Living in God's presence

During my devotions this morning I came across a verse; Psalm 140:13 "Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence." ESV translation
This verse gives us what the heartbeat of every Christian ought to be. I want to dwell in His presence. I trust that you want to dwell in His presence. Jesus said this in several different way and in John 15 the emphasis is abiding in Him and Jesus in us. This ought to be what a life of a believer is all about. God loves you and wants you to dwell in His presence. God is for you and not against you because He wants you to dwell in His presence. Jesus died on the cross to free us from our sins so we could dwell in His presence. Jesus defeated the works of the enemy, sin and death so that we would be able to dwell in His presence. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith because He wants us to dwell in His presence. Jesus provided grace and mercy in the times of our weaknesses because we are powerless to dwell in His ever abiding presence when He said that He would never leave us nor forsake us so that His presence is always our guiding light. In saying all that this verse also communicates that it is the upright who dwell in His presence. This is not a works thing but it is an obedience thing. For day one of creation of Adam and Eve God has required obedience to experience His tangible manifest presence. When Adam and Eve sinned God had no option but to expel them out of the Garden of Eden, that is a symbol of His presence. The upright in this verse is speaking of those whose life is marked by a lifestyle of obedience, not perfection but similar to that of Kind David, having a heart after God. We can live in His presence on a daily basis. This is the heartbeat of God for you and I trust it is also your heartbeat for God.
May God bless you throughout this week with His tangible presence in your life.

Pastor John