Today's Worship: Living in the presence of the Lord.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 6:2,

"After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore
us, that we may live in his presence."

In his prophecy, Hosea speaks of returning to the Lord with a
resulting restoration. The restoration is seen as necessary that "we
may live in his presence."

From the perspective of this life, living in the presence of the Lord
is difficult to grasp. We live in a world that is estranged from God,
alienated from him, a world in which his very presence must be
accepted by faith as his presence is veiled from us.

Moses wanted to see God, and he was told he would never survive it.
After having just a glimpse of him he was so altered that family,
friends and associates fled from him afterward, Exodus 34:29-31. When
found in the presence of the Lord, the writer of Hebrews quotes Moses
as saying, "The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, 'I am
trembling with fear.'" Hebrews 12:21. When Isaiah had an encounter
with God, he was horrified. In Isaiah 6:5 we read, "'Woe to me!' I
cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among
a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord
Almighty.'"

Just what would living in his presence be like? While such a statement
could be construed as simply meaning living life under the acceptance
of God, living in a context of peace with him, the Scriptures foretell
a time when we will ultimately live in his presence in a very literal
way. In Revelation 21:3-4, we read of a time when, "Now the dwelling
of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed
away."

Through Jesus Christ we can approach the Lord in this life and look
forward to a time when we live in his very presence. The writer of
Hebrews tells us, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need."

I find this all fascinating to contemplate...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com