Pleasant Company

Are you pleasant company?  Easy to be around?  Would someone want to hang out with you?  Most of us like to think we are.   And maybe we are for the humans in our life, but what about for God?  What about when we are alone and talking to Him, or to ourselves about our life or circumstances? (You know the muttering under our breath type talking.) 

Something Joyce said in her podcast I was listening to this morning struck a sore spot in my heart.  In essence, she said why would Jesus want to hang out with someone who was complaining and whining all the time?  Ugh.  That hurt.  Couple that with what I read in the daily devotion from Oswald Chambers this morning and I could have been well on my way to a "beat myself up" session.  "If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience.  

So, here I am.  Mulling these two thought over.  And I'm coming to the conclusion that if I want the Presence of Jesus Christ in my life, evident in my life, shining in my life, I need to watch how I speak and be obedient to His teaching.  Otherwise my life becomes a white washed tomb.  I may look okay on the outside, but my inner man is dead.  My Christian walk is lukewarm, powerless and fruitless.  

Gratitude, obedience, worship.  These are the things that will bring the Presence of Jesus to my life.  These are the things that will make hanging out with me a pleasant experience for our Lord and Savior.  Why would He want to make Himself known in my life if all I did was complain about the things His given or how He does things in my life.  Wow this is quite the convicting eye-opener.  

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

God desires to show us His ways.  But if we want to be in His Presence we must be obedient.  Why whould He show us the another step if we haven't followed the first one He showed us?  

Psalm 5:5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;

Psalm 41:12 Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

We must obediently and humbly walk in His ways to remain in His Presence.  To have Him manifest Himself in our lives.  God's not going to show Himself to those who are arrogant and continually disobedient.  

Psalm 89:15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

When we are being thankful, praising His Name, acclaiming His glory and love to ourselves and others we will walk in the light of His Presence.  Jesus will shine in our lives and we will grown closer and closer to Him.   

There are areas in my life where I know I am not in obedience.  I am being led by my emotions and my stubborn will.  I am not allowing the redeeming power of my Savior to work in those areas because I am in disobedience.  And I am actively complaining about the situation.  This stops now.  I want Jesus to shine and be on display in my life.  John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Lord, forgive me for my stiffnecked response to Your leading.  I desire Your Presence in my life.  I have not been good complany for You.  I have not been obedient in certain areas of my life to Your commands.  I repent.  I turn from these things right now.  Help me.  Because without You I can do nothing.  But in You I can do all things You ask of me.  Lord, we all desire Your Presence to be with us each day.  We need to sense You, we need to see You and we need others to see You in us.  Give us this day our daily bread.  You are the bread of life.  We need You.  We thank You and we praise You for Your wisdom, patience, and love.  We thank You for the forgiveness You offer when we fail.  We submit our hearts and lives and words to You.  It is in Your most powerful Name we pray.  Amen.  

Are there areas in Your life where Your words and actions arae keeping you from the Presence of God? 

Stay Present

Yesterday morning I was driving to the first of many appointments for the day.  My mind was wandering through the to do list and figuring out the best way to accomplish what needed doing and getting to the places that needed getting to.  I was getting exhausted just thinking about it all, and I wasn't even doing the first task yet!  LOL 

Well, God, as He always does set out to bring me back to the present.  On the radio came the song "Keep Me in the Moment" by Jeremy Camp.  And boy did I need to hear that!  

It's so easy to get ahead of ourselves.  Our minds race through the day, focused on what has to be done instead of what we are doing.  And I have to wonder, how much are we missing by doing that?  Are we missing a lesson God wants to teach us, a person He wants us to help, a blessing He wants us to have or even missing His very Presence in our day.  Are we missing joyful moments with loved ones, meeting a new friend, enjoying a sunset or just taking in the peace of God.  This makes me very sad.  I don't want to miss anything the Lord has for me, especially His sweet Presence in my every moment.   Should we not keep ourselves focused in the moment, taking time to savor our days as gifts from our Father?  Should we not keep an eye open to His hand, His heart and His will as we walk through the tasks of our day?  As I get older I find multi-tasking to be a little more difficult.  LOL   Maybe that's God's way of telling me to keep my mind on what I am doing right then, and be open to His design for that space of time.   In doing that I can remain in peace instead of worrying the hours away with the list of things to accomplish.  And in doing that I have space in my head and heart to hear His voice so I can follow His leading, which may be something entirely different than I have planned.  

