{"id":35708,"date":"2023-09-02T03:30:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T10:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35708"},"modified":"2023-09-01T12:21:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T19:21:47","slug":"september-2-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/09\/02\/september-2-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Living Where God Is<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cYou will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 16:11<\/p>\n

It seems we are born to be busy.<\/p>\n

We go directly from a state of suspension in the cozy cocoon of a warm, dark womb where noises are muffled, voices are familiar, and needs are met without having to ask, into a cold, bright, strange new life. Our arms and legs are free to move. We cry from sensory overload. We have been jolted into a new world that is noisy and demands our attention with its pokes and prods and unfamiliar touches and voices.<\/p>\n

From then on, it never stops. People. Noise. Input. We get used to it, though, don\u2019t we? If the house is too quiet, we turn on music or television. If we are alone too long, we call a friend. If we are bored, we go shopping, or read a book, or take a drive.<\/p>\n

We fill our lives with people, possessions and activities. We do what makes us happy. We pursue what we desire, until we either get it or don\u2019t want it any more. An enormous amount of time is spent in relationship with others, and making sure everything is OK there.<\/p>\n

To be sure, these things are directed and used by God. But listen to David\u2019s desire in Psalm 27:4. \u201cOne thing have I desired [asked] of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

David\u2019s life centered on an awareness of God. He desired (literally, he asked for<\/em>) only one thing\u2014to be with God. He wanted to LIVE in the place where God was, so that he could see God\u2019s beauty, and have instant access to Him at all times.<\/p>\n

I pray that all of us come to a place of desiring this above all things: to be with God, to dwell where He is. To be sure, He lives within us by His Holy Spirit. Our body is His temple, His dwelling place. But how much of our day is spent in the pursuit and awareness of being in His presence? For in His presence, we behold His beauty and have access to Him. In His presence is fullness of joy.<\/p>\n

Lord, lead us on the path of a life that desires You above all things. Be the center of our lives, so that all our pursuits take us into more awareness of You. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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