David & Ministry to the Lord: Songs of Revelation

David began his ministry to the Lord on the back-hills of Bethlehem with a harp and some sheep. No one saw his ministry at that point, except the Lord, and the lambs. He sang little songs and became a skillful player on the harp--so skillful, in fact, that he was called into the service of the king for his music. Not only was his music good, but it was anointed to drive away evil spirits (I Sam. 16:18-23).

But God saw the heart of David, and raised him up to be king. However, David never lost his heart to gaze on the beauty of the Lord, and dwell in His temple (Ps. 27:4).

David wrote hundreds of songs, as recorded in the book of Psalms. Many of these songs express David’s own emotions and struggles, and many express the emotions and heart of God. Reading the Psalms, one feels as though God was David’s best friend. David left us an example of how to pour out our emotions to God in worship, and receive God’s emotions in their place.

Furthermore, it is amazing the revelations of God David received in the place of worship to our Lord. He saw the beauty of the Lord (Ps. 24, 27); the Crucifixion of Christ (Ps 22), the revelation of the Shepherd (Ps. 23), the Second Coming (Ps. 2, 24, 110), and the restoration of Israel (Ps. 45-48).

Even as in David’s day, it is amazing what can happen when you place an instrument into the hands of a young worshipper and have them sing about truths of God. Revelation will come. The emotions of God will come. The young person will be transformed, and others will be brought into the presence of the Lord.

God, give us young worshippers with a heart like David in this generation!

Reading the Bible thru in 72hrs: Day 1

Today's adventure is a 72 hour Bible reading I am participating in. There is a group of us from the House of Prayer reading Genesis to Revelation straight through in 72 hours, & recording it. We are cutting out everything we can in our personal lives to read as much of the Bible as possible between 6pm Thursday to 6pm Sunday.

To do this, I am sleeping on a classroom floor for a few days. I have slept on many church floors all over the place, & every time I have a cry in my heart to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Ps. 27, 84).

The story of Samuel always come to me when I sleep in a place of the Lord. I always ask Him to come & speak to me as he did with young Samuel in I Samuel 3.

We started with Genesis 1 last night & we are in I Kings 2 now. Oh Lord, come & speak & increase our hunger for You!

Devo 61: Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever…”

Psalm 23:5-6

In John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, “You are clean because of the words I have spoken to you. Abide (remain) in me and I will remain in you as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (Jn. 15:3-4).

Jesus was telling his disciples to remain (abide, dwell, live) in the “cleanness” of the Word that had already been spoken to them. This was a continuation from chapter 13 where Jesus was washing the disciples’ feet and said that if they did not allow Him to do this, then they would have no part in Him (Jn. 13:8). Then, Peter basically said, “In that case, wash all of me!” (paraphrase). Jesus said that he only had to wash his feet because he was clean because of the words that Jesus had spoken to him.

This revelation of being clean is an important part of abiding in the vine. Jesus talked about abiding in His love or remaining in His love and how if we do not do so, we will be cut off from the vine.

There are many different things that can cut us off from the vine. Sin is the main one, but for those of us who confess and repent of sin, there is something that continues to keep us cut off from the vine—condemnation and shame. Condemnation keeps us from receiving true forgiveness and being cleansed of the sin we committed.

When we confess our sins and repent, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I Jn. 1:9). He gives us a clean slate immediately. However, condemnation continues to hold our minds in a prison of shame and accusation, so that we do not return to that place of abiding in those words.

In Psalm 23, David speaks of how the Lord set up a banqueting table in the presence of his enemies. As long as we are sitting at the table of the Lord, our enemies cannot separate us from His love. Our problem is that we allow our thoughts to dwell on our enemies rather than on the table of the Lord set before us. We allow ourselves to be cut off from the vine by believing that we are not cleansed from the sin that the Lord has already forgiven us for.

If we confess to the Lord and plead the blood of Jesus, He forgives us in that moment. When Satan stands before God to accuse us night and day (Rev. 12:10), Jesus stands there and says, “Not Guilty…Not Guilty…Not Guilty…”

However when Satan comes to accuse us before the judge, many times we are asked, “How do you plead?” We always say, “Guilty!” Our hearts condemn us, our minds condemn us, Satan condemns us, but Jesus says, “You are clean because of the Words I have spoken to you. Remain in my love.”

We have to stop agreeing with the prosecutor in our lives. Jesus is our Advocate who stands at the doorposts of our hearts painting His blood over them, and commanding the death plague to “passover.”

When we continue to beat ourselves up for what we did wrong after we have already confessed it, we are denying the power of the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness He has given us.

Jesus said to “Remain in His love.” When we do so, we are sitting at that banqueting table even when enemies are all around us. In doing that, we can dwell (abide, live) in the House of the Lord forever.

Our bodies are the temple of the Lord. They are the dwelling place of the Most High God and it is His desire to completely inhabit us. He wants to abide in us and us abide in Him. When we sit at His table, His goodness and mercy follow us, and we are not condemned, but we are cleansed. We are not cut off, but we remain.

“Lord Jesus, help us to receive your love and forgiveness. Let your goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives, and let us dwell with you forever. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness—even memories of it, God. Keep us from playing those memories like reruns over and over again. Cleanse us from bitterness and unforgiveness towards ourselves, others, and You. Cleanse us from shame, condemnation, and accusation. Help us to never separate ourselves from remaining in Your love and abiding in Your presence. Thank You, Jesus. We love You. Amen.”

Blessings,

Amanda

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