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Filling the Empty Chair — 4 Comments

  1. I think Lilliane has a valuable overall message for all of us. “In the new year, let’s make sure we make room for Jesus in our lives,” that is, we need to be more attentive to Heavenly realities. The war going on all around us is real and we have only a very short time to decide which side we stand on.

    Whether we realize it or not everything we do is either for Jesus or against Him (Mat 12:30, 6:24) – we are either betrothed to Him as His bride or we are an adulteress, a prostitute attached to someone else other than our creator.

    (1)
  2. It seems to me that Lilliane's message is meant to make us examine ourselves to see whether we are still in love with Jesus. Or are we merely going through the motions?

    I'd like to join her in encouraging us all to try this experiment:

    let’s do an experiment for at least a week: Try to do things that will help you imagine Jesus’ physical presence with you. Can you think of concrete things you can do to help?

    If you eat around the dinner table, maybe you could set a place for Jesus. When you sit down to watch TV or use the computer, maybe you could pull a chair near where you are sitting. If you’re reading something, maybe you could read it out loud and imagine that Jesus is right there listening. Is there something you could do at work to help you imagine that Jesus is right there with you?

    That was the meaning of "filling the empty chair" - i.e. setting a chair (real or figurative) and actively imagining Him sitting in it. Or, when we are walking, imagining Jesus walking with us. When we are driving, imagining Jesus sitting beside us.

    I want to join Lilliane in this "experiment." How about you?

    (4)
  3. Thanks for the thought Lilliane. We certainly need to have a sense of God's presence at all times. Not just in the sense of a spy/big brother to keep us on our toes but as a companion to walk and talk with. As someone to give us courage during difficult times and to inspire us with hope when there may not appear to be any reason for hope.

    (1)
  4. Practising the presence of Jesus has two aspects for me.

    1) It means that in my interactions with others it helps to remind myself that there is a little bit of Jesus in each person. For example, when I am about to shoot my mouth off at someone who has crossed me, I remind myself how would I talk to Jesus if he was standing there. (That even applies when grandchildren are running through the house at top speed with grandad's iPad!)

    2) I am also mindful of the fact that I wear the label "Christian" around my neck. For many people that means that I am acting like Jesus. For some people, their only contact with Jesus is their interaction with Christians like me. That is a mind-blowing responsibility when you really think about it.

    (1)

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