Devotional Thought of the Day:

¹⁷  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)

 ¹⁶  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” ¹⁷  But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” Genesis 28:16-17 (NLT)

 ²  Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever. Psalm 125:2 (NLT)

470         Our Lord sent out his disciples to preach, and when they came back he gathered them together and invited them to go with him to a desert place where they could rest… What marvellous things Jesus would ask them and tell them! Well, the Gospel is always relevant to the present day.  (1)

Last night, as we studied the passage we are preaching on this week I began thinking of the question that is the title of this post.  I meet with several guys and we work together on the Bible passage for this week, which was talking about the struggles in this life are nothing compared to the glory that is awaiting us.  It also talks about the presence of the Holy Spirit being the foretaste of that glory.  This morning, my devotional readings included all three passages above, further fueling the thoughts and the need to meditate on this – and share it here.

We have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, therefore the places we stand and sit, as plain and simple as they are, are holy ground.  But do we realize it?  Do we realize that God surrounds us, His people – now and forever, Do we realize that as God makes His home in us, as we come to know the measure of His love, may we begin to really live?

Will we rest in Christ, and find the peace our souls depend upon, even as our bodies depend on food?  Will we struggle with the concept of an incarnate God in our lives?  Will we learn to depend upon His presence the way we depend on oxygen in the air we breathe?

A way to ask that is the title – do we expect to treat God in heaven the way we do now?

Will we forget about His presence, will we do what we want, will we go days without thinking of Him, talking to Him, hearing His voice as we meditate on His word?  Will we keep Him at a distance, fighting with others for the furthest row from His presence?   Or will will be in awe of the glory He shares with us? Will we run to Him, will we rejoice as He welcomed us, His children, into His presence?

Will our relationship change, and if so, why isn’t it changing already?

Look again at the above readings, what will change about the relationship, except perhaps that what we know, will also be what we see?

I pray that we would enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Love of God, that we are in awe at the thought of eternity with Him!

Godspeed!

(1)   Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2066-2069). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.