Compassion and Discipline

Compassion and Discipline

 

 

In the last few weeks I have been thinking about the church and how she receives and responds to folks who are struggling with sin.  Primarily my thoughts have been about those who struggle with same sex attractions. First, we have this degrees of sin process.  There are sins like gossip or telling dirty jokes, hollering at bad drivers, fighting with the spouse which are considered common and "not too bad really."  We know they are wrong and we shouldn't do it but "I'm just being human." Then there are, on the other extreme, sins outside that box. Adultery (not seen as being as bad as it used to be), steeling, lying (this can vary in degree from white to black), and then there is homosexuality. For most it is "stop it" before you can even be considered to begin to be a part of the Christian community. We have these definitions, guidelines and degree as part of our process. That is a whole other discussion. 

 

Beyond that we think of Jesus and how he showed both compassion and discipline. John 8, we find a woman "caught in the act of adultery" (that creates all kinds of mental pictures as you consider the story). Jesus shows amazing compassion "neither do I condemn you" and discipline "go and sin no more." Then there is the "get thee behind me Satan" to Peter - stronger discipline and when you get to the Epistles there is 1 Corinthians 5 "deliver him over to Satan." Read Matthew 23 and hear the strong judgmental, disciplinary words of Jesus "white washed tombs," "making a convert a two fold son of hell."  Then there is John in 1 John 5 speaking of the "sin unto death" and saying "about that you should not even pray."

 

It is a difficult decision to know where the cut off line is. When do we hang in there with encouragement, compassion and sensitivity and when do we say "enough is enough?"  When folks are caught when we "restore them gently" or "treat them as a tax collector."  Make no mistake, God calls on us to make those decisions. We have the warning that a "little leaven leavens the whole lump." We have to be careful about those who may influence Christians not to be Christian.

 

So, a same sex couple arrives at church. The bible is clear that same sex practices are not pleasing to God.  He calls it sinful. So, someone finds out, goes to them and says "you can't come here." But what if they are struggling to find out where they fit and if God will have them? Perhaps they have been taught or read that the bible translations are wrong and "homosexual offenders" means something else. Maybe they really do want to please God but they do have these feelings. Given their present state of mind they think they are right and you are wrong and they argue it. Is it "get thee behind me time?"  When is the line to be drawn?  Some say right out of the gate, others say never.

 

What say you?   More later....Foree

Long Hair, Strange Clothes, Odd Food

John the Baptist is spoken of by all four of the Gospel writers. It was the Father's plan for him to be born and to preach before Jesus was born and preached. He came before, just as Isaiah said he would (Isaiah 40). His job was to call Israel to repentance - to change their minds. That is what repentacne is, a changing fo mind and direction. Isaiah 40 and all the Gospel writers imagine John's ministry as the building of a smooth highway. This freeway needs to be straight, smooth and flat. The problem is, the country (hearts) in which this road is build is full of valleys, hills, rough and rugged places (sins). In order for the road to end up smooth the valleys have to be filled in (raised up) the mountains have to be bulldozed (brought low) and the rough and rugged places smoothed out. The reason for needing a smooth road is that the King was coming. In order for him to get from where he was to you the encumbrances have to be removed. Their removal comes through repentance so John preached repentance. Once the King arrives on the newly built highway (an honest, open and penitent heart)the Gospel writers report that Jesus "Will baptize in the Holy Spirit." John "the baptist," John the baptizer was one odd fellow. He lived in the desert, wore clothes which looked strange to everyone, ate odd food, never shaved or drank beer. AND while he was out there looking and being out of place the crowds came and he told them they had to change, repent. This "change" this new "Spirit" that was to come was as out of place for them as John was. I am wondering if this strange fellow some how is a word from God himself. I mean what he looked like, where he lived and what he ate. Perhaps a glance at him was supposed to spark imagination and wonder. Then when he opened his mouth and called for change...he looked like change...no surprise to hear an odd thing come out of the mouth of an odd man...it fit right in. Something has to be different if Jesus' Spirit is to live in us. We cannot keep our mind set on where it was set before. Philosophies have to change. Ideas, perspective and points of view have to now become as strange to us as camel hair. And here lies the rub. How we presently live, if we do not know Jesus, ideas we hold and things we practice are the hills, valleys and rough places between Jesus and us. It is strange at first, but if repentance is possible the road will smooth out and the blessing of the Spirit of God will arrive.

