Why Magufuli administration misses the point on Government splurge

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The Power of His Presence

The Duke of Wellington once remarked about Napoleon, ‘I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.’ The presence of a strong leader has a powerful effect. How much greater is the impact of the awesome power of the presence of God!
There is a deep spiritual hunger in all of our hearts that can only be satisfied by the presence of God himself. Adam and Eve lost this sense of his presence through their sin. Thereafter, the presence of God was not known as it was before.
God is holy. We cannot take his presence for granted. It is only through the cross and resurrection of Jesus that a way into his presence and the gift of the Holy Spirit living within you


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Psalm 90:1-10

His presence reveals our secret sins

I remember a man in our small group on Alpha saying that he could not understand the concept of ‘sin’, as he ‘led a good life and was not really aware of anything wrong in his life’. A few weeks later, on the Alpha Weekend, he encountered Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He had tears pouring down his face. He said he realised how sinful his life had been and how much he had been forgiven.
The light of God’s presence reveals the dark places in our hearts – the sins we would like to conceal even from ourselves. The psalmist says, ‘Lord, you have been our dwelling-place… You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence’ (vv.1a, 8).
The longer we spend in God’s presence the more the light shines and highlights our sin. The apostle Paul started out by describing himself as ‘the least of the apostles’ (1 Corinthians 15:9). Later on, he called himself ‘less than the least of all God's people’ (Ephesians 3:8). Finally, he described himself as ‘the worst of sinners’! (1 Timothy 1:16).
It is not that he got worse; it is simply that, through the awesome power of God’s presence, he became more and more aware of the light shining in his heart. That could seem very negative, but actually for Paul it was quite the opposite. His overwhelming feeling was gratitude and praise because no matter what he had done wrong, he knew that he was forgiven and could know relationship with God.
As Christians, we can look forward to that relationship lasting for ever. God is eternal, ‘From everlasting to everlasting you are God’ (Psalm 90:2b). Yet we know only too well the fragility of human life. The psalmist reminds us that we return to dust as mortals (v.3), we are like new grass that by the evening is dry and withered (vv.5–6), and our usual life span is seventy or eighty years (v.10).
God’s everlasting nature is part of who he is. For us, eternal life is not automatic or natural. ‘The wages of sin is death’, but the gift from the everlasting God is ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23).

Lord, thank you for the blood of Jesus, which cleanses me from all sin and unrighteousness. Thank you that through him I have access to the awesome presence of God.



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1 Chronicles 12:23-14:17

His presence requires respect

Never take God’s presence for granted. The Lord is with you now, all the time, by his Spirit who lives in you.
God prepared his people for this extraordinary privilege. In the Old Testament, the ark was the symbol of God’s presence. We see in this passage just how important it was.
David consulted with his leaders. ‘He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God… let us bring the ark of our God back to us.” … The whole assembly agreed to do this… [they] went… to bring up… the ark of God the Lord… the ark that is called by the Name. They moved the ark of God… David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets’ (13:1–8).
The ark was a gold-covered chest that contained, among other items, the stone tablets of the ten commandments (see Hebrews 9:4). The ark was the most holy object in the whole system of temple-based worship. It served primarily as the symbol of the awesome presence of God, whose glory cloud was enthroned above it (1 Chronicles 13:6; see also Exodus 25:22; 1 Samuel 4:7).
On the one hand, God’s presence brought great blessing. When the ark of God was with the family of Obed-Edom for three months, ‘the Lord blessed his household and everything he had’ (1 Chronicles 13:14). On the other hand, it required great respect and anything that verged on disrespect brought judgment (vv.9–10).
David had a great respect and reverence for God and his presence. As a result, ‘The Lord blessed his household and everything he had’ (v.13). David knew that his position of leadership came from the Lord (14:2). He regularly asked for God’s guidance about what he should do (vv.10,14). ‘And God answered him’ (v.14).
As a result, ‘David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him (v.17). The word ‘fear’ means great respect. Because David respected God’s presence, God honoured him and anointed him in such a way that everyone respected David.

Thank you, Lord, that through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, I can approach your throne with boldness and confidence. Thank you that through the Holy Spirit you make your presence available to me, all the time.

Pippa Adds

Psalm 90:4–6
‘For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep people away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning – though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.’
Nicky took a funeral at Putney Vale Cemetery. It is huge, so many graves, and it is just one of thousands of cemeteries. It struck me again how many people have gone before us and that this life we are living is very short. Every day we have on this earth is so important. I don’t want to waste any one of them.



Verse of the Day

‘The God of peace be with you…’ (Romans 15:33).


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