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
