CHURCH
MELBOURNE, FL
​​​​​​​​​​​​​Daily Devotionals
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Day 6: January 9, 2025
Today’s scripture reading:
Psalm 24:3-10; Psalm 27:4 and 8; Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 51:11; Psalm 63:1-8; Psalm 73:25-28; Psalm 84:1-2, 5 and 10; Psalm 100:4; Psalm 132:3-5, 7-9
Highlighted verses:
Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV) 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Notice the manifest presence of God in Psalm 42:1-2:
Do you see it? The writer of this psalm isn’t concerned with the omni-presence of God, he is after something more: the manifest presence of God. There is a deep thirst in his soul, and he knows it can only be found in the presence of God.
Do you sense that thirst in your own soul? We have an advantage over the psalmist: The new covenant gives us access to God’s manifest presence. When can we go and meet with God? Anytime. Yet, we’re not looking for a generic or religious experience—we long to encounter the living God. While he’s made himself available, it still takes humility, faith, obedience, faithfulness—not to mention time, energy and focus. Godly desires are nothing without the actions to back them up.
Questions:
Does your soul thirst for God? If so, in what ways are you acting on that desire? How is your life different, or how can it be different, because you want more of God’s manifest presence?
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Day 5: January 8, 2025
Today’s scripture reading:
2 Chronicles 5, 6 and 7
Highlighted verses:
2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (NIV) 1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
Notice the manifest presence of God in 2 Chronicles 7:1-3:
The glory of the Lord (or the manifest presence of God) filled the temple. How does the God who is everywhere come and fill anything? This happened after much preparation to make God a resting place, because Solomon’s father David instilled the desire for God’s presence into the next generation.
What seemed like something suddenly happening came from many years of preparation. It is no different for us. God desires to dwell with us in experiential ways. Yet we have to prepare a place for him, so to speak. We do this through humility, repentance and seeking the Lord. The goal of seeking the Lord isn’t to cross a finish line, but to create a lifestyle of the manifest presence of God.
Questions:
How are you preparing a place for God’s presence to dwell in your life, family and church? In what ways can you cultivate that as a sustainable lifestyle even after you encounter more of God’s presence?
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Day 4: January 7, 2025
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Today’s scripture reading:
1 Chronicles 13, 15 and 16
Highlighted verses:
1 Chronicles 13:3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.
Notice the manifest presence of God in 1 Chronicles 13:3:
The ark wasn’t just a historic artifact or a religious relic—it was the presence of God. The God who is everywhere desired to manifest himself in the ark. Why? Because he desires to dwell with his people in a tangible way.
David knew this so his first act as king of Israel was to establish the manifest presence of God among the nation. This was so meaningful to God, that because of David’s actions he made him a promise that someone from his family would rule forever. This was fulfilled in Jesus—God with us, the Word who became flesh, the incarnate God, the invisible God made visible, the exact representation of God’s being. In other words, Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God’s presence.
Questions:
Do you realize you can ‘bring the ark back’ by seeking the presence of God? What would it look like if we established the manifest presence of God in our lives, families, homes and churches?
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Day 3: January 6, 2025
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Today’s scripture reading:
Exodus 33:1-23
Highlighted verses:
Exodus 33:9-11 (NIV) 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Notice the manifest presence of God in verses 9-11:
The God who is everywhere spoke to Moses face to face—how amazing! A common excuse for not pursuing the manifest presence of God is something like “Well I’m not Moses” (or another biblical figure). The whole point of the Bible is to reveal what God is like and that it applies to us. It’s not merely a story book of what God used to do, so let’s throw out the excuses and seek his face. In fact, 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 tells us that not only we can experience the glory of God (his manifest presence), but we can do so in even greater ways because of the finished work of Jesus.
Questions:
How can you stop making excuses for not encountering God’s presence? In what ways can we be more like Joshua, who did not want to leave the manifest presence of God?
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Day 2: January 5, 2025
Today’s scripture reading:
Exodus 19:1-25
Highlighted verses:
Exodus 19:20-22 (NIV) 20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”
Notice the manifest presence of God is verse 20:
Like the Israelites, we cannot ‘force’ our way to see the Lord. We cannot manipulate our way into God’s presence. While it’s God’s desire to manifest his presence and dwell with us, we must do so on his terms. God’s terms in the new covenant are the body and blood of Jesus. As believers, we are all priests who get to approach the Lord by consecrating ourselves through faith in Jesus sacrificial death.
Questions:
Have you been trying to encounter God on your own terms? In what ways can you approach the presence of God on his terms?
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Day 1: January 4, 2025
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Today’s scripture reading:
Genesis 3:1-24
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Highlighted verses:
Genesis 3:8-10 (NIV) 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
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Notice the manifest presence of God in verse 8:
From the beginning, the Lord God, who is everywhere, desired to manifest his presence among his people. He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. In other words, he was manifesting his presence in a specific place, at a specific time, for a specific people.
Yet, sin prevented God from dwelling with the people he created for that purpose. The Lord was walking, the Lord was looking, the Lord asked, “Where are you?” It is no different for us today. Any separation from God that we experience is because of our sin, yet his desire to dwell with us remains. He is the one looking for us, asking “Where are you?”
Unlike Adam, we don’t have to be afraid or ashamed. Jesus’ once for all sacrifice has made us holy in God’s sight, enabling us to come directly to him—experiencing the manifest presence of God—as he has always wanted.
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Questions:
How can you better respond to God’s desire to dwell with you? In what ways can you be more available to the One who is asking, “Where are you”?