"His Presence Equals Change"

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

I am of the firm belief that the reason we don't see the "church" making much of a difference in our world; the reason why we ourselves are in such a "mess"; and why our lights aren't shining very brightly is contributed to our lack of getting into the presence of God.  When I say, "getting into the presence of God", I am not talking about just prayer.  Unbelievably, most Christians either don't have a prayer life or it consist of a few minutes making request and sending up petitions to God to bless them.  There is a big difference between this type of "praying:" and getting into the presence of God.  

If we were spending time daily getting into God's presence, we would see a difference in us and in this world.  There would be a lot of changes made in our lives.  We would cut out so much foolishness in our behaviors, we would have more integrity, we would stop condoning and making excuses for our sins, our attitudes would change, our lives would be cleaner, our lights would shine brighter, our actions would glorify Christ instead of bringing reproach on His precious Name.  We would look more like and act more like Christ.

How do I know this to be the reason why the church is powerless in winning the world and making an impact for Christ?  Because when you really come into the presence of God- you meet Him "face to face".  When you meet Him face to face, you can't stay the same.  Everyone in the Bible who came into the presence of God was changed.  When Moses was in the presence of God, the glory came upon him, and he had to put a veil over his face.  When Isaiah was in the presence of the Lord, he became convicted of being "undone" and having "unclean lips".  When Job was in the presence of God, he cried out in repentance.  When Peter was in His presence, he recognized that Jesus was The Lord and acknowledged his sinful state.  When Abraham met the presence of the Lord, he was willing to deny himself and follow God anywhere He led him whether He told him where he was going or not.  When Jacob was in God's presence, it changed his walk (literally after the encounter he walked with a limp).  The spiritual parallel- he no longer walked his own way, but with that of the touch of God upon him.  When Peter and John came out of the presence of the Lord, the people even commented that they had been with the Lord.  When Enoch was in the presence of God, he was translated. 

I know that if we were really spending time each day in the presence of the Lord, our lives would be changed too- we would not be the same or act the same.  There is something about the presence of God that exposes sin and those Un Christlike things in our life.  His presence brings conviction, the desire to change, and the strength to do so.  You can't get into the presence of God and continue going your own way and living contrary to His will and character.  His presence will cause a response in you that will not leave you the same.

Have a great day.  We need to come into His presence and be changed by it so that we can glorify Him before the world.