"Helper"

Along the way to being 61 with 62 eagerly waiting in the wings I had a lot of help. Some of that came from family like my Mom who told me bible stories in bed at night. Dad who MADE me "help" him with every project he undertook but who really was teaching me to be a handiman. A preacher who saw in me a glimpse of ability and encouraged and helped me do a sermon when I was 13. A grandmother who loved me like I was the only person in the world every time I was in her home. A school counselor who talked to me about why I got so nervous before a test and ended up blowing it. A sister 16 years my senior who really was my second mom. Helpers - there have been a bunch of them. Without those kind of folks in all our lives how would we have made it? The Father has given us one more...
Read John 14-17. Jesus is on his way back to the Father passing along the way through the eternally planned garden of Gethsemane and hilll of Golgotha. With him at the time were the 12 (really 11 if you don't count Judas). They were about to lose their mentor and friend. The One for whom they left their fishing nets and tax booths. In John 14:1ff he tells them not to worry He would not leave them "comfortless" He would send them "another" "counselor." The word "counselor" could easily be given as "helper." This helper would teach them, convict them, reveal to them and live in them (John 14:26;15:26;16:6-7;16:13,15). AS the APOSTLES, the ones who took the leadership after Jesus left, they would need someone to walk along beside them and help them do what they could not imagine doing - taking Jesus' place.
The Holy Spirit is their and our HELPER. We want to be like Jesus but as hard as we try we cannot accomplish the task. Neither could they. But Jesus went back to heaven and when He arrived he did not forget us - he sent "another Helper." It was part of His plan not to leave them/us confortless.
We made it this far with a lot of help - people who made a difference. We can make it much further with the help of the Helper. Once again, Jesus comes through. Foree

The Enigmatic Spirit of God

Zachery was a our first grandchild. He was one amazing blessing. When he was beginning to walk and talk my son and his wife arrived in town for a surprize visit. They decided to send Zachery to the door. He rang the bell and when I opened the door he said "PA PA!" It was the first time I had ever heard it. Grandchildren! You will not experience this until one arrives but when he or she does arrive you will feel it. I have told a number of people who are waiting for their first grandchild that they are about to experience a feeling that they have never had for anyone else. There is SOMETHING about a granddaughter or grandson which is wholly enigmatic, puzzling and inscrutable. It is a feeling that goes beyond the feeling for a spouse or children or parents. It is not better or more ...just different. It remains inexplicable. A mystery of the emotions. It is "enigmatic"...look it up.
Like this mysterious grandchild feeling consider the work of the Spirit as Jesus is about to come into the world. Consider the mystery: Jesus is both with God and is God (John 1:1). HE leaves the heavenlies where he has always been (but not as "Jesus"), empties himself and becomes human (Philippians 2:6-8)and experiences the world as we experience it (Hebrews 4:15-16). As the entrance of Jesus takes place the Holy Spirit is hard at work and as we read about his work we find out it remains enigmatic, puzzling and inscrutable.
Take a ride through Luke 1:1-4:18, Mark 1:1-3:9;Matthew 1:1-4:1 and watch for the Spirit's involvement in the arrival of Jesus. Look for the mystery, the unexplainable. The Spirit FILLS John the baptist in the womb (Luke 1:15), Jesus' mother Elizabeth (1:41) and John the Baptist's father Zechariah (1:67). The Spirit "came upon,""moved" and "revealed" things to Simon (2:25-27). Later when the ministry of Jesus was about to begin the Spirit "led" and "returned" Jesus from the wilderness where he was tempted (4:1,14). So how do you explain HOW the Spirit fills or leads or reveals or moves anyone? Is there a shadow or a cloud or a voice from beyond? Is there a physical sensation or some event in nature which lets you know it is happening?
Now consider the most awesome Spiritual activity of all...the Spirit "OVERSHADOWED" Mary and she became pregrant with the one who would be called Jesus (Luke 1:35; MAtthew 1:21). So Jesus who is God and was with God from eternity enters the world when the Spirit OVERSHADOWED Mary...AND she remains a virgin. Quite a mystery? Enigmatic enough? Just how does HE, the Spirit accomplish these activities? God doesn't say.
There is no chapter in the bible where God lays out the Spirit's moves and tells us HOW it is done. The work of the Spirit is and will remain inexplicable. It must then be a matter of faith. Even with you when you were baptized you recieved the "gift" (Acts 2:38). Now just HOW did that happen? Tell me if you know? Explain the mechanics of Spiritual activity. It cannot be done.
So it begins. The Holy Spirit is introduced with mystery. A grandchild says "PA PA" for the first time and you feel it but can't explain it. So it is with the Spirit. We just know but it will remain ENIGMATIC. Foree

