“In your presence is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11b

 Paula

Sometimes life can throw us some pretty cruel punches. At times life’s storms seem so violent we think we’ll never survive them. Yet, God assures us in his Word that in His presence we will find fullness of joy. He doesn’t qualify that promise. He doesn’t say we’ll find that sublime joy only when the winds and seas are calm and peace prevails. He simply declares without compromise that no matter what our circumstances, be they stormy or calm, when we step into His presence we will experience fullness of joy.

One day Jesus climbed into a boat with his disciples. Once they’d set sail he decided to take a nap. While Jesus slept, a fierce, storm arose so that the boat began to take on water. “Lord, save us!” the men cried, fearful and panicked. Waking Jesus up, they grumbled, “Don’t you care we’re about to perish?”  Reading between the lines here, no doubt their cries further ran something like this: “How can you sleep, for goodness sake? Our boat is about to sink and we’re all going to drown! What’s the matter with you, Master, that you seem so unconcerned?”

Jesus, unperturbed, simply stood, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” Immediately the storm ceased and the sea became calm once again. At that point I’m sure the disciples began to laugh and dance with great joy. Relieved, awed, and humbled, they marveled that their Lord had performed such a profound miracle. (See Mark 4:35-41).

Jesus had just taught them that no matter what perils may come their way, they need not fear. The only thing required was a little faith to understand that He was right there in the boat with them and would never leave them or forsake them. He would see them safely through every storm.  No matter what, in His presence they could expect to experience fullness of joy.

But how do we enter, then remain in His presence? One way is to immerse ourselves in God’s Word. Another is to seek God in every task, every detail of our lives. Still another, and perhaps the most important way, is to practice what Paul described as “praying without ceasing.”

Recently I experienced a violent storm of my own. At first I wanted to panic, cover my head, and cower from the danger. Fear threatened to grip me as I struggled to figure out how to save myself from “drowning.” If ever I needed to enter into the peace of His presence, this was it.

So I sought God’s wisdom through His Word. I began to talk to God, pouring out my heart. In moments, I had no doubt He stood near, ready and able to help. He wasn’t asleep, nor was He ignoring my peril. I’d entered into His presence by speaking to Him, by turning my faith toward Him, by trusting that He would calm the storm. In the midst of that awful calamity, I found fullness of joy. Not a half measure. Fullness.

Life here below Heaven isn’t always easy. But like the disciples, I marvel and am humbled that the Lord continues to perform miracles in my life, and that He continues to draw me down the path into His presence where my joy is complete.

 

Pam
There is a great little note concerning this scripture in my Renovarẻ Spiritual Formation Bible.  “This verse distills the reasons the psalmist relies on and is loyal to God. It is no burden.” Being with God is not a duty but a delight.  In the presence of God we find all joy, grace, mercy, abundance, and fulfillment. God leaves nothing “on the table” when we draw near Him.

Being able to approach the throne of grace boldly and confidently is one of the greatest gifts of grace given to us through the blood of Jesus.  As our high priest and ultimate sacrifice, Jesus tore the veil separating us from God so we can be in His presence fully and have a living relationship with Him. “Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a high priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” Heb. 10:19-22. How wonderful is that? Because of Jesus’ great love for us he went to the cross so we could be in the presence of God with a clean heart, and without a guilty conscience. (We all know how a guilty conscience has a way of messing up relationships).

And God welcomes us. He wants us to approach Him in good times and in bad. His mailbox is never full. He never gets tired of us if we are around Him too much. We can talk to Him about anything and He will “get it”. When we seek Him we are never an intrusion.  He delights in our company always, just as we delight in being with Him. And God is ready, willing and able to assist us. “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Heb. 4:16.  In time of need. That is pretty much daily, if not hourly for me. Life’s not always a train wreck. But stress happens. Appointments are missed, sales are down, and traffic is dreadful. Yet in the midst of all the frustrations that can arise I know I can still be in the presence of God and find joy, peace and grace. 

John 14: 6 “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

                                                        Paula

 Like a hummingbird, during my long search for God I flitted from one attractive religious tradition to the next, seeking some illusive sweet nectar that always looked promising but never quite satisfied. “Why is the void still there, God? Which religion do I choose?” So many paths spread themselves before me, studying them only made me more and more confused. Each religion had its own merits—some sounded so convincing it’s a wonder my steps led away from them. I’d enter into each with great hope and expectation, only to come away disappointed that I hadn’t yet found the fulfillment I sought.

