#presence of God

[dramoor]

“It is only in prayer that we can communicate with one another at the deepest level of our being. Behind all words and gestures, behind all thoughts and feelings, there is an inner center of prayer where we can meet one another in The Presence of God.

It is this inner center which is The Real Source of all life and activity and of all love. If we could learn to live from that center we should be living from The Heart of Life, and our whole being would be moved by love. Here alone could all the conflicts of this life be resolved, and we can experience a love which is beyond time and change.”

~St. Bede Griffiths

[the-polite-lurker]

Being raised in an atheist household has actually strengthened my love and appreciation of Christ because even as a nonbeliever child I still could feel his presence when in need!

[gentlespiritgirl]

To be present we need to be in His presence 🍃

Let us not become so wrapped up in the preparations or plans that we don’t recognize the value of what’s before us.

In His presence we have all we need.

”As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

”Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.

But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

”But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬-42 📖✨

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Christ's Atoning Sacrifice is Eternally Effectual

24 For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God. 25 Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. — Hebrews 10:24-25 | Majority Standard Bible (MSB) The Majority Standard Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Leviticus 16:2; Leviticus 16:14; Matthew 18:10; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 8:2; Hebrews 9:1-2; Hebrews 9:7; Hebrews 9:11; Hebrews 10:19

[psalmonesermons]

We begin our mini-series today called ‘The Presence of God’ and in each post we will think about a different aspect of this.

We will cover the following 5 aspects (i-v);

i. Why should we want to experience the presence of God?,

ii and iii. Practicing the presence of God parts 1 and 2,

iv. Blessings in the presence of God

In our final part we will discover

v. How we can bless others when we are in the presence of God.

How much time each day do you spend in God’s presence? Or is it how much time do we spend being aware that God is present. Sometimes we get so busy with our lives, that whenever we do remember God, we feel guilty that in a sense we have been away.

But is it possible to lead a life of being continually aware of being in the presence of God?

Sometimes we can be so aware of God when we pray, when we praise and worship, when we study our bibles and when the Holy Spirit is moving at our meetings. But what about the rest of the time which for most of us is the largest part of our day.

I once read a small book called ‘The practice of the presence of God’ written three hundred years ago by a monk called Brother Lawrence.

In this book it is described how Brother Lawrence was able to cultivate a continual awareness of the Lord being present in his life thus bringing great joy.

But you might say that is fine for him being a full time monk with nothing else to do; no work to go to, no ironing or chores. But in actual fact, he was the cook for the monastery and he believed it was easier to be aware of God’s presence when doing his kitchen chores than at any other time!

So the challenge for us is to invite God into our lives, into our chores, our busy times and quiet times.

Why should we make the effort to be in God's presence?

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Now anyone who has experienced joy, always wants to receive more, the joy of the Lord is our strength, although this scripture certainly applies to us when we go to heaven, it also applies to us now for our eternal life began the day we were born again.

We also know from experience that wonderful feeling of joy when God reveals His presence at the church meeting or anywhere else.

Only God himself can bring full joy to our hearts, only He can satisfy our souls.

Jesus Christ is the bread of life that alone can satisfy our spiritual hunger.

Our destiny in Christ is to be continually with Him forever but I believe we can begin to do that starting now.

Amen

Personal Prayer.

In Part 2 we are going to consider how it might be possible to increase our awareness of the presence of the Lord in our daily lives.

[albertfinch]

Power Study - G36

 Satan’s Domain - 7 - The Realm of Darkness

(Rule In The Midst Of My Enemies)

(Read Luke 9 & 1 Corinthians 1)

1 John 4:4 4You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (Peace does not come from extreme indifference, nor is it from becoming so spiritual that you fail to notice a problem.  It is being so confident in God’s love that I know, regardless of the battle and the difficulties in my circumstances, that He that is in me is greater than any problem that Satan can put in front of me.  I am not self-assured, I am God-assured.)

Romans 16:20   20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. (To wage effective spiritual warfare, we must understand spiritual authority.  When you have spiritual authority, you have established peace in an area that was full of conflict and oppression.  Therefore, to truly be able to move in authority, we must first have peace.  When we maintain peace during warfare it is a crushing blow to Satan and fear.  My victory never comes from my emotions or my intellect. My victory comes by my refusing to judge by what my eyes see and my ears hear, and by trusting what God has promised will come to pass.)

Matthew 8:23-27   23When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26He said* to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 27The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Jesus’ authority over the violent storm was the exercise and expansion of His peace over the elements.  He did not fight against the storm nor did He fear it.  He faced it’s fury and subdued it with His authority, in perfect peace.  I will never know Christ’s victory in it’s fullness until I stop acting humanly to my circumstances.  When I have authority over something I can look at that thing without worry, fear or anxiety.  My peace is the proof of my victory.)

