God's Presence - Our Most Fundamental Assurance (The Presence-Driven Church)

I wake in the morning and begin with four sources to meditate on. They are...

• The Psalms (right now I'm slow-walking through Ps. 119)
• The book of Job (in The Message)
• Hearing God Through the Year: A 365-Day Devotional, by Dallas Willard
• A Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines, by Richard Foster (a steal at $1.99 for Kindle!)

Everywhere I read I encounter the theme of God's presence. Today's reading from Foster is out of Isaiah 41:10; 43:1-5. Foster comments on these verses.

"These phrases are characteristic announcements of divine presence. The recurring promise of God’s presence is the most fundamental assurance given in gospel faith. God is with us: ours is a with-God life. The announcement itself radically transforms situations by inspiring an awareness of God’s presence. In the Gospel presentation of Jesus’ life, the same “Do not be afraid” is used at key points. The birth and the resurrection of Jesus are decisive events in the history of the world that evoke from God the transformative announcement of his presence (see Luke 2: 10; Matt 28: 5)."

Foster, A Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines. Kindle Locations 648-652. Emphasis mine.

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My new book Leading the Presence-Driven Church is now available on Kindle. Paperback is HERE.