The most attractive force on earth is about to flood your church building: THE PRESENCE OF GOD! It not only attracts better than entertainment…it does something infinitely more valuable—it brings people in for the right reason! They will be disciples! They will not be fickle looky-looks…the kind that leave as soon as they find something more interesting.
– Pastor Mario Marillo
One of the joys of being a kid was receiving the exact gift I wanted… But my parents were wise enough to give me the right gift, even if it wasn’t exactly what I asked for, and that ended up being an even greater gift…!
One of the great joys of being a parent is to give our children the exact gift they ask for… But we always try to give our kids the right gift—which may not always be what they asked for…
I believe our Heavenly Father delights in giving us what we want—especially when what we want is exactly what He who is Perfect Love wants for us!
I am more convinced than ever that our Heavenly Father longs to fill His Son’s Bride with His Presence, and longs for the Bride to long for His Presence above all other gifts!
As we have been praying for Awakening to burst forth, I believe the Father has been and is aligning our hearts to ask for the right gift—His Presence!
In response to prayer, and because it has ALWAYS been His Heart, the Lord is opening the floodgates of His Presence upon the Church! As Brother Marillo said so well, God’s Presence attracts people for the right reason and to the right gift—to the Fire of God’s Presence rather than the fireworks of man…!
Fireworks are thrilling, but they lack the power to refine and restore; heal and make holy. Churchy glitz and fog-machine pageantry chill the spine and raise the goosebumps—but cannot accomplish what only God can and cannot provide the Gift He so longs for us to enjoy—HIS PRESENCE!
What should our collective request to Papa be this Christmas? WE WANT YOU, ABBA! WE WANT YOUR PRESENCE!
This is the attractive gift that attracts all who want the real thing! His Presence is the heart of true Awakening; His Presence is the unblemished mark of the true Bride; His Presence is more precious than all the other, lessor gifts we have craved and asked for in the past...
The greatest gift we can give to Father is to be a church where His Presence is valued and treasured more than all the silver and gold the world can provide; a church that does not attempt to horde or hide His Presence but rather longs to share HIM with the world around us!