Philippians 1:28   28in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. (When Satan hurls his darts against me the more peace I have during adverity, the more truly I am walking in Christ’s victory.  My peace, my immovable stand on the word of God is a sign I am positioned correctly in perfect submission to the will of God.  The very fact that I am “in no way alarmed by my adversary” is a sign that I have authority over him.)

Psalm 23:4 4Even though I walk through the £valley of the shadow of death, I fear no £evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (There is a place of walking with God were you simply fear no evil.  David faced a lion, a bear and a giant.  In this Psalm he stood in “the shadow of death” itself, yet he feared no evil.  David’s trust was in the Lord.  He said “for thou art with me!”  Because God is with me every adversity I face, will unfold in victory as I maintain my faith in God.)

Psalm 23:5   5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. (The battle I am in will soon become a meal for me; an experience that will nourish and build me up spiritually.)

Revelation 4:6 6and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. (The sea of glass is a symbol: there are no ripples, no waves, no anxieties troubling God.  The sea around Him is perfectly still and totally calm.  All my victories flow out from being seated here with Him.)

Galatians 4:26 26But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

Ephesians 2:19 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, (God is our Father – the heavenly Jerusalem is our mother, the birth place of our new nature and I am a beloved child of God, part of the Father’s family and a member of His household.  I must know by revelation not to struggle to get up into heaven, rather, I was born there in spiritual rebirth.)

Psalm 110:1-2 1The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”2The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”

Colossians 1:27 27to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Before you go into warfare recognize that it is Christ in you that will make your enemies your footstool and give you the authority to “rule in the midst of your enemies”.)

Ephesians 2:6 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (We have been raised up and seated with Christ in heavenly places.  That is why the Holy Spirit continues to speak to us that worship of God is our first response in battle.   I position myself in the presence of God, sitting at rest in the knowledge that Christ has already made my enemies the footstool for my feet.)

                                      Summary

Peace is Spirit power.  The first step to having spiritual authority over the adversary is having peace in spite of my circumstances.  When Jesus confronted the devil His peace overwhelmed Satan, His authority then scattered the lie which sent demons fleeing.  Rest precedes rule.  Peace precedes power.  As I submit to God’s rule over me, I rule over Satan and experience the victory that comes from seeking God until I find Him --  having found Him, allowing His presence to fill my spirit with peace, as I rest in His victory, I rule in the midst of my enemies.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

[begottaum]

“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.”

~ C.S. Lewis

[theinwardlight]

From Madeleine Delbrêl, We, The Ordinary People of the Streets

[steviebee77]

Spiritual Thirst (Psalms 42 and 43)

I DECIDED TO WRITE about spiritual thirst after hearing a recent message from Pastor Preston Wilkinson at Sunbury Bible Church, my home church. We have been studying Psalms this summer, which is what prompted my post Christ as Shepherd. Pastor Preston recently taught on Psalm 42 and 43. These Psalms are found at the beginning of Book II of the Psalms, covering 42 through 72. YHWH is only used 15…

[quotesfromscripture]

Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.

Exodus 34:22-24 NIV (2011)

[drshermaines-wisdomnuggets]

"CONTACTING GOD'S COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT"

Psalm 142:1-2, “I cry out loudly to God, loudly I plead with God for mercy. I spill out all my complaints before Him, and spell out my troubles in detail.” (MSG) My dear friend Brett, in my opinion, has the absolute worse job in all the world…you see, Brett’s full-time job is handling consumer complaints! Now, he’s what I call a definite prime candidate for a lot of antacid commercials! Can you…

[dramoor]

"The Opus Dei should be an experience of the presence of God, in which we realize God is present for us, at the same time that we are in God’s presence and living for him. This idea of being simultaneously present to each other–God to us and we to God–is the heart of our life of prayer."

~From In The Presence of God, Monastery of Christ in the Desert

[gentlespiritgirl]

Click the link to watch the full video as I talk about the importance of showing up to meet with God! 🤍

[compassionmattersmost]

Embracing the Eternal Now: Cultivating Spiritual Presence in Daily Life

A Journey Through Mindfulness, Equanimity, and Spiritual Connection In the whirlwind of our daily lives, it’s easy to become consumed by the relentless pace of duties, responsibilities, and the constant barrage of information. The echoes of the past and the whispers of the future often tug at our attention, leaving us fragmented and seldom at peace. Yet, the present moment holds a profound…

[kdmiller55]

God Chose, Now It’s Your Turn

1 David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said:…