The reality of God's presence is available for all people. Better yet, we are present to God at all times and in all places. The doctrine of God's omnipresence states that God is present in all his fullness at all times and all places. He considered "the practice of the presence of God' - the discipline of remaining conscious of God's presence at all times - to be at the center of authentic Christian spirituality. I believe that a conscious, intentional, and consistent attempt to live as if God were present in every place in all situations would do nothing less than completely transform our lives! Brother Lawrence, the 17th century monk who served for forty years as cook and then, because of an injury, as shoe-repairman for his Carmelite brethren, believed this as well. If we are not careful, we who believe in God can be guilty of "practical atheism" - believing God's truth in theory, but in practice, living as if God's truth was irrelevant.īecause of our tendency to theorize rather than apply, I put forward a challenge: What if we were to live as if God were present in every place in all situations - always seeking our good and his glory? Wouldn't this transform everything - every moment, every activity, every encounter with others? Wouldn't this completely change our perspective? Wouldn't this impact the time we spend together as we recall our Lord's promise that "where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst"? Our daily challenge as Christians is to live in light of this great truth! It is one thing to intellectually assent to this truth it is another thing altogether to experience it as a regular part of one's life. God gives us the greatest gift possible - God's favorable and faithful presence! His presence is more precious than all the answers to every possible question (assuming we could understand God's answers in the first place). But God has promised to be with us in all our confusion, trials, and sorrows. God has never promised to give us answers to every question or provide us with a life of ease or comfort. Like the passionate lovers in Song of Solomon we rest in the security that "My beloved is mine and I am his." By entering into covenant with God, we come to possess God and God possesses us. In your opinion, what is the greatest and most comforting promise that God gives in Holy Scripture? I believe that God's greatest promise is this: "I will be with you always." Or, stated negatively, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." At the core of every covenant God establishes with human beings are the words, "I will be your God and you will be my people." The marital vows a couple repeats in a wedding ceremony echo this great commitment. Transforming Presence: Knowing God in the Ordinary by Richard J. Some of the results (used with permission) are cycling through the slideshow in the banner above. All photographs were exhibited with an explanation that related it to the theme. The rest were enlarged by the photographers to their own specifications (but not smaller than 11x14) and hung in the lobby and main hallways. Twelve images were enlarged to poster size and hung in the sanctuary. Then we gave photographers a month to look for God and take His picture. Vincent reprinted below with permission ( the original can be found here). We started by requiring all interested participants to read the excellent article by Richard J. The ProjectĮveryone, regardless of skill level, who wanted to participate was invited to do so. The secondary goal was to begin to "disciple the eyes" of the congregation by sharing the images beside an explanation of what each photographer saw. We wanted to encourage people to look for God daily and to use their cameras as tools for worship. This project was planned as a discipleship project for photographers. God in the Ordinary Photography Project The request
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