Day 250/365- Ezekiel 48:35

"The Lord is there"

"And from that day the name of the city will be `The Lord Is There.'" (Ezekiel 48:35 NLT)

The presence of God makes all the difference. Moses knew this. God said that he would give the people the promise land but he would not go with them. Moses said no thanks. He knew that God made all the difference. Without the presence of God they are just another nation. There would be nothing to set them apart from their neighbors. Nothing to guide, protect, & instruct them along the way. God's presence makes all the difference.

The exile is an accurate picture of what happens to his people when he withdrawals his presence. Ruins. The city & it's people lie in ruins. God departed from the temple, the city, & the people. What followed was chaos, death, & destruction. The nation of Israel reached an all-time low when God's presence left.

But Ezekiel 48 offers hope. One day his presence will return & the city will once again be called "The Lord is there."

I believe churches everywhere are seeking to do the work of God without the presence of God. He is a bonus but not a necessity. It's a plus but not crucial. He's a great asset but not everything. And so we have polished exiles. We are really living like exiles while acting like God is here. We strategize, plan, go, do, study, move & act often happily without God's presence.

The main thing that impressed the Chinese Christian who visited the USA was said to be the great things that Christians in America can do without God.

We must be like Moses & say to God, we will not go without you. We will not move unless you move. We will not be able to function unless you are here. Could a lack of this desperation for God's presence be the reason we see such chaos, spiritual death, & destruction?

We need God's presence to return to his people so that we can be the people that he wants us to be. So that we can be a people marked by the phrase, "The Lord is there."

This is in fact what set apart John & Peter in Acts 4. It wasn't their speech or their persuasive skills. It wasn't their strategy or plan. It was that they had the presence of Jesus all over them. They took note that they had been with Jesus.

Can people tell we have been with Jesus? Have we been with him? Is his presence a bonus, an add on or a necessity?