The Lord: Our Dwelling Place. Psalm 90. By Mrs. Noyo Edem

by Noyo Anthonia Kubeyinje Edem on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 10:08am

The Lord: Our Dwelling Place. Psalm 90
BOOK IV : Psalms 90-106
A prayer of Moses the man of God.

 1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
       throughout all generations.

 2 Before the mountains were born
       or you brought forth the earth and the world,
       from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 3 You turn men back to dust,
       saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."

 4 For a thousand years in your sight
       are like a day that has just gone by,
       or like a watch in the night.

 5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
       they are like the new grass of the morning-

 6 though in the morning it springs up new,
       by evening it is dry and withered.

 7 We are consumed by your anger
       and terrified by your indignation.

 8 You have set our iniquities before you,
       our secret sins in the light of your presence.

 9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
       we finish our years with a moan.

 10 The length of our days is seventy years—
       or eighty, if we have the strength;
       yet their span [a] is but trouble and sorrow,
       for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

 11 Who knows the power of your anger?
       For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

 12 Teach us to number our days aright,
       that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
       Have compassion on your servants.

 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
       that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
       for as many years as we have seen trouble.

 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
       your splendor to their children.

 17 May the favor [b] of the Lord our God rest upon us;
       establish the work of our hands for us—
       yes, establish the work of our hands. Amen.
Noyo Edem’s Notes:
This Psalm should encourage us all to start this new day with our hearts filled with thanksgiving and praise to our God for His unfailing love and faithfulness towards us. The Lord has been the only dwelling place for His children since the creation of days. God has been steadfast and constant in His Love towards us.
God still loves us and desires to bless us even when we stray away from Him. Even though we change our attitudes towards God, God will never change His attitude towards us. Let us reflect on verses 11-12 of Psalm 90 for a while. Who truly knows the power of God’s anger? The wrath of God is great as the fear that is due His name. Our lack of knowledge of the power of God’s anger and the extent to which God may punish sinners should be sufficient for us to fear God. God alone has the power to condemn, kill and cast sinners into hell and He also has the power to redeem/justify, save and bring us to a life of eternal glory with Him in heaven.
We must humble ourselves before God and ask for wisdom to do His will. May God help us all as we strive to live righteously and do His will on earth in Jesus’ name. Amen.


Chorus
Thou Art Worthy.Thou Art Worthy.
Thou Art Worthy, Oh Lord
To Receive Glory, Glory and Honor.
Glory and Honor and Power.
For Thou Hast Created, Hast All Things Created.
For Thou Hast Created All Things.
And for Thy Pleasure, They Are Created.
Thou Art Worthy, Oh Lord.

Prayer:
Father, we thank you for this new day. We bless you for your love and faithfulness toward us. We commit this day unto your care. Direct us on the right path and protect us and our families from the evil one. We pray for strength and the right attitude to do your will this day. Forgive us of our sins and have mercy upon us. Thank you for answering our prayers in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Be blessed.
Mrs. Noyo Edem

What is Your Testimony? Philemon 1:1-7

What is Your Testimony? Philemon 1:1-7

 ¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

   To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— ² also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:

 ³ Grace and peace to you^[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

 ⁴ I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. ⁷ Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Noyo Edem’s Notes:

Let us take some time to reflect on Paul’s testimony about Philemon’s ministry in the vineyard of the Lord. Philemon was a dedicated worker who demonstrated his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through his love and selfless service to the church. Our love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ should motivate us to love our brothers; to be compassionate to them and to want to serve them.

Let us reflect on our activities in the vineyard of God, and think about what our fellow brethrens will say about us. Will their testimonies about us be like the testimony the church gave Paul about Philemon? Have members of our church seen our love for them? Have we demonstrated our faith in Jesus Christ before the brethren? Have we been believers that use our talents to build the church and uplift our members? Have we been agents of Satan in the church to cause problems and disunite the body of Christ?

What does each of us bring to the church? We go to church for different reasons and that is why there is confusion and strife in the church. Some people are there to make business connections and these people are not interested in their spiritual growth, neither are they interested in the spiritual growth of their brethrens. Some people are in church as onlookers who have come to witness what they have heard about Christians. The good thing about these spectators is that some of them hear the word of God, receive it and believe in it and they become saved.

We need some spectators in the church, because we do not know when a spectator will become saved. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Some members of the congregation are agents of Satan set in the church to cause confusion. The church needs to identify these agents and overcome their satanic influences in the church. The church needs to pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment to know who these people are in each congregation. They come as agents of light, but are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Some of these people occupy high positions in the church and give wrong counsels. We do not need to associate with this last group of church goers, because they are destructive agents in the church. The Bible says “the Kingdom of God suffers violence and the men of violence take it by force.”

We can take back the Kingdom of God from these men of violence in our midst, if we are able to identify them. This is where we need the true worshipers of God, men like Philemon who have faith in Jesus Christ and have love enough for their brothers to be motivated to lift up the banner of Christ and also lift up a standard against the Kingdom of darkness.  There must be a spiritual warfare to reclaim that we truly belongs to God’s children. The children of God, who know their God and understand their positions in the church, will be the ones to fight this warfare to reclaim the Kingdom from the men of violence.

There is no fear and timidity in the Kingdom of God. As a child of God, you must know your relationship with God, and understand that God has given you everything you need to live victoriously in this world and to prosper His Kingdom.

Are you ready to demonstrate your faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ in the New Year? Are you ready to allow God to make you a channel of His peace?

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”  —Rev. 3:20.

Lyrics: Psalm 108:5

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.

Prayer: Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Be encouraged in the Lord.

Mrs. Noyo Edem