January 6, 2012 Pursued!!

Psalm 4: 3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call unto Him.

Romans 1: 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated unto the Gospel of God

I love what Matthew Henry has to say about the word separated here: a gospel Pharisee, separated by the counsel of God (Gal. 1:15), separated from his mother’s womb, by an immediate direction of the Spirit, and a regular ordination according to that direction (Acts 13:2, 3), by a dedication of himself to this work. He was an entire devotee to the gospel of God, the gospel which has God for its author, the origin and extraction of it divine and heavenly.

I have spent the last several weeks studying and writing about God's pursuit of us. I know much is written about how we should pursue God, and I certainly agree that the mark of a believer is his or her pursuit of God and all that which would please and glorify Him.

Nonetheless, Scripture is full of passages that show how God has pursued us, and it seemed to me that too little attention has been paid to this concept - that God doesn't just save us and forget us, but that He pursues us because He loves us. He longs for us to live joyful lives, and His pursuit of us is to guide us toward that end.

David recognizes that God has set apart the godly for Himself, and David marks himself as part of that group. Think now about David's life, adultery, murder, willful separation from God, but God calls him a man after His own heart because God knew David's heart, and David did respond to God's pursuit.

Paul likewise had lived a life marked by the pursuit and murder of Christians, but Paul speaks here of God's pursuit of him, God's work in setting Paul apart to the work of God.

So, I believe God continues to pursue us, through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, through memorized Scripture, and through the Body.

What I am looking for is stories - your stories of times when you have recognized God's pursuit in your life - regardless of what He used to accomplish His will in your life. As I have been reflecting and writing, I will site a letter from a Southern Baptist Church that God used in His pursuit of our lives. I can site a missionary's challenge as a voice God used in His pursuit of our lives, and...well, there are many other things I could say here, but I want your help.

Could you share some events or times when you became aware of God's pursuit of you - perhaps a time when He guided you in decision making or prevented you from a course you wanted to follow? I'm not sure what it might be, but allow the Spirit of God to stir in your mind. My goal is to use these stories and Scripture passages to encourage others.