The Spirit and Acts 2:38

The Spirit and Acts 2:38

At the age of 13 I had sins which needed forgiving and I was aware. I was sitting at a downtown drug store counter eating a flat enchilada and drinking a coke – the cost was 50 cents. There was a man two stools away who had had the same lunch but had finished and left his 50 cent piece on the counter under his empty plate. That 50cent piece meant I could have a free lunch. I reached over, stole the coin, slipped it under the edge of my plate, got up and left the store with my 50 cent piece still in my pocket a free lunch but no free conscience. I was tormented all the way back to school…that 50 cent piece was burning a hole in my pocket but not because I wanted to spend it.
There were other sins of course but when I was baptized I knew this one for sure was “remitted.” I knew it because of Acts 2:38. I had heard it almost every Sunday every time I went to church (and Grove family went to church every Sunday and Wednesday). If there was a hanging at church, Ray Grove, wife and kids were present.
I was baptized in June 1963 at the Lubbock Christian College student lectureship by a student named Bruce Simmer. I remember that evening like it was yesterday. It was the day my sins were forgiven. I knew that God had promised me the “remission of sins.” This promise was stated in Acts 2:38 and was T H E passage about baptism in the little church in which I grew up in Northern New Mexico. If someone wanted me to talk to them about baptism I would begin at Acts 2:38. Of course I was aware of other passages but 2:38 was where I would begin and end.
So baptism was based on Acts2:38 and in my mind, at 13, was about walking away from sins. I was glad to do it and glad God had promised it could be done. I also knew that since my sins were forgiven God expected me to try not to commit them anymore. I had learned from passages like Romans 6 that baptism was a burial to an old life and a resurrection to a new one. I knew that if I were to live faithfully there could not be anymore stolen lunches, stealing cigarettes from the laundry lady next door, cussing up a storm with my friends , telling lies, looking at dirty magazines etc. I knew as a Christian, God expected more of me than that and believe me the preachers and bible class teachers at the Raton Church of Christ had made that abundantly clear. Sinning was not allowed in Northern New Mexico and living for God meant you did your best not to sin and especially after you were baptized. How unappreciative would it be to receive the remission of sins and then just start sinning all over again?
As I would learn later there is more to Acts 2:38 than the remission of sins. That is only one of the promises God makes in that verse. The other one is “…and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Now the preachers and teachers in Raton did not spend a lot of time on that part of the verse. They may have read the verse and even quoted it at baptisms but in the services I attended and the classes I received there was not much commentary on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Maybe I missed it, ignored it or just was not able to understand it. But I do not think so. For probably explainable reasons the church in which I grew up just did not spend much time talking about the Spirit. The only time we mentioned “IT” was to talk about the “holy rollers” on First Avenue trying to perform miracles or speak in tongues. Outside of that “IT” was never mentioned.
So, why would I want to study the Holy Spirit? Because of Acts 2:38. And now as I have learned, God has given me the Spirit to help keep me from stealing lunch. There is power from HIM that reminds me, leads me, instructs me and convicts me. He is God’s instrument to put good things like love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control into my heart (Galatians 5). He is the reason believers can disagree and still have unity. He took Jesus’ place on earth after Jesus left. He is the functionary of the New Covenant. Not only are these good reasons to study about “HIM” they are the reasons I want to study about him. All of that and because of Acts2:38
Foree

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit was not a subject I heard much about in the small New Mexico church in which I was raised. The only time "IT" was mentioned was when comments were made about "Holy Rollers" who, it was said, beat themselves with cactus and rolled around on the floor. There were also ideas shared that people who believed in the Holy Spirit were primarily looking for miracles and the ones they found were not anything like the immediate indisputable ones that Jesus performed. The Spirit was not a subject which aroused much interest in my world.

