what is your priority in life. what is that thing that motivates you. Are there any questions that you're wanting to get answered.... questions about your purpose in life? your direction?

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Matthew 6:33 states SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED. (The most popular version that we know is But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you)

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Have you ever tried doing things your own way? Ever wondered why you struggle with certain things...especially when it comes to the word of God....it's because in most instance we're after our own agenda...instead of seeking God's agenda.

Think about this... if our will was God's will...it will ALWAYS be done

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1. In breaking down the verse of Matthew 6:33...the first thing that stands out is the verb TO SEEK

• it means to active puruse
• to go in search of
• to discover by searching or questioning

Notice that it's in present tense. It is something that you do NOW... and your NOW moments are continious

[an example to illustrate seeking]

Imagine you're home and you have a show that you want to watch on TV but yet you cant find your remote control. You search and search to no avail. What do you do...you rest for a while... grudgingly go up to the television and manually tune it to the station you want to watch...you'll find it later

Now imagine you have to be at a very important meeting at a certain time...you must leave home within the hour and you cannot find your carkeys. Tell me what you do. You begin to search frantically for your keys....you track your steps back...tried to think of the last place you may have placed them....you HAVE to get going and you cant do so without your keys....

This is the way we should seek God...constantly...

Seeking God should be our first priority because when we have that in order, our lives in turn will be in order...

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2. To gain understanding of the kingdom, the first thing to do is seek the king...it will follow logically that if you want to know about the kingdom, the best person to ask is most likely the king

God says in His Word... "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you"

Jeremiah 29:13 states YE SHALL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YE SHALL SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Also in seeking the king, it is important to understand that it must be done with faith.
[FAITH is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen]

In Hebrews 11:6 it states that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT FAITH

Now we know HOW to seek...WHO to seek...but WHAT are we seeking

Matthew 6:33 states to seek the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is simply defined according to Romans 14:17 as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Being righteous in simple terms means having a right relationship with God. It is not in what you wear... it isnt in who you know... and it most definitely isnt in how much you know. It is basically acting out your faith

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3. The last part of the verse states that ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED UNTO YOU

what are all these things

Read Matthew 6: 19 to 28
God talks about providing for your needs...your finances...your food...He talks about your stature (fitness)...fashion....

in Verse 32 it sums it all up: YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS ALL OF YOUR NEEDS... so dont worry like an unbeliever would

this is WHY we're seeking God...

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my challenge to YOU (and me): If you're like me and havent been actively seeking... for ONE week...try this. Seek first God's kingdom. Read your bible daily...even if it's one verse...one passage....(check out A WORD A DAY on the top left corner of this blog]. Schedule time to read the bible if you have to. medidate on the verse of Matthew 6:33 and what it means... The bible encompasses everything. It tells you to love...it says BE HOLY AS I AM HOLY... it gives you basic living instructions... it's just a matter of us searching it out.

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just to a little note to share: a year ago when I wanted direction in reading the bible...I asked a close friend what she does and how she decides where to read...she told me she relies on the direction of the holy spirit. So I went home and I tested it. I said okay...Holy Spirit tell me show me where to go...I went where I thot the Holy Spirit was leading me...and what do you know...when I went to church on sunday the guest preacher was a woman...who preached on somn that has been on my heart...but most importantly...her sermon was based on the passage I had just read...the same one that I felt led by the Holy Spirit to read. I thought that was amazing...infact I was so excited at the church service. My wish for you is that you experience what I did as well :-)

Our Lovely Bijoux aka Cherub aka child of the most high God has given a great summary of what we covered in Fridays TERC meeting. What I’ve summarised below is in its entirety similar to her write up, but I wanted to focus on – if we followed a negative report - we still have the hope of staying on track to our vision, purpose or plan.

1. We need to follow instructions
2. Possess the promise – read His will, please God in our wait
3. Not to listen to negative report, as it will make us continue in circles, and so we need to stop doing this. And believe me when I say this, the report of whom we listened to will be there to blame us, condemn us, ridicule us, make us out to be fouls and then abandon us. We didn’t need to listen to them! will be what they will constantly remind us of.
4. But God is faithful and merciful, He will always give us another chance – Like He did to all who have gone before us.
5. But we need to remember this, that He never changes and is no respecter of persons. And if God can save David – a lair, rapist and murderer – by giving him undeserved chances, He would do it for us too whenever we fall short.
6. So for us to be successful in our walk with God, we need to:
1. Read the Word of God
2. Quote it
3. Think it
4. Obey it
5. Do it, then we will have good success – Joshua 1 – 10.
7. We also need to do a self examination, circumcising our hearts, taking communion and knowing our history i.e. our mistakes, so we learn from them and not repeat them.
8. So Even though God will forgive our disbelief and give us a fresh start, we still need to cross over to our blessings from God. That is, we need to make our mind up to cross our Jordan.
9. Then lay hold of the promises. So let us list our promises and dig deep for our treasures. When God brings us into our promises, let us do well in it. Make sure not to touch what belongs to Him – the things He has devoted to Himself, First born, Tithe – as disobedience will bring about catastrophic changes in our life.
10. Therefore let us make sure before we make our move into our promises / purpose to consult God, and acknowledging Him in our ways.

Therefore my friends let us begin to expect great and mighty miracles from God. And as we wait, let us not link ourselves with the wrong people; not to be unequally yoked. Be careful not to be tricked by them into fighting battles that isn’t your’s to fight. So I charge you guys, do not fear, even if you’ve made bad decisions and found yourself in a bit of bother, do not despair for God will fight your battles. Put the Word of God in your life and it will be difficult for you to be defeated. Read also Psalm 109 to show you what God can do to your enemies on your behalf.

I hope this has been a blessing.

