Category: God’s Presence

God's Presence, Worship

That Face to Face Place

by hcfwomen1 Comment on That Face to Face Place

worship 3Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalms 100:4 NKJV)

We’ve probably all heard this verse or even sung it in Sunday School as kids. What a simple yet profound instruction: this is how you get into the presence of God Almighty, who has provided a way for us to meet with Him face to face. Be thankful…praise Him…bless His Name, and you might just find yourself front and center with the Throne, face to face with the King of Kings.

While this is a worthy goal of our worship, to enter in and just experience His Presence, to give Him the glory that He deserves, I think that there is something more.

There are so many things about God that I don’t fully comprehend. There is so much of His awesomeness that I’ve yet to grasp. But I do know one thing:  There’s always more.

In Old Testament times seeking an audience with the king meant taking your life in your own hands, or more accurately, putting it in the King’s.  If you wanted to enter into the King’s presence, you would come in, kneel before the throne, and wait. In the few seconds that I’m sure felt like an eternity, the King would either raise his scepter, a signal that permission was granted to approach, or leave it down, at which point you would be taken away and promptly escorted to your own execution.

Thankfully we don’t serve a King like that. We serve a King that gave up everything He had to give so that we could come before Him–boldly, with confidence, accepted–as his kids.  But you know, because He’s made a way to freely come, I think sometimes we have a tendency to lose the reverence, lose the awe of the encounter.  We come in, not focused on meeting with the King, but thinking about our last fight with our spouse, or lunch plans, or whatever. And guess what–we’re human. We’re called sheep numerous times in the Bible, and I don’t think it was a compliment. So I’m not here to send anyone on a guilt trip.  If so, I’d need to be the first to pack my bags.

But think back to that Old Testament picture. Someone seeking an audience with the king had a pretty important matter to discuss. He must have had a worthwhile case to plead; one worth risking everything in the hope that the king would intervene.  And I bet you my last dollar, he came in knowing what he was going to say.

A while back a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer. It came as quite a shock as she was a young mom who was vibrant and healthy. The Sunday following that news, my worship took on a whole new meaning. I had decided I was going to fight for her with everything I had. Those weren’t just songs that morning, they were weapons. They were launch pads for faith to be unleashed.  I had the enemy in my crosshairs.  It was an incredible time of worship!

It might not be a friend with cancer.  It might be a lost family member, or a marriage on the rocks, or a physical illness, but we ALL have circumstances in our lives where we need the King to intervene. We all have places that are totally beyond our control (and probably more than we care to admit!) And we all have instructions for coming face to face with the King. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks, bless His Name, enter boldly. But then what?

Worship is a powerful mixture of Spirit and Truth. When we align our hearts with the truth of God’s Word, something happens. Faith happens. When that faith is focused on a specific target, it paves the way for the miraculous. And when we get to that face to face place, let’s not take it for granted. Let’s know why we came. Let’s ask the King to act and see if He doesn’t delight to respond.

This post was written by Becca Wilhite. To read more about her, click here. 

God's Presence, Prayer, Worship

Our Values: Prayer and Worship

by hcfwomenLeave a Comment on Our Values: Prayer and Worship

freedomsPrayer and worship create an atmosphere where everyone can experience the presence of God. Pastor Brad expounded on these core values in a powerful way during the “DNA of Harvest” series. Download the talk as soon as you can!

I’d like to share with you what prayer and worship mean to me day in and day out. I don’t see how one can separate prayer and worship. Prayer in this season of my life feels more like an opportunity to re-align myself with God’s heart. I still pray to ask for things from Father, but I also want to sense an increased closeness to hear what He wants to say to me. I want a deeper relationship with Him. Prayer and worship give me a pathway to come to Him and enter into that for which my heart so deeply longs.

It’s a chance to focus my attention on Him and what’s truly valuable in life. Worship inevitably begins to flow from my heart when I wait upon Him. I can’t help it. The more I focus my attention on who He is, what He’s done for me, what I will accomplish in the earth for His Name’s sake, I just can’t help but be grateful and awed, humble and exuberant, fierce and at rest. He’s so interesting! Prayer and worship open my eyes to see Him. I don’t want to miss it because I’m more taken with my issues, my problems or my pain.

Father taught me through prayer and worship that I am valuable to Him. He knows what I’m faced with each day. He’s not going to hang me out to dry, so to speak. Sometimes my circumstances may not look like I’d hoped, but He’s promised to never leave me nor forsake me. Prayer and worship give me an opportunity to declare His truth over my circumstances. I’m not denying that I may not feel good or that I’ve messed up in some way. What I am doing is choosing to recognize that He is greater than my pain or my regret. I am still right with God through the finished work of the cross in Christ. I will make Him my focus and allow Him to transform me rather than trying to fix myself out of my own resources.

Take a moment to think about the things you want to pass on to the next generation that you possess right now. I want my kids to have learned from me that no matter what their life experience is, they can always rise above it with prayer and worship. They can experience what gold will not buy and education will not provide if they will humble themselves and fix their gaze on the Lover of their souls.

This post was written by Jodi Leigh LaFrance. To read more about her, click here.

Faith, God's Presence

Light, Linda, Light

by hcfwomen3 Comments on Light, Linda, Light

I imagine myself as an insect flirting with a neon electric trap and God shouting, “Light, Linda, light, so I can zap you with current of my Spirit!”  Normal life has a way of filling up all moments of it to capacity with good things that need our attention and leaving no occasion for the best things.  Abundant life, however, demands that our hearts be fed daily with God-time.  What that would look like for each of us cannot be put into some kind of formula, such as thirty minutes of quiet time at a certain time of day.  Rarely can any one person’s life be so scheduled.

The Psalm that says to “Be still and know that I am God” comes from a passage of scripture that contains references to mountains being carried into the sea, roaring waters, heathens raging, kingdoms being moved and the earth melting.  Sounds like the daily life of any wife or mother, right?

“There are mountains of laundry, roaring stomachs, televisions raging, children moving and I’m melting, and you are calling me to be still, Lord?”

Interestingly enough, God is calling us to be still in the middle of the mountains, not when they are gone.  He reminds us that He is our refuge from the stress and our strength during the “busy”ness of our daily lives. Often we have to literally steal moments of God-time in the midst of our daily routine.  For those of us who also suffer from attention deficit disorder, focusing on Him is doubly challenging, but His promise is peace and joy for those who choose to swim in His presence.

Yes, I did say swim in His presence.  That same passage of Psalm makes clear that there is a river that runs through the City ofGodand that He is in the midst of it.  Imagine that river running through your daily routine and being available to you 24/7.  Imagine its beautiful, still waters that beckon you to immerse your mind and heart for just a moment to help you focus on His work in your day after day obligations.  Let Him take you into His current and help you float through your commitments of the moment.

Brother Lawrence (1614 to 1691) was a poor, obscure monk whose conversations have been recorded in a little book called The Practice of the Presence of God. “We can do little things for God,” he wrote. “I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.”

Abundant life beckons us, dear ladies, with the practice of the presence of God.  Zap!

This post was written by Linda Hutcherson. To read more about her, click here.