God’s Presence

My area has quite a few rivers and I find myself near them often as I hike nature trails. The rivers have a certain beauty and power of their own, and I enjoy the peace and solitude I find near them.

Psalm 46:4-5 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” Many truths and encouragements can be known about the presence of God, which is often described in scripture as a river of life. From these verses we know that His presence makes us glad. His presence makes us secure. And His presence throughout the day helps us in everything we do. More than the natural rivers we see, God’s presence brings us ultimate joy, peace, and power.

By Word and Deed

Court room witnesses testify to what they saw or heard. They are sworn to tell the truth. It takes no special skill or power to be this type of witness. However, to be a witness for Jesus Christ, and tell others what the truth, we do need a special power. That power comes in the form of the Holy Spirit living within us. And we are witnesses, not only by our words, but our deeds testify that we know Jesus and that He is living within us and through us.

Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The phrase “you will” is used twice in this verse and carries with it the meaning that these things will certainly occur and always happen together. You will receive power by the Holy Spirit, which inevitably leads to you witnessing for Jesus. So by our words and our actions we must be declaring the love, forgiveness, kindness, grace and mercy of Jesus. This verse is both a command and a promise. The command is that we should be witnesses for Jesus. The promise is that He will provide us power through the Holy Spirit.

Forbearance

We’ve driven a few hundred miles over the last couple of days.  It amazes me what people believe are acceptable actions they can take when driving a motor vehicle. I confess that when someone else’s driving endangers the lives of my family members, I can get pretty upset. At times, I am tempted to let the offender know what I think of their driving. Fortunately, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that my attitude is good in these situations.

Romans 2:3-4 says, “Do you suppose, O man-you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself-that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” When we are tempted to criticize and judge others, we should first remember God’s kindness and patience with us. We have offended Him more often and far greater than we have been offended by other people. God’s forbearance means that He exercises patient self-control, restraint, and tolerance withus. We should humbly do the same thing with other people.

Sources of Joy

Two sources of joy came together for me this week. In the first, we are going to watch our grandson play in the state high school all star football game tonight. The joy is not in the pride of our grandson’s achievements, but rather in watching him enjoy something that means a lot to him. Secondly, we helped at a sports and art camp held by our church. So, I coached seven six and seven year olds in the game of soccer. Again, the joy was not so much in the excitement of these wonderful kids as they played. But rather, abounding joy came in observing five of them giving their lives to Jesus during the week. The new birth and joy in their faces as they accepted Jesus into their lives caused an overwhelming sense of joy within me.

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Joy and peace come together in us by trusting God. It is God’s gift to us to believe and abound in hope. This joy is real and abounds for eternity.

Right Trail

I love to hike nature trails. Some have become familiar to me, but I love to try out new trails. Some trails are made to be wide and easy to follow. These trails are generally well marked and are easy to follow. They are frequented by many hikers. Often times, I see small and narrow trails that lead away from the wide trail. These seem interesting to me and I like to try them out. I usually have to fight through some brush and the footing is rough, often necessitating climbing over obstacles. But the views are awesome and bring a freshness to my soul.

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few.” When we chose to go our own selfish way, we are choosing the wide gate and path that leads to our destruction. But we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing the narrow way that leads to life.