Our politically correct world proclaims that there are many pathways to God. For centuries mankind has invented and practiced countless religious traditions, each attempting to satisfy the soul’s hunger for Something outside ourselves. But if we are honest, if we stop for a moment to carefully examine our own inner beings (that deep, private place in our mind and spirit where we alone are allowed to tread), we can’t help but recognize a void exists that only God can fill. Some try to fill that void with lusts of the flesh—be that addictions, worldly distractions and the pursuit of wealth, carnality, intellect, or even by denying that the void exists at all. Some try to fill the hole with religious ritual—faithfully attending church, temple, or mosque, or by practicing sacred rites or by spending countless hours in prayer and meditation. All these practices in and of themselves are well and good, yet without first walking through the Doorway that God the Father provided from the beginning of eternity, none of them will ultimately satisfy the hungry soul.

One day Thomas asked how he and the other disciples could know the way to the Father’s house. Jesus replied: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

When I first read those words, I experienced an epiphany. The proverbial light went on in my mind and heart, and my spirit nearly flew to heaven with the revelation that light revealed.  It wasn’t a religion I should be looking for to satisfy my longing; it was a relationship with Jesus Christ. The only way to God the Father was by saying yes to Jesus Christ Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

So, how do you step through the Door? In his letter to the Romans* who practiced polytheistic worship, Paul admonished: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Three centuries later, St. Augustine wrote: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

Amen and amen.

*Romans  10:9,10

Pam

What is the big whoop about Jesus? That’s what I used to ask myself. What do I need him for? Surely, I can love and worship God without bringing a third party into the picture. As it turns out, I was wrong. I found that if I sincerely wanted to have a vital, living relationship with God, then I needed to accept Christ in my heart.

In my opinion, trying to know God without Jesus is like trying to know the ocean from watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries. Don’t get me wrong. Cousteau made fascinating films. His documentaries show magnificent blue whales, the Great Barrier Reef, and freaky anglerfish. He explains the science behind the movement of the ocean currents and the effect of the moon on tides. All good stuff. But it all takes place inside your head. You are trying to understand something by using another person’s experience. You’re taking their word for it.

Accepting Jesus into your life is like being invited aboard the Calypso. Suddenly, you feel the wind in your hair and the slime of seaweed, smell the briny air and taste saltwater. You can see for yourself dolphins playing. Your relationship to the ocean is real and you’re connected.

When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior my relationship with God became tangible.  Without Christ God is just an image, a concept, a good idea. With Jesus in my life I can receive and accept an infilling of the Holy Spirit. (Now there is a splash of cold water to the face of your spiritual life.) My feeble, thin prayers are no more. I approach the Throne of Grace with confidence.  With Jesus as my teacher and guide I can grow in Christ. He is the perfect role model.

I have to say that God did hear my earlier feeble, thin prayers. He answered them by bringing me to Jesus.

Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Paula

Since I was a small child and looked up into the night sky hand in hand with my father and brother to watch the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite race across the heavens, I have been fascinated with the stars and space exploration. It isn’t any surprise, then, that I made it a priority to view the December 21, 2010 winter solstice lunar eclipse. This one would be spectacular, reported the media, NASA, and Space.com. An event not to be missed, since the last full lunar eclipse to occur on the winter solstice had taken place in 1638 and would not occur again until 2094. An event of a lifetime.

I awoke at about 1:00 a.m. when the eclipse would reach its peak in my time zone. Bundling into a thick blanket and boots, I stepped outside into the cold, clear night, my backyard as hushed and tranquil as a domed cathedral. At first I couldn’t locate the moon. Strange, I thought. The moon should be.... And then I saw it: a rust-red orb directly to the right of the constellation Orion.  Oh, my. No wonder I hadn’t been able to locate it at first. The earth’s shadow had completely overtaken the face of the full moon. The shadow hid the moon’s usual radiance so that each constellation—Orion, Cassiopeia, The Big Dipper, The Pleiades, Gemini, Taurus and others—bloomed with magnified brilliance in the darkened sky. The heavens had never seemed so bright.

