“An immeasurably loving God is pursuing you. God as a pursuer is fundamental to his nature. It is both intrinsic in the relationship we have with him as well as objectively presented in his actions. One of the most beloved psalms, Psalm 23, gives us insight into this pursuit, ‘Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all of my days.’ It tells us in no uncertain terms that, not only is God interested in us, he is in fact chasing us down!
“The word ‘pursue’ in this verse is from the Hebrew word ‘radaf,’ meaning to pursue in the sense of an enemy chasing one down to destroy him. Yet in this case, the psalmist inverts the use of this word to tell us God is chasing us down with his goodness and faithfulness. What a wonderful image of God’s interest in us.
“There is a notion that suggests it is completely upon our shoulders to search for or pursue God. Certainly many scriptures tell us exactly that. And we should pursue God. But step back a moment and look at the larger context. God is first and foremost a self-revealer. He reveals, and we respond to his self-revelation.
“If God had not or does not reveal himself, we would not even know there is a God and that he could be pursued. In our pursuit of God, we are, in reality, responding to his pursuit of us. We are reacting to God’s offer by searching.
“With this picture in mind, let us consider three objective, fundamental actions of God that accentuate this divine chase, his pursuit of us:
1. The act of creation itself is an incredible act of pursuit by God. God, as an artist, had his masterpiece in mind, and we are part of the tapestry of creation and commissioned with dominion over this world. From the first few chapters of Genesis, we view redemptive history with our ultimate salvation in mind. He thought of us and brought his thoughts into reality by breathing life into us. The breath of God animated the dirt of this earth, and the power of God breathed a living soul into Adam. He thought of Adam and Eve, and he thought of you and me. He knew of us at that moment and planned for our arrival. At that most incredible of moments, God stepped back, pointed, and celebrated in his work of art, ‘God saw all that he had made—and it was very good!’ In the Hebrew text here, the grammar suggests the gesture of pointing and calling attention to something. The picture is of a loving, enthusiastic God bringing us into his world and being pleased with his work.
2. The act of inspiring a book to codify his message demonstrates God as divine author pursuing us with his Word. So unique is his book! He used people of God over centuries, and in the inspirational process, he moved upon them in the production of the greatest literary work of all time. Sixty-six books were written over centuries of time in three languages, and all have one overall point, the reconciliation of fallen humanity to a holy God that took on humanity in the incarnation and died on a brutal cross for our sins so we might be reconciled to him and have eternal life (living water) through him.
3. That act of the incarnation is the crowning act of pursuit. The incarnation provided opportunity for God to illustrate the love of loves, the ultimate act of pursuit on the cross. Christ, the incarnate Son of God, was on a mission to rescue the love of his heart, the sacred cleansing the filthy, the perfect fixing the broken, the highest becoming the lowest, and the resurrected lifting the dying from the very grave.
“His self-revelation then finds its way to us in three basic ways: his creation, his Word, and his Son Jesus Christ. We find all three of these in Hebrews 1:2–3, ‘In these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
“As Paul tells us in Romans 1:19–20, we can know God as a result of his creation. The message of what God has made in his self-revelation through creation suggests the narrowing of spiritual proximity, beginning with the incomprehensible dimensions of his physical universe, the refinement, focusing and progression of his message in his written word, and finally the up close and personal dimension of the incarnation and deeply personal nature of salvation through the cross.”
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[1] This blog is an excerpt from Ben’s book “The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God” Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan. 2017.
©2017 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:
"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”
If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church.
Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.
Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or Facebook page or this web page.
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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastor Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.
Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).
Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com. Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.
Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.
©2024 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.