{"id":927,"date":"2012-02-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=927"},"modified":"2012-01-21T20:25:11","modified_gmt":"2012-01-22T02:25:11","slug":"how-to-live-in-the-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=927","title":{"rendered":"How to Live in the Present"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>From a worldly point of view those who live in the present deny themselves nothing.\u00a0 They play today and pay tomorrow.\u00a0 Immediate gratification is what they seek.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, from a spiritual perspective we live in the present by being open to God\u2019s presence in our lives on a daily basis.\u00a0 We seek a closer relationship with Him every day.\u00a0 We do not let the past drag us down or the worries of the future hinder our daily walk with God.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This daily walk with God is vital, but how we walk with Him may even be more important.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s use the analogy of taking a nature walk.\u00a0 Some wander aimlessly down a trail unaware of surroundings. \u00a0If they were asked what they saw they might not even remember.\u00a0 Others notice the chirping bluebird, the laughing child, the leaves changing color, a fish jumping in a pond, or a vibrant sunset and realize it all has something to do with God.\u00a0 That\u2019s living in the present!\u00a0 It\u2019s being aware and alert to God\u2019s presence all around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we pray we don\u2019t just say give me what I want or heal my pain.\u00a0 We ask for God\u2019s will to be revealed to us.\u00a0 We ask Him to make us attuned to his heart so His desires are our desires.\u00a0 We pray many times during the day.\u00a0 (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)\u00a0 We pray big prayers and lots of little prayers \u2013 little prayers of praise, thanks, and requests for immediate help to bring a thought or action back to where God would want it to be.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we study we don\u2019t just read a few scriptures. \u00a0(Acts 17:11) We think about how those scriptures can be applied in our lives.\u00a0 The Bible is a living book.\u00a0 We may have read the same passage a hundred times and never fully understood it, but as we read we can ask God to help us understand it more fully.\u00a0 We can ask Him to write a scripture on our hearts so it can come to mind when we most need it throughout a day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We meditate all day long about God\u2019s Word, biblical principles, and how Christ would handle situations. (Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8) We guard our thoughts so we are thinking the best of others.\u00a0 We think about how we can serve others.\u00a0 We think about what God wants us to do more than what we want God to do.\u00a0 We dwell on God\u2019s goodness, mercy, love and grace.<\/p>\n

And we do this every day, as much as we can, all day long.\u00a0 When we wake up tomorrow we do it again because God\u2019s mercies and love for us are brand new every day.\u00a0 (Lamentations 3:22-23)\u00a0 There is something new to be learned about God each and every day.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, the past is gone and God holds our future.\u00a0 However, building a relationship with the one who holds our future depends on us living \u2013 not just going through the motions \u2013 but consciously living for Him in the present.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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From a worldly point of view those who live in the present deny themselves nothing.\u00a0 They play today and pay tomorrow.\u00a0 Immediate gratification is what they seek.\u00a0 However, from a spiritual perspective we live in the present by being open … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}