Is the Joy of your Christmas in the Presents or in the Presence?
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Can you be trully happy without the presence of God?
When we do not feel God’s presence, we are tempted to do what is wrong. When the teacher is not present in the class, the students misbehave and cheat during the exam. Likewise, when the traffic police are not present on the road the drivers break the traffic rules. Students do nothing wrong in the presence of their teacher and drivers do nothing wrong in the presence of the traffic police. In the same way, if God’s presence is not in our lives, or if we live without this constant awareness of God’s presence in our midst, then we live without a moral compass or direction and end up in sinning against God. We can lose God’s presence because of our sins. Micah 3:4 says, “At that time God will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done”. People who are living without the presence of God live an empty life and continually search for hope and meaning and fulfilment from wrong places and end up being drawn into things that leave them feeling even more empty and confused. When we do not experience God’s presence we feel lonely and we get discouraged. We feel insecure about our finances, relationships and future. This seed of discouragement can weaken you and can ultimately lead you to doubt God’s goodness, His love and His grace. David says in Psalm 71:5 “For you have been my hope, O sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth”. But if we do not have Gods presence then we lose hope and get discouraged.
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Can you be trully happy without the presence of God?
When we do not feel God’s presence, we are tempted to do what is wrong. When the teacher is not present in the class, the students misbehave and cheat during the exam. Likewise, when the traffic police are not present on the road the drivers break the traffic rules. Students do nothing wrong in the presence of their teacher and drivers do nothing wrong in the presence of the traffic police. In the same way, if God’s presence is not in our lives, or if we live without this constant awareness of God’s presence in our midst, then we live without a moral compass or direction and end up in sinning against God. We can lose God’s presence because of our sins. Micah 3:4 says, “At that time God will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done”. People who are living without the presence of God live an empty life and continually search for hope and meaning and fulfilment from wrong places and end up being drawn into things that leave them feeling even more empty and confused. When we do not experience God’s presence we feel lonely and we get discouraged. We feel insecure about our finances, relationships and future. This seed of discouragement can weaken you and can ultimately lead you to doubt God’s goodness, His love and His grace. David says in Psalm 71:5 “For you have been my hope, O sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth”. But if we do not have Gods presence then we lose hope and get discouraged.
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