Come into His Presence

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Psalm 95:1-2

God is omnipresent--present in reality at all times.  Every believer also has the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit...God present in us.  So why would scripture allude to a "coming into his presence" as though we could be away from it?  

We've had an absolutely stunning fall around our home place this year.  One breathtaking scene after another appears all along the roads in the short distances we travel nearly every day.

I don't know why, but fall brings me into the presence of God in fresh ways every season.  He created me to love color, so when He displays the splendor of His artistry as these photos barely capture, I am so awed by Him.  I know God is always near me, but there are times when I "come into His presence."  These are times I feel closer, I move closer to Him in prayer or through something His Word speaks to me.   

There have been times when I've been brokenhearted and I come into His presence for an extra measure of closeness and comfort.  When I hold my grandson while he sleeps and I ponder the potential of his life, I come into God's presence.  In worship at my church, I feel God tugging at my heart to forget all those around me and just come into His presence.  His presence is sweet, secure and surges with power. 

I fall so short of being able to adequately describe the wonder and awe of coming into God's presence.  But I know when I do, He is always there, always ready to take my spirit to new heights, to deepen my faith and broaden my vision of His plan for me.  And every time, without fail, when I come into His presence I have to bow in thanksgiving.  That incredible, breath-taking moment of feeling the rush of His presence pulls gratitude from the innermost reaches of my soul.  All that He is, all He has done, all He has planned for me, all He will accomplish...all of Him makes me want to run into His presence and always....always with thanksgiving!

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Design Detail:  I just had to pull out my fallish and very fun printable, Sunflowers and Pumpkins for this page.  These are so perfect for the season.  Here I used a clear, matte finish sticker version of my images.  And just because I could, I layered them right on top of each other.  A few simple splashes on the page and words from one of my favorite stamp sets, Incredible Blessed and a very simple page took only minutes to do.  

 

You can check both of these out on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps store page.  

Reflecting Jesus

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror 

the glory of the Lord, are being transformed 

into the same image from glory to glory, 

just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

For some like me, standing in front of a mirror is an intimidating, even discouraging thing. Recently, when I was getting ready for the day, putting on my make-up, I was noticing the sags and wrinkles and I said out loud, "Girl, you've come a long way...and it shows!" I've never liked mirrors...ever! They show what I do not normally see, what I don't want to see. I can't explain it, but I'm about 20 pounds thinner looking down than when looking at my reflection in a mirror! I think the simple matter, like it or not, is that the mirror in front of me is revealing a truth that makes me uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable because the world tells me I should look very different. It tells me I should be fit, trim and look like I stepped out of a magazine. What should we see when we look in the mirror?

We should see Jesus. When we stand before the mirror we should see the precious soul Jesus died to rescue. We should see the value He placed upon us...body and soul, and know that He deeply, completely loves us. We should see worth and beauty. We should see a relaxed face that glows with the glory of the Lord within us. We should see eyes that look beyond the mirror reflecting self to see others as Jesus sees them. The mirror should reflect another mirror. I become a mirror. And when people look a me, they shouldn't see my reflection. They should see Jesus. My words, actions, thoughts (YES...others can often read our thoughts by the look on our faces) should all reflect Jesus.

Oh, that we could free up self image by concerning ourselves more with our Christ-reflection. Most of us stand in front of a mirror on a daily basis. It's a great time to remind ourselves that when we walk away from that mirror, we become one ourselves. We decide each morning what or who we will reflect that day. Today, I choose Jesus!

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Design Details: This layout is in my 100 Days of Bible Promises by Illustrated Faith. I used both my Words of Wisdom printable bundle and my Sunflowers and Pumpkins printable (the outline images page) available at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. To add color and texture to the page, I scraped on acrylic paints in two colors. 

 Sunflowers and Pumpkins Printable

 Words of Wisdom Printable Bundle