Gathered in His Presence

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." -Matthew 18:19-20

I have been very blessed to be a part of several men's groups over the last three years.  Whether it was simply an accountability group or a full-fledged Bible Study, or a work-related men's group, all of them have been great blessings and enabled me to grow spiritually.  Recently, I started a group of men at work that are studying a book together on specific men's topics.  Seven of us are part of this group and we are all followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In just our third meeting together, I have truly felt the presence of God (and therefore the presence of Jesus) in the room with us.  We even had one of our group members say that he needed to leave early for another meeting, but since the discussion got so good, when the time came to leave he stayed.  I asked, "Don't you have a meeting to get to?"  He responded, "Yeah, but this is too good to leave."

I think anytime we are in the presence of God, it is ALWAYS "too good to leave".  When we are there with Him, walking with Him, praying to Him, seeking a relationship with Him, or placing our sorrows and pains at His feet, He is right there to hold us, guide us, protect us and lead us.  I am so grateful for this group of men.  I cannot wait to see what God will do in our lives as a result of this discussion and book study.  It really got me meditating on the verse in Matthew where Jesus said that, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20.
If we (the church) really are the Body of Christ, then clearly when we gather together in His name, He should be there.  It saddens me to think that so many times in my life, I've gathered with others, and not invoked the name of Jesus - either because I was lost, or was afraid of rejection or too busy or too lazy.  How much more could my life and the lives of others be enriched and closer to God if I had invited Christ to gather with us?

So next time you have a group together, invoke  the name of Jesus to guide your discussion and watch the great and remarkable things that He does through all of you!

Have a blessed weekend!