His Presence
Posted on December 9, 2013 in Uncategorized
Merry Christmas! I am amazed at how quickly Christmas has arrived and thrilled to begin the celebrations all at the same time. Christmas is my favorite time of year and likely yours, as well. I have been contemplating why just the very month of December and the sight of a nativity can bring tears to my eyes. I have decided it’s because Christmas is the time when believers choose to focus on the Immanuel, God with us, on His Presence.
His Presence is gentle and peaceful. His Presence is powerful and majestic. His Presence causes us to lift our hands in praise and fall on our face in gratitude. His Presence is beyond description and too ominous for human words. His Presence is mysterious and palpable. His Presence convicts us to repent and beckons us come closer.
Jesus. Can you even begin to image what it would have been like to be in attendance at the wedding of Jesus’ relative? Enjoying the evening, celebrating happiness … then He walks in. He carries with Him thrill, power, and charisma, a sense of humor, depth, compassion, gentleness, and peace. He is all in all, the answer to every need…sometimes through spoken word and sometime with a simple glance. His Presence changes our reality.
His entrance alters the eternal destiny of every person ever to tread on these dirt roads. His entrance, so noteworthy, that it is heralded by the host of heaven. In Gabriel’s words to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God…For nothing is impossible with God.” His entrance alters the atmosphere.
CareNet serves people facing impossible situations. Our clients are frightened, in lack, sinful, bruised, broken, hopeless, and downcast. Often, after laying all of their available options on the table, there still seems to be no good answers. There are tears and uncertainty to spare…and He enters. I have sat in many client rooms and watched as circumstances literally bowed to the Presence of the King. His Presence changes their reality and nothing is impossible with God.
We are asking the Lord allow His Presence to cover us in 2014. We are listening intently for His direction. We are focused in on all that He is calling us to do and my prayer is that our response would be the same as His mother’s response upon hearing of His entrance, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” I am praying we will all hear His footsteps in our hearts, homes, and lives over the coming year.
Our circumstances will bow in the Presence of the King.
Thank you for standing with us and for loving strangers. My words fall short in expressing the value of your prayers and support. You are our family and this ministry exists because of you. May this be the merriest of Christmas and may you usher in His Presence this holiday season.
All my love,
