How often do you think about the Lord’s presence in your life? In Exodus 33:15, we find Moses declaring to the Lord, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”

What we should thirst for more than anything in this life is the manifest presence of God—in our lives, our homes, our churches, in our relationships.

We know that the Bible teaches God is omnipresent, meaning He is in all places at all times, which is true. The same Scripture that teaches us about God’s omnipresence also says there is a special manifest presence where He reveals His power, glory, and might to us in life-changing ways.

Maybe you would say yes, that you are a follower of Jesus. Yes, you know His Spirit lives in you. But how aware are you of His presence as you go through each day? In my own life, I want to seek His presence in my relationships and choices. I want to walk in His presence as a husband, a father, a friend, a coworker, and a leader. I want to stay aware of Him, communicate with Him, and continually dwell upon Him. If that’s your desire, too, I would love to share a list the Lord placed on my heart recently after I had the opportunity to spend time learning from Pastor Bill Elliff, author of The Presence Centered Life.

Here are seven words to help you seek God’s presence daily:

​1 — RETURN to Him daily for communion. We will feel the pull of the world continually; that’s why we need to be sure we are pursuing a relationship with God actively and faithfully. Choose a time and place you will meet with Him daily, and keep showing up.

Psalm 5:3 - “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”

Mark 1:35 - “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

​2 — RECEIVE His wisdom through reading His Word. The Bible is to the soul what bread is to the body. Consuming His Word daily feeds our souls. It’s not a time we approach as some heavenly homework assignment. It has to be a daily intersection where we say, “The God of heaven wants to speak to me through His Word, and I want to receive what He has for me.” You don't have to guess where or what to read in your Bible. Find a good reading plan, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you understanding. 

Psalm 119:10 - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

3 — RELATE your heart to His in prayer. Seeking the manifest presence of God in our lives is not a one-way street. Not only do we need to hear from God through His Word, but God desires to hear from us. We don’t have to pretend we don’t have fears or struggles. We can pour out our hearts to Him because we trust and love Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

​4 — REPENT of any sin that He reveals. One of the greatest misconceptions of Christianity is that mature Christians are mature because they don't struggle with sin. It's actually the opposite. Godly men and godly women become godly because they fight their sin. If we want the anointing of God, if we want to walk in the power God has promised, if we want to be aware of God’s will, if we want to see God honor our prayers, rest assured, He's going to deal with our sin. He does so through the loving hand of a Father who uses the gift and tool of conviction.

Psalm 32:1-5 - “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

​5 — RELEASE your will and yield to His. There's no greater picture of yielding to the Father than the example set for us by our Savior. Jesus, knowing the anguish coming His way, prays these words in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

This needs to be our prayer every day. Not that we are called to die on the cross for the sins of the world. That's already been done. But every day, we can emulate our Savior in surrendering our will to the Father’s. Many of our struggles are caused because we go about the business of doing what we want to do, and then tack on a prayer for God to bless it. But there is freedom and even clarity when we start our days praying, “Lord, I want to walk in Your presence and do Your will today. Even when it’s hard, help me yield my desires to Yours. Amen.”

6 — RESPOND to His will by obeying. When we love the Lord, we obey him. That doesn't mean we will be perfect, but genuine love for Him will produce a deep desire to obey Him. I find that the more I seek His presence, the more I want to obey Him. And as He changes my heart to be more like His, I begin to want what He wants, and obedience becomes easier.

2 John 1:6 - “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”

​7 — REMAIN by consciously trying to "abide" with Him. If we start our day by returning to the Lord, receiving from His Word, relating our hearts to His in prayer, repenting of any sin He reveals, releasing our will and yielding to His, and committing to walk in obedience, we can’t stop there. When we head out into the day, we must continue thinking about Him. Keep yourself close.

John 15:4-5 - “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

How different would our lives be if we returned, received, related, repented, released, responded, and remained day after day? All of our greatest needs are met in His presence. Let’s live like people who believe this truth. I believe our lives and the lives we come into contact with will be blessed by the resulting fruit. 

