I was reading Isaiah’s prophesies, and when I reached the 64
th chapter, I was overwhelmed with an awesome respect for my Lord:
If only you would split open the heavens and come down!
The mountains would quake at your presence.
Be like the fire that kindles brushwood and makes water boil.
Come down to make your name known to your enemies.
The nations will tremble in your presence.
When you did awe-inspiring things that we didn’t expect,
you came down and the mountains quaked in your presence.
No one has ever heard,
no one has paid attention,
and no one has seen any god except you.
You help those who wait for you.
When I read those words I was immediately shocked that anyone, I mean anyone, could possibly doubt His awesome power and glory. All of us need to cling to Him and rely on His power to sustain our lives. His is my strength, my joy, my purpose for living.
How about you? How did you wake up this morning? Were you grouchy? Complaining? Weak and disheartened? Overwhelmed with the “cares of this life”? Oh, I know, sometimes you feel like I am meddling too much. But here’s the thing, If we are going to follow our Lord your attitude is going to make a difference, no matter what time of day it is, or the circumstances we are experiencing.
Oh, that is easy to say, but sometimes very difficult to live out, isn’t it? With all the stuff going on in our lives, it is easy for our hearts to become divided. We want to worship, but sometimes . . . well, sometimes “it ain’t easy,” is it? What we have to do is ask the Holy Spirit to help us to see Christ and to come before him in all of his glory.
Yes, we know that’s what we have to do . . . but our minds are divided. We are already thinking about what we are going to do afterward; where we are going to go for lunch; how we are going to pay the bills; how we are going to take care of this, how we are going to do that.
Try to remember when you first came to Jesus. Was it fresh and wonderful, like “heaven on earth?” Okay, so what happened? Have things changed all that much for you? He hasn’t changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! In fact, when you reach Eternity, it won’t be all that different. The only difference is will be that we are no longer burdened down with this body of sin. But Christ? He is the same.
The light that He revealed in your heart; the heart Christ redeemed, is the same light that will continue to shine throughout eternity. That light is within you now! In fact, if the Lord has redeemed you, there is not reason to put it off until you reach “Eternity,” you can live with it now!
Quit putting off Christ’s Glory for the future, live it now! When you wake up in glory, you won’t be surprised. Christ won’t be different; it will simply be a fuller manifestation. It will be like seeing a picture of someone and then finally meeting that person. Your first thought will be how they look exactly like their picture! That is the way it will be in glory. The moment He walks up to you, you will recognize Him. That is cool!
Peter put it this way:
Though you have never seen him, yet you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; and all the time you are receiving the result of your faith in him—the salvation of your own souls (I Peter 1:8)
The reality is that many of us . . . okay, most of us find that we are
way too busy to be
present with the Lord. So I am urging you to take some time to be alone with Him; to grow in your love and understanding of Him.
Look over the past week and see the amount of time you
could have spent enjoying His presence. Maybe you rushed to work or hurried to get your kids to school or to some other activity. Maybe you had meetings to attend, appointments to keep, text messages to send, and emails to answer. You may have had games to go to and other events to attend. When you look back, do you see some time in there where you could have focused on His presence?
Well, maybe you need to make some changes. What if you got up a few minutes earlier each day to pray? Instead of watching TV, why not cut out a half-hour? How much time did your spend texting or on the Internet? Maybe you could have spent some of that time reflecting on Him and enjoy His presence. Some of us must learn to say “
no” to some activities and spend more time with our Lord. Yes, this will take some discipline, but it
is something you can do.
All it will take is for you to
learn, to
train yourself to pray and to praise Him. You will begin to feel His presence more and more. When we praise our Father, His Spirit will bring us into His presence. As one writer suggests: “use music, get down on your knees; go for a praise walk, or whisper praise in the quiet recesses of your mind. It doesn’t matter
how you do it – praise unlocks your spirit to experience the presence of God more deeply.”
Begin to read His Word. In my own life it has allowed me to experience His presence. I see His Word as His love letter to me. When I read it, I ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to what
He wants me to see. I take my time. I pause and pray. I write out my prayers based on what I have read in His word. When a passage “
speaks” to me, I underline the verses. If I don’t have my highlighter, I use a pen or pencil. I have done this for many years, and as a result I have been able to store His Word in my heart and the Spirit of God will draw on it to pull me through situations.
Nickolas
With these Morning Messages, I take you on guided tours to, as Bunyan described, the Celestial City. At times we linger at corners familiar and unseen. And explore the depths of our faith along the way.
The trail is long, but there’s no hurry. Though we do need to stock up on supplies for the way, and that’s where I need your help. If you enjoy these messages, please consider becoming a contributing member of this tour group. It will be very much appreciated.
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