Recognizing God's Presence

 Today, we live in a world where people thrive on being busy. We fill up our days with meetings, miscellaneous tasks and errands, or simply anything that will occupy our time. Whether or not these things are productive or actually accomplish anything is oftentimes an afterthought (if we even think about it at all.) In doing so, we tend to overlook the little things in life. There are so many moments that pass by, so many people that go unnoticed, and so many opportunities that we miss. If we would slow down, be intentional with our actions, and actually take time to notice everything that is going on around us, we might see that God shows himself through these little things.

            I don’t know about you but for me, sometimes when I think of God I think in too much of a big picture. What I mean by that is I notice, think about, and talk to God in the important moments but do not recognize his presence throughout the course of daily life; we turn to God for praise when things are going great, and we turn to God for hope when things are going poorly. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis discusses the notion that too much agony might even be disliked by Satan and his followers, stating that in such times of uncertainty and chaos more people will turn to God. In moments that are larger than life, we search for answers, and God is an answer to which we typically come. But his presence can be easily forgotten when things are status quo. But the reality is, while God is indeed larger than life, those are not the only moments in which God exists. He is not simply a solution to our problems, or the answer to our pressing questions, He is the whole reason we live our lives in the first place.

Our relationship with God changes throughout our lives, but that is because of who we are, not because God himself changes. While it may seem like He changes, God is actually the one true constant in our lives.  We are the ones who must allow ourselves to recognize and appreciate his faithfulness in every aspect of our lives; we must strive to create a stronger and more intentional relationship. The reason our relationship with God has these ups and downs and twists and turns is oftentimes because we are so caught up in our busy lives that we don’t recognize when He is there in the small moments. Once we have accepted Christ into our lives and have chosen to follow him it is quite literally impossible for us to exist without his presence.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

I would like to leave us all with a challenge. The challenge is this: In the midst of the unpredictable times in which we are currently living, let’s all take time this week to stop what we’re doing and appreciate the moment that God has given us. Let’s take a few moments this week, back away from the busyness we have created for ourselves, and cherish the little things through which God shows his everlasting love.  

*This blog was written by Blake Batchelor, who is a junior at the University of South Alabama and is currently the worship leader for the Wesley Foundation.

The Holy Spirit as our Comforter

How many of us have been in a place in our life where we feel alone, with no one to listen to us? In need of a hug, a hand to hold, or a shoulder to lean on? We sometimes get caught up in wanting that worldly relationship or comfort, when we are constantly surrounded by our Almighty Comforter, the Holy spirit.

In John 14:26, it states “ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” If we look at the surface of this verse, we see that God is sending us help so we will not feel lonesome. He states that the spirit will always be with us and not leave us helpless.

If we look deeper, we can see some key words, like ADVOCATE. An advocate is there for us, even in our hardest times… also known as a comforter! The Holy Spirit is acts as our reminder of God’s promises so we can find comfort. We also see the words “in my name”. The Lord promised us a comforter that will always be with us. That alone gives me a peace like no other.

Now, that we know what the Holy Spirit is, how exactly do we connect with the Holy Spirit? Is there a direct line that no one will share? NO! The Holy Spirit is everywhere. The prayers you say every night are an example of our connection with the Spirit. Yes, we are taught to pray to God or Jesus, but if we remember the trinity, we are praying to a triune God, this is including the Holy Spirit. If you ever need a direct line to God, you have it in your prayers.

We can find comfort knowing that The Holy Spirit is always surrounding us, and in our hearts as believers. God promised us that we would always have this and to use it as a comforter, which is so amazing. We are wrapped with the love and peace of God through the Holy Spirit. The next time you are in need of comfort, try to walk away from the worldly things you have, and try to be still in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and find your comfort in him.

*This blog post was written by Sara Baldwin, who is currently the Communications Assistant at South Wesley.

The Joy of Spiritual Poverty

Every kingdom has a rule of law. Here in the United States, we have the Constitution that enshrines certain rights and obligates how government is to be orchestrated. Likewise, the Heavenly Kingdom of Christ is also founded upon the mandate of a Spiritual Constitution that coveys Jesus’s authority and outlines how the free gift of His righteousness is to be manifested among His people. This Spiritual Constitution is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, which is the first public sermon Christ preached after His baptism and temptation. 

The first section of the Sermon on the Mount is entitled the Beatitudes. It is a series of eight statements of how obedience to Christ will bring joy to the life of believers. He begins each statement with the word “blessed” which comes from the Greek word meaning happy or fortunate. These eight statements are how Christ intends to make His people joyful while living out the Kingdom of Heaven on earth through the grace of His Cross. 

Listen to the first words our Lord proclaimed to His disciples and the crowd gathered around Him as this mountain became the Lord’s drafting table for His Kingdom.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:3

This great multitude of people gathered to hear Christ included both the rich and the poor, though in this statement He is not referring to physical richness and physical poverty. Christ is referring to the interior life of a person, the inner man. The inner man, or human spirit, is where Christ interacts with us. It is where one believes, feels, and trusts in Christ. The terms poor and rich are associated with monetary value, so what is the spiritual unit of currency? Righteousness.

