Seeds of the Kingdom 12 August 2022 Daily Devotional || By Ellel Ministries International
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Seeking His Face, Not Just His Hand
by Jilly Lyon-Taylor
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4, NIV
Seeds of the Kingdom 12 August 2022 MESSAGE
My dog, Sasha, is a Labrador, and if you know anything about the characteristics of different breeds of dogs, you will know that Labradors have an obsession with food. If Sasha sees or smells food, she seems to go completely deaf to my commands and forgets all her training. If she knows that someone has “treats” in their pocket, she will make a beeline for them to beg for a titbit.
This can be quite embarrassing, as she will go up to complete strangers looking expectantly for a reward. She will also go straight to people she does know, if they have given her treats on other occasions and she expects they will again!
Although I used to give treats to encourage her when I was training her as a puppy, I now use them sparingly, because I want her to come to me out of obedience and affection, not just because of what she might receive. I was thinking about this recently and wondering if God sometimes feels the same. Do we come to Him only when we want something from Him? When we pray, do we start with adoration, praise, and worship, or do we begin with our needs? Seeds of the Kingdom 12 August 2022
God is our Father, and He promises to provide for His children. God also promises to heal us, but I wonder if we sometimes seek our healing more than our relationship with Him – seeking His hand, and what we can get from Him, more than His face. As a parent, I loved to provide for our sons and to make sure they had everything they needed, but I would have been disappointed if they had only been in touch with us when they needed money or something else from us.
In today’s verse in Psalm 27, the psalmist says that the one thing he seeks is to dwell in the Lord’s house all his days, gazing on His beauty. He doesn’t speak here about what he can receive from God – it is sufficient for him just to be in His presence. Is it the same for us? Do we desire relationship with God more than what He can give us?
Seeds of the Kingdom 12 August 2022 PRAYER
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times when I have sought Your hand, and what You can give me, more than Your face. Help me to seek You, and Your presence in my life, with all my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Seeds of the Kingdom 12 August 2022 Daily Devotional written by Jilly Lyon-Taylor. Jilly Lyon Taylor has been involved with Ellel Ministries since 2001. Her early career was in publishing, and she then spent three years working with children in Hong Kong. When she returned to the UK, she married, had three sons and spent the next years being a full-time wife and mother, at the same time serving in the local church with her husband. She was involved in running Alpha courses, children’s programmes and Bible study groups.
During this time, she began to see how many people were being held back in their Christian lives because of issues in their past. A desire to see people healed and set free led her to undertake the NETS training at Pierrepont in 2001. Following this, she joined the ministry team at Pierrepont and began to teach on courses. She was asked to join the leadership team in 2004. She has since had the privilege of teaching with Ellel in many different countries.
She was widowed in 2017, but continues to live locally to Pierrepont. Her sons are all married and she has eight grandchildren.