Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psalm 139:7, 8.
The psalmist represents the presence of the Infinite One as pervading the universe. “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” We can never find a solitude where God is not.
The Lord God omnipotent, who reigneth in the heavens, declares, “I am with you.” He assures His people that those who are obedient are in a position where He can bless them, to the glory of His name…. He will be a present help to all who serve Him in preference to serving self.
Although God dwells not in temples made with hands, yet He honors with His presence the assemblies of His people. He has promised that when they come together to seek Him, to acknowledge their sins, and to pray for one another, He will meet with them by His Spirit.
When Christ ascended to heaven, the sense of His presence was still with His followers. It was a personal presence, full of love and light….
Henceforth through the Spirit, Christ was to abide continually in the hearts of the children. Their union with Him was closer than when He was personally with them. The light, and love, and power of the indwelling Christ shone out through them, so that men, beholding, “marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13. All that Christ was to the disciples, He desires to be to His children today.
We may be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Receiving Christ, we are clothed with power. An indwelling Saviour makes His power our property…. Christ’s presence in the heart is a vitalizing power, strengthening the entire being.
Never feel that Christ is far away. He is always near. His loving presence surrounds you.
The Faith I Live By p. 62
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Gordon who is in the hospital with a brain aneurysm. Lou
—–Please pray for Mike as he flies home today.
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Dear Friends,
While Ron was waiting his turn to see the doctor some years ago, a wild-eyed woman came rushing in. She was carrying her son who had some sort of neck injury. Frantically she answered the receptionist’s questions. Her only thought was getting her son the attention he needed. Those questions seemed to take an eternity.
Looking at the boy still in his mother’s arms, Ron forgot all about his injury. His heart was filled with compassion for this mother and son. He was concerned for the boy’s welfare rather than his own. Moments later, his name was called. He told the nurse that he could wait. The boy needed to see the doctor worse than he did. She told him that it was their policy to take the person who was bleeding first. He refused. Finally, they took the boy for treatment as well.
As Ron was driving home, he was still thinking of that little boy. When he got home, he was still worrying about how bad the boy’s injuries were and was worrying if there would be lasting effects from his mother carrying him rather than calling an ambulance.
Ron’s selfless concern for that mother and son is the kind of love we are to have for others. Paul speaks of this, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Phil 2:4 Does this mean that we should attempt to control others in the way in which we think they should go? No! Paul is speaking of the selfless love and concern that mirrors Christ’s selfless love for us. He continues, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” vs 5-8 If we have our Compassionate Saviour dwelling within our heart, our focus will be on the needs of those around us. We will set aside what’s best for us, that we may do what’s best for them.
Indeed, our Loving Redeemer tells us that it is the way others can tell we have a true experience with Him, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35 This love is not syrupy but a principle, an action, a selfless concern for the wellbeing of others. How we treat others will have a direct bearing upon our own future. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” Matt 25:31-45 James declares, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing, knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good, let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” 1 Peter 3:8-12
Rose