Longing for His Presence

15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
Exodus 33: 15, 16

Moses had the mammoth task of getting the people of Israel through the wilderness and the various challenges they would face, to the Promised Land. After being up on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights and getting the 10 Commandments, imagine his disappointment and horror at finding Aaron and the people he’d left at the base of the mountain worshipping a golden calf!

It was after this debacle that the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 33 :2 and 3 “And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I [a]consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked[b] people.” A lot of us today would be equally satisfied with getting God’s protection and provision, and relieved that we wouldn’t suffer His wrath as a result of His presence. But Moses wasn’t. His ultimate goal was to have God’s presence. He was willing to forfeit the journey into the Promised Land if God wasn’t with them.

We know that God is omnipresent. He is everywhere all the time. But there is a presence of God that comes as a result of intimacy with Him; from consistently and diligently spending time in His Word, obeying His Word, in prayer and praise and worship. It produces a joy that is not affected by circumstances. This is the presence that lets us know that everything will be alright because God loves us and has a perfect plan. It is the presence that has an expectation that God will speak and we will hear.

Psalm 103:7 says “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” Let us treasure and seek His face and not His hand. As it also says in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you”.

Father thank You for all You’ve done for me. Thank You for Jesus. Because He died on the Cross I have been reconciled to You and now I have Your precious Spirit living in me. Help me to treasure my relationship with You above all else and help me not to do anything to hinder our relationship. Help me to love You and please You everyday. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Ufuoma Daniella Ojo is a Software Training Manager and a Personal Performance Life Coach.

Devotion: 7 Ways to Overcome Feeling Overwhelmed

by Sherma Webbe Clarke | @sdwc8181 

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2) 

Do you have a red cape in your closet? Is there a power ring in your jewelry box? Can you tap into the Speed Force to become like The Flash, gaining the ability to move faster than light and cut through time and matter? If your answer is ‘no’, you’re not alone. But we give it a good try, don’t we? No wonder we are in jeopardy of burning out when we can’t accomplish everything on our to-do lists.

The Top Three 

The truth is, we can’t take care of others or do our best if we’re exhausted. Here are the top three lifelines that I cling to when I’m feeling overwhelmed: 

Pray 

I believe prayer should be our first step in any situation, not the last resort. Let God give you a fresh perspective. After all, He sees the entire situation and is already in the future and has worked things out for us. When we cry out, He answers with an invitation: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) 

Worship

When I worship in the midst of chaotic 21st-century life, it’s a matter of allowing my mind to get distracted by the wonder and majesty of God. Sometimes my hands pop into the air in praise. At other times, I press my eyes closed and imagine the splendor of heaven. 

Read the Bible

Turn to Bible truths to combat stress and worry. It's like finding treasure. Biblical accounts of others help us see God’s faithfulness. His promises can be found throughout His Word. The Psalms are a good place to start. 

When You’re Prayed Up But Still Need a Break 

We’re fearfully and wonderfully made, fashioned in the image of God. We have interests, abilities, and curiosity about the world around us. These are gifts we can use to shift our perspectives when we expect to pack 35 hours of continuous action into a single day. There are better options than pushing ourselves into exhaustion. 

Here are four: 

Engage in a hobby

Even when free time is a luxury, favorite pastimes can be squeezed into our schedules. Snap a picture of a sunset, a rare flower, or your kids' big smiles. Cycle to an appointment. A few compromises can allow us to infuse some fun into our routines.

Help someone else 

Is there a way to use your talents or gifts to ease someone’s burden? A friend of mine has a heart for writing poetry for those going through difficult times. She has blessed many people with her comforting words. 

Record a song 

I hope you don’t mind this bit of whimsy. You don’t have to upload the recording to YouTube—or even keep it. Not feeling so dramatic? Hum your favorite song while doing chores. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it helps to make a joyful noise. 

Talk it out 

Find a trusted friend, family member, your pastor, or if necessary, mental health professional. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek help. We are social beings, and we weren’t meant to struggle alone. As it turns out, God has many ways to show me how to guard against becoming too busy. I’ll share more in another post. In the meantime, what strategies do you suggest? Let’s see how many we have in common. 

About Sherma... 

