Tag: tent
Day 3–Good News for ‘Tent-Dwellers’!
Scripture reading for May 27: Psalm 91:7-10 “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place–the Most High, Who is my Refuge–no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.”
In Scripture, our bodies are likened to ‘tents’ that we live in while on earth. John 1:14 states that ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. . ‘, referring to Jesus coming to earth to live among His people and reveal the heart of the Father God. The word ‘dwell’ actually means to ‘tabernacle’ or pitch a tent. If you remember, the Israelites had a ‘tent’ for God, the Tabernacle, that they carried and pitched for God to dwell in their midst. The cloud of God’s glory would rest over it until it led them in their journey. It was a fire by night bringing light and the comfort of God’s presence. They also had a yearly feast of Tabernacles where they lived in temporary dwellings remembering their journey through the wilderness. (Leviticus 23:33-36)
The psalmist wrote to encourage those who know God by Name and trust in Him as their Refuge and Fortress. Thousands may fall close to you, but the plagues and satanic attacks of this life will not come near you. You will observe the recompense of the wicked only. The psalmist King David wrote in Psalm 37:34 that those waiting on God will look on when the wicked are cut off. If the Lord Most High is your ‘dwelling place’, if His ‘Tabernacle’ is your refuge or secret place, no harm or evil will come near your ‘tent’!
What good news the psalmist brings to first responders on their missions to help the hurting and diseased! These ancient confessions of faith in the Most High God give us comfort and courage to face danger with calm and trust. No plague or evil can harm us as God abides in our ‘tent’.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for these ancient words written down to encourage and teach Your people faith and trust. Help us as faith responders to remember that You dwell in our ‘tent’ by the Holy Spirit. You give us power and courage to share the Good News with those You send us to. Amen.
Jesus ‘pitched His tent’ among us!
Scripture reading for October 29: John 1-2
The Gospel of John, the beloved disciple, is exciting reading. John was the youngest disciple and one of the “sons of thunder” brothers. James and John were evidently very emotional and yet very likable. These brothers were in the inner circle of three in the company of disciples and John was the one resting his head on Jesus’ chest in the famous picture of the Last Supper. John was also the disciple who Jesus asked from the cross to take care of His mother. (John 19:26-27)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4)
John starts with a revelation of the Son of God! He is the eternal Word! He was with God in the beginning! There is no time in His realm, so there is no beginning from God’s perspective. He always was, is, and will be. The beginning spoken of by John is the beginning of created things. Everything seen and unseen was created by God and by His Word. He is the source and beginning of it all. When we think of how vast and huge the creation is, we are humbled by the power of that Word!
This “Word” became flesh and dwelt among His people! The word for “dwelt” is the same word used to describe the pitching of a tent. He “tabernacled” with His people! This is what God did when Israel was in the desert after Mt. Sinai. Moses was given instructions to build a special tent and furniture as a place for God to dwell in the midst of His people. This tent was called a “tabernacle” where God’s presence marked His people as separate and blessed. No enemy could defeat them as they marched with Him, no sickness could attack, and even clothes and shoes did not wear out! (Nehemiah 9:19-21)
Jesus Christ came to His own people, but they did not receive Him! (John 1:11-12) Most rejected Him and ended up crucifying Him. But to those who would and did receive Him, Jesus gave the power to become children of God! They would be “born again” into God’s family! He would send them the Holy Spirit to live in them and they would become “living tabernacles” of God’s presence! Why not invite Him to be your Savior today and let Him pitch His tent in you!
Swallowed up by Life!
Scripture reading for September 22nd: 2nd Kings 22-23, Psalm 73, 2nd Corinthians 5
2nd Corinthians 5: 1-6 “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He Who has prepared us for this very thing is God, Who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
Paul elaborated further on his faith in the resurrection of the dead. His firm belief was that even if our mortal body is destroyed, believers have a guarantee through the Gift of the Holy Spirit that they will receive a new resurrection body that will live forever in the presence of God. It will not be temporary like the “tent” of our body. It will be a “building”, something eternal. While we wait for this promise, we may groan and suffer from persecution, aging, or attacks of Satan. But focus on what is ahead and surely coming with take us through to receive our promised inheritance! God is with us and guiding us to glory.
Psalm 73:23-24 “Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the Gift of Your Holy Spirit to live in me and guide me with Your counsel and prepare me for glory eternal! Your plans for me are amazing and a pure gift of grace in that I deserve the opposite. I long for the day when these promises become sight and I receive the ‘building’ You have prepared for me and I am swallowed, not by the grave, but by Life eternal in Your presence!
2nd Kings 23:25 “Before him (King Josiah) there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.”
Walking by faith through death to life!
Scripture reading for September 22nd: 2nd Corinthians 5
Key Scriptures: 2nd Corinthians 5:1-5 “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, Who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
Paul talked to the Corinthians about death from a Christian perspective. This was not just a ‘hope’ but something Paul knew to be true from God’s unchanging Word. He likened our earthly bodies to a tent–a temporary dwelling place. As long as we live in the ‘tent’ of the earthly body, we will groan and have a longing for that which God has prepared, a permanent dwelling, a glorified body that will live forever. He likened death to the putting off of the ‘tent’ or temporary dwelling. He likened the ‘further clothing’ to be the new body which God is preparing us for by giving us a down-payment in His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prepares us for this amazing transition and is our guarantee that God will do what He has promised. We walk, live, and even die with faith in this amazing promise.
2nd Corinthians 5:6-8 “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing promises of a permanent glorified body to live in for eternity in Your presence. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who is my guarantee and helps me prepare while on earth. Use me to bring this Gospel to those groaning under the fear of death and blinded by the god of this world.
2nd Corinthians 5:9-11 “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.”