Month: July 2025

The Necessity of God’s Presence

The Necessity of God’s Presence

“And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not from hence.”

Exodus 33:14-15. KJV

If there is one thing that Moses learned during his years of walking with the Lord, it was the necessity of having God’s presence.  God’s Presence is the unmistakable consciousness and awareness of God.  He is here.   He is in our midst.  He is with us!  That consciousness may be expressed and realized in a multitude of ways, but its reality is unmistakable!   It is undeniable. 

The Presence of God is beyond human words to describe.  It is the revelation of the Divine!   It is the consciousness of the Holy!  It is greater than all that we are and all that we know.  It brings awe and wonder!   It produces humility and joy!   It is the revelation of the “otherness” of God! Once we have experienced God’s Holy Presence, we are never the same again!   We are transformed.  We are changed.  And we forever long for a greater revelation of His Presence!   

When we are in God’s Presence, there is no fear.  There is no anxiety.  There is no burden. There is no consciousness of any need.  There is no insufficiency.   The cares of this world diminish to insignificance.  There is no desire for anything but Him!   There is the awareness that in His Presence,  we have everything!   

Moses understood that both he and the nation could not survive or even exist without God’s Presence.  What was true for Moses and the nation of Israel is also true for us!  We, the redeemed of God,  are completely dependent upon the Presence of God in our lives. 

The good news of the Gospel is that Christ has sent the Holy Spirit into our heart (our spirit, our inner man) to dwell. (Col.1:27).   We are blessed and privileged to be able to live each moment of each day with the consciousness of God’s indwelling Presence!   His Presence is revealed at various levels of intensity, but His Presence is there; quietly guiding us, speaking to us,  revealing truth to us and even correcting us when necessary.  His indwelling Presence is essential for living the life He intends for us to live!   (Rom.. 8:15).   Let us acknowledge and embrace His Presence that we might experience the fullness of His joy!  (Psalm 16:11).

Rev. James W. Black

Seated in Heavenly Places

Seated in Heavenly Places

“And hath raised us up together, and made his sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Eph. 2:6 KJV

When Christ was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), He was seated in heaven at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19).  It is there that Jesus intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34).

The Apostle Paul reminds us that not only does Christ intercede for us but we are spiritually in those “heavenly places” with Him at this very moment.  However, no one can deny that we certainly are not literally in heaven, although that is where we long to be and ultimately will be. 

Paul wants us to know that because Christ is in us and we are in Him (John 17:23), we have heaven (God’s Presence through the Holy Spirit) living and abiding within us at this very moment. It is a present reality!  The Holy Spirit gives us our identity and is God’s down payment (Eph.1:14) that He will fulfill all of His plans and promises for us both now and throughout eternity.

As far as God is concerned, because He lives in eternity and not in time, it is already an accomplished fact. Paul is reminding us of that reality.  Because we are redeemed, we have God’s Presence indwelling us at this very moment. We literally have heaven living on the inside of us.  We are in Him, and He is in us!  We are one with Him!

Let us rejoice in the reality of our oneness with Him! It is literally a taste of heaven!  Nothing in this present world can compare with that!   And this is just a foretaste of what awaits us! 

Rev. James W. Black