September 11, 2013 … Seeking God's Presence

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 254

Devotional Song: Go to this link ,,,  Please take in this poignant and powerful call, sung by my friend Clay Crosse and his friends Bob Carlisle and Bebe Winans, … singing I Will Follow Christ, reminding all Christians that following Christ is the only way to walk through this life.

Highlight meditation passage – Exodus 33: 15-16 [NLT]: …  
15 Then Moses said, “If you don’t go with us personally, don’t let us move a step from this place. 16 If you don’t go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?”
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Highlight reading study of Exodus, Chapters 33`: Go to this link … 

Reference Passage #1: Isaiah 55: 6 [We must intentionally seek the Lord for His presence and power to be found in our lives.] … [NLT] …  
6 Seek the LORD while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. 

 Reference Passage #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 [In seeking the Lord’s presence we must trust that He will lead us.] … [NLT] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

  Reference Passage #3: Matthew 28: 18-20 [He calls us lead others on the way of life; but He promises to always be with us.] … [NLT] …  
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

My Journal for Today: In today’s highlight reading/study passage, in this case Exodus, Chapter 33, which you can read above with the link provided, Moses was in a tough place, recognizing that he was going to have to lead a rag-tag group of recalcitrant people to God’s Promised Land. So Moses knew that he was going to need the presence of the Lord to be with him as he led the people through the wilderness.

My friends, we’re no different that those wayward, willful people who were following God and Moses in the wilderness. Yes, we seek God’s Promised Land just like they did; but like them (and Moses) we need to do what today’s song proclaims. As we trek through this life, on the way to the next (i.e., the Promised Land), we need the presence of the Lord to lead us as we follow Him.

Hence our desire should be the same a Moses as he was leading God’s people in the wilderness; and that is to seek God’s presence and then to follow Him as He calls us to do in the New Covenant Great Commission (see Matt. 28: 19-20 above). We must trust that seeking God’s presence (as is promised in Prov. 3: 5-6 and Isaiah 55: 6) will lead us where God wants us to go.

 And without seeking His presence and His power in our trek through this life, on the way to the next, we’ll be on our own; and very personally, my friend, that’s not a place I want to be. So, I will pray for us here that we all seek His presence, as did Moses, and follow Him closely as our song for today calls us to do.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, as Your willful people, like me, travel on the roads of life toward Your promises, we seek Your presence and even more so, Your power, to lead us were we need to go in Your Name.… Amen