Perpetual

1 Kings 9:3-9
3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’”
Been stuck on this scripture lately. Every time I read it I get something new. Here's the interesting part, I have gotten words for me, my family, but not one's that are ok to share. As I read it today, I got a renewed sense of encouragement and a sense of joy. To give you some background: David, King of Israel spent years working to re-unite the kingdoms of Israel under a monarchy. When he finally did, he wanted to build a temple for God to dwell in. During that time, God's presence was WITH men, rather than IN men. That's an important distinction to consider when dealing with the motives of David wanting to build a temple to house God's Glory. God basically says no.
1 Chronicles 28:2,3 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
1 Chronicles 28:6,7 6 Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’
David's Son, then becomes one of the wisest men ever and in so doing the richest man ever to walk the earth. Just a side note for those needing money: If you ask for money, you can still spend it, but asking for Wisdom blesses God's heart and he will help you make the most of the money you have so that you can become rich, rather than a person with money. Back to the story, Solomon spends years and years building this temple. It's HUGE! The inner courts themselves were 90 ft, by 40 ft wide, by 45 ft high! That is equivalent to a 4 story office building. And that was just the inner courts! Judging from that size, one can assume that the entire footprint of the temple took some time to build. And Solomon, the richest man ever, didn't just throw some wood together with a couple of 16-penny nails, no... He spent time embossing things in Gold and precious gems. He used the finest wood and spent time to build this house for God. When you think of the majesty, the splendor, and the scale of this temple, it fills the head with wondrous images of God coming in power to the mercy seat and ruling over his people. What strikes me is that the first scripture, from 1 Kings, describes the Words of the Lord to Solomon at the temple's dedication. This verse in particular:
3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
Follow me for a second, if God never lies, then this statement still holds true today. What is exciting me and encouraging me is just how much God will be with us.

("perpetually")

. When you think about that statement then you realize this other promise from the Book of Revelation, the last book of the bible, towards the end of the book:
Revelation 21:3 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
Then you begin to understand God's love for you today. No matter what circumstances you face, no matter what troubles you deal with, God is PERPETUALLY thinking and dwelling with you. You can overcome, you HAVE overcome,

You win

Don't allow the enemy to deceive you and trick you into thinking that you are losing. You have already one. There is no battle between light and dark, light wins. God is light, God wins. You have been adopted and become a co-heir with Christ in the kingdom of light, its time to dwell perpetually with HIM. Allow Him to guide and direct your steps (Prov. 16:9).

YOU WIN.

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