Dwelling place, or how to escape the chaos

Constant noise

Have you ever been in a busy city where traffic flies by constantly, where sidewalks are crowded, and where there is constant noise?

I have been to many such cities all over the world, traveling with my husband. From New York to Calcutta, from Mexico City to Cairo, and from Kuala Lumpur to Santiago de Chile.

Change of scenery

In order to escape the chaos we would often enter a church, even at a time when we were not really interested in finding God. The change of scenery and atmosphere when we stepped into a church or cathedral was often dramatic. Just one step would take us from total mayhem to serene silence.

Kingdom atmosphere

I have read somewhere that the architects and builders of many old churches purposely wanted to create a Kingdom atmosphere (in sharp contrast with the world outside) where the peace of God ruled and where beauty and art were the norm. Somewhat like in Biblical times when David wrote:

I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where Your glorious presence dwells.

You can find this in Psalm 26;8. Some translations say: the house, the temple, the dwelling where You live. I don't know what David had in mind, there was no temple at that time. A  sanctuary, a tabernacle... it doesn't really matter how we picture it; it is the place where His presence dwells (abides).

Our body, our responsibility

Today I was thinking about how blessed we are to live in a time and era where God's presence is with us, all the time... well, if you believe in Jesus. Our body is a house of God (a temple) where the Holy Spirit lives. We carry Him within, wherever we go (1 Corinthians 6:19). We don't have to wait till Sunday to meet with Him 😁

This privilege gives us responsibility as well. We must take good care of our temple, since we belong to God, no longer to ourselves.

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👉 In my book 'In My Name' I discuss the presence of God in more detail!

Give me a T

In my Bible Alphabet Blog Series T stands for Temple.

In most religions a temple is a (prayer) building in which God or gods are being worshiped. The Bible speaks much about the temple in Jerusalem, both in the Old and New Testament.

After the destruction of that temple in 70 AD and with the spreading of Christianity churches and cathedrals have been built all over the world with the same idea: a place for prayer, worship, a place where God is present.

We may indeed 'experience' God in a temple or church, but these buildings are not His residence. The Bible is clear about it: However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’ (Acts 7: 48-50).

Indeed, God desires to live in a temple that He made Himself: the human body, the most beautiful building that exists. It is a place created by God Himself, a place where He can be very close with us and we with Him. In 2 Corinthians 6:16 it is written: For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” That is God with us ... Immanuel.

In light of this all, it is no wonder there is so much attack on the human body: sickness, mutilation, abuse, you name it. It is certainly okay to restore and maintain our buildings, but I truly believe we must stand up and defend the place where God really resides!

PS: You do not have to look far to experience God. Invite Jesus to come into your heart and live with you. He just loves to grant such a request!

A resting place

Resting place at Apollonia National Park, Israel

In The Netherlands we are very spoiled with vacation days and vacation time. Depending on the financial situation people choose to stay home, to travel in The Netherlands or to other countries in or outside of Europe. Adventure can be found everywhere, whether we choose to go hiking in a provincial park or in the mighty Alps. Each country has it's charm and points of interest, if we would only open our eyes.

This is somewhat how I experience Bible reading. As I wrote in one of my previous blog posts, I am currently reading through the Book of Acts. Which means reading slow, stopping, thinking, making notes, asking questions, pondering... and reading again. Just think about the fact that we have 66 Bible books to visit... each with it's own charm and special points of interest. Sometimes a single word or sentence jumps off the page and catches my eye as it has never done before. In any case, if you are reading along, please make sure to read the context or chapter that holds the words I am highlighting.

In chapter 7 I came across the following words (verse 48 and 49), However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? What a fascinating question from God to us... 'where will my resting place be?' God is looking for a resting place, not built by human hands, but created by Himself.

In general we are looking for a resting place by God, in His presence. But has it ever occurred to you that God desires to find a resting place in or with us? A place (our body = His temple) where He can feel at home, where He is welcome and where He enjoys talking with us?