I’d done some research about the phenomenon of the moon’s red hue. Dr. Tony Phillips (Credit: Science@NASA*) said it best, so I quote him here:

“Imagine yourself standing on a dusty lunar plain looking up at the sky. Overhead hangs Earth, nightside down, completely hiding the sun behind it. The eclipse is underway. You might expect Earth seen in this way to be utterly dark, but it's not. The rim of the planet is on fire! As you scan your eye around Earth's circumference, you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb.”

This event was so awe inspiring, so magnificent, personal and spiritual, I felt as if God were putting on this show just for me and no one else. “You’re here, Lord,” I whispered to Him quietly. “Just you and me, though I know millions across North America and beyond are also seeing what I’m seeing.” And then the scripture came to mind: “For of him [Jesus] and through him, and to him, are all things to whom be glory for ever.”

 I stood a long time marveling at the splendor taking place in the heavens. Oh, the glory of it! The sun, earth, and moon had moved into perfect alignment so that the earth cast a vermilion shadow directly over the face of the moon. Just for Jesus. Just for me—the synchronized wheels of the cosmos spinning according to His perfect plan, and the tilting of the Earth at that exact moment when one season slides into the next. All these marvelous events taking place in time and space, exactly as they should.

When the earth moved and the eclipse diminished, I slipped back into my house and into bed, feeling closer to the Lord than I had in days. I understood in a new-found way that in the midst of my daily busy-ness, Jesus continues to hold my world together through His grace, love, and tender care. “I praise you, Lord,” I murmured just before falling asleep, “that you are always near, doing great and wondrous works—if we would but take the time to discover and acknowledge them. Your plan is a perfect plan, and I am humbled and thankful that You hold this amazing universe of ours in the palm of Your magnificent hand.”

* Phillips, Tony. “Solstice Lunar Eclipse.” NASA Science/Science News  17 Dec. 2010. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/

Pam

 Several weeks ago I decided I needed another Bible. Other than a travel-size copy of The Message, all my Bibles are study/devotional Bibles, hefty tomes, each weighing just slightly less than the center of the sun. Not so handy to take to church.  Being the thrifty person I am, I thought I’d check out what Goodwill had to offer.  I popped in one Saturday afternoon and, sure enough, just what I wanted, a lightweight, paperback, NIV, and, except for one verse in Ephesians being highlighted in bright pink, in like-new condition.  All mine for $1.05 including tax.  Is this a great country or what?

As I was leaving Goodwill I marveled at the miracle of my dollar Bible. It might not be up there with seas parting and withered hands being made whole but a minor miracle nonetheless when one considers that 800 years ago no one who was middle class could afford a Bible even if they saved for a lifetime. The painstakingly copied, handwritten, works were just too expensive and accessible to just a few select persons.  Clearly, God had another plan. His Word should be readily available. So men were inspired, creativity put in motion, innovation and invention brought forth.  The result was the printing press, an invention that as Francis Bacon put it "changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world.”

In arrogance, humankind likes to think it was all their doing.  After all, don’t we call such inventions manmade? Ha, as if. God created everything that has ever been created.  He made humans and infused us with His breath. Our bodies are made up of 100 trillion cells working together in unity, harmony and cooperation. (Obviously, this is God’s orchestration since these are not attributes uninspired man excels in).  It is God’s influence that sees to it we can breathe air and manufacture enough energy from our breakfast of Cheerios to walk outside and pick up the paper.  He gifted us with imagination, creativity, and the power of reasoning. It is His doing that we have language, math and the tiniest glimmer of the understanding of physics.  Our talents are a faint reflection of God’s own creativity. 

Without God’s influence pulling it all together, everything would just be countless random elements floating around in a chaotic cloud of dust.  But instead we have limitless stars and planets orbiting each other in perfect harmony.  We have a breathtakingly beautiful planet made up of majestic mountains, endless seas, sparkling brooks, vast forests and every evening for our viewing pleasure, a splendid sunset.  God so loves us, that it is all for us to enjoy, believers and nonbelievers alike. Mat. 5:45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” And He so loves us that He saw to it that Bibles could be made inexpensively and easily available for many people.

As I thumb through my Goodwill Bible I give thanks and praise to the One who makes it all possible. Who else to surrender your life to but the One who made it all and is sovereign over all?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press