Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
6 15 2023
The Power of Being Present.
Do you ever wear yourself out doing many things that don’t seem to work so well? I believe that productivity, purpose, and even happiness to some degree are rooted in the mystery of giving my undivided attention to the present moment.
Have you ever felt you were on a treadmill… moving but not sure if your direction is correct or even at times if you really have a direction or is it a habit you have been in for months, years, or decades? Are we intentional in our lives? Do you have a Mission Statement,
A vision Statement, and an Action Statement? Isn’t that only for businesses?
Why would that be so?
When we are busy with many things, our attention is divided. We are not fully present in far too many things that we do. Is it so hard to understand why we are so confused or divided?
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered in Luke 10:41, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed “Only one”. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” She chose to listen to Jesus vs be busy with serving the food.
What is this “one thing” for you? When I look back and analyze which activities have brought me the most results, the most peace, and the most fulfillment. I see that they all have risen to a certain state of consciousness… a certain case of intentionality, focus, a state of being present… with God.
God the Holy Spirit is divine energy himself and he wants to come into the world through you and me. He wants to be that “one thing” for you. Is He? That Holy Spirit is clearly powerful but even more humble in its approach to us. He will not force himself on us…
He waits for us to say. “Let it be done according to your will” Luke 1:38
His presence can never be taken away from me, but I can give it away as I have too many times. I have chosen something else. I guess I didn’t really want to relinquish control.
I need to make a choice like Mary to choose what is better and not more busy. To really be present with the gift of the Present and discern what God wants me to do with it. Because as Mary discovered, what is better is also much more.
How do you feel about accepting God’s gift of the Present moment just like it is? Or are you looking to modify it, cut it to your size, or manipulate it to serve your own end? Like checking your phone 5 times as you’re listening to a conversation and not being present to a wonderful person before you. (Not only are we not present, but we’re also not polite or respectful). What kind of life do you build on that foundation?
Every moment each of us is living and breathing is a present from God. It’s a gift. Isn’t the present moment, always a present? I think man is too often looking for more of something else and loses the gift of the moment they’re in. The joy of listening to another’s victories, sorrows or cry’s for help. In truth, every breath is not only a gift, but it should be part of the foundation of celebrating our lives. Embrace the joy that should accompany that gift.
I spoke to you a week or so ago about Prophet Elisha’s servant. An angry king has sent an army of soldiers and chariots to kill the Prophet. He walked out and saw them surrounding the house. That’s all he saw. Elisha’s answer was strange:
“Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Then, Elisha prayed, and the eyes of his servant were opened”.
And he saw a host of angels in the Spirit.
Eckhart Tolle said; “Acknowledging the good you already have
is the foundation of all abundance”.
Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Your law”. When we got saved, the Holy Spirit (discerner of all truth), immediately came and dwelt within us. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19-20, NIV).
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned”
(1 Cor. 2:14, ESV).
God sent the Holy Spirit to us when we received Christ in our lives. He opened our eyes to a new Present. He gave us a spirit filter to see what is in front of us. The Present.
But we have gotten so caught up, like Martha, in the things of the world we need to grow hungry again and thirst after God so we can see the Present as He does. Matt 5:6
We cannot be really Present without God’s Spirit to help us see in the Spirit of the truth before us. He is the one that changes our view. Just like he did for Elisha’s servant. That helps us appreciate the “One Thing,” Mary chose. We have been in the world so long we have become partially blind and can’t see the Angels, His Holy Spirit that Father God has placed around us in the Present to care for us and show us the “One Thing” that is most important right now. It begins by letting go of the control we think we have.
Changing our focus to the Now and to be the light he has called us to be in the Present.
Casting Crowns Who Am I
