THEME: THE MYSTERY OF THE DWELLING PLACE AND THE HOPE FOR YEARS TO COME 

Peace be unto you dear reader! 

The Lord has been our dwelling place long before we became a clot of blood in our mother’s womb. When it pleased Him that we be born, He pulled us out of many, singled us out among many for nourishment, and life in the womb until the time of delivery. From delivery to-date, He has remained our dwelling place. 

Yet, we did not esteem Him well enough. We have turned to the spiritual destinies and moorings of our fathers, rejecting Him to live by the traditions, culture of our fathers, our own understanding, desires, designs, and choices in life. We have now become entangled with the spiritual, traditional, and cultural practices of the people among whom we dwell.  Like our fathers, we also have rejected God, our Dwelling Place in whom we live and have our being. We have mounted idols, graven images, and handiworks of men and spirits to be our dwelling place and temple for strength, happiness, and joys of life. 

This notwithstanding, the God our Dwelling Place has not forsaken us.  He cannot, He will not deny Himself.  He is an everlasting, consistent, and unchanging person.  He has given and is giving notices of His presence with us, His goodness, and mercy, His longing for us to return to Him, to re-connect and come back to the waiting place of our dwelling in Him.  In His Son, He opened the heavenly Divine door for us to come back, reconnect, and enter into His waiting arms and dwelling place.  There shall we find pasture, abundant, everlasting life, peace, and joy. 

Returning to the open arms of the Most High God gives us hope for years to come.  In Christ, there is hope. There, we find shelter from the storms and vicissitudes of life, the ravaging works of vampires and wolves, the death traps of sin and death, the open graves dug and set in place by wicked men and women, spirits, and powers. This is the fate in life, the settlement, and loss of glory in the grave.  The grave has become the dwelling place of they that reject the dwelling place in God, the Creator of heaven and earth, not the gods, goddesses and deities of fortune, riches and wealth, power, war and blood, political, economic and social advancement in the dark and wicked world. They that dwell in the forests, trees, stones, in hills and mountains, in rivers and lakes, lagoons, seas and oceans, in the air and under the ground have no place for us to dwell except the grave and hell, the dwelling place of angels, spirits, men and women of rebellion, disobedience and rejection of God the Creator. 

They that surrender to obey, worship, and build their lives, trust, and hope in God the Creator, find a dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. They abide under the wings and shadow of the Most High.  

To be sure, there are storms of life, there are challenges, numerous of that in the life of sinful, corruptible, weak, and frail mortal man. There are many overwhelming challenges particularly to the weak and frail spirit, body, and soul. The power and strength of the spirit, soul, mind, and body of man is but a shadow, a tale of grass that blossoms but for a few hours and days and is soon cut off. The flower soon dies, rots, and its sweet fragrance turns smelly and offensive.  Human majestic glory fades in the wind, its memory is uncertain, soon forsaken. Who can tell the depth and way of the anger of the Creator whom we reject, though we dwell in Him, have our being and obtain life in and from Him. 

Blessed are those who put their trust in God, seek, find, and rest under the shadow of the Most High— the everlasting dwelling place in Him in all generations and age. They are securely covered and protected from storms, tornadoes, and tsunamis. They experience the protective hands of the Most High like miracles and wonder. Their lives are on the whole a mystery, ordered, set in place, guided, and controlled by the God who works in mysterious ways to bless His own and glorify His name.  guide me, O Thou Jehovah is their song of assurance and hope. 

They enjoy the presence, work, wonders, and glory of the Most High.  Under His wings they find strength, knowledge, wisdom, direction, and blessing for the works of their hands. Their lives are settled in the light, peace, joy, and everlasting life of the Most High.  In this shall be their hope for years to come! 

July 29, 2012