Psalm 26:8 reveals David's love for the dwelling place of the Lord:
8Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.
David was speaking of the Tabernacle then, because the Temple was not yet built, but He was also speaking about the presence of the Lord! He spoke of the place where the glory of the Lord dwells! Remind yourself that NOW, under the NEW and BETTER Covenant, the presence of the Lord, along with His GLORY, lives in YOU! Get to know Him and be aware of His presence in you so that you can become a more effective Minister of Life!
In Matthew 26 Jesus is telling His disciples about what he must go through and that they would all leave Him. Peter and all of the disciples refused to believe that they could do such a thing! Verses 31-35:
31Then Jesus said to them, You will all be offended and stumble and fall away because of Me this night [distrusting and deserting Me], for it is written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 32But after I am raised up [to life again], I will go ahead of you to Galilee. 33Peter declared to Him, Though they all are offended and stumble and fall away because of You [and distrust and desert You], I will never do so. 34Jesus said to him, Solemnly I declare to you, this very night, before a single rooster crows, you will deny and disown Me three times. 35Peter said to Him, Even if I must die with You, I will not deny or disown You! And all the disciples said the same thing.
What happened? Verse 56:
56But all this has taken place in order that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted Him and, fleeing, escaped.
And verses 74-75:
74Then Peter began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not even know the Man! And at that moment a rooster crowed. 75And Peter remembered Jesus' words, when He had said, Before a single rooster crows, you will deny and disown Me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Have YOU ever denied Him or failed to stand up for what the Word of God says? We ALL have! And just like Peter, who was restored to fellowship after the Resurrection, we will be received right back into fellowship with Him when we repent (change our thinking to agree with God) and receive His forgiveness! Don't stay out of fellowship for one second! Refuse to believe the lies of the enemy that you can't possibly get over what you've done. Our God IS God and says we can! He is the God of Restoration! AMEN!
I like 2 Kings 3:14:
14And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before Whom I stand, surely, were it not that I respect the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you [King Joram].
Jehoshaphat was a good king! People will be blessed sometimes simply because of their association with you - a child of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Use THAT to minister to them how they, too, can become a member of God's family!
Shalom in Him!
