DAILY DEVOTIONAL – December 25, 2023 What Is the Pursuit of God? By Gary Wilkerson The more I pursue God, the more I dive into knowing his nature and character, the more it transforms my life. His glory is enhanced in my life each time I seek him. This isn’t a one-time event; rather, it’s every moment of every day. A member of my staff recently put it this way: “Walking with God is a daily, relentless, lifelong pursuit of him.” This is what I like to call life-giving theology. It isn’t bookworm theology or lifeless doctrine. Rather, it’s seeking to know the hidden parts of God’s nature; it’s the heart saying, “Who are you, God? I want to know more.” When you think of a gold mine, what comes to mind? An image of miners in hard hats operating machinery deep underground? A close-up of the glistening vein in the rock, like in the movies? The process is actually much more complex, and the actual extraction is only one step. There is extensive exploration and development, preliminary prospecting, geochemical testing, sample analysis, structural mapping, drilling—it's a long list. In our journey to know more of God, we sometimes want to go straight to the mother lode, but the richness is in the process. To be sure, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection guarantee us direct access to the throne of grace and God himself at any time. However, that holy inner court of his presence is just the entrance, the beginning point of a grand spiritual journey into his heart and mind. The pursuit is filled with exploration and development, testing and analysis. Every step reveals more of him, shapes our character, matures our spirit and strengthens our faith. Writer Jon Bloom of Desiring God says about the Word, “The wonderful thing about this mine is that we often find treasure in unexpected places. God loves to lace and layer revelatory riches in what at first seems like a fairly straightforward historical narrative.” When we see life through God’s eyes, our once-limited view of life is expanded with new ideas and possibilities. In 1 Corinthians, we read, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9, ESV). Ask the Lord today to open your imagination, to show you how to live in the wonder and adventure of knowing him. Read and Listen OnlineForward to a Friend

Fire in His Bones: A Collection of the Fifty Most Powerful Sermons of David Wilkerson A collection of David Wilkerson’s most popular sermons, Fire in His Bones offers a practical theological message of hope and encouragement for all believers. Get Your Copy Now

The End of Your Broken Dreams If you’ve been a Christian for some time, you have known Jesus’s healing and restoring power through your griefs and losses. When you faced the end of your world as you knew it, Jesus opened your eyes to a new world beginning, and it blessed you. Read Now   Conviction in an Age of Compromise Christians, more than anyone else, should be people of conviction who boldly stand for the truth and don’t waver. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson and Joshua West discuss what a life of conviction looks like and how we become someone firmly rooted in our beliefs. Watch Now   Fire in Our Bones - San Diego  How do we see God rekindle the church's fire? In February 2024, World Challenge is returning to San Diego to seek an answer for this question! Gary Wilkerson will be joined by Francis Chan and other major speakers to pursue revival in America. Learn More

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