What a sweet reminder this was.  I love hearing the voice of God, love His patient instruction which I need so often.  

Thank You Lord, once again for the correction and encouragement You bring.  Keep me in the moment so I can hear Your voice, see Your hand and walk in Your Presence.  In Your Presence is peace and joy in abundance. What a beautiful way to live.  Please help me and all of us follow this plan of Yours.  Let us be lead by Your Spirit and remain focused on the moment in front of us.  It's in Jesus Name I pray.  Amen.

Remain in the moments.  

Prayers

When we pray doesn't it sometimes feel like just words?  I go through this often, even though I believe God is calling me to a higher level in prayer.  I want my prayers to be meaningful, effective, filled with the power and promise of the Holy Spirit.  How do we get there?

First, I think we have to be aware.  Aware of what we are saying and Who we are saying it to.  Lose the "I'll pray for you," throw away phrase that we give people when we hear a need.  Instead, take the need we've heard and thoughtfully, bring it to the One who can do all things, who knows all things, who is filled with love and wisdom...our El Shaddai.  The Lord Almighty.  Remember Who we bring our requests to.  He is our Lord Almighty, but He is also our loving Abba Father.  

Second, remember prayer has power.  James 5:13-18 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.  Pray with the expectation that God will answer.  Don't forget though, leave that answer up to Him.  He is not a cosmic genie who grants our wishes but a Sovereign God who rules with all wisdom, love and kindess.  He sees the beginning from the end, the end from the beginning and everything in between and knows the perfect solutions that we can't even fathom. 

The Lord tells us in Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  We can come before Him, not in fear, but in faith.  But we also need to be humble enough to remember that He is God and we are not.  Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 

Jesus talked about prayer.  Matthew 7:7-12 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Our heavenly Father desires to bless us.  And whether His answer agrees with ours or not, His answer is good.  He gives no other type of response.  

I could go on and on about praying.  God is showing me so much lately.  But believing my prayers are "real" and believing I am coming to a Being who desires to interact, communicate and respond are some of the biggest things He is teaching me.  Come expecting Him to answer.  Come expecting that answer to be the best response.  And come leaving the timing up the Him.  Patient, believing, trusting faith.  

Thank You Lord for this amazing truth...You desire to fellowship with us.  You desire to meet our needs.  Lord, help us to come in faith, not in our own solutions, but faith in Who You are and that You always want the best for Your children.  Give us an awareness of Yourself when we pray.  Whether our words be few or many, whether we are articulate or only cry out in Your Presence, Lord, let our prayers be heartfelt and trusting.  Teach us to pray.  And it is in faith, in the holy Name of Jesus that I ask this for each of us.  Amen. 

Matthew 6:9-15 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Favorites

The Bible is chock full of great stuff.  Wisdom, comfort, correction, direction, encouragement.  In it we get to know our Creator, our Redeemer, our Comforter, Our King, our Father, the Almighty God.  We see His love and His holiness.  We see His plan unfolding through the history of the Bible.  What a wonderful book, beyond amazing, a priceless treasure.  But there are some verses that become favorites.  Some that speak to our deepest needs, our desperate hearts and our longing souls.  They are the ones we turn to again and again, they stick to us, settle into our innermost being and give us hope when nothing else seems to be working.  I wanted to share a few of mine.  I am hoping they will bring a smile and a hope to your heart.  

Isaiah 43:1-4 But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel:  “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.  2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.  4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

This verse was one of the first verses God gave me as my own.  I never forget this and it will always bring joy to my heart.  

Romans 8:12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him!

Lamentation 3:22-23  Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is You faithfulness.  

1 Peter 4:2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord  for the display of his splendor.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Psalm 143:8  Let me hear of Your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting in You.  Show me where to walk for I have come to you in prayer. 

Psalm 119:35  Make me walk along the path of Your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.   (really, I love all of Psalm 119!)

Psalm 1:9 I delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night I think about His law. 

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Genesis 16:13 13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

These are just a few of my favorites.  They ebb and flow on the list depending on what hill or valley I am walking in.  The Lord has given me comfort and instruction and encouragement some many times.  I am forever blessed to be His child.

Lord, thank You.  I look back on these verses and see Your hand and Your love spilling all over my days.  How blessed are we to be Your sons and daughters.  Thank You.  Forever thank You.  

What are your verses?  Look back over your time with the Lord and see His love.  And if you are just starting this journey, look forward and be alert.  The Lord longs to share His heart with each of us.