Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “The Presence of the Lord”
Our Bible verse for today: “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” Psalm 27:10 (NLT)
Our thought for today: “We need never doubt the presence of the Lord.”
One of the saddest and most common stories people tell is about losing someone close whom they depended on. A spouse bails out of a marriage; a parent deserts a child; siblings fight and don’t speak to each other for thirty years; friends let you down.
There are few people in life we can truly count on to be there for us no matter what. But God can always be counted on. He will never leave us. This is one of the most common themes repeated over and over again all throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 27:10 it was King David affirming the Lord’s dependable presence. In Hebrews 13:5 it was the writer to the Hebrews. In Matthew 28:20 it was Jesus Himself assuring us that He would be with us always.
Being left alone by the ones we depended on, and feeling lonely as a result, can be a troubling and depressing situation. But the Lord will be there for us to fill that emptiness with an awareness of His own presence with us.
As we approach Sunday, I want to remind us all of an important truth that has already been addressed in a previous devotional message on this subject of the Lord’s presence. Very often the way the Lord manifests His presence to us in through other Christians. One of the reasons God places us in church families is so that we don’t have to be alone. This is what Jesus was talking about in Mark 3:34-35 when He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
He was talking about Christians.
If you don’t already have a church family then we invite you to join us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school begins at 9:00 and worship is at 10:00. It could be that the way He intends to hold you close to Him (Psalm 27:10), and experience His presence with you, is through the warm embrace of a good church family.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 