Awareness of Jesus' Presence

I really appreciated and enjoyed Stephen, Irene, and Anna's posts regarding their New Years Resolutions. Stephen & Irene's desire to get closer to the Lord in 2006 should be the goal of all Christians. Isn't it awesome that God promises to get closer to us when we commit to getting closer to Him?

Jeremiah 24:7 - And I will give them an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Have you ever lost your awareness of Jesus' presence? I know that I have. When I get too busy with life and other things happening, I can neglect my time alone with the Lord and even my prayer life suffers. This blog helps me to keep focused on Him, however, and daily postings about Him and His Word bring me back to whole hearted worship.

I loved what Stephen & Irene's post said about giving all accomplishments to the glory of the Lord. They truly have a ministry that does exactly that! We need to continue to pray for their ministry, as well as the thousands of ministries dedicated to lifting up the name of Jesus Christ.

I have noticed that when my prayer life suffers, I can (unfortunately) become self-centered.

As Christians, when we become self-centered, we can lose sight of what God's Word says in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12:


2Th 1:11 (KJV)
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of [his] goodness, and the work of faith with power:

2Th 1:12 (KJV)
That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The New Living Translation states:

11 And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds. 12 Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.*

1:12 Or of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Being reminded of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, helps keep our proper focus. Knowing His mercy, grace and love endures forever is a humbling experience!

Philippians 1:20, 21 NLT reminds us in this new year of 2006 what our purpose is:

For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ,...and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living is for Christ...

I am a believer in Christ. I believe God's Word. Both have shown me that my purpose in life is to bring honor to Christ. He is the One who expands my vision. I have found that I have been incredibly blessed by what God wants to do in me, through me, and for me! And, I have seen His powerful and awesome works done through my Christian friends both here in the blogosphere and in my own circle of friends and acquaintances.

There is nothing better in life than personally knowing Jesus Christ our Lord!

May He continue to bless each and every one of you in this new year and give you the vision and courage to carry on in His Holy Name!