Isaiah 60:18, “You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

I love the fact that our God is such a practical God. He is concerned about our everyday lives. He is even interested in the doors and the gates of our homes. In fact, they are very important to Him and He speaks a lot about them. Psalm 87:2 tells us that “The Lord loves the gates of Zion.” He loves your gates and doors too.

Beautiful gates and doors fascinate me. When visiting my niece in Majorca a couple of years ago, I took most of my pictures of gates and doors – amazing huge wooden doors of all beautiful designs. It was also delightful to walk through the narrow streets of old villages. Old doors, quaint doors and interesting gates led into courtyards, gardens and homes. Doors are enticing. They are entrances that lead you into new adventures, new ideas, new vision and new excitement - and of course into your home.

God wants us to call the gates and doors of our home Praise. Every time we open a door to enter it we should praise the Lord. We should take the praises of the Lord into each room we enter.

Pray a short prayer of praise each time you open a door. “Oh Lord, I thank you for this room. I enter into it with thanksgiving. I take your praises into it. Fill it with your presence and your love. Amen.” Can you imagine the change in the atmosphere of your home if you praised your way into every room you enter? Try it.

Actually, it may take time to get into the habit of doing this. I myself am trying to get into the habit of it. To help you, share the idea with your husband and children too, so you can all do it. Remind one another until it becomes the habit of your life.

God gives us another practical principle about our doors in Jeremiah 17:19-27. Take time to read the whole passage. He told Jeremiah to go to all the gates of Jerusalem and tell the people that they were to take no burden in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. They were not to carry a burden out of their houses either. Jeremiah spoke of the literal Sabbath day. However, through Jesus’ death on the cross, God has now provided a way for us to live in a continual Sabbath rest. Jesus is our rest. He wants us to live in His rest. He wants us to have rest in our homes. He does not want our homes to be filled with tension, stress, bickering and fighting.

Of course, He always gives the remedy. Every time you enter your gate, and each door of your home, make sure you leave your burdens at the door. Don’t take them through the door into your home. These burdens will spoil the atmosphere of your home. They will devour your home. Roll them over to Jesus at the door. He has promised to take your burdens and carry your sorrows. (Psalm 55:22)

This passage in Jeremiah promises that if you do not take your burdens through the doors of your home that the King will sit on the throne! Who do you want ruling your home? Your problems and your burdens? Or King Jesus, who is your Rest forever? It’s your choice.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, please remind me to praise my way through every door of my home. I thank you that you are my Burden Bearer and that I don’t have to carry my problems into my home with me. Help me to get in the habit of rolling them upon you before I enter the door of my home Amen.”’

 

AFFIRMATION:

Isaiah 44:21, “Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me!”

We continue discovering God’s purposes for our lives…

3. We were created to show forth His praise. (Isaiah 43:21b)

We do this through our life, our words and our writings. The words “show forth” besides meaning “to make known and to celebrate” also mean, “to inscribe”. This same word was used for scribes. This means that in everything we say, write and do, we are to make His praise known.

4. We were created to be His witness. (Isaiah 43:10-13; 44:8)

God’s purpose for Israel was to witness to the world that God was the only true God. This is also our task. We are His representatives, His ambassadors and His witnesses on this earth to show that He is the only true God and Savior in the earth. We are to declare His truth, His ways and the knowledge of Him to the world. Of course, we start with our family! Every day we reveal to our children what God is like. Someone has said, “Mother is the name for God in the lips of little children.” What kind of picture of God do we witness to our children?

5.  We were created to serve. (Isaiah 44:21; 49:3)

We were born to serve. To serve is God-like. Satan refused to serve in the heavenly realm and instead rose up in pride. Because of this he was cast out of heaven. Milton expresses Satan well in Paradise Lost…

“And in my choice

To reign is worth ambition though in hell:

Better to reign in hell, than serve in Heav’n”

He still tries to instill his anti-servant spirit in us today. It’s helpful to remember that when we resist serving, we fall into Satan’s willful ways.

Jesus Himself did not come to be served, but to serve. In fact, Jesus died, not only to save us from our sins, but also to save us from our selfish instinct that tries to rule our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

We often think of serving as servitude, but servitude is when we are made to serve, or when we do it grudgingly. We have joy when we willingly serve. It is God’s purpose for us. I love the song with the Maori tune we used to sing in New Zealand, “If  you want to be great in God’s kingdom, learn to be the servant of all!”

