Knowing the Presence

Her's an excellent summary of a great book - 10 Things You Should Know About the Presence of God by J. Ryan Lister,author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Storyline of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives.

1. God is immanent because he is transcendent.

The Lord is “God in the heavens above (transcendent) and on the earth beneath (immanent)” (Josh 2:11). But to understand God in full we must recognize that his drawing near to creation stems from his being distinct from creation. In other words, there is no deficiency in God that creation satisfies. The Lord doesn’t relate to this world because he lacks something within himself. No, God draws near out of the abundance of who he is.

God’s transcendence distinguishes him from the created order and puts things in their right perspective. God does not come to us needy and wanting, but rather he comes to “revive the spirit of the lowly and the heart of the contrite” (Isa 57:15). It is the holy and righteous One above who restores the broken and needy below.

2. The Bible emphasizes God’s manifest presence, not only his omnipresence.

There is a difference between saying “God is everywhere,” and saying “God is here.” The former is the default category for most Christians. We talk about God’s presence being inescapable and that he is “everywhere present” (Ps 139:5-12; 1 Kings 8:27).

But it seems Scripture is more concerned with his presence manifest in relationship and redemption. And though these divine realities are certainly not at odds, the biblical story does turn on God’s being manifest with his people in Eden, the tabernacle/temple, the incarnation of Christ, and the new heaven and new earth.

3. The story of Scripture begins and ends with the presence of God.

In the book of Genesis, Eden is the first couple’s home but, more importantly, it is God’s sanctuary—the garden temple where the Creator and his image-bearers relate (Gen 3:8).

Fast forward to the end of our Bibles and we see a very similar picture but on a much larger scale. All of heaven has collided with the whole earth to make a perfect sanctuary for God to dwell with man (Rev 21:1-4). In the book of Revelation, Eden has returned and expanded into new heaven and new earth where all of God’s people enjoy his presence eternally.

The Waiting Room

I hate waiting. I want it NOW! But i must face the truth that many times transformation only comes in the waiting. And that transformation into the likeness of Jesus is more important than what I want, or what I am waiting for. Loved this post - Spiritual Transformation Happens in the Waiting Room by Pete Wilson

God often uses waiting as a crucible in which to refine our character. Faithful waiting on God makes us stronger, not weaker.

Waiting is also a sign of humility. Remember that, long ago, persons of lesser rank who served nobility and royalty were said to “wait upon” them. In a similar way, they were said to “attend” to their lords and rulers. Even today, the French word for “wait” is “attend.” Maybe there is something to learn here.

Maybe we should think of waiting on God less as passively sitting around until something happens and more as actively attending—listening carefully for God’s voice and watching intently for evidence of His moving in our lives and in the world around us.

Now, believe me, I understand that those of you reading these words today, who are in the midst of waiting for a miracle, or waiting for a dream to be realized, or waiting to be delivered from a dark, scary place, probably feel helpless. You feel as if you’re doing nothing, but you’re actually doing something very important. In fact, this waiting—this attending to God—may be the most important spiritual work you could possibly do. While you are waiting faithfully on God, you are also allowing your hope to grow up. And if you can’t be still and wait and hope—even when you have no reason to hope—you can’t become the person God created when He thought you into existence.

Isaiah 40:31 They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not be faint.

Spiritual transformation doesn’t take place when we get what we want, it takes place while we’re waiting. It is forged in us while we’re waiting, hoping, and trusting, even though we have yet to receive what we long for. Spiritual transformation happens in the waiting room.

Waiting also helps us learn the vital lesson that just because a dream is delayed doesn’t mean it is denied. When we continue to hope patiently and place our trust in God and in His schedule—not ours—we begin to gain the type of long-range perspective that allows us to have peaceful souls, even when the storms of life are raging about us. With God, we can wait out the storm and see the sun breaking through the clouds. When we trust in Him, we will eventually see the rainbow and the rebirth of our hopes and dreams.

The Word Behind the Word

For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth.

The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.

         – A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

HT: Trevin Wax

Danger!

'Sometimes I think that all religious sites should be posted with signs reading, "Beware the God.' The places and occasions that people gather to attend to God are dangerous. They're glorious places and occasions, true, but they're also dangerous. Danger signs should be conspicuously placed, as they are at nuclear power stations. Religion is the death of some people." 

