Ahavat Yeshua
Jerusalem
Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy!”
These are tough times in Israel. Our hearts are often heavy, not joyful. The days seem dark, reminding us of Isaiah 60:2, “…darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples.”
But the verses before and after say, “Arise, shine, for your light has come! The glory of the LORD has risen on you. For behold, darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples. But the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. Nations will come to your light, kings to the brilliance of your rising.”
Though it feels like the end-times are on our doorstep, we can also see our light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen! There is revival in the midst of the darkness. There is joy and hope and laughter!
We are built for “presence.” We are each created in the image of God, designed to walk with Him in daily life. Only after sin and disobedience appeared, did we get cut off from that constant fellowship. Ever since that day, God has been trying to reconnect with us. He has brought His presence closer and closer. He put His spirit on Bezalel for the purpose of building the Tabernacle. He put His spirit into people like Elijah and Elisha. He placed his abiding presence in the Temple. As amazing as this was, it STILL wasn’t enough. God isn’t just interested in being present, He wants presence with relationship.
Can you imagine how insane it must have sounded to the disciples when Yeshua said, “It is better that I go away so I can send the comforter!” After walking with Yeshua for more than three years, could anything be better? Better than God-made-flesh touching our hearts, minds, and even bodies? But Yeshua DID say it is better that He go, in order to send the Holy Spirit. Because this is what we were made for – to house His presence. To be reconnected at the deepest level and commune with God day and night all the time until the end of time. Our proper state, which returns in the New Jerusalem, is full intimacy with God where we know Him in full just as we are fully known today by Him.
You were created for presence with God. The presence of God is His greatest gift. Your presence is your greatest gift. Congregations were created for the presence of God… and the presence of one another. When you meet together, it isn’t just a way to convey a teaching to many at once, it is gifting one another with our presence, as creatures made in His image, filled with Him, each reflecting a unique spectrum of His light.
Congregational worship services are like “P multiplied.”
My presence x Your presence x His Presence = P3
Both Joy and Mourning
The human heart is incredible in that it can do more than one thing at once. We often feel that if we are sad, we cannot also be happy. If we are mourning, we cannot also be joyful. But that’s not the case.
On June 8th, four living hostages were rescued; and the entire nation rejoiced. A joy we had forgotten was in our hearts and smiles were on our faces. But one commando soldier died in that operation – a heroic young husband and father named Arnon.
It just so happened, that Arnon’s family lived four houses up the street from me. We were privileged to visit the family while they sat “shiva.” We spoke with his wife, and our smallest children played with his small children. Our sadness of mourning with his wife was real yet did not supplant the joy we felt for the four liberated captives. The same was true for Arnon’s immediate family. They felt both at the same time.
