Daniel
Chapter 18
The fourth man
"Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" Daniel 3:24 (NIV)
You are not alone In both the furnace and the lion’s den Shadrach, Meshach, Abednigo and Daniel respectively had company. In the furnace, many conclude the pre-incarnate Jesus was present. In both cases there was at least an angelic presence.
Are you aware that you are not proceeding though life with the real presence of God with you? Jesus’ last words in Matthew imply this very thing for all believers.
Realizing that God’s real presence has to mean something more than just protection from every harm (everyone suffers after all), what does knowing this do for you?
PRAYER
“Father, I am trying to picture and to feel what it means to know you are with me. Yet, Lord, I once ask you to give me a persevering belief that transcends what I feel. Help me to simply believe and rest in the peace of knowing. Amen”
Pastor, is "Are you aware that you are not proceeding though life with the real presence of God with you?" supposed to read
ReplyDelete"Are you aware that you are proceeding though life with the real presence of God with you?
Sure hope so!
Sorry about that. Typo. I'm not a good typist and need to proofread better. God bless. Pastor Jeff
DeleteIn Jesus' last prayer to the Father before crucifixion he prayed for his disciples and then he prayed for all believers:
ReplyDelete"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME..."
How blessed we are to be one with the Father, one with Jesus. He is in us and we are in Him!
This is why we can so easily say that "Apart from Him, I can do nothing"!
I think its important to note that we cannot expect to come into a full realization of this without first having some inkling of wonder for the grace that gives us this. How could one feel His Presence, if we don't believe it is there in the first place?
Believe it. Tell Him you believe it. Thank Him for it. Marvel at it. Love Him for it. Sing to Him about it. Ask Him for more realization of it. Beg Him for a grateful heart. Yearn for His closeness.
He will not disappoint you.
Thank you, Jesus.
Just an update:
ReplyDeleteAbiding in God's Presence is a wonderful gift, that even as I write this I am only beginning to learn more about. But, if I may, I'd like to just offer one thing.
We have the ability to control our thoughts and judge our emotions. Hard, but we have it. We have it because we have the Holy Spirit.
One very real way of abiding in God's Presence is learning to turn our focus in a moments time to Jesus. His presence will be felt, your heart will be effected.
I have been challenged the last couple of days and I can say when I turn my focus to Him, I instantly feel His presence and it has changed my course of action. After all, whatever we unite ourselves to we unite Christ to. 1 Cor 6:15
From the devotional, "Jesus Calling":
"I am renewing your mind, When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through this negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.
A renewed mind is Presence-focused. Train your mind to seek Me in every moment, every situation. Sometimes you can find Me in yor surroundings: a lilting birdsong, a loved one's smile, golden sunlight. At other times, you must draw inward to find Me. I am always present in your spirit. Seek My face, speak to me, and I will light up your mind." Romans 12:2 & Psalm 105:4
*The best part about this is God showed me first through the Holy Spirit and then confirmed it two days later in my nightly devotional reading.
Please excuse my blog-hogging-