As time went by, in my College years (68-72), the Spirit began to be talked about more often. Mostly the subject came up in the context of the miraculous. During this time I had a discussion with a "Pentocostal" who said he could heal and I just happened to have a sprained ankle which was covered by my "bell bottom" pants (it was 1973). He prayed over me and I can honestly say I prayed too. My ankle remained sprained.

So the Holy Spirit, His purpose and His work,remained to me a mystery and honestly I avoided conversations about the subject. In about 1985- I had been preaching for 13 years - I decided my fears about the Spirit needed to be addressed. I began my own study of the topic. I decided not to read any books written by others and to begin in Matthew and read through the New Testament writing down everything the Book had to say about the Spirit. Needless to say my mind was opened - as open I suppose any human's mind can be - and I was happy to learn about the Spirit and to and see how He had worked and was working in my life.

For the next few (or many) BLOGS I will seek to share what I have learned. I hope it is beneficial for those who might choose to read. I solicite comments and even argument although my purpose is not to turn this space or my time into an arena for a debate.

Please know that I am on a spiritual journey and since I have been called to preach I try and share what I have learned with others. My only desire is to know the Father, the Incarnate Word and the Spirit left by Jesus when he left this earth. Foree

ASSEMBLY

Take a walk through the New Testament and in truth you will not come across many scriptures which have to do with Christian ASSEMBLY (church). When you do come across them (1 Corr. 11-14; Heb. 10:23-25) you find that the focus of assembly time was primarily HORIZONTAL - that is person to person. The believers gathered and their time was spent trying to encourage and strengthen one another. WORSHIP in the NT is really about the life we live and so worshipers gathered together to encourage one another to "hang in there" the rest of the time. They studied and prayed and communed and all of it was done because they needed it. Paul in 1 Corinthians, told the Corinthians over and over again to do what they did in assembly for the benefit of others. He even told them to wait on each other before they communed. In 1 Cor. 14he tells them to take turns, listen when another is speaking and do everything in an orderly manner so that all who attend can understand and be edified. Christian assembly is really much more horizontally directed than vertically. It was meant to be the support group for believers to give them the courage to live for Jesus every day. Foree

Lead us not into temptation.

This is a troublesome request to me. I know the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. HE did not do the tempting but he took Jesus there. I assume Jesus needed that experience in his walk here. Maybe that had to take place so that he would be tempted like us yet without sin. It happened before his ministry began. He was in the wilderness to learn to trust God. It brought him closer to the Father as he began his journey to the cross.

The Father allows us to be tempted - look at Adam and Eve - but he never tempts James says. So we ask us not to take us there knowing, as Jesus did, it would come. Hence, "deliver us from the evil one." The Father who brings us will carry is through. The whole dance is about faith in Him.

I have no doubt temptation will come in many ways. I have no doubt it will be a struggle. AND I have no doubt the Father and the Spirit and the Word and Jesus himself will help me through....this is our faith. Also it is part of our journey.

Forgive and Being Forgiven

Some clsoing words frm Jesus which connect our forgiveness from Him with our ability to forgive. This is perhaps our greatest calling from the lord. It is like His demand that we love our enemies and poray for those who are against us. These are indeed hard sayings for those who follow.

It is rather easy to accept forgiveness from God. Who wants to hang on to sins committed, reliving them over and over again??? God says he forgives and it is done. It is true that we sometimes have a hard time forgicing ourselves but generally we get the job done.

Now, on to more difficult issues - forgiving others. It is so easy to hold a grudge or become bitter and hang on to offenses from others. IT is rather painless to withdraw from someone who has offended and just ignore their presence and act as if they do not exist.

Jesus disallows such behavior. Our forgiveness is tied to our abilty to forgive. If I cannot forgive what does that say about my relationship with God? Foree

Give Us Our Daily Bread - A Double Edged Sword

God is the one who sustains us. Regardless of our ability to earn, that ability comes from God. Help me Father to not become focused on human achievement. Thank you for giving humanity the abilities we have to work and accumulate things and enjoy this world you made. Help me to realize and embrace the truth that while human ability and achievement is a blessing from you it is a double edged sword. The gift to earn and acquire can become the idol of my life. The friends you bring to me can replace your presence if I am not careful. The human spirit with all of its advantages can become a spirit of pride and arrogance. My thinking capacity, a blessing from you, can be so complex that I decide faith is no longer needed. Thank you Father for giving me the necessities of life. Help those gifts not to become my god.

