Nothing Less...

Here's another simple phrase from the Without Borders '06 Bible Week that has stuck with me.

"Never settle for anything less than the manifest presence of God in every meeting."

Keri said this on the opening night, when he shared that he had considered what the point was of another conference, another week away, another set of meetings. Like Moses, he came to the point where he said "If your presence is not going to be there, I don't want to go." Then as a declaration of purpose and faith he stated, "I am here!" He then shared on how God was not at the beginning, but in the beginning. God is never a spectator, he always desires to the main participator, the centre and source of all activity.

This is something that is resonating strongly with my spirit at the moment, and has been since the elders and leaders' conference last year when Keri again shared his vision for the Church, where God's manifest presence is always evident.

Since then I have felt an anointing accompanied by a sense of an imperative from the Lord concerning the spiritual gifts. They are not optional extras. They are not fringe benefits. They are the manifestations of the Spirit of God. The mark of God's presence amongst his people.

I was privileged to speak to Keri one-to-one after that first meeting, and he again looked me in the eye and said, "Never settle for anything less!" I am increasingly finding that I'm not just unwilling but unable to do so! (I'm finding myself at the front quite a lot these days) I can do without many things, but I cannot do without God's manifest presence. It is this, and only this, that makes us different from anyone else on the planet.