SHERMA WEBBE CLARKE is a contemporary fiction writer and a 2017 ACFW First Impressions Finalist. Her inspirational writing has been included in Christian devotional books: Grace Notes and Blessed. She loves to take her husband by the hand to explore nearby and far-flung areas of the globe. This wanderlust has its perks. She credits many of her story ideas to these adventures. Quiet, early-morning walks along the railroad trails on her home island of Bermuda provide inspiration when she is homebound.

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DEVOTIONAL: Tis' the Season

By Leila Halawe

Christmas is almost upon us. Decorations are going up, carols are playing and Christmas presents are being wrapped and stored under the tree. It is an exciting time of year where we get to stop and fix our eyes on the miracle that is Jesus. It is a time when we can gather together and give thanks for the year that has been; the blessings and joys and highlights that were sprinkled throughout 2017. It is a time when we can sit with our loved ones and enjoy a meal and make new memories to tuck away in the corners of our hearts. Yet for some, it can also be an exhausting time of year. For some, Christmas is a time when family gatherings bring anxiety and weariness and fear of potential conflicts. A time when gift shopping and the expectation of doing Christmas right adds stress to an already tight budget. A time when weariness from working so hard all year seeps in and you are aching all the way down to your bones. For some, Christmas brings with it the knowledge that another year has gone by with prayers unanswered. 

If you find that Christmas has lost its glow in the midst of life, be assured that you are not alone.

It is easy to let the chaos and burdens of life get in the way of what Christmas is all about. I imagine that Mary and Joseph were both feeling weary and overwhelmed as they traveled to find a place to birth Jesus. While the bible doesn’t go into detail about how they felt, it’s not hard to imagine how weary Mary and Joseph would have been feeling as they traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem to complete the census that had been decreed at the time. It’s not hard to imagine the aches and pains they would have felt as they tried to find a place to settle so that Mary could give birth. It’s not hard to imagine the fear and anxiety and nervousness that Mary would have been feeling while Joseph tried to find a place to rest and deliver the baby. I imagine that upon walking into the stable, there would have been a sigh of relief to finally be able to get off their feet and get some rest.   

But then Jesus came along.

Despite the long travel, the fear, anxiety and weariness that would have been their companion, it all came to a stop when Jesus arrived. It all stopped at the sight of baby Jesus. Everything faded away as they beheld the face of the One that would save the world. The world faded away as they fixed their eyes on the greatest gift the world has ever seen, Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus didn’t change what was happening outside; they were still in a stable, still under threat and still exhausted. None of the external factors had changed, but they had changed. They had stopped. They fixed their eyes on Jesus and they beheld Him and adored Him. And that is what we can do this Christmas.

We can stop.

We can fix our eyes and we can behold the gift of salvation that was so freely given to us.

We can let the rest of the world fade out as we make time to stand in awe and worship the Son of God that came for us. We can put the lists and plans aside and meditate on scriptures that tell of why Jesus came. We can set our hearts on Him in childlike wonder and give thanks for the gift of salvation that Jesus was and is. The turkey will still need to be cooked and the presents will still need to be wrapped and Uncle Jack will still be falling asleep in his soup over the dinner table, but let’s put all that aside for one moment and just worship. Let us intentionally stop and adore Him. And let’s remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and that only He can restore and redeem us. As we gather with our loved ones, let us remember that He is worthy of our praise and love and let’s thank Him for all that He has done, is doing, and will do. 

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

Just Like Me Equals Bo-oring

I recently attended a worship service in the Midwestern town where I went to college. The church was red brick with a tall, white steeple that rang out the hour of eleven. The high, spacious sanctuary was decorated in the American colonial style with padded pews and white balconies on three sides. A huge pipe organ dominated the front, playing the most gorgeous music.

The choir loft was full. Not a screechy soprano among them. They did a piece by John Rutter, one of my favorite contemporary composers. The congregation sang three classic hymns, followed by a content-rich sermon from 1 John. Despite having two services, the pews were so full that a few unfortunate late-comers had to be escorted to the front row beneath the pulpit.

I consider myself to be a traditionalist. After all, I was born mid-twentieth century. This service represented the best of what I grew up with. I should have fit in perfectly. So why did I come away disappointed?

