Dec 24 2024

Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

In this verse, we learn that Jesus dwells within us and that we dwell in Him. His Spirit comes to live inside us when we come to know Him, and it testifies to the reality that we are new creations in Christ. Knowing this changes the way that we view the world and gives us confidence when we find ourselves facing challenges.

The verse begins by saying that we dwell in Him. We live in a world that is created by God, and our bodies were knitted together at His command, but this verse goes even deeper than that. It tells us that we are covered by His love and protection in all circumstances. There is nowhere that we can go where He is not covering us.

In addition to our dwelling in Him, Jesus dwells within us. We are assured that He is always inside us. Whenever we are facing a difficult decision or terrible circumstance, we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us direction and we know that He will. We know that because He lives within us, it will never be possible for us to be separated from the Lord.

Think about this: As Christians, we are literally sandwiched between God! He is covering us and is within us—nothing can get to us that hasn't gone through God. When the adversary comes to hurt us, we are protected on the inside and out. There is no part of our bodies or souls that is not shrouded in the love and protection of the Lord.

Because of this, we have nothing to fear. The Lord is going to help us because He loves us, and He will prove Himself to be the ever-present help we need in times of trouble. His Spirit has clothed us in His protection, and we can walk wherever the Lord has told us with confidence in Him.

Dear Lord, thank you for covering me in so many different ways. Thank you for guarding my outside and my inside. There is no sandwich I'd rather be a part of! You are so good to me. Help me to remember your love for me in all moments of my life. I love you, Jesus. In your name, amen.

Dec 23 2024

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. :

Psalm 16 is an anthem of faith in the Lord. Written by King David, it says that regardless of what happens in life, he will rest in assurance from the Lord. Today's verse is found at the end of the song and shows us that the same assurance is available to us.

The verse begins by saying that the Lord will show us the path of life. This is a common metaphor that we see all throughout the Bible and it means that the Lord will instruct us on the path that we should take throughout our lives as we honor Him. The path of life is not so much about a career or life plan. Rather, it is about constant, growing intimacy with the Lord. He will help us stay near Him in our lives as long as we continue to seek Him with our hearts.

The purpose of the Christian life is to live in the fullness of joy that His presence offers us. We will not experience this fullness of joy completely until we are in Heaven because we live in a world that is marred by sin. Still, it is possible to have joy now because the Lord's presence is available to us now.

Joy does not mean that we don't recognize or acknowledge turmoil or difficulties in our lives. Instead, it refers to having a steady heart and mind, knowing that the pain we experience here is temporary and that the Lord is enduring it with us. It means that we take our sorrows to Jesus over and over again and ask Him to renew our spirits.

When we recognize that Jesus is a wellspring of life, pouring out His love for us day after day, we will start to feel joy even in the most difficult of circumstances. We can continue to set our eyes on the day when we will live in Heaven with the Lord in supreme fullness of joy, and rest today as we dwell in His love.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much for being such a good God. I am so grateful that you are a God who wants His followers to have joy. Help me to have more joy as I dwell in your presence in a whole new way, resting in the confidence that you will provide and that you love us unfailingly. In Jesus' name, amen.