THE DWELLING PLACE

If you make the Most High your dwelling- even the Lord, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near you. Psalm 91:9-10

The other day I got to read Psalm 91 but incredibly it was the two verses above that drew my attention. For most of us Psalms 91 speaks volumes. But for me… in a different way God made me see another point: THE DWELLING PLACE and my choice in it either as a permanent residence or an occasional visitor.

You see, when things are going our way, our plans are following into place, our enemies are at peace with us… we tend to stray away from our DWELLING PLACE. We find pleasure in other temporary places which seem to offer the best deals and service. There seems to be no danger around us.

Then trouble strikes! We are bruised and broken. Then we remember…yes, there was a place for hiding. There was a shelter in SOMEONE greater than our troubles. What the Lord wanted me to understand was; as His Child, my home was with and in Him. I am not a guest but a permanent residence in His DWELLING PLACE. But I have to make the choice to stay and enjoy all the benefits that comes with the place.

Maybe like me, you have strayed from THE DWELLING PLACE. COME BACK HOME… the FATHER IS WAITING!!!!

MEN & SUCCESS

Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds GREAT DELIGHT in his commands.

Every man on the face of the earth wants or desires to be successful. And while..its right to desire to be successful, there are only two ways to get there. SUCCESS can either by FEAR-DRIVEN or FAITH-DRIVEN.

FEAR-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

Blessed is the man who wakes up early and stays up late; the man who has a life insurance; the man who has savings for a rainy day; the man who exercises and eat health; the man who knows the rules of the game etc.

Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat_ for he grants sleep to those he loves.

But…something goes missing for this man….HIS HEART! No matter how sure or secure he is at his present or perceived future….HIS HEART IS ALWAYS FEARFUL. Why? Because he has no fear of the Lord in his heart.

On the other hand…the man who has the fear of the Lord in his heart walks securely. His present or future is sure…as he walks by faith.

FAITH-DRIVEN SUCCESS says:

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY…all year round!!!!

You are called a FATHER because you have a CHILD or CHILDREN. They might be your natural seed, adopted or spiritual children. But whatever the case, ONCE A FATHER, ALWAYS A FATHER. Fathers have their God-given role to raise up children into responsible adults. But the GODLY FATHER has a defined task to raise up children into a GODLY OFFSPRING… which in turn makes up a GODLY GENERATION. Throughout the history of the children of Israel, when the FATHERS failed in their role to raise up GODLY OFFSPRING, the next generation became godless and began worshiping foreign god.

Today, you as a GODLY FATHER… as you celebrate your first or more years of being a father…remember, your role has not changed. God desires for you to continue in the following:

GOD IS IN THIS PLACE…

Genesis 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the LORD IS IN THIS PLACE, and I was not aware of it.”

I just opened my email randomly this morning…and was excited to find a reply email from my blogging friend, Dora from Hong Kong. As I began to read her mail…tears began welling up in my eyes. But one sentence…one sentence in her email….made the tears begin to flow down my cheeks unstoppable. She was praying for me…and my family. She was praying for the very things…I have been praying for privately, and which I wouldn’t have thought of sharing with people outside my inner circle. Then, God took me back to Jacob’s encounter. Yes….GOD IS IN THIS PLACE…and I didn’t know not. It was as if…God was telling me….that He knows my thoughts ten years from now. He knows….what I will think, ask or do….come ten days, weeks or years down the room. GOD IS IN THIS PLACE….not because He comes and goes….God is in the place when I am at the present, God is in the place where I have been in the past, God is in the place where I will be in the future.

The tears are unstoppable, friends. GOD IS IN THIS PLACE…as He was with Jacob, so He is with each and everyone who looks up to Him…and even when we are unaware of it….GOD IS IN THIS PLACE.

THANKSGIVING!

Today, I give thanks for the Lord’s goodness and promises over my life. I remember…and lift up my voice in JOYFUL SURRENDER. He that promised is well able to bring into completion what He began in you and me. Join me as I rejoice in Him and through Him.

God will bring you and me to OUR DESIRED HAVEN:

Psalms 107:28-30
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They they were GLAD when it grew calm, and he guided them to THEIR DESIRED HAVEN.

You and I offer Him OUR THANKSGIVING:

Psalm 107:31-32
We gave THANKS to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for me. We EXALT him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of elders.

I don’t know at what point you are in life, but remember…He is still MIGHTY to save, heal, deliver, restore and make all things NEW! Come to His Gates with praise and to His Courts with THANKSGIVING! Say…the Lord is good and His mercies endures forever. Rejoice, rejoice and again, rejoice!

GLORY TO OUR KING, now and forevermore!

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN THE LORD

1 Samuel 30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking about stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David FOUND STRENGTH IN THE LORD HIS GOD.

