A
most crucial aspect of this journey is the sense of Christ’s
abiding presence. If we can recognize that He is with us, we can face
any task with faith and assurance that victory is secured. Gal. 2:20,
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me.” Although we walk by faith and not by sight, it is
comforting to have a tactile as well as a spiritual sense that He is
walking with us in our daily lives. 2 Cor. 5:5, “Now he that hath
wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us
the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:).” Even though Paul
uses the phrase, “we are absent from the Lord,” he does so to
signify the Sovereignty of Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of
God the Father. This does not negate his understanding of the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each believer.
But,
how can we know that Christ is with us? We do so by growing our
relationship with Him through the spiritual disciplines of a
Christian life. I want to briefly address 3 of those disciplines,
Prayer, Worship and study of the Word. Jesus Christ reveals His
presence to us as we engage Him in Worship, Prayer and study of the
Word. It is likely that we feel separated from God when we neglect
our intimate communion with Him through these disciplines.
How
do we approach effective prayer, uplifting worship and meaningful
Bible study. The manner in which we approach these activities will
directly impact the result. I have found that prayer and worship must
precede enlightened Bible study which leads to inspiration and
revelation.
Our
purpose will dictate our approach. If your purpose is to meet with
Jesus in prayer, worship and the Word, that will remain your focus
and it will happen. We will engage Christ in meaningful conversation
and divine communion through prayer. We will capture the essence of
celestial worship as we encounter the subject of our worship which is
Jesus Christ. We will experience inspiration and revelation through
enlightened Bible study as we embrace the Word of our prayer and
worship. We will come away from these encounters with a renewed sense
that Jesus is with us and that He Walks With Me!
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