I guess what I crave is blended worship. I love all three of the familiar hymns we sang. One was even sung at our wedding. But the most modern on this particular Sunday was a hundred and thirty years old. (The one I liked best was actually seventeenth century!) I’m frustrated when a church is so caught up in what is current that a praise song from the 1990s is considered too old-fashioned, but I am equally frustrated when worship doesn’t acknowledge that anything that lifts up God has been written in the last generation (or four!)

I got my first clue that maybe the church wouldn’t be what I wanted as I walked in from the parking lot. There were a variety of ages, but they all had my skin color. And all the women I saw wore skirts. Now, I was wearing a skirt, too—a comfortable cotton for a summer day. But you know what? I don’t want to go to church with a bunch of people just like me, who dress like me, have the same northern European ancestry, and love the same hymns I have sung since childhood. John Rutter gets to feeling pretty sweet and sappy after a while.

What does this have to do with Christian fiction? If we Americans have to have an American character in the story or we can’t identify, what does that say about our monocultural view of the Kingdom of God? Heaven is not going to be filled with people just like me. It is going to be filled with people who look different, speak differently, even smell different from me. We will be united by one Lord, one faith, one birth, not by one style of art or worship or dress. When I sing a contemporary praise song with a bit more beat than I grew up with, it reminds me that God is still at work in my world. When I sing in Spanish or Chinese, I remember that God’s Kingdom is drawn from every tribe and nation. When I sing a Latin choral piece like Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus”, I revel in being part of something so much bigger than my local congregation founded in 1964. The Church of Jesus Christ has been his Body on earth for two thousand years.

I want to challenge my fellow-American readers to look beyond the character that is “just like me” in international fiction and let the story take you into the world of someone who is different from you. International Christian fiction should open our eyes to something more than our own neighborhoods, thrusting us inside the skin of someone who has grown up with completely different values and expectations, who is meeting God in a unique way. It should shake us up and leave us uncomfortable. It should stretch us and expose us to our own prejudices and misconceptions as it reveals wholly different ways of thinking.

Thank you to my brothers and sisters on this blog who are writing stories that aren’t about Main Street, Midwest. Or even New York or LA. It’s a tough market out there, but I praise God that you are who you are. Keep up the effort! We need to hear your voices.

___

LeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. Her books for young people come out of her cross-cultural experiences and her passion to use story to convey spiritual truths in a form that will impact lives. You can find out more about her books and travel adventures on her website and blog.

DEVOTION: Thin Spots - Marcia Lee Laycock

The day shone glorious, full of sunshine and light, full of fellowship and a strong sense of belonging. It was all the more significant to me because I was over five thousand kilometres away from home, in a beautiful little church in a tiny village in Nova Scotia Canada. And I felt right at home.

I joined with the congregation as they sang, led by the pastor and a worship band, then one of the leaders stood to talk about all the upcoming events. He did so with a flourish, then he grew a bit more serious and said he knew of an old Scottish legend about “thin spots.” They are described as places where we sense we are close to heaven. He sincerely prayed we would all feel that we’d been in a “thin spot” by the end of the service. As the time grew to a close we celebrated communion and his prayer was answered.

As I left the church that day I realized that it is the “thin spot” that I am trying to achieve in my writing. My goal is to draw the reader into a place full of sunshine and light, where he or she will sense the presence of God, ponder His mercy and grace and respond. I realized too that in order to achieve that goal I must find myself in that place often. In order to draw my readers there, I must have been there myself. It’s part of the often heard, “write what you know.”

The good news is that we already exist in that place, whether or not we feel it. By God’s sovereign design, we are continually in His presence, indwelt by His Spirit and guided by His hand. As writers I believe we need to understand that profound truth and live in it, acknowledging the longing in our own hearts and expressing it as best we can in words, sentences and paragraphs that sing with truth.

The Bible tells us that we must train our minds. I believe we must also train our eyes to look for God’s signature in the ordinary, hear His voice in the intonations of those around us, His glory in the spill of light on the door of a village church.

We can stand in a thin spot every moment of the day. Then it is our privilege and our responsibility to write that experience. All to the glory of God.

Marcia’s inspirational writing has won awards in both Canada and the U.S.  Her devotionals are distributed to thousands and her novel, One Smooth Stone, won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award in 2006. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. Visit her at www.vinemarc.com