John 6:22-25

22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 

23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 

24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 

25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

Do I Seek Jesus With My Whole Heart?

“Where is He? He didn’t get in the boat with His followers, so where did He go?” At least these people were seeking Jesus! They may not have been looking for Him for the right reasons or with the right heart, as we will see in the next few verses, but they were seeking Him. They knew Jesus hadn’t gotten into the boat with His disciples, but He also wasn’t on the mountain anymore. So they went searching for Him. Faith has to start somewhere. I also think about how they wanted to take Him by force in the earlier verses! I wonder…..were they still of this mindset? Verse 25 says that they found Him. If we look forward to John 6:59, we see that they found Him in the synagogue. They wanted to know when He came across the sea ….”Teacher, when did you come here?” I’m sure they were curious. How did He get across the sea?! Jesus is going to speak to them in the next two verses, but doesn’t bother answering their question. Their question is irrelevant. It didn’t matter how He got across the water. However, it did matter that they were seeking Jesus. And Jesus was ready to speak to them. Are we seeking Jesus? Are we seeking Him with the right motives?

When do we seek Jesus? 1 Chronicles 16:11 and Psalm 105:4 both say that we are to “seek His presence continually”. We are to never stop seeking Jesus. We can’t just seek Him on Sundays and Wednesdays when we attend services, and then seek after the world the rest of the time. 

How do we seek Jesus? We are to seek Him “with our whole heart”. (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29) He should be at the forefront of our minds constantly. He is our reason for everything we do. He is at the core of every decision we make in our lives. 

Why do we seek Jesus? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that Jesus is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Obviously, we seek Him because we want the reward of heaven. We certainly don’t want the other option. But that is not all…..we seek Jesus continually with our whole heart, because it is the only way to stay on the narrow path. If we don’t seek Him, we will fall away, and we will lose the reward of heaven. Psalm 119:10 says this very thing, “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” We seek Jesus, because He came to earth to seek out each one of us, and save our souls. (Luke 19:10) We seek Him, because we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. (Matthew 22:37) We seek Him because He is our creator. (John 1:3) If we seek Jesus just for the reason of going to heaven and not going to hell, then we are no different than the people who were following Him because of His miracles. We seek Him because He loved us so much that He was willing to suffer and die for us. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) 

Where do we seek Jesus? First and foremost, we seek Jesus through the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Seeking Him includes attending worship and bible study services, personal bible study, looking for opportunities to tell others about Jesus, talking about Him in our day to day lives, and praying to Him throughout each day. We seek Jesus in other people when we look for the good in others without focusing on the negative. Seeking Him is a combination of all of these things. We seek Jesus everywhere…..in every opportunity. 

Question: Am I seeking Jesus continually, with my whole heart? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)