Be quite and let Me do the talking...

I've recounted a number of incidents on Kingdom Bloggers where I know God was near me...in my personal testimony, during my daily commute, and even when I lived in Hawaii. Both of my last two post were also examples of my being aware God was present.

Isn't that really the point though? God is always near even if we don't acknowledge His presence.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

I heard a wonderful sermon preached on this passage a few weeks back that oddly reminded me of an anecdote I read in college years ago:

A pointed fable is told about a young lion and a cougar. Both thirsty, the animals arrived at their usual water hole at the same time. They immediately began to argue about who should satisfy their thirst first. The argument became heated, and each decided he would rather die than give up the privilege of being first to quench his thirst. As they stubbornly confronted each other, their emotions turned to rage. Their cruel attacks on each other were suddenly interrupted. They both looked up. Circling overhead was a flock of vultures waiting for the loser to fall. Quietly, the two beasts turned and walked away. The thought of being devoured was all they needed to end their quarrel.

As Christians, we know God is always near because His word tells us, yet we lose sight of His presence as we become wrapped up and overtaken by narcissistic thoughts and actions. But God is still with us...we are often still His temple. All living creatures need water to survive,
and Christ is the Living Water (John 7:37-38) necessary for our eternal survival. The world circles overhead waiting to swoop down and devour our being if we neglect the Living Water by not talking to Him, spending time in His word, focusing on others with love and not rage in our hearts, and following His commandments. We are temples of God reborn and set in motion to do all things for His Kingdom.

He makes it so easy if we can just remember He is always near.

I had a completely different post written out for today that became garbled on a thumb drive beyond recovery...or did it? That's one of the greatest things about God always being near...He always has something to say if I just shut up and let Him do the talking.