Read the story of Babel in Genesis 11. God endowed people with the creative ability to build and achieve. That same ability drove them to "make a name for themselves." Their God given talent crowded God out. They forgot their bread came from Him. Foree

YOUR WILL BE DONE

This is my request to God. My desires, goals, requests and pleas are all centered around my desire for God to do HIS WILL. Help me Father to be obedient to your agenda and not to mine. Correct me when I get on the wrong road. Convict me when I give into my own desire and think I know what is best for me. Help me avoid being fooled by the Tempters persuasions. Give me the grace I need to perform in life for you and you alone.

When Jesus was in the garden his humanity sought freedom from the suffering of the cross when he said "...let this cup pass from me..." But he preceded it with "If it be your will" by saying "not my will but yours be done." This was the faith of Jesus. "I am willing to do whatever your will is that I do."

We can always trust the faithful Father who knows more than we know. His will is always best for us. Our will is to do His will. foree

Have a read and see where you fit....

Latest reports are that five terorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as:

Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin.

Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to hinder the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy.

However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell group known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. we have noticed that the Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin watchin, Bin waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin longin for the Master Jesus to return to Rapture the Church.

No church is exempt; however, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.
Someone else wrote this but i found it intersting....foree

Your Kingdom Come

"Kingdom" means reign and infers a territory which is the heart. Christ comes to create the reign of God in the hearts and lives of those who will repent and believe. Luke 17:21 says "...the kingdom of God is within you..." And this is my prayer that God will widen the influence of His Spirit in my life. That I will become more like Jesus in the way I live with others. Help me Lord not to strike back with fists or words. Give me the patience I need with others as they like me struggle with the flesh. May your reign in me create a humble spirit open to the guidance of your word. I ask that my religious observance be focused on honoring and bringing glory to you and not myself.

Help me to be the husband who sacrifices himself for his wife. Give me the grace not to exasperate my children. May the words of my mouth bring glory to you. May your reign in me always remind me of the cross of self denial I am called to carry.

The "kingdom of God" is about Christ transforming me. My job is to allow it. Foree

Holy Is Your Name

The intimate relationship between child and parent calls for a familiar term, hence "father" or "abba." This is no meeting between strangers. This is family, a child speaking to his dad but remembering the holy Father. "Let you name be dedicated, separate and pure."

In the earliest of God's written communications He demanded His name not be spoken in plain, ordinary, vulgar and common terms. This is the Father who spoke the worlds into existence and will one day speak their destruction. He sits in the Heavenlies and those in His presence offer glory and honor to His name.

He us holy. There is none like Him. He cannot be tempted and tempts no one. He dwells in light unapproachable. He is the respondent to prayer and the deliverer of grace and mercy. He reaches down from his throne and saves us from our enemies because he delights in us.

There is no comparison to our Father in heaven. He is holy. He is unique. He is above us and in Him there is no disappointment. The Father is faithful and true. He is worthy of double honor.

And this Father of mine has forgiven me by sacrificing his own...HOLY IS YOUR NAME.

Psalm 18:1-19 - The Father who rescues...praise be to his NAME!

The Lord's Prayer- "My Father"

Now this note may take a couple of blogs to get it in but I am going to try. First a little personal history. I was raised to believe that Christians should not say the Lord's prayer since the kingdom has already come...one of many things I believed which later learned to be untrue. The kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). "Kingdom" is about the REIGN of God in our hearts. People who are under the Lordship of Jesus who have God as their King are kingdom people, they are people who acknowledge God in their lives.

Second - I preached a sermon on the Lord's Prayer a few weeks ago and realized that Jesus is telling is how to pray, "This then is how you should pray" (Matthew 6:9). So I have begun to pray the Prayer and it has revived my prayer life. I follow the words of the Prayer but in a developed and expanded manner. Make it personal!

For example: I begin with "My Father who is in heaven..." focusing on "my." The God of this world is MY father. I then think about my relationship to him as an adopted son, elected by him in Jesus to whom I can cry "abba" (Aramaic for daddy). I think about him waiting for me like the "Prodigal's" father - how patient he is with me and how he disciplines me and waits on me to return when I wander. Speaking to him as MY father opens a door of intimacy for me as I approach his throne. "MY FATHER."

