Scripture
Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
~John 20:15, NLT
Quote
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.”
~Clyde Staples Lewis
Mary went to the tomb to add a woman’s touch to the burial of Jesus but when she got to the tomb, there was no body to embalm. Jesus was not where He was supposed to be. She ran to tell Peter and John, “They have taken the LORD out of the tomb and we don’t know where they put Him.” Peter and John only confirmed what Mary already knew, the tomb was empty. The second time Mary looks, she sees two angels. Where did they come from and what were they doing? As she questions the angels about the whereabouts of Jesus’ body, a man walks up behind her. Thinking He was the care taker of the cemetery, Mary said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put him.” Not until Jesus called her by name did she recognize Him.
We would do well to keep this fact in mind, Jesus can be present without our awareness. He can be ever so close and we not know it. We put a lot of stock in feelings but this is no feeling, the omnipresence of Christ is a fact. God told Jeremiah, “I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only.” {Jeremiah 23:23, GNT} The truth is: you and I cannot be any place that God is not. Dallas Willard said, “Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us.”
God can manifest His presence in visible ways but more times than not, He chooses to remain incognito. Jesus said, “Lo, I AM with you always, even to the end of the age.” We have His word which is much more reliable than a feeling.
My life has been influenced by a big Texan named Dudley Hall. Dudley’s dad was a construction magnate and so Dudley worked on the construction sites during the summer. Dudley’s dad was a devoted Christian who loved Jesus. Dudley was a teenager who had not discovered his identity in Christ. Dudley like to entertain the men during breaks with his colorful repertoire of unclean jokes. One day Dudley was entertaining and the men were setting on a stack of lumber listening and laughing. Dudley was in the middle of one of his unclean stories when his dad quietly walked up behind him. All the men could see Mr. Hall but Dudley was totally unaware. When he got to the punch line, no one laughed, no one smiled. The men were leaving one by one when Dudley turned around and saw his dad.
Dudley’s dad was present; actually within arms length but Dudley was not aware of his presence. Trust me folks, God can be present without you knowing He is present.
His presence can be comforting or convicting: it is according to what we are doing.
- Praise God from whom all blessing flow–praise HIM all creatures here below…everyone got some rain yesterday. Yesterday was a wonderful day for me: [1] We got Hope home and [2] the South side got rain. I love rain and it came at the right time because our A/C is still out and no hope of getting it fixed until sometime this evening. Praise God for Rain and A/C.
- I really don’t know what I did: someone sent me a picture and I tried to share it with some friends but I must have hit the wrong button and it went to Facebook. I am not ashamed of what I did but it was inadvertent or maybe not. It sit off a firestorm of protest coming from the Yellow Dogs. Where have these people been? Do they not know that I am Pro-life to the core? Why would anyone think that I support Obama? He stands against everything I support including law and order. Any who, it is what it is, signs of the times I suppose.
- COMMUNION Sunday in a.m. service. Deacons: Black trousers and white shirt, tie optional.
- Baptism Sunday–Three candidates: Mylee Garner, Makala Robinson and Jake Moorehead.
- God is good. My heart was thrilled Wednesday night when I had the privilege to pray over this outstanding team. This group has already blessed my heart. I am proud of you guys–every one of you.
