His Presence

"He has shown me the path to life, and He
makes me glad by being near me."
(Acts 2:28)(Contemporary English Version)
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"You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
(Psalm 16:11) (New International Version)
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"Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always
obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only
[with the enthusiasm you would show] in my
presence but much more because I am absent,
work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal,
and fully complete) your own salvation with
reverence and awe and trembling (self-dis-
trust, with serious caution, tenderness of
conscience, watchfulness against temptation,
timidly shrinking from whatever might offend
God and discredit the name of Christ)."
(Philippians 2:12) (The Amplified Bible)
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"Thou wilt show me the path of life:
in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
(Psalm 16:11) (King James Version)
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"Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has invited His guests."
(Zephaniah 1:7) (New King James Version)
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"And the fish of the sea, the birds of the
heavens, the beasts of the field, all the
creeping things that creep on the earth, and
all the men who are on the face of the earth
will shake at My presence; the mountains also
will be thrown down, the steep pathways will
collapse, and every wall will fall to the
ground."
(Ezekiel 38:20) (New American Standard)
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"Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto
thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy
presence."
(Psalm 140:13) (King James Version)
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"You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you
forever."
(Psalm 16:11) (New Living Translation)
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"And He said, 'My presence will go with
you, and I will give you rest."
(Exodus 33:14) (New King James Version)
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"You have let me experience the joys of life
and the exquisite pleasures of your own
eternal presence."
(Psalm 16:11) (The Living Bible)
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"You will show me the path of life;
In your presence is fullnes of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore."
(Psalm 16:11) (New King James Version)
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"You have shown me the path of life,
and you make me glad by being near to me.
Sitting at your right side,
I will always by joyful."
(Psalm 16:11) (Contemporary English Version)
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"The worldling cannot peceive this truth:
'The Lord is with you, while ye be with Him.'
The worldling sneers, 'Where is the promise of
His coming?' (This refers not only to His
second coming, but His coming at any moment.)
The cynic mocks, 'Come down from the cross and
we will believe in Thee.' 'But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually dis-
cerned.' (I Corinthians 2:14)
The man of-the-Spirit knows. He respects the
laws of the Spirit. He knows what God can
accomplish in a life yielded to Him. God uses
success and prosperity to proclaim His testi-
mony. After all, heaven is not a welfare state -
it is a capitalist's dream! 'The secret of the
Lord is with them that fear Him.' When God lets
you in on a secret you are on your way to success.
The ungodly can never discern. To the ungodly,
Gethsemane and Golgotha are utter tragedy. To
them prayer is unanswered. To them all is lost.
But not to the believer! They are his invest-
ment in the Resurrection. They say to my soul,
'Let not your heart be troubled.' In His
fellowship I have nothing to fear."
(C. M. Ward - The Holy Spirit)
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"ALIVE!"

"Road. Dark. Stars. Shadows. Four. Sandals.
Robes. Quiet. Suspense. Grove. Trees. Alone.
Questions. Anguish. 'Father!' Sweat. God. Man.
God-Man. Prostrate. Blood. 'NO!' 'Yes.' Angels.
Comfort.

Footsteps. Torches. Voices. Romans. Surprise.
Swords. Kiss. Confusion. Betrayal. Fearful.
Run! Bound. Wrists. Marching.

Courtyard. Priests. Lamps. Sanhedrin. Caiaphas.
Sneer. Silk. Arrogance. Beard. Plotting.
Barefoot. Rope. Calm. Shove. Kick. Annas.
Indignant. Messiah? Trial. Nazarene. Confident.
Question. Answer. Punch!

Peter. 'Me?' Rooster. Thrice. Guilt.

Proceedings. Court. Rejection. Prosecute.
Weary. Pale. Witnesses. Liars. Inconsistent.
Silence. Stares. 'Blasphemer!' Anger. Waiting.
Bruised. Dirty. Fatigued. Guards. Spit.
Blindfold. Mocking. Blows. Fire. Twilight.

