His Heart, My Home

NOTE: Later this week we will post three special teachings on Jesus’ sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. The posts are:

Good Friday – Jesus, Tougher Than Nails!

Saturday – A Perfect Salvation

Resurrection Day –The Rock That Rolled

This holiday season is a great time to tell others about eternal life in Christ.

Pray for open, receptive hearts as you share these posts with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

Each teaching ends with a prayer they can pray to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord.

May He bless you and your loved ones as you celebrate the unconditional, unfailing love of His resurrection life.

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“Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool. Arise, O Lord, to your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength.”
(Psalm 132:7-8)

“For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place; ‘This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
(Psalm 132:13-14)

Our prayers, praise, and worship invite the living presence of our Eternal Father, who is actively and passionately seeking our presence!

His manifested presence is the source of our joy. And joy infuses us with spiritual strength.

” You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

“… the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
(Nehemiah 8:10)

That infusion of supernatural strength will guarantee our victory in every battle. Read the account below of Israel’s victory over an enemy which vastly outnumbered them.

Faced with this powerful invading force, the prophet had declared before the battle began, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s”. 
(2 Chronicles 20:15)

²¹ “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord for His love endures forever.”

²² As they began to sing and praise, the  Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 

²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 

²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 

²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

²⁷ Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 

²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets. (2 Chronicles 20:21-28)

Jehosaphat and his people learned that the manifested presence of the Lord and the expressed joy it brings kickoff our victory celebrations before we even go forth into battle.

You may ask, how is that even possible? How can God invite us to a victory celebration when the outcome of the battle is still unknown?

The outcome of the battle is only unknown to us if we see it through our human eyes. But the view is completely different when we see it through God’s eyes.

“From the beginning I declare how things will end; from times long past, I tell of what is yet to be, saying: ‘My intentions will come to pass. I will make things happen as I determine they should.” (Isaiah 46:10, The Voice Translation)

God does things a little differently than we do. He starts at the end-point, the place where the battle is over and the celebration is just beginning, and moves the victory of that moment into the present.

His presence shows up, in response to our worship and words of faith. He comes, bringing a tambourine in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other, and invites us to celebrate the victory with Him! If we join Him whole-heartedly, it’s game-over for the enemy!

I’m convinced that in every temptation, test, and trial that we have ever faced in life, our victory has been just behind the curtains, awaiting its cue to step on to the stage, into the spot-light of our praise to our God, and take a bow.

How could it be otherwise? In God’s master plan Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain before the foundation of the world.(Revelation 13:8)

Before our “first parents” ever sinned and died spiritually, God had already made a plan to bring redemption and eternal life to our entire race!

So the enemy has only the slightest possibility of defeating us, but he does everything possible to prevent us from seeking God’s presence, because this means his certain defeat.

He unleashes a thousand distractions, like an angry swarm of bees, chasing us, stinging us into a state of frustration and weariness.

He poisons us with condemnation and self-hatred, convincing us that God loathes us and would never respond to our prayers.

He floods our minds with doubt. He tries to drown us in a whirlpool of negative feelings. He squeezes us, applying pressure from every angle, doing his utmost to provoke us to speak words of fear and defeat.

How can we possibly overcome him when our enemy is so devilishly persistent in his attacks?

Actually, the answer is quite simple.

There is a source of strength available to us, that paralyzes the enemy, and insures our absolute victory.

“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have ordained strength, because of your enemies, That you may silence the enemy and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:2, NKJV)

“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. (KJV)

First, notice the difference between the two translations used above. The NKJV says the enemy will be “silenced”. The KJV says the enemy will be “stilled”.

Which is correct? Both! This supernatural force (strength = azaz in Hebrew, means might;  strength; and fierceness) the Lord is describing will shut the enemy’s mouth and paralyze him with fear!

But we still don’t yet know exactly what type of fierce strength we have, until Jesus explains it in
Matthew 21:16 – “… And Jesus said, ‘Yes, have you never read out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise?”

Jesus, quoting Psalm 8:2, equates praise with strength! And this fierce strength silences the enemy and terminates his attacks. Once we invite God’s presence, the enemy forgets all about his offensive strategy and starts looking for the exit. He doesn’t want to be in the same room as God’s powerful Spirit.

[ * Example: Think about a criminal’s reaction to the sound of police sirens getting closer and closer. He’s looking for the quickest way out of Dodge City. He says, “Feet, it’s time to get moving!” ]

” ¹ God! Arise with awesome power, and every one of your enemies will scatter in fear! ² Chase them away—all these God-haters. Blow them away as a puff of smoke. Melt them away like wax in the fire. One good look at you and the wicked vanish. ³ But let all the righteous be glad! Yes, let them all rejoice in your presence and be carried away with gladness. Let them laugh and be radiant with joy!”
(Psalm 68:1-3, Passion Translation)

Once the enemy has fled the scene in terror, we can just continue our victory celebration with the Lord.

” The Lord, your God  is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in silent satisfaction, and in His love He will be silent and make no mention of past sins, or even recall them.  He will exult over you with singing!” (Zephaniah 3:17, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

Thank God for His awesome presence! And thank Him for the certainty of our victory over the enemy. Greater is He who lives in us than he who is in this world! (1 John 4:4)

So rejoice in God’s presence and He will give you victory after victory after victory!