The key for me is to personalise the prayer as I say the words and take time to expand the concepts in my heart and mind. Rather than just saying the words of the prayer, to think of the words as I ponder my relationship with him. Sometimes my whole prayer for that moment is about Him being my father.

In this part I also think of the wonderful aspects of my relationship to my earthly Father and consider how God has been that same way with me. For example - my dad shared his work and relaxation with me. He took me fishing and hunting and camping and also taught me how to wood work and work in the yard and pour concrete. We laughed and cried together and shared life. When I consider all God has done for me he too has been sharing His life with me. "My Father," what an awesome way to open conversation with God. I will share more ...but first are you getting my drift? Foree

LLC

LLC anonymously wrote on my blog page and asked if I wanted to download, among other things pictures of "beautiful ladies." Makes you wonder what people are looking for in life. IS life about one sexual experience after another? I sure would like for LLC to write me back and let me know what he/she has in mind sharing things like that. I wonder of that is the sum total of their life and where they expect to go when they keep traveling down that road??? Foree

TIME

Whew - time flies right on by and I looked at my blog and it has been since December since I posted...I suppose that is not necessarily a bad thing since people are not beating down the door to read it...things are going really well here at A&M...the family is doing very well and Dana and I are still married - 37 years..

Time sure does roll by -- one of these days it is going to stop - what a day that will be...We have to be ready in our relationship with our Lord....what is going on there?

Next blog is going to be me sharing my experience with the Lord's Prayer...after some introductory comments I want to share a little journey I have been on with my prayer life...Foree

Mark 6:37 YOU DO IT!

In the Gospels Jesus' story is told but there are also sub themes weaved into the narrative. One of those is the training of the twelve, the Apostles. Jesus is teaching them to have faith. In Mark 6 five thousand people are hungry and the disciples ask Jesus to let them go and buy food. Jesus' response is "You give them something to eat." If you look back in Mark 6:13 that had driven out demons and anointed many people with oil to make them well. They were well aware of the power of God. In Mark 6:37 however, their response to Jesus directive "You give them something to eat" was, "That would take eight months wages." Seems they "forgot" about God's ability in them. How often we forget it is about God and not us.

"You do it" Jesus says, have faith in the Father. Jesus was not telling them THEY could do it. He was teaching them about trust in the One who can.

So we face all kinds of situations which seem insurmountable, impossible...and Jesus says "You give them something to it." And he is asking us to trust God. God can do it. Foree

ANSWER

I drive by Planned Parenthood often and see the Christians out their praying month after month - I have done it once - so I do not give it much thought UNTIL YESTERDAY. The DIRECTOR of Planned Parenthood sees a video of an abortion and begins to cry at her desk. She leaves the building drives to COALITION FOR LIFE and seeks refuge saying she should have never been involved in abortions...Amazing, all those people doing all that praying all those years and maybe getting discouraged...and then BANG...the heart of a person is touched and one more finds God in a hateful world...it will be great to see what happens next - watch O'Riley this week on FOX - it is supposed to be on....Blessings ...pray on!

Acts 17:27

This is the only passage I know of that tells us why God made the world and everything in it. The text says, "God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him though he is not far from each one of us." this little verse is packed with interesting items:
1) "Perhaps reach out for him" - the "perhaps" indicates that we do not have to. God is not forcing anyone to reach out to him even though he has built his image in us so that we have a natural inclination to spiritual things. We can ignore him if we want to. God has the power to make us reach out to him but then what does he have? He has those who reach out because they have to. No love, no desire just reaching out to God like an animal, by instinct. Not too satisfying huh? Kind of like telling your husband to tell you he loves you or having to tell him to wish you happy birthday.
2) "Find him" - as if he is hidden? I think the point here is that God is invisible and transcendent. He is not like a tree or a lake he is Spirit ( John 4:24) and "finding" him requires faith. In fact it is only by faith that we can find God. Hence the importance of scripture. God reveals himself there and in nature so that we will reach out AND "he is not far." He is findable.
So, how are we doing in seeking God?
3) Seeking God is left to us. That is our part in having relationship with him. We do not earn anything by seeking him and we cannot find him by being perfect since all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Seeking is our task and Jesus promised if we knocked he would open the door and if we would seek we would fine.

Happy hunting!
Foree