When this world ends, God will dwell with his people forever in the new creation (). Until then, between creation and new creation, how do we experience God's presence?
We experience God's presence through Jesus. The necessary result of our sin is eternal separation from God. But Jesus has taken our punishment at the cross. Now he offers to share with us his eternal life of intimate fellowship with God the Father.
We experience God's presence by his Spirit. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to dwell in the heart of every single Christian believer. The Spirit empowers us to serve our Lord and each other.
We experience God's presence in his Word. God has revealed himself in the Bible. He has made his will known to us, and provided testimony to his Son Jesus.
We experience God's presence in prayer. God does not need us to talk to him, but he wants us to talk to him. We do need him, and we should be eager to talk to him, to ask him to provide for us, protect us, and guide us.
Let's truly value these ways in which we experience God's presence.
- Trust Jesus, who rescues you from your sins, and obey him by leaving your sins behind.
- Appreciate the Holy Spirit by serving God and others as he enables you.
- Read God's Word, learn it, and live in light of it.
- Pray frequently and sincerely to your God and Father.
- Larry