In GOD's Presence - Part One

PREFACE: Well, I've finally jumped onto the Blogger bandwagon. This blog series began a month and a half ago on MySpace. It currently has eight installments, which can be read in their entirety at http://blogs.myspace.com/eltontaylor along with a vast collection of others penned over the past three years. As I introduce myself as well as my thought life to a whole new audience, I'll spend the next week or so reposting the MySpace entries to give everyone here a chance to catch up. Thanks for reading and be blessed!

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I recently read an article online penned by a worship leader, in which he stated, "The presence of God is the established ideal atmosphere in which mankind was designed to function." That statement immediately struck a chord with me and I began to meditate on this saying.

As a worship leader, it is my assignment to usher into the presence of God those who so desire to enter in and instruct others who are without knowledge in the corporate worship setting. (I've been designed and equipped to operate in this work, and I take it seriously every day.) God's presence is what I daily seek after because it's there where I find everything I need. My life is steeped in worship so that I can remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit throughout my day.

Now in the past, I've heard people, including pastors & teachers, describe the manifested presence of God as "rarefied air"; and yes, I do understand that the weight of God's glory may, in fact, be seldom experienced by many. However, God never intended for this to be and we should accept nothing less than His best for us.

You see, there's really no excuse for us rarely experiencing the manifested presence of God. Even after Adam rebelled in Eden, causing mankind to lose dominion over the Earth's resources and prompting the Holy Spirit to be recalled out of the earth back to heaven, God still chose to manifest His presence among the people. As a matter of fact, the Law was given to Moses that the people might know the conditions upon which God would fellowship with them and dwell in their midst. As long as the conditions were met, the atmosphere was ideal for our holy God to step out of eternity into time. It was not until after Jesus redeemed mankind from sin that man's dominion on earth could be restored and the Holy Spirit could once again dwell inside of man. The work of redemption through salvation was not accomplished by man, and the maintenance of that same work is - to this very day - a feat that only God Himself could handle. Man could only freely receive the gift of salvation, forgiveness of sins, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is God's Spirit inside of the born again believer that grants us access to His presence. Therefore, God's presence should not be rarefied air for the Kingdom Citizen, but rather the daily norm.

God established this atmosphere from the very beginning that man, His crowning achievement in creation, could operate in the earth like He does. We were designed to mimic Him; otherwise, why would God breathe His Spirit into us? We must get out of our heads the notion that God's presence is only manifested on special days, in certain places, or at appointed times. We have been created to EXIST in God's presence - it should be our place of habitation, people of God; not an occassional stop along life's way.

Please take a few moments to meditate on what you just read and ask God to further illuminate these insights for your daily application and edification. Stay tuned for the next installment, and - until then - be blessed beyond measure!