GIVE yourselves to God (4)

Oh well, so many articles, thoughts and debates about Christianity, Somehow we find it difficult to make our inner convictions visible. Church attendance, theology, gifts, functions, servant hood and other outer works are being submitted to thorough research again and again. We will, however, always end up at the cross at Calvary. That is where Jesus gave Himself in total surrender. He laid down His life in order to give life to all mankind.

Surrender. What a beautiful and difficult word, it is the foundation of the Christian faith. Surrendering ourselves, everything we have learned, everything we possess and everything we did wrong. Surrender is the dawn of a new beginning. God desires total surrender from every human being. Not because He wants to control us, but because He desires to heal and renew each aspect of our lives and to use it for His work here on earth. Offer yourselves to God, Paul says. That is giving our whole being as an instrument of righteousness. According to the Bible our whole being is spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The scripture I am using as a basis for this series can be found in Romans 6:12-14, Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

In the previous blog posts we have seen that our spirit is born again (a new creation) and our soul is being saved (preserved). So, what is the deal with our body? The Bible says that our earthly body is mortal (see Romans 6:12 for example) and will therefore perish. Many churches regard the body (also called the flesh) as sinful and therefore most sermons will rather be about spiritual things than about physical things. Sermons about the body are not so popular. But the Bible speaks about it often and always in a very clear and simple way!

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1). We need to offer (give) our body to God as a LIVING sacrifice. That sounds a bit theatrical, but it simply means we have to make our bodies available for His service.... to do stuff! To use our hands and to move our feet, maybe even to go to places where no one wants to go.

The Bible warns against wrong use of the body (sexual immorality, gluttony etc.). In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 we can read the following, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Honor God with your bodies. What a strange command, how do we do such a thing in our daily lives? We have often learned that we should not give too much attention to the flesh. But... the human body is a temple wherein the Holy Spirit desires to live. We have to keep that temple clean. Let's be honest, if we do not feel at home in our own body, why would the Holy Spirit feel at home? Let's make sure we have a clean house! Give your addictions, cravings, bad habits, pains and frustrations to Him and ask the Lord to do a work of renewal.

Together we are the body of Christ on earth. If we do not do what He did when He walked around on this earth, how can His name be glorified?

A not so common dwelling place

He made His dwelling among us...

Years ago, on one of our travels through the Wild West, we visited Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde National Monuments. We were absolutely intrigued by the way the Native Americans used to make their homes in the rocks. The so called cave dwellings form a stunning unity with their natural environment. At that time the word dwelling was new to me, so I looked it up in the dictionary: a place to live in, residence, house, abode...

But more so than a word from the dictionary or an ancient form of housing, dwelling is a biblical word. The apostle John writes about Jesus' coming to earth: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14), in other words, He lived among us. Hundreds of years before that, the Psalmist cried out: I long to dwell in your tent forever (Psalm 61:4). In the Old Testament the people of God desired to live in the House of the Lord (the traveling tent or tabernacle, and later on the Temple in Jerusalem) and so to be continually in His presence. How that has changed! Now, God desires to dwell in our tent! A total opposite situation! Where people used to cry out to live with God, now God cries out to live with people. The very Son of God came for that purpose, to live among people, to occupy their hearts, to make His living space among men...

In 2 Samuel 7:5 God asked David if he was going to be the man to build Him a house to dwell in. I believe He is asking that same question today. Are you building a house/temple for Me to dwell in? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received form God? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)...I hope our answer will be yes! We must honor God with our body by making it a welcoming place for Him to live in.

The last chapter in my latest book GRACE OF GIVING is about the sacrifice of the body, about giving our body to God as a living sacrifice, as a place He may use as a residence. It is far beyond my comprehension that God desires to live in me, but I see it as an honor and I long to offer Him a clean house where He can feel right a home. What about you?

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16).