Tag: Spirit

Daily Psalms – Psalm 84

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Life, Psalms

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 81-85

How happy are those who reside in your house,
who praise you continually. Selah

Psalm 84:4 CSB

Psalm 84, perhaps my favorite of the songs of Zion, focuses on this point. Being in the presence of God, where he resides, is our ultimate goal and longing.

The psalmist begins by proclaiming a desire to be where the presence of Yahweh is, and then moves into an almost play-by-play of a pilgrim traveling to the temple (vs. 5-10). Each verse brings us closer and closer to God’s presence until the arrival in the temple courts.

Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than live in the tents of wicked people.

Psalm 84:10 CSB

The presence of Yahweh dwelt in the temple. In the Israelite context, do draw near to God meant a pilgrimage to the temple. But to the Christian, you and I are now the temple of the Holy Spirit of God because of the atoning blood of Jesus (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4ff).

So how do we encounter the presence of God? It starts with Jesus. We can only enter through Christ. His life, ministry, death, and resurrection was the fulfillment of the promised Messiah to Israel. This fulfillment of God’s promise changed the way God interacted with his people! When we commit ourselves to Christ, God’s Spirit dwells within us, and we can and should ask God for his Spirit to be ever present and powerful in our lives. He also promises his presence when we gather together with other believers. (see Rom. 8:9ff, John 14:6-7, 1 Cor. 6:19ff, Acts 2, Luke 11:13, Matthew 18:20)

We should all long for the presence of God daily in this life, to gather in his presence with fellow believers as often as possible, and to dwell eternally in his presence in the next life.

Happy is the person who trusts in you,
LORD of Armies!

Psalm 84:12 CSB

The Names of God

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Christianity

Here's a picture I took of God's handy work in Costa Rica.

I had a discussion with some people today about the various Names of God.  If you’ve never done so, I suggest you use a great resource like BibleGateway and just search to see just how many ways God is referred to in the Bible.  In addition, look up “Spirit” and see how many ways it’s referenced (be sure you’re looking at the “Spirit” that is capitalized.)

Doing this helped me to remember just how large, and powerful our God is.  Nobody can sum Him up in a few words.  No single name is grand enough, detailed enough, descriptive enough, or explanatory enough to capture the essence of God.  Yet when we put them all together inside His Word (the Bible), we begin to see how truly small and insignificant we are; how temporary our problems are; how silly our worries are;how inflated our ego’s are.  May God forgive us for thinking so much more highly of ourselves than we ought, and may God forgive us and our human minds that so limit his awesome power.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurablymore than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21