To Follow Jesus
My notes on Every Day with Jesus, written by Selwyn Hughes; revised and updated by Mick Brooks, published by CWR.
May/June 2016 Issue – The Presence of God, ‘You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.’ Psalm 16:11
The text set for today’s reading and meditation (the key verse is highlighted):
Psalm 16 (NIVUK): ”Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’
I say of the holy people who are in the land, ‘They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.’ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.
Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Selwyn writes the following on this last day of looking at the issue: ‘The Presence of God’.
“On this our last day together we ask: What are some of the benefits that flow from an increased awareness of God’s presence in our lives? The first benefit is that it makes us stronger in faith. … The second benefit is that it makes us stronger in hope. … A third benefit is that it makes us stronger in love. The more we gaze upon God, the more we will love Him – the more we love Him, the more we will gaze upon Him.
The more willing we are to take measures to experience His presence, the more acutely we will feel His presence. … Like all things in life – practice makes perfect. So go out now and from this time forward determine to experience God’s presence in your life to a greater extent than you have ever done before.”
It’s important to remember that God loves us so much that He wants us to experience His presence more and more; consequently, through persistent prayer and the employment of the useful ideas that Selwyn has been talking about for the past two months, we will enjoy the presence of Jesus in our lives. There is no doubt about it.
Do you agree?