around for him and find him. But he is not far from any of us: 'We live with him. We walk with him. We are with him.' Some of your own writers have said: 'For we are his children.' That's right. We are God's children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock. In the past, people did not understand God, but God ignored this. But now, God tells every person in the world to change his heart and life. God has decided a day when he will judge all the people in the world. He will be fair. He will use a man (Jesus) to do this. God chose this man long ago. And God has proved this to every person; God proved it by raising that man from death!"
Acts 17:22-31 (ERV)

So the son left and went to his father. "While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. The father felt sorry for his son. So the father ran to him. He hugged and kissed his son.
Luke 15:20 (ERV)

During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden. The Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:8-9 (ERV)

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HEARTLIGHT^® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2008. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved.