Proximidade
Deus é próximo dos que o buscam. Ele não é um Deus distante, mas presente, íntimo e acessível a todo o que o invoca com sinceridade de coração.
Buscar a presença de Deus
A Bíblia nos exorta a buscar a face do Senhor continuamente. Quem se aproxima dele encontra plenitude de alegria e delícias perpétuas.
Look for the Lord, and his strength; always look to be in his presence.
Look for the Lord, and his strength; always look to be with him.
Look for the Lord while you can still find him; call out to him while he's nearby.
I only ask the Lord for one thing: I just want to live in the house of the Lord throughout my life, contemplating the Lord's goodness and thinking about his Temple.
One day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. I'd rather stand as a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live comfortably in the homes of the wicked.
You have shown me the path of life, filling me with joy with your presence and the delight of living with you forever.
Deus está perto
O Senhor está perto dos que o invocam, dos quebrantados de coração e dos que clamam por socorro. Sua presença nos sustenta.
But when his people call out for help, he hears them and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close beside those who are broken-hearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
Everyone should know about your kindness. The Lord will soon be here.
But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once a long way off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
I'm absolutely certain that your goodness and trustworthy love will be with me all through my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
A presença que nunca abandona
Deus promete nunca nos deixar. Ele permanece fiel, está conosco em todo tempo e envia o Espírito para habitar em nossos corações.
I will not abandon you like orphans: I will come back to you.
May the Lord our God be with us in the same way he was with our forefathers. May he never leave us or abandon us.
But because of your wonderful mercy you did not finish with them, and you did not abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
May the Lord of peace himself grant you peace in every situation in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.
Finally, brothers and sisters, I say goodbye. Continue to improve spiritually. Encourage one another. Be in agreement. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
How can we know that we live in him, and that he lives in us? He's given us the ability to love by his Spirit.
While no one has ever seen God, God the one and only, who is close beside the Father, has shown us what God is like.
Moses spent forty days and forty nights there with the Lord without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote down on the tablets the words of the agreement, the Ten Commandments.
and heal those who are sick. Tell them, ‘God's kingdom has come to you.’
The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you look for him, you will find him; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
For many years Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the law. But when they were in trouble they returned to the Lord, the God of Israel—they looked for him, and they found him.
During those times travel was dangerous, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. People everywhere had terrible problems. Nation fought nation, and town fought town, for God threw them into a panic with all kinds of trouble. But you need to be strong, not weak, for you will be rewarded for the work you do."
When Asa heard these words of prophecy from Azariah the prophet, son of Oded, he was encouraged. He removed the vile idols from the whole territory of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. Then he repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in front of the porch of the Lord's Temple.
Then Asa summoned all of Judah and Benjamin, along with those Israelites from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, for many people had deserted Israel and come over to Asa when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.
That day they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the plunder they had brought back. Then they made an agreement to conscientiously and completely follow the Lord, the God of their forefathers. They also agreed that anyone who refused to follow the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They declared their oath with a loud shout, accompanied by trumpets and blasts from rams' horns. The whole of Judah was happy at the oath they had conscientiously sworn. They looked for him sincerely, and they found him. The Lord gave them peace from all their enemies.
King Asa also removed Maacah from her position as queen mother for making an offensive Asherah pole. Asa cut down her vile idol, crushed it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. While the high places were not removed from Israel, Asa was completely devoted to the Lord all his life. He brought into God's Temple the silver and gold articles he and his father had dedicated. There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.