Proverbs 18:15 New International Version (NIV), “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”

Happy New Year 2020!!!

The year 2020 can be an exciting adventure from day one if we chose to take the journey. As preschoolers we are excited to go to school and ride the big yellow bus. The excitement of playing with new friends also drives us to embark on the journey. But reality sets in when unfamiliar adults establish and enforce rules aimed to help us learn. The problem is we are not wise enough to understand that life isn’t all about playing at this stage in our lives.

This trend continues all throughout our elementary school years, but at some point along the way we begin to learn the foundation that leads to higher learning. The social aspect is still there and, at times, creates stumbling blocks that get us into unnecessary trouble. As we transition into our middle school years we begin to struggle with new math, science and our own identity. We’ve just left the sanctity of being the big man on campus in elementary school and have walked into being the little’s. Bullies lurk on every corner and lay prey to the weakest of the little’s. We somehow make it through those years and begin to develop interests that stem from the gifts God has given us, although we still may not equate the two.

In high school we’re either in or we’re out (socially, that is). We either spend enormous amounts of time trying to fit in or we accept who we are and enjoy both academics and electives in an attempt to start pursuing our dreams. We begin feeling pulled toward an interest in the opposite sex and those crazy hormones begin to come alive.

It is during the high school years that we are forced into deciding what to major in when we go to college. Our brains have not fully developed and won’t for several years after we have graduated college, yet we still must make those major decisions. If we are “lucky” God will have placed the right teachers, counselors and “parents” in our lives to help us make the best decision on higher education.

We graduate college (or chose to do something different) and begin working and life goes on. By this time 20 or 30 years of our lives have come and gone. Somewhere in the mix, we have either accepted that God is who he says he is and we believe in the truth, or we don’t. Wow! That’s putting it bluntly, isn’t it? Yes. It is a fact; however. And no matter how you look at it, you are either a believer or you are not. I pray for non-believers to come to a saving knowledge of Christ. I believe in the power of prayer and have seen God answer prayers. I hunger for lives to be changed through the redemption of the Holy Spirit. I was a lost soul and thank God that he saved me from myself.

This is my story. It’s well after the 20 or 30 years into life that I spoke about. The year 2020 has landed far too soon. I spent many wasted years on chasing earthly things. This year will be spent on chasing Jesus. My desire is to continue taking root into the God of the Universe, to increase my knowledge of him and come to love him more. I long to have a relationship with him so that when I have a question about “anything” my first thought is to go to him, not pick up the phone and call or text a friend. He is my friend.

I love the scriptures; the number one selling book of all times. Proverbs 18:15 says, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” My heart isn’t the same as the day Jesus saved me. It changes with every reading of the scriptures, with every knee being bowed and every song of praise lifted up.”

I’m not that preschooler longing to ride the yellow bus. Or one of the little’s hoping the bully wouldn’t see my weakness. I’m not the crazy high-school-er trying to fit in and decide what I want to be some day. I’m a child of God, following the path God has laid out for my life.

Yes, I’m chasing Jesus. I’m seeking out the knowledge of the one who knows me and loves me most. I’ve come to rest in my identity. I’m searching for Jesus chasers to come on this journey with me. It’s a journey of pressing in to him, studying his word so that I can share the good news with those who don’t yet know him. Who else is chasing Jesus?