Desiring God's Presence Pt. 2

This is part two of "Desiring God's Presence" to prepare us for the season of Advent. Here is a brief overview of last week with some reflection questions.  “What will distinguish me and your people from all other peoples on the earth?” Moses asks of God. The presence of God sets his people apart as distinct from the world. This is a major theme in the Bible that needs the volume turned up a bit so we can hear the melody more clearly. As we talked about last week in Exodus 33, God says he is a God of his word and will give the promised land to Israel. He will even send an angel to clear the way for them. Moses meets with God, as he would with a friend, and demands that God’s presence must go with his people if they are to be distinct from others in the world. God relents and agrees to be present with the people. There are a few takeaways from this passage I want to highlight before jumping into this week’s focus: Moses’s concern was that God’s presence would be with the people, who were “stiff necked” complainers who had little desire for Yahweh God. When looking with concern on the people around you who couldn’t care less about your faith or the God you serve, how often have you cried out to God for his presence to be with them? Moses has a deep relationship with God and feels comfortable being frank with him. Where does this kind of relationship begin? Our world needs more people who are willing to have the kind of relationship with God that impacts everyone around them. Will you develop the habit this next year of spending time with God each day? Spend some time reading and reflecting on Acts 1-2. Here are some questions to help you focus: 1:4-5 – They are told to wait for the Holy Spirit. When in your life have you tended to act on your own behalf rather than waiting on the Spirit? When have you felt lost as to what you should do, and this prompted you to spend time in waiting for the Spirit? What does it mean to wait for the Holy Spirit? 1:12-14 – When they arrived back in Jerusalem to wait, what did they occupy themselves with? Who all were present for this time of constant prayer? 2:1-4 – Who received the Holy Spirit? We often assume it was the 12 but others were with them praying continually in 1:12-14. The context points to the women also receiving the Holy Spirit. If this feels like a stretch, Peter quotes the prophet Joel (2:17-21) about the Spirit being poured out “on all people” where “sons and daughters will prophesy” and “even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit…and they will prophesy.” 2:38-39 – Baptism washes away sins in the same way that the sacrifice at the Temple creates a clean space for God’s Presence to inhabit. Through this Baptismal washing, the Holy Spirit has a place to dwell inside of us. Who is this promise for? 2:42-47 – Luke paints a picture of what the new community of believers looks like in response to becoming the restored creation, the New Temple where the Spirit dwells. What can you do today to be present to God’s presence in your life in a way that draws you into deeper community with fellow believers?