Day 32: We Are The People Of God's Presence

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Think about all the things that could happen if Jesus were physically walking with you everywhere you go. Now, realize that He actually is and open your mind to believing for more.

»  When you are alone today, driving or whatever, consciously quiet your mind and ask the Spirit to speak to you. Listen carefully and write down whatever comes to mind.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“We (Christians) are always in the presence of God. There is never a non-sacred moment! His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of His presence may falter, but the reality of His presence never changes.”

- Max Lucado

SCRIPTURE

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
- John 14:16-17

DEVOTIONAL

I’ve always been struck by Jesus’s words: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” They are a humbling and refreshing reminder that our need, from first to last, isn’t partial, but total. By giving us the Holy Spirit, Christ has given us Himself. Our bodies become houses where God lives, and His Presence becomes the source of our daily obedience, fruitfulness, and love. This is the wisdom of God, “a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-8)

When Jesus rose from the dead, the Kingdom of God inverted itself and went from being contained in the person of Jesus, to being unleashed into the bodies of every person whom Christ redeems, through the occupancy of the Spirit in them. If the rulers of darkness had understood this, they would have never let Jesus get to that cross!

Now His people are carriers of the divine Presence, and the Presence of God means that nothing is impossible. Why? The Presence of God has come. He is here, right now, wherever you are. Whether you remain aware of it or not, He is wherever you are all the time.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8) The word, “witnesses” is the greek word, “martyrion” where we get the word martyr. The Presence of God enables us to die to ourselves and live for God. It makes my life verse, Galatians 2:20, an absolute reality: “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Not I, but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”