Paradoxically, this statement claims that the poor in spirit are blessed, rather than the spiritually rich. What then does the spiritually rich have in deficit? They are not rich in righteousness but rather self-righteousness. There is a significant difference. 

“But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags.”

Isaiah 64:6a

If you saw a man clothed in filthy rags and covered in mud exclaiming loudly that he is clean and clothed in golden raiment, you would say that he is arrogant and objectively wrong. Except that is how the self-righteous are in Christ’s eyes. They are ignorant of their own unrighteousness and call their evil good while demeaning others they see lower than themselves. The believers in a town called Laodicea grew to be exactly like this. Listen to this stern rebuke from the Resurrected Savior to the compromised Church of Laodicea.

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing’, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.”

Revelation 3:17

This is the song of the self-righteous: I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. Oh, what a scary place to be in. To be in a place where you believe that you no longer need Christ because you have all the righteousness you need. To be in a place where you have grown content and think your righteousness thus far can save you. To be in a place where you are not hot but also not quite cold. Where you casually live on as Christ matters just enough to make you feel better about yourself and slightly better than others. How blind we can become of our own state, and what a miserable state that is. Prayerfully listen to what Christ says next.

“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

Revelation 3:18

Oh, how poor we are compared to the infinite richness of Christ! How merciful He is to see us in this arrogant and evil state of self-deception and then apply Himself as the cure. The heavenly gold won by the fiery crucible of the Cross. The garments of salvation that He clothes us in. The salve for our eyes that we might rightly see Him and see ourselves. It is to the poor in spirit He grants these things to. The Kingdom of Heaven itself. What a joyful state it is to be free from self-righteousness and compromise. 

*This blog was written by Tucker McDonald. He is the Teaching Assistant at South Wesley.*

Finding Joy

Storms. We are well acquainted with them down South, and they can be terrifying. Whether you are faced with a physical or metaphysical storm, they are inescapable and unpreventable. However dismal storms may be, how you respond to them is what truly matters.

The illustration shared in this post was drawn when I was in the midst of an internally bitter and dark storm. It was such an awful time that one night, all I could do was sit there and stare at a blank page in one of my sketchpads, not knowing how to voice my hurt and pain to God. All I wanted was to talk to Him and tell Him how much I hurt, but no words escaped my mouth, no thoughts compiled in my head, and my heart seemed devoid of emotion.

I have heard several times in my life the message of Romans 8:26-27 stating this:

26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

That night, the words the Apostle Paul wrote centuries ago materialized as I believe the Holy Spirit guided my hand and led me to draw “Finding Joy.” I’ve always been able to draw based on what I feel, but that night when I could not seem to feel anything, God showed me where to find the light at the end of the tunnel in such a way that it was almost as if he was saying “It’s going to be ok.”

Throughout the rest of that trying time, I was able to audibly worship and cry out to God. Worship can take many forms like drawing, singing, dancing, writing and anything else that allows you to outpour your adoration. In my case, I worship best by playing the piano, and drawing. I have a hard time finding the words to express what I’d like to say to God and I’m convinced He knew that long before I was born and gave me the gift of the piano to be able to “talk” to Him in a different way.

God is omniscient like that and knows us far better than we know ourselves. Even when times seem impossible and uncertain, God has not abandoned you or me and never will. It is hard to worship when you do not know what to say or do. It is hard to worship when no one around you is worshiping. It is hard to worship when you do not understand what God could possibly be doing in your life.

But God.

But God is all powerful, all knowing, all wise, and all loving. He has provided a direct line of communication with Him when the veil was torn in the temple as we just observed in Good Friday and Easter Sunday. He has provided us with so many different avenues to worship him through like music, spoken word, art, and much more.

Most importantly, when it seems like the last thing you could possibly do is worship in the midst of a storm, God knows the innerworkings of your heart and the Holy Spirit will intercede for you. So, while the rest of the world is in chaos and despair when circumstances beyond our control disrupt our way of life, take a moment and connect with God in a way you know he has provided just for you. Taking just a moment a day to reflect on the goodness of God and worship Him in thankfulness for what is good, and right, and true can make a difference in how you view the world and what is going on in it.

As much love as God has for us, let us return as much of it as we can daily in a personal act of worship.

*This blog was written by Emma Holm. Emma is a sophomore at South Alabama studying Computer Information Systems.* 

Endurance for Today

Endurance is described as the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. Endurance tends to be a word that we use for physical activities. But often times, we do not consider what it means to have mental or spiritual endurance. 

Right now more than ever, we are having to endure, not only physical hardship for some, but mental and spiritual hardship. The world we are living in today seems like something we would read in a science fiction novel. We seem to have found ourselves in this strange limbo land between reality and a dream.

