Psalm 51

11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

Practicing the "Present-tense" of God

This is a play on the saying "Practice the Presence of God".

God is in the "present". "Now" is when we hear his voice. Now is when we should pay attention. Now is when He guides us. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) makes more sense when we understand we should not trust in what we understood in the past concerning His guidance today.

Prov. 3:5-6 also makes more sense.  "5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Discernment.

Discernment begins with thinking about your thoughts.

Understand that your thoughts have 3 origins*

• A Thought can originate from a man’s spirit (Self)
• A Thought can originate from God’s Spirit (Good)
• A Thought can originate from another spirit, either angel (good) or demon (Evil)

And then it continues with "taking every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ."

You consider a thought by, asking does it line up with the character of Jesus Christ and, is it in harmony with the full counsel of God's written word. But it is with the Lordship of Christ, as we ask Him what He thinks, that we have the opportunity to accept or reject the thought we are thinking.

Reading the Bible and praying without ceasing,  are essential activities for success in the spiritual war the enemy wages against us.

Deut. 11:18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The battle takes place in our thoughts and we are to..

Authentic Faith?

The difference between "authentic faith" and a "trust in their own understanding" has huge ramifications on how our "faith" is lived out and therefore passed on.

Biblical principles are made alive by the Holy Spirit as one realizes their need to be guided. Thus knowledge is acquired... If a man knows to do good and doesn't do it, that is sin

The problem is when we trust in our own understanding. (Prov. 3:5-6)

Faith implies a present-tense relationship with God. Present-tense is used in grammar for actions that are happening now. We reside/exist in the Now, and so does our relationship with God. It is impossible to have "Faith" in God without a relationship with Him where His presence is experienced in the present.

We think that we have the ability to anticipate the contingencies that our choices will propagate. But we forget "we see through a glass darkly"! Our perspective and therefore our understanding is limited. But God's is not.

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the children of God.

Memory and the Holy Spirit's leading

John 14:26 (NKJV)  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Romans 8:14 (NKJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons (children) of God.

Matthew 10:19 When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say.

We are all present in the "Here and Now"

You have no choice, you cannot be anywhere other then the "Here and Now." "Now" is the same for everybody except God. "Here" is unique for each of us.

I exist in a uniqueness of presence and I can relate to others and their presence in my "Now". Their "Now" is my "Now" because we all exist in the Synchronicity of Now.

I have no choice to be Here and Now. Yet Here and Now is filled with choices. Where do these choices come from? Are we aware of the multitude of decisions we make every day? You cannot be aware if you are not awake.