15-5

Cherishing the Presence of God

Have you ever experienced the presence of God? Are you experiencing it on a daily basis? Psalm 139 tells us that there is nowhere we can go to flee from His presence, and that is both thrilling and terrifying isn't it? While God is present all the time, I think that sometimes He displays His presence more powerfully than other times (example: Moses and the burning bush). God promised us that He would be with us when we gather together with just 2 or 3 people. He is present when we sing, and He reveals Himself through the Word when it is preached. No doubt we have had experiences in worship when we have thought, 'no doubt about it, God is here.' Sometimes God reveals His presence in a powerful way when we are all alone. He does it through that unexplainable wave of peace or joy at just the moment we need it most.

We need to realize that God's presence is with us all the time. We need to realize this because it is easy to assume that since we often feel God's presence during music and worship, that it is those things that bring us into His presence. But this is not the case. The truth is, only the death and resurrection of Jesus has made it possible for us to come into God's presence! His presence is something that we can experience on a daily basis, not just for the 20 minutes or so that we sing together on a Sunday morning.

As we've said before, worship is something that we do every second of every day. We worship Him and thank Him for His awesome presence in our lives. How much time do you spend thinking about the fact that you are in the presence of the Creator of the universe? It's a pretty awesome thought. Everything we do as we worship Him with our lives is preparing us for the day when we get to be with Him in heaven. God is present with us now, in this room, but when we get there we will experience His presence as never before!

"Very soon you and I will be standing before the majesty and glory of God. We'll take our place among the throngs of heaven, made up of people from every tribe, language, people, and tongue who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. We'll understand that our lives on earth were on the cover and title page to what lies ahead. We'll begin, 'Chapter One of the great story,' as C.S. Lewis writes, 'which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.' We don't know when that day will come. It might be tomorrow. It might be decades from now. But it will come. We'll close our eyes momentarily-then open them up again, and we'll be home!"

Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Enjoy the Journey