Take a Step: Grow in Presence
As Christians, we’re called to be Christ’s representatives. This includes:
- Prayer
- Presence
- Service
- Gifts
- Witness
Last week’s focus was prayer and putting on the armor of God and how that can help us as we go through the difficult struggles of this world. Praying can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. The important thing is to do it. It starts with taking the first step.
Pastor Lisa told us that the Buffum family calls their TV remote a “no-no”. She told us that when they have guests and ask them to hand them the no-no, they don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. This makes sense, because only the Buffum family knows what they’re talking about when they say no-no.
Language can be confusing.
This week we’ll discuss presence. This is the state of being present with others or in a place. But the word present is one of those words that can be confusing.
Present can mean multiple things. It can be a gift given to someone, like a Christmas present. It can be to offer or show something like giving a presentation or presenting someone an award. And then there is the act of being present like it was defined in the paragraph above.
We need to be clear what we’re saying and be careful not to assume everyone understands what we mean when we say something. We might call it a remote and other people might call it a no-no.
In the early Church there were a lot of misunderstandings among the new followers. They would hear different things from different people and then tell others those things. This led to confusion.
In Acts 2:41-42, we see the beginning of the church. Verses 46-47 give us a good picture of what the church should be. They were devoting themselves to meeting together in the temple and in each other’s homes. They were eating together with a joyful and humble attitude. They were praising God and sharing the message with others.
They were present.
Likewise, in Hebrews 10:19-25, we see another example of the importance of coming together as Christ’s followers and fellowshipping. In verses 24-25, we’re told to promote love and good works by coming together and to not stay away worship like some people habitually do, but to encourage each other.
It’s clear that, as Christians, we need each other.
Presence gives us fuel to keep going, strength to go through hard things, education from others, and support when we need it. If you’ve never been to a church – find one. If you’ve gotten in the habit of not going – go back. If you go regularly but are only going through the motions – get involved and BE PRESENT.
Our actions matter. Take a step and grow presence.