In the hymn 'Abide with me' the third verse says:
I need Thy presence
Every passing hour.
What but Thy grace
Can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself,
My guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine,
Lord, abide with me.
The first line is so true. For us to survive this world and to be victorious we need His presence. However, the song talks about God abiding with us, but what about us abiding with God? I believe that as we begin to abide with God, we will start to understand more, that He was first abiding with us.
Here are a few thoughts of how we can draw near to Him in this way. (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
* To take time out in our day to sit quietly with the Father and enjoy His wrap around presence.
(Psalm 6:1-7 May he be enthroned in God's presence for ever; appoint Your love and faithfulness to protect him.)
* To stay focused on and surrender your heart to Jesus and then to let Him move you into His domain and will for your life, and to walk wherever He may take you.
(Job 22:21-22 'Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. 22 Accept instruction from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart.)
* To remain in His presence, sit and relax in His peace to breathe in the freshness of the Holy Spirit and breathe out the stress, anxiety and all that is self and to let the Holy Spirit wash over you.
(Titus 3:4-6 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, 5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour)
(John 7:37-38 Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.')
* To submerge yourself in His Word, to embrace the truth of the gospel as a light to guide you through this life and be a witness for Him and a light to others.
(Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.)
* To understand that Almighty God has you in the palm of His hand and will not let you go, you are precious to Him and you can trust Him because He has written the story of your life, and it's the best adventure you could ever wish to be on.
(Jeremiah 29:11-12 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.')
God is looking for a people who are surrendered to Him, who's hearts are given completely to Him, to mould and transform into what He wants so He can build His church in to a mighty force of truth and love in this dark world.
Are we that people? or are we just wanting to build our own churches and fool people into thinking we have all the answers because we've been to bible college or have been Christians for many years, so know what we're talking about. We can even act all super religious and organise meeting after meeting and keep ourselves busy in God's work. But let me ask, 'is it God's work or ours? is it God's will or ours'? We can have as many churches together meetings and events as we like, but all that is just a smoke screen for our inability to surrender to Him and rest in Him so we can discover His will for us, and then do it.
There is only one church. God's. If He hasn't built it then He's probably not in it. It doesn't matter how big or small the church congregation is, if God hasn't built it then it's mans, not His. The church that He builds will know Him and listen to Him they will have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
It's my belief that we're in the last of the last days and we need to stop building our own empires and let God build His church.
Psalm 91:1 says 'Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty'.
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
What but Thy grace
Can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself,
May you know God's blessing and peace as you draw nearer to Him each day.
(Titus 3:4-6 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, 5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour)
(John 7:37-38 Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.')
* To submerge yourself in His Word, to embrace the truth of the gospel as a light to guide you through this life and be a witness for Him and a light to others.
(Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.)
* To understand that Almighty God has you in the palm of His hand and will not let you go, you are precious to Him and you can trust Him because He has written the story of your life, and it's the best adventure you could ever wish to be on.
(Jeremiah 29:11-12 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.')
God is looking for a people who are surrendered to Him, who's hearts are given completely to Him, to mould and transform into what He wants so He can build His church in to a mighty force of truth and love in this dark world.
Are we that people? or are we just wanting to build our own churches and fool people into thinking we have all the answers because we've been to bible college or have been Christians for many years, so know what we're talking about. We can even act all super religious and organise meeting after meeting and keep ourselves busy in God's work. But let me ask, 'is it God's work or ours? is it God's will or ours'? We can have as many churches together meetings and events as we like, but all that is just a smoke screen for our inability to surrender to Him and rest in Him so we can discover His will for us, and then do it.
There is only one church. God's. If He hasn't built it then He's probably not in it. It doesn't matter how big or small the church congregation is, if God hasn't built it then it's mans, not His. The church that He builds will know Him and listen to Him they will have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
It's my belief that we're in the last of the last days and we need to stop building our own empires and let God build His church.
Psalm 91:1 says 'Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty'.
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
We need God's grace and His presence in our lives every singe hour of every single day.
'I need Thy presence
Every passing hour.What but Thy grace
Can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself,
My guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine,
Lord, abide with me'.
Lord, abide with me'.
Victory in this life, is in Christ alone.
May you know God's blessing and peace as you draw nearer to Him each day.
Author: Anonymous
May God bless and enrich your life
Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others.
May God bless and enrich your life
Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others.
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