Constantly With Christ
Know:
“Let us go to his dwelling place,
let us worship at his footstool, saying,
‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
Psalm 132:7-8
Read & Respond: Yikes! Pot boiling over in the kitchen again! How many times do I have to tell myself “if you’re going to cook stay in the kitchen!”? How true that is of our spiritual life too.
[tweetthis]If you’re going to follow Christ, stay in His presence![/tweetthis]
It requires intention to dwell—to stake a claim—to settle in a land. Psalm 73:28 says “I have made the Lord God my refuge.” Much of this world tries to get us to wander off, especially insidious when we don’t even notice. We need constancy with Christ.
In Psalm 132 we find in David’s example a never-dying resolve to get to the Lord. And throughout Scripture, we see the Lord’s desire to live with us. Throughout this study we have been fanning into flame our desire to be with Him.
Let’s look back over our prayer journey in the Psalms. These tips go beyond action to heart attitude:
- Recognize your heart as His dwelling place
- Be alert to cave dwelling vs. Christ dwelling
- Ask God to turn fear into faith & trust
- Seek God’s eternal perspective
- Thank God for life’s successes
- Remember…so they will not forget
- Cultivate a craving for God
- Hide in God your refuge
- Purpose to walk blamelessly
- Embrace God’s adoption and your new identity
- Call on God to help brave barbarians
- Desire to be constant(ly) with Christ
SONY DSC
Core Concept: Seek Christ constantly, with constancy.
Think About It:
- How does constancy involve purpose & intention?
- How can the definition of constancy motivate you?
- How is your desire for God? Why?
- Which of the bullet points above speaks to you most?
- How has your prayer life grown through this study?
This Week’s Praise & Worship Prompts:
Day 1: Bask in the Truth
Psalm 132—Read it and pray it! Since the very first temptation we’ve doubted God’s love, yet over and over again we see His desire to be with us. Write out Psalm 132:7-8 and bask in the truth today that the God of the universe is living in us.
Day 2: Not Feeling It?
Read Psalm 132 again. What are some words describing David’s actions in the first half of the chapter? Ephrathah is another name for Bethlehem where David was raised, and Jaar was where David brought the Ark back from. So from his birth David has been seeking the Lord. When the Tabernacle was built in the desert, the Scriptures say “God stirred the people’s hearts.” Not feeling it? Consider Malachi 2:2 and pray you will listen to the stirring and set your heart to honor Him.
Day 3: Recognize Your Heart as His Dwelling Place
Exodus 25 describes the building of the Tabernacle and the Ark. Inside the Ark were the Ten Commandments tablets, and its covering was called the Atonement Cover or the Mercy Seat. God said He dwelt above the Mercy Seat. With Jesus, our hearts have become His dwelling place. He has written His law on our hearts, and covered us with His atonement. Consider I Cor. 3:16-17, II Cor. 5:1-5 and 6:16, Hebrews 10: 16-20 and praise God for His grace that covers us.
Day 4: Identify Obstacles
What are some of the obstacles get in the way of dwelling with the Lord?
Prayerfully look at Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 today. Repent of any (all? ☺) control issues.
Day 5: Welcome the Holy Spirit
Perhaps our biggest obstacle in this culture is just being too busy and too focused on our agenda and not God’s. We are so wrapped up in our own little worlds we miss the Lord God Almighty. Check out II Chronicles 6:40-7:3 and Acts 7:44-56. Let’s pray we are not stiff-necked people, but rather people constantly full of the Holy Spirit. Ask God to help you live constantly and with constancy in this faith-filled reality.
Talk About It: How does the dictionary definition of CONSTANCY inspire you to seek after God?
Download this week’s material’s here
