{"id":24062,"date":"2018-11-01T03:30:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T10:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=24062"},"modified":"2018-10-30T14:00:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T21:00:34","slug":"november-1-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/11\/01\/november-1-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"November 1, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThen Jacob awoke from His sleep and said, \u2018Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Genesis 28:16<\/p>\n

Did God Show Up?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I have used the phrase\u00a0\u201cGod showed up\u201d many times without thinking about what I was saying (a too-common problem for me, and I suspect for many who are reading this.) After someone is healed, I might say, \u201cGod showed up.\u201d During times of worship when I am particularly moved, I might say, \u201cGod is here.\u201d While in prayer, I may sense His presence and declare, \u201cGod has come.\u201d<\/p>\n

But lately I\u2019ve been pondering whether those words are accurate. God showed up? Do I mean to imply that He isn\u2019t usually here, but at this moment He is? Do I mean that He is too busy to be here all the time, but once in awhile He comes? Do I mean that He only cares to be with me at certain times, but not always?<\/p>\n

God is both near, and far off. He is on earth, and in heaven. He is within us, and around us. There is no place that is outside of His presence. This is what it means to be omnipresent<\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cWhere can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Psalm 139:7-8).<\/p>\n

When I say, \u201cGod showed up,\u201d I am implying something untrue about God. I am telling others that He sometimes leaves us. He\u2019ll come around when He feels like it\u2014perhaps whenever He has work to do, but no other time. This is a deception from the enemy. That lie is what makes us say that God doesn\u2019t hear us, or that certain people are a lost cause, or some circumstances will never change. It implies that God is not always working, His Spirit does not always dwell in us, and He has retreated to His throne room, leaving us to get along by ourselves. \u201c\u2019Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?\u2019 says the Lord; \u2018Do I not fill heaven and earth?\u2019 says the Lord\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Jeremiah 23:24).<\/p>\n

We want to convey true things about God. Witnessing isn\u2019t just sharing the gospel\u2014witnessing is telling the truth, according to God\u2019s own Word, about Who He is and what He has done.<\/p>\n

Like Jacob, we might not be aware of it\u2014but He is in this place.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, put right words in our mouth when we speak of You, that others may hear and believe. We pray in the name of Your precious Son, Jesus. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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