The Presence of God

Psalm 24:3-6 “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.”

In Dallas Willard’s outstanding book on the last command that the Lord Jesus gave us before ascending to Heaven, he writes that for our personal care of our soul (our mind, will and emotions of the heart and spirit) the first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep omnipresent God before our minds. This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds off of life’s distractions and temptations and constantly to Him. We shall be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. Bad habits can be broken and a new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we walk in the Spirit. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the polestar of our inward beings. 

Psalm 16:8-9 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.”

Jesus Christ is, of course, the Door, the Light, and the Way. We are privileged to walk in this profound reality. In receiving Jesus, we open our consciousness to Him and direct our attention towards Him. The way forward then lies in intentionally keeping the scenes and words of the New Testament gospels before our minds, carefully reading and rereading them day by day. By this means, we walk with Him moment by moment, constantly returning our minds to God in Christ. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Just decide to do it, and then do it. The person of Jesus and His beautiful words are automatically occupying our minds, instead of the busyness, clutter and noise of the world. Meditation on Him and His Word must become an integral part of our lives too.

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

But how does the Law get into your mouth? The things that come before us during the day come in the presence of God’s illuminating Word, Holy Scripture, the living Bible. Light dwells within us and enables us to see the things of life in the “right” and “righteous” way This is the true education for Great Commission ministry, and for life in the presence of God.

In Christ, Brian