Presence

And I will ask the Father, 

and he will give you another Advocate, 

who will never leave you.

No, I will not abandon you as orphans

—I will come to you. 

John 14:16,18 

It is for your good that I am going away. 

Unless I go away, 

the Counselor will not come to you;

but if I go, I will send him to you. 

John 16:7

Jesus knew the sadness and fear that his followers were feeling when he told them he would be leaving. He was concerned for them. For three years they had enjoyed his companionship, deriving strength and encouragement from his presence. Jesus comforted them by telling them that he would not leave them but would come to them in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would become their close companion to help, cheer, strengthen and encourage them just as he had done.

The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us. Because of this gift we have the privilege of living in the presence of God. It is just like the disciples walking with Jesus except now the Holy Spirit is not just with us and around us, but also in us. Jesus sent the Spirit to us to be our companion as we walk here on this earth. He didn't want us to feel alone but wanted us to walk every day with a sense of his presence. We experience his presence all around us. Even in those times when we cannot feel his presence we rely on the truth of God’s promise. He said that he will always be with us, will never leave or forsake us, so we take him at his word knowing no matter how we feel, he is there.

Thank you, Jesus for asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit to abide with us. We know you are always there to comfort and encourage us no matter how we may feel. We seek more and more the experience of your presence, Holy Spirit.

And when you believed in Christ, 

he identified you as his own

by giving you the Holy Spirit, 

whom he promised long ago. 

2 Cor. 1:22

The Spirit is God’s guarantee 

that he will give us the inheritance he promised 

and that he has purchased us to be his own people. 

Eph 1:14 

Holy Spirit

Francesca Battistelli

There's nothing worth more

That could ever come close 

No thing can compare

You're our living hope. 

Your presence, Lord.

I've tasted and seen

Of the sweetest of loves 

Where my heart becomes free

And my shame is undone 

Your presence, Lord.

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord 

Your presence, Lord 

There's nothing worth more

That could ever come close

Let us become more aware of Your presence 

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness 

Listen to Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli

Mindset

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, 

but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

 Ro. 8:6

What we think about has tremendous power to affect our lives. What we focus on affects how we feel which then affects how we act.  The scriptures encourage us in many places to consider what we think about, what we set our minds upon. 

If we let our thoughts run uncontrolled, we may find ourselves thinking about the offenses we have suffered today or making judgement about the failures of others or worrying about how are needs will be supplied or any number of other earthly things. We will find ourselves in a mass of discouragement, discontent and depression. The only way out is a change of mind.

If we train our minds, as scripture teaches us to do, to set our minds on things above, on the Spirit, on the good things of God and the truths of his word, we will be lifted up above our earthly condition into joy and peace.

Lord, help us today to have a new mindset, to think about things above where you are seated in complete victory over every earthly thing. Each time our mind wanders, help us to bring our focus back to you.

If then you have been raised with Christ,

 seek the things that are above, 

where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

 Set your minds on things that are above, 

not on things that are on earth.  

Col. 3:2,3

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,

 and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.

 Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

Phil. 4:8

Relentless Pursuit

Surely your goodness and unfailing love 

will pursue me all the days of my life.

 Psalm 23:6

God is always pursuing us.  His gentle, unfailing love is always there encouraging us to go in the right direction. No matter how many mistakes or wrong turns we make, he continues to follow us, gently encouraging us back to the right path.  He never gives up on us. All the days of our lives his goodness and unfailing love will pursue us as we grow into his likeness.

Thank you for your unfailing, loving pursuit of us, Lord.  May we, sooner rather than later, respond to that still small voice behind us saying, "This is the way, walk in it."

Your own ears will hear him.

 Right behind you a voice will say,

 “This is the way you should go.”

 Is. 30.21

And I am certain that God,

 who began the good work within you, 

will continue his work 

until it is finally finished

 on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

Phil. 1:6

Faith

The only thing that counts is faith 

expressing itself through love.

 Gal. 5:6 (NIV)

Since everything we need is in Jesus, our faith is a very valuable commodity.  Peter tells us that our faith is far more precious than gold. (1Peter 1:7).  Gold can buy some of the riches of this life, but, even though it is a precious metal, it will melt and perish, but faith is indestructible and is the gateway into the vast, limitless expanse of God's riches.  

Our faith is so valuable because it enables us to reach out to access all that God has available for us. When, through our faith, we tap into the greatness of God's love we become vessels of that love.  We are given the gifts of love that we can then give away to others. This is God's plan and desire for us.

