"...And I will dwell
in the house of the Lord
forever."
Psalm 23:6b
Stepping It Up in Scripture: - Choose a verse to meditate and memorize.
- Meditate means to chew on it over and over until it is part of you.
- Read Hebrews 4:12. What does it mean for the Word of God to penetrate "joint and marrow"?
Working it Out in Scripture:
- "Dwell" in Psalm 91 this week.
- Receive the Word of God as power into your thoughts, attitudes and life.
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Stepping it Up in Prayer:
- Pray for the Lord to help you to become one with him in a deeper way.
- Pray Scripture back to God. This connects your soul, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God.
Working It Out in Prayer: - Repentance restores fellowship with God (Rev. 3:19, 20)
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any separations between you and Father God.
- There are no secrets hidden from God. Confess, turn away from, and receive his complete forgiveness.
- Embrace his power to change!
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Stepping It Up in the Physical:
- Go to a quiet place this week.
- Practice sitting at the feet of Jesus, focusing thoughts on his character, Word, and his wondrous works.
Working It Out in Physical:
- Does your mind race while you're trying to get to sleep?
- Take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5), and renew your mind with Scripture.
- Sleep sweet!
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Click here to learn more. TTRM WEBSITE The content of Stepping It Up is free and solely for educational purposes. Reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study. Through the Roof Ministries Strength of Heart PO Box 3333 Akron, Ohio 44309 www.throughtheroofministries.org Strength of Heart Stepping It Up is a weekly email message written by Shanda Grubb-Gobeli featuring scripture, prayers, and strengthening tips for daily Biblical living. The goal for this outreach is to encourage, equip, and challenge people with and without disabilities to step lively in faith toward holiness and wholeness everyday. Copyright © 2011 Strength of Heart a ministry of TTRM All rights reserved. |
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The Inner Sanctuary
Where do you like to hang out? Who are your favorite people with whom you spend time? Usually we spend the most time with those we love most, right? My heart feels at home when I am with my husband Tim. We thoroughly enjoy evenings together - just being with one another. Yet, in the culture of today, it's so easy to fill up every waking moment with activity, errands, work, even ministry. Multi-tasking has become the drug of choice. And even when our bodies are still, our minds remain in hyper-mode. Quiet fellowship seems to be a thing of the past or deemed as wasted time. How sad. And how un-Biblical! This week's Scripture (Ps. 23:6b) invites us to exercise an atrophied area of our life - the place between the spirit and soul, thoughts and attitudes. Lord God longs for us to make room for him in the inner sanctuary of who we are. His Word penetrates where only he can go. He wants us so close, so intimate that we feel him in our bones (Heb. 4:12). We no longer find him "out there somewhere". His presence dwells in us (1 Cor. 6:19, 20). It's not about how many times we attend church or whether we do ministry projects every day of the week. Let us be free from this enemy mindset. Satan drives us to perform, get things done, to be productive. Our God-Shepherd offers us a dwelling place of rest from striving (Ps. 23:6b; Ps. 91:1, 2; Matt. 11:28-30). He is the one who produces much fruit through abiding in him (John 15:5). Ever feel like your wheels are spinning? Like you're busy all the time, but never feel "caught up"? If bitterness, fatigue, or resentment commonly accompanies your daily tasks, there's a reason for that. The enemy enslaves. Are we slaves to our schedules? The things we chase the hardest may actually be pulling us away from the peace God wants to give us (John 114:27). Shanda Grubb-Gobeli P.S. If you would like to discontinue receiving this weekly email please hit reply and write remove in the body of the email. You or your friends can also request to be on this mailing list by sending an email and writing in the subject line Stepping It Up to soh@throughtheroofministries.org Past Issues will be archived online at: |
| We will dwell. There's a phrase we don't hear very often these days. Too bad. It exudes peace and purpose. It is a state of perfect communion. It means "to become one with"; "to cohabitate with"; or "to agree with completely". Wow! It means that we decide to purposefully remain in God's presence no matter what. The word "will" is extremely important in this declaration. It's enthusiastically exclaims a definite outcome. When it is combined with "forever, the tense is perfect present participle. Forever begins NOW! If you say: "I will love you forever", what do you mean? Will your love only begin after you die? Of course not! It's a vow to love that person today and infinitely beyond. The Psalmist David proclaims that he is now becoming one with the presence of God and will continue to do so.
Revelation 3:19 and 20 gives a good picture of what is means to dwell with God. It shows us his desire to come together with us. In order to commune with the Holy One, we must embrace his love. When we doubt this truth, we fall out of our dwelling place with God. Praise God for repentance! Repenting turns the doorknob for Christ to enter into our secret place (Rev. 3:20). It also slams the door on the enemy. We cannot dwell with a liar and the Truth.
Most of my life I assumed that the end of Psalm 23 was a reference to heaven. This is bad theology. For one thing, believers will not spend eternity in heaven. Are you shocked? Read Revelation 21:1-7. Our eternal home is a new earth! The "house of the Lord" is not in heaven nor is God contained in a structural building (Rev. 21:22). Friends, the presence of the Lord is with us as we walk in obedience to his word. Through Jesus Christ we have been made right (justified) with God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1-5). We stand in grace. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). We are free and empowered to enjoy his presence. God delivers us from everything that would keep us in bondage! When we walk in freedom from drivenness, discontentment, and strife, we dwell with God. This is our shelter from darkness and depression. We are made safe, strong and sanctified as we cohabitate with the Word of God.
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