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To read the original blog on Pastor D.J.'s website, click here.

The Peaceful Promise of Psalm 23

Every time I go to the store I forget to buy Command hooks. I just moved into a tiny apartment where floor space is scarce, so the majority of my square footage exists as a wall—a wall in which I cannot drill or screw in or nail anything, because my residence there is, well, temporary. Thus the temporary hooks, which I keep forgetting to buy. To be truthful there are still lots of things I need that I don’t have: dish rags, more trash bags, a bath mat, a working lamp. A recent close call with an HVAC fire has also made me consider the necessity of something my landlord called “renter’s insurance,” although I’m not sure what I would insure given the whole of my earthly possessions amounts to little more than consigned clothes on mismatched hangars and too many throw blankets. Not much on the walls yet, either—I keep forgetting those hooks. 

There are all kinds of things we think we need. More seriously than my dish rags and trash bags, we all need to be seen, loved, cherished, chosen, and respected. We need to pay our very real bills that have very real consequences for not paying them. We have real people to feed, clothe and drive around to practice and dance lessons. Some of you have medical expenses, unsaved family members, terminal diagnoses, wayward children—burdens that only our Father knows and sees. In times like those, we feel our need deeply. We think about it daily. 

And then we open our Bible, some of us less often than we’d like to admit, and we see a God who cares for other peoples’ needs. He split the sea, healed a disease, made the sun stand still, and raised a little girl to life, all for other people. We start to believe that God provides for the needs of other people, but He seems to have skipped right over us. Do you know that feeling?

One particularly frustrating morning between me and the Lord began with me sitting down and wasting no time to get right to complaining about all the ways He had not met my needs that day. I could see a long list of things that He had not seen to yet, and I felt justified in my anger. 

Right in the middle of my spiritual temper-tantrum, the Lord sat me right down in Psalm 23 and (gently, as good Fathers do) put my nose to the page. If it’s been a while since you read it in the NIV, it starts like this: “The Lord is my shepherd—I lack nothing.” 

As you can imagine, that sentence ran totally against the grain of all my feelings. So I read it again. And again. I had my list of “things” I lacked. I’m sure you do too. How can God be faithful to his Word while we still “lack?” 

We stand, as any follower of Jesus often does, at a crossroads between God’s Word and our feelings. I really don’t like it there. But it’s here that God refines and molds us—not when everything is perfect. It’s here where we sit and listen, and He kindly bends His knee to teach. It’s here where He can tend to a heart of stone, weathered by pain and disappointments, and make it beat again if you’ll let Him. This is the hard part, the best part, when we “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in His temple” even when it costs us something (Psalm 27:4). So bring it to him. See what He says.

“The Lord is…” There’s lots of ways we could finish that sentence. Mighty, holy, perfect, strong, powerful, loving—all true, all good. But not what He says. He says “The Lord is my shepherd.” Interesting. That’s not the most glamorous thing He could choose. Shepherds sleep on the grass, clean up after animals, and are the sole reason that sheep don’t run off a cliff or thirst to death. Shepherds tend to, feed, guide, protect, and sometimes even carry their sheep. The Lord creates with a word. The Lord exists in continual, celestial worship. And this Lord is your shepherd. 

“The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1) Not “our” shepherd. Not the shepherd of the people who perform perfectly, who seem to have all their prayers answered, or have enough money to meet their own needs. This isn’t talking about your kids, your husband or your pastor. In some way, somehow, by some miracle of grace, you belong to The Lord. You get to call Him “mine.” 

The God who speaks and bends His knee low to listen. The God who comes to you. The God who loves you without condition, died to make a way for you, and the God who will not let you go…He is the one who shepherds you. This God is not called “the shepherd of millions,” or “the shepherd of your family,” or “the shepherd of the ones who get it right all the time.” He is your shepherd. It’s really a marvel when you think about it.

