Christian Living on God's Presence

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Suffering is Evidence of God’s Presence

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Scripture

1 Peter 4:12-13, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 34:18, Luke 9:23, Philippians 3:10

Suffering is not evidence of God’s absence, but of God’s presence, and it is in our experience of being broken that God does his surest and most characteristic salvation work. There is a way to accept...

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The Church at the Center of God’s Purposes

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Isaiah 43:1-7, Deuteronomy 26:16-19, Matthew 16:13-20, Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalm 22:22

What is the place of the church in relation to God’s mission? Pastor John Stott offers some crucial thoughts, For the church lies at the very center of the eternal purposes of God. It is not a div...

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Psalm 8 | God's Majesty

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 8:, Psalm 144:3, Job 7:17, Hebrews 2:6-10, Matthew 21:16, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Ancient Lens What’s the historical context? Background Structure This Psalm of David is unique. “It is the only hymn in the Old Testament composed completely as a direct address to God.” [1] It e...

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The Love of God Wrapped About Him

Author

Thomas Kelly

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Scripture

Psalm 4:1-3, Psalm 30:5, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 23:4, Job 1:, Job 2:, Job 42:, 2 Samuel 11:, 2 Samuel 12:, Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 17:8-24, Daniel 6:, Psalm 34:18

The sense of Presence! I have spoken of it as stealing on one unawares. It is recorded of John Wilhelm Rowntree that as he left a great physician’s office, where he had just been told that his advanci...

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The Sacrament of the Present Moment

Author

Andrew Arndt

Keywords

Is God really “in” all things? And would it matter if the answer was “yes” or “no”? How? Jean-Pierre de Caussade was an 18th century French Jesuit preacher, theologian, and spiritual director who t...

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Author

Amy G. Oden

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Hospitality does not entail helping another so much as immersing oneself in a new reality, entering into a new relationship with one who before was unknown or unappreciated. The nothing of “being with...

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Understanding the Fear of God

Author

Timothy Keller

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What, then, should a Christian be afraid of regarding God? Think of it like this. Imagine that you suddenly are introduced to some person you have always admired enormously—perhaps someone you have he...

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The Two Pilgrims

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Tolstoy’s tale "The Two Pilgrims" describes two Russians on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, eager to attend the solemn Easter festivities. One pilgrim was so focused on reaching the destination t...

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Adapted from and Inspired by Psalm 145

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Scripture

Psalm 145:8-9

Lord God, you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and quick to show mercy and faithful love. Your compassion is for all you have made. We admit that this compassion is slow to come to life ...

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Author

Thomas Merton

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God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent...

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Author

Brother Lawrence

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Scripture

Jeremiah 31:33, Deuteronomy 30:11-14 , Ezekiel 36:26-27, Luke 17:20-21 , 1 Corinthians 3:16, Psalm 46:5

He is within us; seek him not elsewhere.

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He is With us in our Crying Out to God

Author

Wesley Hill

Scripture

Mark 15:34

When the great theologian Jürgen Moltmann was sixteen years old in 1943, he was drafted into the German army and was soon captured by the Allied forces. He wound up in a prisoner of war camp in Scotla...

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Author

A. W. Tozer

Keywords

The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never ...

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Author

Victor Hugo

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Kings 19:1-18 , Isaiah 40:28-31 , Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Psalm 121:3-4

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake!"

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Goliath on the Beach

Author

John Ortberg

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A few weeks ago, when I was out surfing, there was no one else in the water. In fact, there was no one around at all, except a guy the size of Goliath doing tae kwon do on the beach. After I’d been ou...

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Do Not Be Afraid

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 10:28, Matthew 14:27, John 14:27, Luke 12:32, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 23:4, Deuteronomy 31:6, 2 Timothy 1:7

The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “not fear” or “have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to l...

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Author

Craig S. Keener

Keywords

Idolatry

If we must “feel” God’s presence before we believe he is with us, we again reduce God to our ability to grasp him, making him an idol instead of acknowledging him as God.”

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We Wander the Internet Because We Lack God's Presence

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 49:15-16, Jeremiah 2:13, Matthew 18:3, Galatians 4:6, John 10:27

We’re little children wandering the aisles of the internet because we’ve lost the presence of our loving parent. We are desperate for the attention of a good Father who sees us. We have no idea how to...

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Come into God’s presence with

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 100:null

Come into God’s presence with thanksgiving in your hearts. We will enter his gates with praise. He has made us glad. His love endures forever. We join with all of creation, To sing a new son...

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Lacking Presence

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling describes the challenge of experiencing God’s presence, even in the relatively slow world (in comparison to our own) of the fourteenth-century: ...

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Inspired by Psalm 31

Author

Kimberly Bracken Long

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 31:20-2131, Psalm 31:3

Friends in Christ, let us gather in the shelter of God’s presence. Let us bless the Lord, for God has wondrously shown us steadfast love. God is indeed our rock and our refuge. God guides us and...

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Psalm 51 | Awareness of Sin

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? A Historical Clue The superscript of Psalm 51 gives us a historical clue about the composition of this Psalm, “A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophe...

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Psalm 1 | God's Law (Free Preview)

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Scripture

Psalm 1:, Matthew 5:17, Matthew 5:3-12

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Wisdom Song It is not too far a stretch to imagine an eager young person sitting at the feet of a well-seasoned elder and receiving the words of thi...

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Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are

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Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are God’s people, called by God’s love in Jesus the Christ, not because we are adequate or worthy, but because of God’s acceptance of us. Pastor: Why have you c...

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We can be confident that God hears our

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:7-12

We can be confident that God hears our prayers because there is nowhere we can go from God’s presence. So let’s take our burdens before the Lord, resting in the knowledge that we will be heard. Hea...

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When Henri Nouwen Couldn’t Feel God’s Love

Author

Bill Gaultiere

Keywords

Spiritual Warfare

The warmth of God’s presence can be elusive. In his secret journal, Henri Nouwen is vulnerable about a dark season in which he couldn’t feel God’s love. He’d helped millions of other people around ...

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Author

Brother Lawrence

Keywords

I still believe that all spiritual life consists of practicing God’s presence, and that anyone who practices correctly will soon attain spiritual fulfillment… There is no sweeter manner of living in t...

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Allowing the Light to Shine

Author

R. Douglas Weaver

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:null

Holy Scripture is witness to the light of God that arises in the midst of the deepest darkness to illumine the darkness. Scripture is not witness to the light taking away the darkness or exempting peo...

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How To Practice the Presence of God with a Full Schedule

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling shares the powerful story of the missionary Frank Laubach: Frank Laubach, a missionary to the Philippines known for his Letters by a Modern Myst...

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What is Vision?

Author

Chuck Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

John 9:39, Habakkuk 2:2-3, Colossians 3:2, Psalm 119:18, Ephesians 1:18

Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God’s power, to focus on God’s plan In spite of the obstacles….Vision is the ability to see above and beyond the majority. Vision is perception...

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