Since coming back from Cuba on March 12, God has been showing up a lot more in my life.  It's not just the afterglow of an amazing week of ministry with 120 deeply passionate, and committed Cuban missionaries and pastors--although that transformed me more than any of the presentations I offered transformed them, I'm sure.  On a daily basis, I've experienced God's direct intervention in situations.  God has impressed on me not to make Moses' mistake--the mistake of relying on a past experience to become the model for present behavior.  For Moses it was striking the rock as he had done previously to bring water forth in a situation when God told him to speak to the rock.  Moses also took God's glory in the process.  Moses experienced a harsh consequence for the lapse---he missed out on entering the Promised Land.  In my life, the key is not trying to recreate the worship experiences, conversations or prayer times in Cuba which were saturated with the Holy Spirit.  The key is recognizing the Holy Spirit works EVERYWHERE!

That has meant when the Spirit incites me to pray for someone, I do it then and there rather than "noting" the suggestion and planning to do it later.  It has meant calling on the Spirit to bring the right word from Scripture to bear in my own situations, and in those who are calling on me for guidance.  (After all, Jesus told the apostles that when the Holy Spirit came He would bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had taught them.  Why wouldn't that be true for US as well?)  It has meant acknowledging that the Spirit IS working and praising God when I pray for something and a response comes, rather than wondering if it was the Spirit or a coincidence.  None of these matters seem earth shattering, but my heart is fundamentally changed.  The experience in Cuba was the catalyst for that, but the Holy Spirit is the power source.  I always seek to practice what I preach---actually to practice BEFORE I preach---but right now, more than ever, God is working in and among us and we must acknowledge and celebrate His presence.  Jesus said He would never leave us nor forsake us, and He was telling the truth, as always!  A long time ago this saying was popular:  Feel far from God?  Guess who moved!  While it's a bit trite, it's true.  The opening statement of this post isn't technically true.  I said, "Since coming back from Cuba on March 12, God has been showing up a lot more in my life."  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  What has changed is me (I, to be grammatically correct!).  God shows up everywhere, everyday.  I'm just experiencing that reality more and more as I give the Holy Spirit control.  My prayer for you and for me is that more and more we will experience God's presence, BECAUSE we live in the presence and power of His Holy Spirit!