Sunrise. Golden. Jerusalem. Temple. Passover.
Lambs. Lamb. Worshipers. Priests. Messiah.
Hearing. Fraud. Prisoner. Waiting. Standing.
Shifting. Strategy. 'Pilate!' Trap. Murmurs.
Exit.

Stirring. Parade. Crowd. Swell. Romans.
Pilate. Toga. Annoyed. Nervous. Officers.
Tunics. Spears. Silence. 'Charge?' 'Blasphemy!'
Indifference. Ignore. (Wife. Dream.) Worry.
Interview. Lips. Pain. Determined. 'King?'
'Heaven.' 'Truth.' 'Truth?' Sarcasm. (Fear.)
'Innocent!' Roar. Voices. 'Galilean!' 'Galilee?'
'Herod!'

9:00 A.M. Marchers. Palace. Herod. Fox. Schemer.
Paunchy. Crown. Cape. Scepter. Hall. Elegance.
Silence. Manipulate. Useless. Vexed. Revile.
Taunt. 'King?' Robe. Theatrical. Cynical.
Hateful. 'Pilate!'

Marching. Uproar. Prisoner. Hushed. Pilate.
'Innocent!' Bedlam. 'Barabbas!' Riot. Despair.
Christ. Bare. Rings. Wall. Back. Whip. Slash.
Scourge. Tear. Bone. Moan. Flesh. Rhythm.
Silence. Whip! Silence. Whip! Silence. Whip!
Thorns. Stinging. Blind. Laughter. Jeering.
Scepter. Slap. Governor. Distraught. (Almost.)
Eyes. Jesus. Decision. Power. Freedom? Threats.
Looks. Yelling. Weak. Basin. Water. Swayed.
Compromise. Blood. Guilt.

Soldiers. Thieves. Crosspiece. Shoulder. Heavy.
Beam. Heavy. Sun. Stagger. Incline. Houses.
Shops. Faces. Mourners. Murmurs. Pilgrims.
Women. Tumble. Cobblestone. Exhaustion. Gasping.
Simon. Pathetic. Golgotha.

Skull. Calvary. Crosses. Execution. Death. Noon.
Tears. Observers. Wails. Wine. Nude. Bruised.
Swollen. Crossbeam. Sign. Ground. Nails. Pound.
Pound. Pound. Pierced. Contorted. Thirst.
Terrible. Grace. Writhing. Raised. Mounted.
Hung. Suspended. Spasms. Heaving. Sarcasm.
Sponge. Tears. Taunts. Fogiveness. Dice.
Gambling. Darkness.

Absurdity.
Death. Life.
Pain. Peace.
Condemn. Promise.
Nowhere. Somewhere.
Him. Us.

'Father!' Robbers. Paradise. Wailing. Weeping.
Stunned. 'Mother.' Compassion. Darkness.
'My God!' Afraid. Scapegoat. Wilderness.
Vinegar. 'Father.' Silence. Sigh. Death.
Relief.