STRENGTHEN according to my Collins dictionary means: to fortify, brace up, consolidate, ENCOURAGE, GIVE NEW ENERGY TO, etc.

In other words, we can read this sentence like this: But David ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD.

This morning, I had plans to write on a different topic altogether. But as I was conversing with my husband, I felt the Lord leading me into this direction. The Lord made it clear to me that there are many out there who need not to be encouraged, BUT TO ENCOURAGE THEMSELVES IN THE LORD.

What do I mean by ENCOURAGING YOURSELF IN THE LORD? Let’s go back to the storyline in 1 Samuel 30. David was not yet the King of Israel….but Prophet Samuel had already anointed him as the next king of Israel. The mantle of kingship had already be passed on to David, yet he wasn’t yet at his rightful position. King Saul had plotted more than once to kill him, but he had escaped to the land of the Philistines. Together with six hundred men, he settled in the land of Gath with Achish, son of the King of Gath….and joined his army. On several occasion, he went out with his men to raid the surrounding lands, leaving no man or woman alive but came back to Achish with sheep, cattle, donkey etc. Achish thought David was no longer loyal to his countrymen…and even when the time came for the Philistines to face the Israelites in battle, Achish included him and his men in their army.

But as they were preparing to enter into the battlefield, the rulers of the Philistines army who didn’t approve of David…because they already knew of his earlier conquest against them asked Achish to send him back to his place of assignment, that is, Ziklag.

A JOY OF SORTS!!!

Today, I just picked up my Polish ID which now identifies me as a rightful and lawful citizen of this country, Poland. It is strange, but when I got the identity card, I felt a JOY OF SORTS. But why do I say that? Because a couple of years back, after I had qualified to become a citizen of this country under the Polish marriage act, I resisted the idea. On one hand, I wasn’t yet ready to disconnect from my roots, while on the other, there was need for me to be a part of where God had placed me, that is, at my husband’s side. Then something happened in early November, last year that made my decision…either way inevitable. A decision had to be made…and made quickly. When I finally made the decision to give up my country’s citizenship…which is the requirement before you become a Polish citizen, I felt a strange relief and peace.
After what has been a four month process…today…I get the TANGIBLE EVIDENCE that I am part of this society.

BECOMING A MASTER OF GOOD

Romans 16:19-20 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to WISE ABOUT WHAT IS GOOD, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will SOON crush Satan under your feet.

Yesterday, as I walked the short distance to pick my daughter from kindergarten, the words of Romans 16:19-20 started flowing out of my mouth in form of a song we used to sing many years ago in my home church back in Kenya. Yes, God has been teaching me a great truth of late. Oh….and this is after what has been a tough season of going through the FLOODWATERS and THE FIRE.

Psalm 66:10-12 For you, O God tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through FIRE and WATER, but you brought us to A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE.

And yes, while we were going through the battle, we couldn’t understand why things were happening as they were. No, not until things had cleared up….and now, as I stand at the other side, God is saying to me.

A CALL FOR WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING

Daniel 12:10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are WISE WILL UNDERSTAND.

We are living in the last days. Let me say it again. WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS. But let me stop at this. I am continually surprised at the foolishness of the intelligent….yes, of the intellectually intelligent! The one who has the ability to forecast almost about everything EXTERNAL, yet has no slightest clue about the forecast of the INTERNAL. Then there comes a time where the explanation of the external cannot bring relieve to the need of the internal. I saw it last week in my country, Poland. People reaching out for answers after the presidential plane crash. But instead of finding relief, I saw the multiplying of questions which seemed to lack any conclusive answers.

But now more than ever, I see a deep truth from the book of Daniel

But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the TIME OF THE END. MANY WILL GO HERE AND THERE TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE. Daniel 12:4

Instead of reaching out for WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, I see people reaching out for

ITS GOD’S ECHO

Isaiah 55:11 So is MY WORD that goes out from my mouth: It will not RETURN TO ME empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

ECHO can be defined as: the reflection of sound or other radiation by a reflecting medium, esp. a solid object; a repetition or imitation, esp. an unoriginal reproduction of another’s opinion; something that evokes memories; the effect that continues after the original cause has disappeared.

This morning I woke up with a heavy heart…an unusually heavy heart. I wanted to talk…but I didn’t seem to have the right words. What is the use, God? Why do I have to keep the words flowing? Who needs them? Without me…or my words, life will still move on. There is my manuscript…which is thousands of words put done in almost five years. But God…what is the use? Who needs these words? My heart ached. For a moment, I felt empty and spent. But…I got about doing my house chores while wondering what next.

Then I sat down on the computer to do something. But without words…or sensible words to write about for today, I heard God speak gently into my heart.