Some of us, sadly, choose to make Sunday the day we set our affections on things above. Folks, that's not seeking the LORD. Here's how Moses puts it.  Deuteronomy 4:29 ”But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."
    Seeking the LORD is an everyday experience. It’s an ongoing process. When you get into your car, decide to tell the LORD this. “LORD, I'm setting my heart on you. I want to be aware of your presence with me as I go to work today."
When you begin a project; even when you begin a conversation;  when you make a decision at work or at home, offer up a prayer to the LORD. Say something like this. “LORD, I'm seeking you with all my heart and with all my soul. Help me to fully depend up you as I do this."
    And look at His promise to you. I Chronicles 28:9 “...if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; ...” God loves it when we put Him first by setting our affections on things above as we carry out our daily work load and as we turn our hearts to Him with things in front of us.
    Here's what King Hezekiah did on a daily basis. II Chronicles 31:21 “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”
    This decision to put Him first in your thoughts as you move throughout your day will also bring another reward. Here it is. II Chronicles 12:14 “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”
    The reason we often lose the battle spiritually throughout the day is that we didn't do this one great thing. We didn't seek Him. So, we end up doing evil instead of good. This passage from II Chronicles reveals a lot about Rehoboam, the son of Solomon who followed him on the throne of Israel. He failed miserably for this reason;  he refused to begin his day with a heart prepared to seek the LORD.
    1. Choose to be aware of the LORD as you make every decision throughout your day.
    2. Set your heart upon knowing the LORD more intimately.
    Any one of us can easily say that we don't know our spouses perfectly, even after thirty or forty years of marriage. I'd venture to say that we'd even say that after fifty or sixty years. Why? It’s often because we haven't taken the time to see them as they really are.
    The very same thing happens with the LORD. We know many things about Him. Yet, if someone asked you how well you knew the LORD, you'd, more than likely, be at a loss for words. The OT Prophets showed us this. Here’s a word from Isaiah. Isaiah 54:5 “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”
<p>And from Jeremiah we read Jeremiah 31:32 “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:...”
    Here's an interesting line from a book on marriage relationships that fits this context of knowing the LORD better.  “Where there is deep and mature love, which is being nurtured and jealously guarded, the couple will confide in each other and discuss all matters of joint interest—and in marriage everything should be of interest to both—they will stand together in adversity, will lean on, support, and give strength to each other. They will find that their combined strength is more than double the strength of either one of them alone.” (You and Your Marriage, Salt Lake City by Hugh B. Brown, p. 30). [Found on www.familydynamics.net].

   I know some Christians have a difficult time seeing the LORD as Someone Who truly wants them to simply know Him better. But, folks, this is what a lot of the Christian life really is - getting to know the LORD more intimately.
    One of the most challenging writers you will ever read is a man named Oswald Chambers. Here's what he says about today's topic. "It is a joy to Jesus when a person takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be a visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ."  - Oswald Chambers [found on www.intimacywithgod.com]
    Another of God’s saints of days gone by was Jim Elliot, missionary martyr in the land of Equador. Here’s how he put it. “O the fullness, the pleasure, the sheer excitement of knowing God here on earth." -Jim Elliott[found on www.intimacywithgod.com]
    1. Choose to be aware of the LORD as you make every decision throughout your day.
    2. Set your heart upon knowing the LORD more intimately.
    3. Submit yourself completely to the LORD's will each day.
    The tenth king of Judah was a man named Uzziah. Here’s what made the difference in his life as one of the LORD’s rulers over Israel. II Chronicles 26:5 says  “ ... and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.”
    You might have the misconception in your heart that the LORD isn't truly out for your best interests. But look closely at the personal success of Uzziah. The Bible says that the reason for his success was because he sought the LORD.
    Are you and I really any different? I don't think so. Don't you have a sincere desire to prosper? Well, do you honestly think you can do so apart from Him? Surrender to the LORD means one thing, folks. It means that, with each and every circumstance God allows into your life, you are willing to yield your rights and ask Him to work His will out upon you.  
    There is a clear command from the LORD that we each are called to “seek the LORD.” 
    Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter is probably not a name that is familiar to you. He was born on a farm in Dundee, Michigan on December 5, 1855. God gave Mr. DeVenter 85 years and he left this world from his home in Tampa, Florida in July 1939. Mr. DeVenter was a gifted artist and musician. He painted for years and then taught art in Sharon, PA. At one point in his life, he came to discover the true meaning of surrender. Here is Judson VanDeventer’s testimony  in his own words. “For many years I had been studying art. My whole life was wrapped up in its pursuit and the thing farthest from my mind was active Christian service. My dream was to become an outstanding and famous artist. After graduating from college, I studied drawing and painting under a well-known German teacher.
    To help me financially, I taught school and eventually I became supervisor of art in the public schools of Sharon, Pennsylvania. It was during this period in my life that a revival was held in the First Methodist Church of which I was a member. I became very interested in these meetings as a personal worker.
    The Spirit of God was urging me to give up teaching and to enter the evangelistic field, but I would not yield. I still had a burning desire to be an artist. This battle raged for five years. At last the time came when I could hold out no longer and I surrendered my all-my time and my talents.

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