I think that’s why David had the audacity to say the next part. Because the Lord is your shepherd—not a human limited by time, space, energy; not a being with little care for your soul, not a distant god who must be appeased and convinced to love you—”you lack nothing.” 

Do you think that a Father who gave His Son for you would withhold anything else? In the midst of counting the hairs on your head, do you think He forgot what you need? He says He knows “even before you ask” (Matthew 6:8). Because it is Him who shepherds you and Him to whom you belong, “you lack nothing.” I hope you feel His loving eyes on you, compelling you not to sidestep His promises that He means to land squarely on you. “The Lord is your shepherd, so you lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1)

So what do we do with our lists? 

I find that my greatest frustration with God comes when I start to have a theology problem. I forget what God is really like, and start assuming that He is like me: worried, anxious, selfish, stingy, or mean. 

When the Spirit gets through my stubbornness and fixes my eyes on who my Father really is, I look down at my list again. Its contents are no less urgent or necessary, but they are less terrifying when seen with a new perspective. If the Lord is my shepherd, then He knows when rent is due. He knows the needs of our children. He knows how tired I am, how difficult marriage is, how tight budgets are, how hopeless I feel—He’s God. He knows. He can handle that. And if the Lord is my shepherd, then He will act in perfect love towards me, no matter what His answer is. If He tells me to wait, then I’d better trust what I don’t see. If He says no, then I must not need it. If He says yes, then I enjoy His blessings. For any answer, I can marvel that the God of the universe—my shepherd—heard me. 

Instead of staring at the beginning of Psalm 23 in defiance, counting all the ways God hasn’t answered, what if we leveled it like an arrow to the enemy’s lies? I’ve found it starts to read a little differently, and puts courage in my bones. 

What can the world do to you if the Lord is your shepherd? You lack nothing. We are safe in the palm of His capable hands. He knows everything, has everything, and forgets nothing. I still keep forgetting those hooks, though. 

“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” 

Psalm 34:10

The storyline of ends times is clear: Jesus Christ is King, His reign is secure, and history is moving toward His return. This Bible Reading Plan shows us we are anchored in Christ’s present authority, reminding us that nothing unfolds outside His rule. The end times declare the reality of God’s just judgment, the seriousness of sin, and the grace offered through Christ alone.

However, the story isn't dark. Scripture promises us to the hope of renewal, God’s dwelling with His redeemed people, and the Church as Christ’s treasured bride. The Bible Reading plan culminates at the cross and resurrection, where Christ’s victory is secured and our future restored. Each reflection calls us to live with trust, obedience, and expectation, shaping our lives around the coming King rather than the passing world.

Memorization and retention are directly correlated to motivation. If I am motivated to pass a quiz, I will store the information in short-term memory and let it fade passively after completing the quiz. However, if my motivation is connected to a greater purpose, I will want to store the information in the deeper recesses of my heart.

Memorizing scripture can serve a higher purpose, as the words can make an eternal impact. Paul says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The motivation to memorize is directly linked to the potential to make disciples who are growing in their faith. 

In order to hide the scripture in the deeper recesses of the heart, you can follow the example of the Psalmist, who said, “I have stored up your word in my heart” (Psalm 119:11). In this second stanza of the psalm, the author (traditionally understood to be David) provides insight into how one can store up the word in the heart.

Learn the Word

David says, “Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:12). The posture is of learning, and the teacher is God Almighty. However, we are not left to our own for learning; we have the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds so we can understand the Word. When we learn, our mind and heart come together to grasp the greatest known truths. 

Declare the Word

“With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth” (Psalm 119:13). There is power in the transmission of thoughts into sounds. Reading aloud as you memorize Scripture will help you learn it faster and understand better what you are reading. Deeper learning involves engaging more senses. 

Delight in the Word 

King David says, “In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches” (Psalm 119:14). The word translated delight is the Hebrew word sus and defined as “to be bright,” as in “cheerful” and “glad.”¹ The Word is a treasure bringing great joy to the reader. 

