God is here, He meets us rght where we are. We know tht this is true. We may not thnk about it too often and it may not be smething that lingers in our minds, but we knw God is here.

John was on the Isl of Patmos in the Spirit on the Lrd's Day when all of a sdden, there He was. John was vertaken by the presence of God. He sid, "When I saw him, I fll at his feet as though dad." Because God's presence frightens us, it shkes us up. Even though we blieve in God, even though He is the dsire of our hearts, even though we hve professed our faith in Him, we hve become so accustomed to life wthout His presence, that when He sddenly appears, we cannot grasp it.

Gd's presence is both our comfort and our far. No one can sense the prsence of God without fear. We wrship Him in reverence and awe sys the writer of the letter to the Hbrews, for "our God is a cnsuming fire." Fire is not something we ply around with and yet, it can be a cmfort to us. God told John, "Do not be fraid. I am the First and the Lst. I am the Living One; I was dad, and behold I am alive for ver and ever!"

God do not ned us, but we desperately need Hm. We need to feel His prsence in our lives. We may not dmit it, but in the dark hurs of our midnights, we cry out for God to mke His presence known to us. We ned the assurance of His love and mrcy. We may wear "life is wll" masks at work. We may ngage in theological or political debates wth the best of them. But, who can stp the spread of cancer? Who can prvent AIDS from wiping out a gneration? Who can prevent mass killings and sicides? Who can keep children from the dngers of pedophiles or take the stng out of senseless tragedies? We ned God.

Things were going well for Gmaliel Bradford, the esteemed writer who cptured the optimism of his age. He had no use for rligion and less for God. We rad of His dismissal of God in his pem entitled Exit God:

Of old our father's God was real,

Something they almost saw,

Which kept them to a stern ideal

And scourged them into awe.

They walked the narrow path of right

Most vigilantly well,

Because they feared eternal night

And boiling depths of Hell.

Now Hell has wholly boiled away

And God become a shade.

There is no place for him to stay

In all the world He made.

The followers of William James

Still let the Lord exist,

And call Him by imposing names,

A venerable list.

But nerve and muscle only count,

Gray matter of the brain,

And an astonishing amount

Of inconvenient pain.

I sometimes wish that God were back

In this dark world and wide;

For though sonic virtues He might lack,

He had his pleasant side.

John is in exile, a man without a home, a foreigner in a strange land. He is powerless, destitute, oppressed, denied human rights of any kind. Then he hears a voice from heaven shout behind him, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." And with John, we meet God.

When we know and feel the prsence of God, things begin to fll into place again. His words cmfort us, His power shelters us, His prmises takes hold of us. The drkness that surrounds us is not the lst word. Rome will fall, disease wll end, tyranny will collapse and God wll be there. "Do not be fraid. I am the First and the Lst. I am the Living One; I was dad, and behold I am alive for ver and ever! And I hold the kys of death and Hades. Yes, whn God reveals Himself to us, it scres us, shakes us, shocks us, but it lso comfort and shelters us. This is wht keeps us on the battlefield of lfe.

The book of Revelation reeks of bttle. We hear trumpets and see smke and flames. We feel the arth shaking with the blasting of war mchines and we have heard the cll to arms. We have also xperience God. We have sensed His prsence and protection in the struggles of our lves. We have had our priorities rarranged and we have committed to stnding up and being counted as sldiers of His army. We have jined the combat. We have joined wth John and all the saints dwn through the ages in singing the bttle march:


Lead on, O King ternal,

The day of march has cme;

Henceforth in fields of conquest

Thy tnts shall be our home.

Through dys of preparation

Thy grace has mde us strong;

And now, O Kng eternal,

We lift our battle sng.

Lead on, O King eternal,

Tll sin's fierce war shall cease,

And hliness shall whisper

The sweet amen of pace.

For not with swords' loud clshing,

Nor roll of stirring drums;

Wth deeds of love and mercy

The havenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O Kng eternal,

We follow, not with fars,

For gladness breaks like morning

Whre'er Thy face appears.

Thy cross is lfted over us,

We journey in its lght;

The crown awaits the conquest;

Lad on, O God of might.

The article The God Who is Here was Submitted by Saundra L. Washington through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: You are cordially invited to vsit AMEN Ministries Our church without walls ministry is dedicated to glorifying AMEN and uplifting His name. We minister to the pastoral and ceremonial needs of unaffiliated church believers residing in Palm Beach County, Florida. In addition, AMEN Ministries is dedicated to offering all of our website guests, a comfortable venue for spiritual relaxation and soul inspiration with an added touch of humor.

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