Scripture
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
~Galatians 2:20, NASB
Quote
Trust God’s word and power more than your experience and feelings.
~Samuel Rutherford
I suppose every believer wants to feel the presence of God always but in reality it doesn’t work this way. We have times when we feel His presence and other times when we do not. I think of it like this: there is the fact of His presence. God is omnipresent which means He is everywhere; which means it is impossible for Him not to be present. David understood this fact, I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, You are there. No matter where you go, God will be there waiting for you. Technically, you cannot escape His presence. So, God is always near; He is always with us. Jesus assured His followers, “I am with you always.”
That is the fact of His presence and He can be present without our awareness. Jesus was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and that is a fact but they didn’t recognize His presence. The resurrected Christ had to manifest His presence, He had to make it obvious and He did this on several occasions. What we long for is a manifestation of His presence. The shekinah glory cloud was such a manifestation of the divine presence. It was a visible cloud both day and night. Matter of fact, it glowed in the dark. It was a constant reminder of God’s presence and leadership. So why doesn’t God give us a visible manifestation like He did the Israelites? Good question! I’m not sure I have the answer but I have a thought or two.
We actually have something greater in significance and scope and that is the CROSS. So keep your eye steadily fixed on the infinite grandeur of Christ’s finished work of redemption. Look to Jesus and live. The Israelites didn’t have the gospel, we do. They didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we do. They didn’t have a bible; we do. God’s goal for us is the same as it was for the Israelites: He wants to teach us to live by faith, not sight. He wants us to learn to trust Him, not our feeling or our experience. The Israelites needed a visible manifestation because their faith was so weak and immature. We must move beyond this need for signs. If we can ever reach Job’s state of mind, the plateau he was on,“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,” we will enter into a new dimension of life. It is called LIVING BY FAITH.
We saw the surgeon yesterday and the cyst that showed up on the MRI is not really a cyst, it is a calcium build up which is common in older people and nothing to be alarmed about. It should not be causing the headaches and they will stay with the seizure meds hoping they will work. I start phase two this weekend and will not take the full dosage until a week from now. Anyway, my problems are small compared to others and I can certainly live with the headaches.
They had to take Peggy Murphy to Decatur Morgan Hospital for pancreatitis but she should get to go home today. Big Mike’s MRI went OK but the heart issues are not resolved. I want us to concentrate our prayers on Big Mike. I talked to Markham on the way home from church Wednesday night and his mom {Sandra} is not doing good. Pray for Sandra. God bless you, have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.