The Lord Is - Sun and Shield

 

PSALM 84:11

For The LORD God is a Sun and a Shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity. 

Revelation 21:23

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Isaiah 60:19

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but The LORD shall be unto thee an Everlasting Light, and thy God thy glory. 

Psalm 3:3

But Thou, O LORD, art a Shield for me; my Glory, and The Lifter up of mine head.

    Right now people are excited about the solar eclipse that will be happening this week, when the sun is completely covered by the moon and darkness will be upon the land briefly. But someday, both sun and moon will vanish, for their usefulness will have faded. I think that is the more exciting event to look forward to and I'm so glad I'm going to see The Light of heaven someday! 

THOU ART A SHIELD - Kent Henry

(LIGHT OF THE WORLD) HERE I AM TO WORSHIP   -The African Children's Choir 

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - A Dwelling For His Name

 

 

Deuteronomy 16:11

11. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7931

Dwelling: to settle down, abide; continue, cause to dwell, make to dwell, have habitation, inhabit, lay, place

From the Hebrew word 'shakan or shaken' (pronounced shaw-kan'). 

    It was no accident "there was no room in the inn". The Master Creator created the perfect set of circumstances so that His Son would be born at the intended time in the least honorable place. 

    Of course the inn was full: every body in the house of, the lineage of David, had to return to the city of his birth with his family and be counted to pay taxes. (Luke 2:1-7). That wasn't the place God chose for His name to dwell. 

    Nowadays, the parents usually get to pick where and when their child will be born: a hospital, a home birth. Though there are times when the baby arrives early: a taxicab, an elevator, backyard bbq. And sometimes there are complications. But that wasn't so when the Son of God was born. 

    God chose Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). God chose a stable (Luke 2:7). God chose a manger (Luke 2:7). God chose when (Matthew 2:1-7, 16) His Son would be born. A place for everything and everything in its place. But Bethlehem was not His dwelling place. 

    We learned that as a child, He grew up in Egypt and Nazareth. In His ministry He stated that He had "no place to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). In other words, He had no place to dwell, to reside. There was no God-ordained place for Him to rest and live. During His ministry Jesus lived a nomadic life, depending on His Father to meet His needs. 

    God chose something a little less substantial than a house for His Name to dwell in: He chose us. Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone should hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me."

    Luke 12:36

Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.

    John 14:23

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."

    God chose our hearts to be the dwelling place for His Name. The place where the Lord lives is in our soul: our thoughts, our emotions, our attitudes. An ethereal place of residence: it cannot be seen, or touched, or known by any other than God. For only God knows the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 94:11; 1 Corinthians 3:20). 

    God wants to be a part of our everyday lives. He created us. He knows how each of us thinks. He knows our plans, our dreams, our desires. Yet still He chooses to call us by name, knocking on the doors of our hearts to let Him come in and live in us. 

    Though our hearts are filthy and unkempt places when He first arrives (when we first believe on His name for our salvation), The Lord Jesus will clean house after He moves in with His Holy Spirit and make Himself at home. But we must make that decision to let Him into our hearts. He's a gentleman, not a bully. Jesus only lives in the people who ask Him into their hearts and lives. 

    God knows our names and He calls us to come out of the system of this world, out of the darkness and evil which dwell here, into His love and light. "Come out from among them" the Word tells us (2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 7:1). 

    And let God and Jesus and The Holy Spirit take up residence in your hearts (John 14:23). Indeed, until you believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, there is no room for God to dwell in our hearts. 

    What are you waiting for? God loves you. God wants you to be in His family. God calls you by name, pleading with you to answer His call to salvation through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. God stands at the doors of your hearts, knocking patiently, waiting for you to open the doors of your hearts and let Him in, to give Him a dwelling for His Name. 

    Here is the day, now is the time. For there is coming a day when time will be up and making a decision for Christ will be out of your hands. 

KING OF GLORY by Third Day

    

TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS by Casting Crowns

LOVE HAS A NAME by Jesus Culture

ABIDE WITH ME by Keith and Kristyn Getty

HE LIVES by David Phelps

    

    

  

Thanks Be To God -- His Name Is Near

 

Psalm 75:1

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, for Your Name is near. The people declare Your wondrous works.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3034

Thanks: to throw, to cast;   

In this verse, the word thanks is rendered from the Hebrew word 'yadah', which is pronounced yaw-daw' and means to confess, to glorify, to give praise while throwing one's hands or arms up. 

This word yadah is used 114 times in the Old Testament. 

And why are we to give thanks in such a manner to God? FOR YOUR NAME IS NEAR. 

>Psalm 145:18

The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.

>Deuteronomy 4:7

For what nation is there so great, who has God so near unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?

>Acts 17:27

God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

>Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. 

>Psalm 85:9

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.

>Psalm 119:151

You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are true.

Knowing God is near to us, let we ourselves draw near to Him as James writes in James 4:8 "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 

As the prodigal son drew closer to home, his father, who had been daily watching for his son's return, ran to meet him when he saw his son coming home. So, too, has the prodigal spirit within each one of us who has returned to God seen God run to meet us as we drew near Him in our brokenhearted appeal at the cross. "Lord, save me."

 >Psalm 26:6, 7

I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD, to raise my voice in thanksgiving and declare all Your wonderful works.

Of all His wondrous works for which we give God thanks, the one too wonderful for words is the salvation He made possible when He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross in our place. 

>2 Corinthians 5:21

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

That's the best Wonderful Work of God right there.

Let us pray. 

Dear God,

Thank You God for being my God. Thank You for being a 'near to me God' and not a far away God. Thank you for saving me and calling me Your own. Thank You for bringing me into Your marvelous kingdom and giving me a job to do for You. Thank You, Lord, for saving a wretch like me. You are too wonderful for words and I know that Your Spirit helps me to pray when I can find no words to speak. Thank You for that blessing, too. 

In Jesus' Name, I pray,

Amen.

Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin

Here I Am To Worship by Tim Hughes