Meditate on the Word 

Any attempts at meaningful memorization must involve intentional reading. The reader needs to linger on the Word and allow it to have its full effect. The psalmist says, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways” (Psalm 119:15). The goal is to internalize the Word so that it can grip the soul and transform the mind. 
As we dedicate ourselves to memorization, the Word will reach our hearts, shape our minds, and prepare us for good works. Therefore, we can echo the Psalmist, who said, “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:116). 

John 8:31-38

There is a nearly universal experience in childhood of wanting to run free without anyone telling you where to go or how long you can stay there. Most children long for open space, movement, and freedom simply because they were made to explore. As we grow older, life begins to narrow, with schedules, expectations, responsibilities, and obligations shaping our days. School keeps us seated for hours, work demands consistency, and adulthood often feels more restrictive than free.

That longing for freedom does not disappear as we age. It simply changes form. Beneath our routines and responsibilities is a deeper question that many of us carry, whether we say it out loud or not: Have you ever truly felt free?

There is a danger here that cannot be ignored. There is a difference between the freedom God offers and the freedom the world says is attainable. The world will tell you that you can, or should be able to, do whatever you want in life, and no one should tell you otherwise. You might hear people say, “Live your truth.” This is often the justification for living freely in whatever capacity this may look like in your life, as long as it makes you happy. 

Freedom is more than the absence of rules or authority. It is the experience of being released from something that once held power over you. When you are freed from a heavy burden, there is relief, joy, and often gratitude. If freedom feels abstract or unfamiliar, consider what is holding you bound. Every person is bound by something.

Jesus teaches that sin has the power to enslave us, even when we believe we are acting on our own terms (John 8:34). Bondage does not always look dramatic or destructive on the surface. It can look like patterns you cannot break, emotions that control your reactions, approval you constantly chase, or beliefs that quietly shape your identity. What binds us does not always announce itself, but its presence is felt.

In John 8, Jesus speaks to two types of people at once. He speaks to those openly caught in sin and those who believe their religious obedience has made them free. To put it plainly, He speaks to the rebels and to the religious. 

Although they are two very different groups, Jesus offers them the same invitation. He says that true freedom is found by abiding in His Word (John 8:31). To abide means to remain, to cling, and to stay rooted. It is not a momentary agreement with, compliance, or toleration of Jesus but a continued trust in what He says is true.

Jesus goes on to say that knowing the truth leads to freedom (John 8:32). This truth is not simply information or moral guidance. It is the truth about who God is, who we are, and what Jesus has done. Truth exposes the lies we believe about ourselves and the faulty sources of freedom we rely on too often. With truth at our root, freedom flourishes and follows.

For the rebel, this freedom looks like release from the power and death grip (literally) of sin. Jesus does not minimize sin, but He does break its authority and bondage. Scripture teaches that if the Son sets you free, you are truly free (John 8:36). 

Freedom in Christ does not mean the absence of struggle, but it does mean sin no longer defines or owns you.

For the religious, freedom looks different but is no less necessary. Legalism promises control and security through rule keeping or following traditions, but it cannot produce life. The religious leaders Jesus addressed believed their heritage, obedience, and being perfect guaranteed freedom, yet Jesus tells them they are still enslaved (John 8:33–34). 

When faith becomes about performance and production rather than relationship, it quietly morphs into a form of bondage.

Jesus offers freedom to both the rebellious and the religious by centering everything on Himself. Freedom is not found in doing more or rebelling harder. It is found in belonging to the Son, who brings us into the family of God (John 8:35). In Jesus, we are no longer slaves trying to earn freedom. We are children who live from it. 
True freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want. It is the ability to live as we were created to live. That freedom begins and continues by clinging to Jesus, trusting His Word, and allowing His truth to reshape our lives (John 8:31–32).

Join us for a six-week Bible Reading Plan through a portion of Revelation that leads us from warning to worship, from false security to lasting hope, and from distraction to devotion. As we seek God’s presence, His Word will guide us in responding authentically as we are continually sculpted into a deeply faithful and remarkably healthy church for God’s glory. Click here to get started.