We have all had to create something that we can perceive as a new normal and then try to to adjust to that new normal. Now that we know that this is something we will live with for the foreseeable future, we have to find a way to endure it. 

If I were to guess, I would say that many of us, myself included, are probably looking for this endurance from the wrong source; we tend to look to ourselves and other earthy things first. We think, “What can I do to make this easier?” or “How can I occupy my time to relive my stress?” But these are the wrong questions to ask ourselves. The question should be “How can God help me through this?”

If the only place we search for hope and endurance is within our own thoughts or externally, we will find very quickly that the answer is simply not there. We search so many other places (social media, the internet, music, or whatever it may be) looking for something we’ll never find. Not to say that these things are bad, but they are certainly not the answer to our problems. God is the only one who can and will get us through this unprecedented time we’re living in now. 

We’ve all heard the old cliche “everything happens for a reason.” Now I’m not sure how true this is but what I do know is that things happen that we can’t control. Some things happen that are unexpected or unwarranted, and we have to know that while the specifics of each instance may be different, our spiritual response should be largely the same. There is nothing that has said things are always supposed to be easy. In fact, trials will most certainly come. But, if we put our faith in God, we become stronger through them. 

As said in James 1:2-4:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I would like to challenge all of us to do exactly that. Although this may be a trying time, let’s use this time to strengthen our faith. Let’s use this time to grow closer to God. Let’s put all of our trust in God. During times like these, that’s something that sounds easy but can sometimes be difficult to do. But just because it’s difficult does not mean that it is not worth it.

While this is surely nothing like we have experienced before, that does not mean that an answer or solution is found any differently. We may not know what that answer or solution is, but we should know right where to find it. 

I believe this a perfect opportunity to allow God to witness to us. He can empower us to endure and persevere through this by relying on him. The strength to endure any hardship we may go through, is always found in God. It is found in God’s word, it is found in prayer, it is found in God’s community. We can not only strengthen our own faith, but also continue to grow in fellowship with one another, encouraging each other to use this time wisely.  

Instead of feeling down or lost right now, let’s make the most out of it. This is surely a time where in the future we can look back and say, if I put my trust in God then, I can put my trust in him now. We have all of this free time to do as we so choose, so let’s choose to focus on God. Let’s choose to focus on how God can help us endure this together and come out stronger in every way on the other side. 

*This blog was written by Blake Batchelor. Blake is a sophomore at South Alabama and he is majoring in International Business.* 

God in the Little Moments

So many things that we once viewed as part of our normal daily routine has been stripped from us these passed few weeks and has left us in an awkward place of idleness. At least, this has become my new reality. Being forced to move back home away from friends, school, and normalcy has taken a toll on my life as I am sure it has on yours. My weekly routine was set which included doing something church related five out of seven days a week. One of my biggest worries about coming back home was how I was going to maintain and continue to grow in my faith and serve the Lord as I was doing at school. I’m sure many of you felt this same sense of anxiety whether you acknowledged it or not. It was easy and comfortable to gather together with fellow believers and fellowship together week in and week out, but when that is taken away it is solely up to us to seek out the same sense of community and fellowship.

 I know for me, it is easier for me to set time aside to spend with the Lord when I am busy and in the throws of daily life, but when I was left with nothing but time, I struggled. After getting over the pity party I was throwing for myself, I realized that this new-found time could actually be a blessing and a tool to grow in Christ. One way I have personal found to be the most impactful in my life, and I encourage all of you to do the same, is to look for God in the little moments. Psalm 46:10 says, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” I encourage every one of you to take time during this quarantine to take time to be still. Stillness is not idleness. Stillness is listening and standing firm. For me, I am able to find stillness in the morning with a cup of coffee and standing on my back porch listening to creation around me. Though a simple and what could easily be a missed opportunity, I am able to focus and hone in on what the Lord is speaking into my life at that moment. Another way I am able to find stillness is listening to praise music as I do something as simple as cleaning my room. I use the powerful words from the songs to worship and give praise to the God of the Universe no matter my circumstance. Another way I have found that centers my thoughts on Christ is thanking Him for the many blessings He has bestowed on us. I’ve also found that starting a Bible study with a friend helps to recreate the sense of community we lost when we were separated. 

Some of you might be wondering how these things I have just described are little moments, but the truth is, these are my little moments. Each one of us has our own little moments where we feel God show up and show up big. I just want to encourage you to go after and chase your little moment with God. Do not be overwhelmed with the amount of free time you might have but use that time to search your heart and fall more in love with God Almighty. Find your small moment with the Lord and dwell in it. When you encounter a moment with the Lord, share it with someone else. Encourage one another as I am attempting to encourage you. Matthew 7:7-8 read, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Use this week to seek out your own little moments with the Lord and be encourage by Him even in the midst of our chaotic world.

*This blog post was written by Ashley Parker. Ashley is a Freshman at South Alabama.*