Jesus?

And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
(Exodus 33:15 ESV)

Do you ever become more passionate about completing the task and accomplishing the mission than about knowing and experiencing Jesus? Maybe you worry more about checking off your Christian list of things to do than to feel the presence of God? Moses realized that the Promised Land (and really any blessing from God) meant absolutely nothing without God’s presence. Moses only wanted the Promised Land if it was the byproduct of knowing and following God. The big danger for many of us is that having a great ministry or succeeding can be more important than, experiencing, and following Jesus.

Moses understood that the only thing that set him and the Hebrew people apart was the presence of God. Whether you are doing life and ministry in Atlanta, New Brunswick, Burlington, Mexico, Haiti or Indonesia, the only thing that sets you and the people you are ministering to apart is the presence of God. In fact, we can have the most talented people, abundant resources, cutting edge strategy, and even be doing all the right things and without God’s presence it just won’t matter. It is only as God leads us and works through us that we can become the aroma of Jesus to the world around us (2 Corinthians 4). It is only as we know, experience, and follow Jesus that we can make an eternal difference where God has placed us.

Do you really want to know and experience Jesus more than anything?