Today's reflections have been inspired from the last 3-4 weeks of messages about Christ Jesus and who He is and what we can receive because of Him - from a loving Father.
I think there is a troubling truth in Christianity today that many believers don’t know about or aren’t experiencing continual encounter with the real, manifest presence of God our Heavenly Father. The Bible contains story after story of life-changing, world-altering encounters with the reality of God’s presence. From Moses and the tent of meeting to the disciples at Pentecost, we continually read about God supernaturally encountering His people in real, transformative ways. Jesus died so that we might walk in communion with our Heavenly Father not only in heaven, but here on this earth - now! Biblical characters modeled what it was to experience God consistently in both the New and Old Testaments. God, in His desire to have restored relationship with you and me, has made the reality of His presence fully available to us. Through the death of Christ there is nothing separating you from Him. Open your heart and mind to the truth about God’s nearness and allow your faith to be stirred for all the ways your loving Heavenly Father would transform your life through consistent encounter with Him. 26 From one man He made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live, 27 so that they might look for God, somehow reach for Him, and find Him. Of course, He is never far from any one of us. 28 For we live, move, and exist because of Him, as some of your own poets have said: ‘…Since we are His children, too.” Acts 17:26-28 There is no doubt in looking at Scripture that God’s presence is real, good, and available to us. Rest in the truth of that for a moment. You can consistently enter into the tangible presence of your heavenly Father anywhere and anytime and in whatever you are facing, managing and dealing with. Have faith today that God created you to experience Him. Encountering His presence is made possible entirely by His grace, so it is available apart from any good or bad thing you do. But, know that God will never force His presence on you. He only fills up what is open and ready to receive. He sweetly calls you to meet with Him and waits for you to make space in your life to receive what He longs to give. There is no more life-giving pursuit you can embark on than the pursuit of God’s presence. Spending time resting in Him is meant to be the satisfaction that lays a foundation for you to live the life of abundance made available to you through Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life, who is the Way the Truth and the Life and who is the only Door into God’s presence. Your role in encountering God is simply seeking Him. If you will make time to encounter Him, open your heart, and have faith in His word, then you will discover the wellspring of life, joy, love, and transformation that is the presence of our Heavenly Father all through your day as you choose to live life in His presence. What many of us tend to do is go in and out of the door depending on what we want to do or what we are needing or how we are feeling. Because we still tend to live a life pleasing ourselves first and foremost, and our time in God's presence become fleeting visits rather than "Dwelling in His presence all the days of our lives". Even when we pray it's like we crack open the door and throw a prayer in rather than realising, because of Christ we can be in God's presence without guilt or shame - but we have to step through the door - Christ. (Hebrew 10:19-22) In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence.” Tozer points out that how we treat God presence will affect how God interacts with us in our everyday realities. Take a moment to contemplate what God has just spoken here and go to the link for the song Holy Spirit by Brian and Katie Torwalt https://youtu.be/4jZOu7oM7KQ May Tozer's statement not be true of you. May you discover or rediscover the majesty of your God. May you be a child of God who consistently spends time in the presence of the Father. May you be a believer who is empowered with the very presence of God Himself working in and through your life every moment of the day. May you grow in your pursuit of His presence this week. May you commit to earnestly seeking Him and allow this week to be transformational in the way you spend time with God, in God and through God. Much Aroha JD
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AuthorPastor JD Drower Archives
May 2017
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