I want to be in your presence

In your presence is fullness and joy.
Psalm 16:11

If anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am my servant will be also.
I anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 12:26

Do you want to be with God?  I do.  If we are Christians, we will spend eternity with God.  But being with God, in His presence is something we can begin experiencing today.  Eternal life begins now. 

There is a true saying that we are as close to God as we choose to be.  We get to regulate our closeness with God.  James says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you", which means that we can intentionally get closer to God.  Jeremiah wrote, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."  

Some suggestions of how to seek God are through worship, prayer, and reading and studying the Bible.  Living a life in accordance with God's will is another aspect of how to get into God's presence.  We might need to confess our sin.  We might need to ask forgiveness.  We might need to reconcile with another Christian that we have something against or has something against us.  We might need to humble ourselves for, "God gives grace to the humble".  We might need to realize we are poor in spirit.  We might need to mourn and get real and take life seriously.  

In your presence is fullness and joy.

Psalm 16:11

• True joy is found in close relationship with God.
• Being close to God brings deep and lasting happiness that goes above and beyond anything else in this world.
• True Joy is more than temporary happiness.
• True Joy is contentment and peaceful tranquility, in God, in relationship with God.
• True joy comes from spiritual fulfillment.
• Nothing I desire compares to connection with God.
• No one and nothing but God gives me strength and comfort to deal with life in all it's rough and tumble.

If anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am my servant will be also.

I anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 12:26

• To be with Jesus is to serve Him.
• To serve Jesus is to follow His teachings and example.
• To follow His teachings is to obey them.
• True service involves following His teaching and example while we follow after Him.
• As His servants, following Him, we do what Jesus did:
• Show love, compassion, humility, and graciousness.
• Serve others through acts of kindness, helping those in need and standing up for justice and mercy.
• Share the Gospel, by sharing about Jesus with others.

• When we serve him we follow him.  
• Serving Christ always goes hand in hand with following him. 
• To serve him is to know him and to be known by him. 
• It is dangerous and destructive to do service for Christ without following Him.

Authentic Christian service is done by those who are following Christ, those who are obedient to His teaching and are life long learners seeking to incorporate Jesus Christ's lifestyle through following Him.  These servants will find themselves being in His presence.

Followers of Christ are marked by their service to Him.  We serve Him as we follow his ways and his teaching, incorporating his lifestyle.  And this service, based on following him and being known by him brings us into his presence.