In Your Presence

I have come to a realization. Jesus died so I could be with God.

It's not like I haven't known that for years. That's the most basic explanation for why Jesus came to earth, died on the cross and rose again. Sin separated us from God, He wanted us to be with Him for eternity, so Jesus died. There's more to it though. It's not just about eternity. It's about the here and now.

Back in the day, and I mean way back in the day, only select people were allowed to be in the presence of God. Only the priests could go into the Holy of Holies where God's Spirit dwelled. Even they had many regulations to follow. They had to live holy lives. To be in God's presence they had to follow very specific rules. They could only enter His presence with worship and sacrifice. If anyone else entered the Holy of Holies or if the priests didn't follow the rules exactly, they died.

I've been reading a lot in my Bible about the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, the regulations the Israelites had to live by. The Bible makes it pretty clear that being with God was both a privilege and a responsibility. The priests back in the day may have lived with a lot of requirements. But they had a privilege no one else had. 

A sacrifice had to be made for anyone to enter God's presence. That's why Jesus died. God wanted to be with us. He didn't want to be separated from His people. Not by death. But also not by a curtain.

Jesus' death did more than allow us to live with Him for eternity. It allows us to enter His presence now. The sacrifice has been made. By dying on the cross, Jesus granted us the privilege of walking and talking with His Spirit daily. Like the priests in the Old Testament, we can enter His presence. We can seek His will for our own lives. We are constantly in His presence.

As much as I appreciate God's gift to me, the privilege He has blessed me with, I'm starting to question myself. I say I'm grateful to be able to enter His presence, but do I truly honor His presence like I should? I'm not going to be struck down immediately if I don't. Jesus brought grace for that. But after all, He is holy, and holiness deserves to be honored.

God wants more than to just be where we are. He wants to fellowship with us. He wants us to know Him. He wants to be worshipped. When we do that, we enter His presence. It's something we can do every second of every day. Our life looks different when we do. I mean, Exodus says Moses' face was radiant after spending time on the mountain with God.

I'm starting to understand what this looks like in my life. For starters, acknowledging Him all the time. Thanking Him no matter what the circumstances. Even when it's cold and dreary outside. (If you know me, you know how big of a deal it is for me to be thankful for a cold and dreary day.) Letting God shine in my life is something I'm still working on, but I'm beginning to see it as a privilege that comes with the responsibility of sharing it with others.

If you're someone who wants to live in God's presence constantly, make a decision now. Make the decision to fellowship with Him constantly, to worship Him constantly. Make the decision to be obedient to all of His commands. It'll make a difference in your life. Even if you can't see it, someone else will. When they do, they'll be moved to worship the true God as well.

I Will Go

"Some of you in here are going to be youth pastors. Some of you in here are going to be missionaries." - Phil Clemens.

"Some of you in here are going to be missionaries."

I can't tell you how many times I've heard that statement, but one summer night in 2011, it became a broken record. It played over and over and over in my head for the rest of the night. I don't even remember what the message was about that night. But I heard that statement plain as day, and to this day, I can recite it like it was said two seconds ago.

That was the night I knew what God wanted me to do with my life. Since a few months prior, when I had given up my own plans, I had wanted to know His. Or so I thought... Now that I knew, I hated it. I hated it, and I fought it. Starting that night. I complained, I freaked out, and I refused to say yes to God's call.

It took a few months for me to even say OK. In case you don't know, OK and yes mean two different things.

For proof, here's some dictionary.com definitions.
OK: expresses understanding, agreement or acceptance
yes: expresses affirmation or assent

When, I said OK, I was saying I understood. I knew and accepted that it was what God wants me to do. It didn't mean I said I was going to do it. That was fall 2011. For a few more months, I would admit to my closest friends and my mentor that it's what I was supposed to do, but even that stopped eventually.

I knew what God wanted me to do but was unwilling to firmly and confidently say yes to Him. As a result, I was stuck. I didn't know what came next, because I wouldn't go past what I had already heard.

Until the end of last month...

Thousands of university students from all over the country. Hundreds of missionaries from all over the world. We all flocked to Fort Worth for a conference about world missions. I knew God was going to do something. I had an idea of what.

God taught me a lot in that short weekend. I can't put it all into words. My heart is so full of the things He did there and is still doing as a result.

God presented me with an invitation. He asked me if I would go. Finally, after a year and a half of knowing what He wants me to do, I said yes. I committed to giving a year and praying about a lifetime. I am going to Denmark as a missionary for at least a year.

I still have a lot to learn. I still have a lot to apply to my life. For now, though, I know where I am. Until I get where I'm going, I'm a missionary here. I'm listening to God, and I'm responding. I'm receiving His Love and sharing it.

That's the invitation He's extending to all of us. "Will you share My Love?" So will you?

"And then He told them, 'Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone'." - Mark 16:15