Vision, in this sense, is how we perceive our future based on what we know about ourselves (our abilities), our present circumstance and God's promises for us. Every child of God MUST have a vision. Proverbs 29: 18 says where there's no vision the people perish. There's nothing to motivate you, nothing to look forward to, and no real reason to live.

Having a vision doesn't necessarily mean u need a prophet or an angel to reveal stuff to you. It could simply be an idea about something God has deposited in your heart about your future.

WHY WE NEED TO HAVE A VISION.

** For direction- Catching a glimpse of where u're going in life, drives (motivates) u in what direction to go. Psalm 139: 16 says before we were even born, our days had been planned so we must not loose track on the already planned path we ought to tread. The only way to avoid that is to stay in tune with the master architect.

** Makes u a leader amongst ur peers and reveals ur true potential. Your eyes become open to things others don't see, that even u would otherwise have overlooked. Ur true potential becomes realized. Moses, a stammerer, was a shepherd until God showed him he could lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Joseph, the son of Jacob and Racheal, was dad's baby until God revealed to him that he was to be a leader amongst his brothers. Peter was a fisherman, until Jesus called him to be a fisher of men.

** Makes u unique- U're original, ur vision's unique to you . Be careful not to chase other people's shadows. Don't live the vision of others.

Once u begin walking in ur vision, u're satisfied and the Lord will bless the works of ur hands.

Any plan made outside of God's plan for you will end in total disaster. Therefore, examine the motives of your heart. Proverbs 14:12 says there's a way that seems right unto man but in the end leads to destruction/ death.

AFTER RECEIVING THE VISION

** Pray about it. Jeremiah 33:3 says call unto me and i'll show u great and mighty things u don't know. Remember Romans 9:16 says it is not of him who wills or runs, but it is of God that shows mercy unto us.

** Meditate on God's word. As u fill urself up with his word, his promises, his light shines brightly within you and u begin to get a clearer understanding of ur vision.

**Write it down and place it in a strategic location where u'll always see it. Habakkuk 2:2

** Be patient for the vision to come to pass at the appointed time. Hab. 2: 3, Ecc. 3: 1-8. Wait on the Lord to renew ur strength. Is. 40: 31

** Trust God to bring that which he has placed upon ur heart and said concerning you to pass. Is. 55: 8 - end

HOW DO I KNOW THIS VISION IS FROM GOD?

YES! Not all visions come from God. Even the bible tells us to test all spirits to make sure they're from God.
- The vision will always align with God's word.
- He's a God of Peace, the Prince of Peace (Jehovah Shalom). Peace will reign in your heart.

BEWARE OF DREAM KILLERS!!!

** Be careful not to tell ur vision to the wrong people. Negative people that have no way of bringing ur vision to pass. Especially people without a vision, referred to as NFA's (people with No Future Ambition).

** Nurture ur dream/ vision so it doesn't suffer a premature death.

Even though Joseph (Gen 37: 8 - 11) told his dream to his brothers, they were indirectly instrumental in the fulfillment of his God- given vision. We could easily call Joseph's brothers dream killers, but the good Lord turned that negativity (they thought) around in orchestrating his plans for Joseph's life.

Most times, we know in what direction the Lord's leading us, but we deliberately decide to go contrary to his leading. The Bible, our guide, has instructed us not to do certain things, but we deliberately decide to go our own way.

Why don't you decide today to follow after the one whose thots are higher than yours even as high as the heavens are above the earth?

Why don't you decide today to surrender to the one whose plans for you are to prosper you and not to harm you, and to give you hope and a future?

We also talked about covenants. A covenant is basically an agreement between you and God. To hold yourself accountable, make a covenant with God. It could go som'n like this, "Dear God, if you do ABC for me, i promise to do XYZ."

God always fulfills his part of the agreement.
Your covenant must cost u something. The "XYZ" u're promising to do, shouldn't be something that u do effortlessly. It has to be a sacrifice you make.
Even when u mess up and don't fulfill ur part, God is merciful, faithful and just enough for u to go back to him and straighten things out with him. He's ur heavenly father, remember?

WORSHIP SONG SHARED.

Here I am To Worship

Light of the world,
You step down into darkness.
Opened my eyes let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

[Chorus]

And here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that you're my God,
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came to the earth you created.
All for love's sake became poor.

[Chorus] again

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross
And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

[Chorus] again

TERC attendees: If there's anything i omitted, please feel free to post in the comments section, and i'll include them in the post.

Others: If you have anything to share relating to the subject matter, please drop your comments and i'll be sure to post them.

Have a blessed weekend people. Feel free to join us for another exciting time next Friday 5a.m. EST, God willing as we share in THE WORD. Remember TERC isn't only for bloggers, neither is it restricted to U.S. residents only.

What's up? Okay, let's take care of some housekeeping details.

TERC is open to everyone, no matter where u're located.
It is a conference call fellowship where we meet to share in God's word.
It's a one-on-one group where everyone gets a chance to contribute to the subject being spoken about.

We meet every Friday from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. United States Eastern Standard Time

Conference Dial-in Number: (605) 990-0100
Participant Access Code: 161292#

Participant Feature Keys

Press 3- Exit - exit the call
Press 4- Instructions - conference instructions
Press 6- Mute/Unmute - caller controlled muting, you can hear us but we can't hear you.

Goal/ Mission statement: Individual spiritual growth, helping each other grow in our walk with God

Requirement: Like the Psalmist said, "except the Lord builds a house, they labor in vain who build it, unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." Bearing this in mind, the only requirement before attending the 1st meeting, is that you just say a pray that the purpose for which TERC was started will be achieved in ur life and that we won’t lose our focus.

This isn't about anybody, it's all about God.