            - Eugene Peterson

Encircled

Jesu! Only- begotten Son and Lamb of God the
    Father,
Thou didst give the wine- blood of Thy body
    to buy me from the grave.
My Christ! my Christ! my shield, my encircler,
Each day, each night, each light, each dark;
My Christ! my Christ! my Shield, my encircler,
Each day, each night, each light, each dark.
Be near me, uphold me, my treasure, my
    triumph,
In my lying, in my standing, in my watching,
    in my sleeping,
Jesu, Son of Mary! my helper, my encircler,
Jesu, Son of David! my strength everlasting;
Jesu, Son of Mary! my helper, my encircler,
Jesu, Son of David! my strength everlasting.

- A Prayer of St. Brendan the Navigator

From The Path of Celtic Prayer: An Ancient Way to Everyday Joy by Calvin Miller

Cure

From A.W. Tozer Facebook Page

Absence

From @DailyKeller

Noticing the Dirt

"I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations.

It is not serious provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience etc doesn't get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are airing in the cupboard.

The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of His presence."

--The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 2 (Cambridge University Press, 2004), letter to Mary Neylan, January 20, 1942  page 507; emphasis original

HT: Dane Ortlund

God Himself in Us

“Spiritual gifts are not God bestowing to his people something external to himself. They are not some tangible ‘stuff’ or substance separable from God. Spiritual gits are nothing less than God himself in us, energizing our souls, imparting revelation to our minds, infusing power in our wills, and working his sovereign and gracious purposes through us…[in summary] Spiritual gifts are God present in, with, and through human thoughts, human deeds, human words, human love.”

              - Sam Storms, The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts

From Enjoying God

Need the Presence

Like this from Pete Wilson - Note the very important question in red at the end.

This morning I did a little reading in Exodus and saw this…

Exodus 33:15 “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

God promised Moses he would send his angel before them and guide them to their God-given destination. This is what Moses has been waiting for. This is a win. A huge win. He’s assuring Moses success, but Moses doesn’t want success. He wants God.

When I read this I felt like someone had hit me in the head with a shovel.  Far too often as a leader I make success my God. I make success the destination. I’m willing to make a lot of sacrifices, even some unhealthy ones, if it means achieving success.We’ve all sacrificed things for….

larger church attendance

more money

nicer car

corner office

bigger title

noticeable popularity

Moses reminds us that no amount of success, plans, or dreams are worth it if it means less of God’s presence in your life.

Just a few verses before in verse 11 it says “The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to a friend.” I think Moses had grown so accustomed to God’s presence that it became the most cherished and prized thing in his life. He couldn’t imagine going a moment without it.

Can I be honest? I’m not there… but I want to be. I want to get to that place. I want to get to the place where I want God and His presence in my life more than anything this world has to offer.

How would you feel if God promised you success and victory but without His presence? Have you experienced God’s presence so consistently you can’t live without it?

 Good question.

New Eyes To See

From a great post by J.D. Greear:

In the opening verses of 1 John, the Apostle John says that one of the signs that you really know God is you have fellowship—koinonia—with him through the Spirit. God begins to come alive to you. In a very real and tangible way, he speaks to you.

Now, I’m not talking about some new word from God. I hear church talk like this all the time: “God told me that you should give me $1,000,” or “God told me that we are supposed to get married.” That’s bad enough (Have some courage and ask the girl out on your own!). But I even hear people tell me about “God’s word to them” that contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. I hear with depressing frequency the astounding claim: “God told me to leave my wife.” I cannot stress this enough: God will never speak to you in a way that contradicts his Word.

No, koinonia—the experience of God’s presence—does not happen when God delivers a new word, but when the Word of Life is “made manifest” to us (1 John 1:2). Manifestation means magnification, coming alive. A genuine experience with God is the magnification of the word of the gospel in your heart.

When this happens to you, you begin to feel the word of life. The cross becomes larger. Your sin becomes more real. God’s grace becomes sweeter. The “old” words of life press in on your heart and they become new to you. It’s like those magic eye pictures (Remember them?). You can stare at the morass of dots for hours, and it just looks like random pixels. But if you cross your eyes just right, you suddenly see the 3-D image. That’s how it is when you experience God: you aren’t given new information to understand, but new eyes to see...

Read it all at the link.

Present in the Defeats

"...a theology of glory sees God at work in the victories of life ratter than the defeats.

...a theology of the cross allows us to love and serve a suffering person independent of whether on not, or how fast, he is healing. We can walk with these people in their present pain, as opposed to impatiently focusing on their future health.

God is right there, not somewhere else."

    -Tullian Tchvidjian, Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free.  pages 122-123

Tears

Tears

Whey you cry.

When tears come.

Let them dry

on their own

before the Throne.

by Douglas Grothius

(Interesting blog - Chronic Illness, Christian Faith and Other Laments)