Even though we may think our faith is small, Jesus told us that even the tiniest amount of faith is powerful because it puts us in touch with all the power of God.  Let us reach out with what little faith we have and tap into the vast unlimited resources of our glorious God.

A New Way

The path through Canyon de Chelly, AZ with Spider Rock 

Jesus has opened a new and living way for us 

to go through the curtain.

(The curtain is his own body.)

Hebrews 10:20 (GW)

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

 The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

Jesus came not just to help us, to give us a better life here, he came to give us a whole new way of living, not the old way of rules, self improvement, trying harder, of condemnation and guilt but the new way of receiving, believing, trusting and accepting all that he has done for us. Jesus paved the way by giving his own life.  Now the way has been opened and we have been completely set free to walk into this new way, the way of the spirit.

It is called the new way for a reason. We can't make the mistake of trying to mix the old ways with the new.  Remember Jesus told his followers that if you put new wine in old wine skins the old skins will not be able to contain the new wine and they will burst. (Mt. 9:17) If you try to put the new way into the old structure it will break down and we will be left off balance and unsatisfied.

So what does that mean for us?  It means that we have to let go of the old ways, the old habits, the old coping mechanisms, of judging ourselves and condemning others and enter into the new way of focusing on Christ allowing the new life of his spirit to fill us. This new life is so contrary to our own nature, but when we realize by faith that our old nature died with him and we have been risen to this new life we can take our eyes off ourselves and concentrate on Jesus and his spirit. Then the evidence of that new life begins to spring up in us. He is sufficient for all we need for the new life in the spirit. He supplies the love, the joy, the peace and the healing.

                      But now we have been released from the law,

 for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power.

 Now we can serve God, 

not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, 

but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

 Romans 7:6 (NLT)

If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious,

 how much more glorious is the new way, 

which makes us right with God!

 2 Cor. 3:9 (NLT)

Companionship

My sister Barbara enjoying the dance.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family

 by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. 

This is what he wanted to do,

 and it gave him great pleasure.

 Eph. 1:5 (NLT)

God takes great pleasure in his children.  Whether we love to dance or cook or play sports he loves to join with us in all we enjoy.  He came to give us an abundant life full of beauty and joy. Even in the struggles and the hardships, he is there to support us and his presence can beautify even the most unlovely and unpleasant situations.  

God went to a lot of trouble to make a way for us to be close to him.  The process he had to go through of being born as a human baby, living on this troubled planet among troubled people, and finally dying at the hands of sinful men was not an easy one.  In fact, his death was the most excruciating and painful that any person has ever suffered.  And yet, he was not only willing, but eager to go through all of that and for what?  - so that we, his precious creation, could come back to him and live close to him.  He simply wanted to be with us, to enjoy our company and make us part of his family and he was willing to pay any price to make that happen.

Lord, thank you for going through so much so that we could be restored to companionship with you. Thank you for the joy we experience as we enjoy life together.

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;

 He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.

 Ps. 149:4 (NASV)

Compassionate

The LORD is like a father to his children, 

tender and compassionate to those who fear him. 

Psalm 103:13 (NLT) 

The scripture tells us that God revealed his character to Moses.  And what was the defining characteristic that God revealed about himself? - his unending compassion and mercy.

To truly understand and know God we must understand and know him as he truly is.  If we see him as a judgmental and critical God we will never be drawn toward him.  But, if we come to see him as he has revealed himself to be - our loving father, full of compassion, then we will be irresistibly drawn to him to receive all that he has for us. 

Compassion is defined as: Having a feeling of strong affection for someone. The word has a special focus on mercy toward a person in difficult circumstances and is characterized by unconditional love. To come to understand and feel that God has a strong feeling of affection for you is a life changing experience.  All of a sudden you are no longer alone.  You know someone truly cares about you. 

We can trust a God who cares for us that much.  We don't have a thing to fear. We can freely draw near to him with our whole heart to receive that love, affection, mercy and companionship that we need.  

Open our eyes and hearts, Lord, to see and understand you as you truly are - our loving, compassionate father. 

He revealed his character to Moses.

The LORD is compassionate and merciful,

 slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 

Psalm 103:7-8 (NLT) 

We know how much God loves us, 

and we have put our trust in his love. 

Such love has no fear, 

because perfect love expels all fear. 

1 John 4:16,18 (NLT)