Earthquake. Cemetary. Tombs. Bodies. Mystery.
Curtain. Spear. Blood. Water. Spices. Linen.
Tomb. Fear. Waiting. Despair. Stone. Mary.
Running. Maybe? Peter. John. Belief. Enlight-
enment. Truth. Mankind. Alive. Alive. Alive!"
(Max Lucado - No Wonder They Call Him The Savior)
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"The best antique is an old friend."
"Your own friend and your father's friend,
forsake not...Better is a neighbor who is
near [in spirit] than a brother who is
far off [in heart].
(Proverbs 27:10) (The Amplified Bible)
"A woman was in a serious automobile
accident in a city far from home. She
felt so enclosed in a cocoon of pain,
she didn't realize how lonely she was
until a 'forgotten' friend in the city
came to visit her. She firmly but
gently said to her, 'You should not be
alone.'
In the weeks that followed, this friend's
advice rang in the injured woman's ears
and helped her to overcome her otherwise
reserved nature. When another friend
called from a city several hundred miles
away to say she wanted to come stay with
her, the injured woman didn't say, 'Don't
bother' - as would have been her normal
response. Rather, she said, 'Please come.'
The friend was a wonderful encourager and
nurse to her, reading the Psalms aloud
when she was still too weak to read herself.
Then yet another friend offered to come and
help in her recovery. Again she swallowed
her pride and said, 'Please do.' This
friend stayed for several months until the
injured woman was able to care for herself.
Even Jesus did not carry His own cross all
the way to Calvary. He allowed another to
help shoulder His burden. It's all right
to ask for help and to receive help. You
don't have to 'go it alone.' Let a friend
help you!"
(God's Little Devotional Book for Women)
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"This thing of knowing God's perfect will is
one of the hardest things in the world. No one
else can tell you what God's perfect will is for
your life. Don't come to me and ask, 'Miss
Kuhlman, what is God's perfect will for me?' I
cannot give you the answer. No one else can tell
another what God's perfect will is for that life.
You, like me, have enough to handle taking care
of God's perfect will for yourself.
But, I'll tell you a secret that I learned through
years of experience, through many bitter tears and
many heartaches. Do you want the will of God for
your life? Are you sincere in seeking His will
regarding a certain problem? Do you really cons-
cientiously want God's will in a given matter?
You will only know His will when you surrender
your own will to Him, when you no longer have a
will of your own, praying even as Jesus prayed,
'Nevertheless not my will but thy will be done.'
Jesus surrendered His will to the will of the
Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, and when
you can get to the place of full surrender,
where you have no will of your own, then you
will know God's perfect will, not His per-
missive will.
That's exactly what Paul meant in the 8th
chapter of Romans in verses 26 and 27:
'Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought...' How often
we come to that place where we do not know
how we should pray!
But Paul continues, 'But the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. And He that
searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the
mind of the Spirit, because He maketh
intercession for the saints according to
the will of God.'
Paul here is giving us the answer because
he, too, had come to the place where he
did not know the perfect will of God, when
he could not perceive how to pray. He
gives us his formula which he found successful.
In other words, this is what Paul did and what
I have learned to do.
I go alone where I can close the door. I
surrender my will completely to the will of the
Father. I bring myself to the place where I
have no will of my own, and then, the two wills
become as one. I surrender myself to the will
of the Father, not knowing how to pray or what
His will is. I am quiet and I permit the Holy
Spirit, who knows the perfect will of God, to
pray through me, in me, and He shows me God's
perfect will.
If you are not a Christian this hour, you are
out of the perfect will of God. It is His will,
His perfect will, that every person should know
His Son as Savior and Redeemer. He is not
willing that ANY should perish. If you have
not accepted Christ as Savior, if you are
living outside of this wonderful inheritance,
without knowing this relationship of Father
and child, it is because you have made the
choice. God's first choice for you is a
relationship with Him through Jesus Christ
and a life of victory.
But, God forces no person to live this life
in His perfect will. You have been given
the choice as a free moral agent to exercise
your own will separate and apart from the
will of the Holy God. Thousands are doing
exactly that today. They are exercising
their wills separate and apart from the
will of God, and they are living contrary
to His will because they are using that will
to live their life as they so desire to live it.
I want you to realize something. If you are
exercising your will contrary to the will of
God, then you are not receiving His best and
you are not receiving all that God has for you.
Yes, I know now what dear Brother McCloud
meant. In the perfect will of God, though the
waters are sometimes deep, there is a peace of
mind, a peace of soul that passes all under-
standing. In spite of hardships, you can smile
even though you do not understand. You can
smile as you stand at the open grave. You can
smile when the sun has ceased to shine. You
can smile when those stones are bruising your
feet. You can smile when disappointments come
because you know that you are in the center of
God's perfect will.
God has made us for Himself, and your hearts
are restless until they rest in Him! We were
made for God, made in His image and after His
likeness, and our hearts are truly restless
until they repose in Him. Our lives are
without meaning until we are led by the Holy
Spirit in the perfect will of God."
(Kathryn Kuhlman - Lord, Teach Us To Pray)
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