How can you serve God in our daily life? You serve Him by serving your husband and family. You serve Him when you are cleaning, cooking and tending to your children and baby. When you serve in your home you are actually serving the Lord. Every mundane task is a service to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds us, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

You serve God by serving one another. You serve Him by serving the poor and the “least of the brethren.” (Matthew 25:31-46) When one of Mother Teresa’s novices was ministering to one of the destitute, one who was repulsive to look at, or one whose stench was nauseating, she would often take the novice’s hand. With the palm out-stretched she would fold the fingers and thumb back into the palm one by one as she spoke these five words, “You did it to Me.”

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Lord, please help me to remember that serving is a godly attribute and that when I serve I am revealing your life. Help me to be full of joy as I serve in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Isaiah 43:21, “This people I have formed for myself; they shall declare my praise.” 

Not one of us is here on this earth by chance. God has purpose for our existence. He created and formed us for Himself. More than that – He loved us.  Even more than that – He redeemed us.  And He has called us and chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. (Isaiah 43:1,4,7; 44:1,2,22,23; Ephesians 1:4; 2:10; 1 Timothy 1:9) When we understand this truth, there is no room for disillusionment or discontentment with life. It is the enemy of our souls who tells us that we are “good for nothing” or that life is not worth living.

Let’s continue looking at the specific things for which God has created us…

2. We have been created for God Himself.

We were not created for our own pleasure but for God’s pleasure. Revelation 4:11 tells us that everything thing that God created was created for His pleasure. That includes us!  We are the work of God’s hands. (Isaiah 60:21) The J.B. Phillip’s translation of 2 Corinthians 6:19 reminds us, “You are not the owner of your body.”

This takes a lot of the frustration out of life. We understand our purpose. We are not here to live for ourselves but to bring pleasure and delight to the One who created us. What greater purpose could we find in life than to please our Creator and Redeemer? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” *

When you wake in the morning, tell God, “Lord, I thank you that you created me for your pleasure. Here I am, Lord. I am available to serve you today. I want my life to bring pleasure to you.” This purpose affects every moment and every aspect of our lives. As you bring pleasure to your husband and your family in your home, you will also pleasure to the One who created you for this task.

God calls our children the work of His hands too, and it is important to remember that they also were born for His pleasure. Isaiah 29:23 says, “For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name… and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.” Only God can create a life, each one different than anyone else who has ever lived, each one with a different personality and gifts. When we see each one of our children growing in the Lord and honoring Him, it causes us to praise and stand in awe of Him. Every newborn baby is the exquisite work of God’s hands and renews the face of the earth with the presence of God. (Psalm 139:13-16; 104:30)

The Living Bible and the New Living Translation give an interesting light on this Scripture, “When they see the surging birth rate and the expanding economy, then they will fear and rejoice in my name… and stand in awe of Him.”

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, help me to become more and more aware of the glorious truth that I am created for your pleasure. You created me for your enjoyment and fellowship. Please help me to bring joy to you in every aspect of my life, in my home and in my relationships. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am created for God’s pleasure!

Isaiah 43:7, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

These wonderful words were spoken to Israel and they will be fulfilled in God’s covenant people. However, these words also speak to us who have been brought into God’s family by the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. Before we can accomplish all that God has for us, we must first know His basic purpose for our lives.

1. We were created for His glory.

Isn’t this amazing? You were actually created to reveal God’s glory. This gives wonderful meaning to life, doesn’t it?

Look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

Not only are we to glorify God by revealing and gentle and quiet spirit but we are to glorify God in our body. We cannot align ourselves with “a woman’s right to choose” because it is God’s right to choose. Our life is not our own. Our body is not our own. It was made for His glory. How can a lawnmower give glory to its maker? By functioning as the designer planned it. How can a sewing machine give glory to its maker? By working according to the way it was designed. When it breaks down, it certainly doesn’t glorify its maker. The designer gets a bad name!

In the same way, we give glory to God in our body by keeping it in good health and working order so that it can function according to the glorious way our Creator designed us. We do not glorify God by cutting off some function of the body that He has designed and created. Sadly many do this today by sterilization. The Living Bible says, “God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God, because He owns it.” I am sure that “every part” means every part!

But there is more yet! God says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for “temple” is not “hieron” which represents the whole temple, but it is the word, “naos” which refers to the Holy of Holies, the place where God’s presence dwelt! Oh this is too incredible! God wants your body to be a dwelling place for His presence so He can be revealed and glorified in this earth. The Knox translation says, “Surely you know that your bodies are the shrines of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you… glorify God by making your bodies the shrines of His presence.”

When Jesus died, the thick veil hiding the Holy of Holies from the eyes of man was torn apart. God has now chosen the human body to be His “naos” where He dwells. He is no longer confined to one temple but dwells in “naos’s” all over the world. This is how God is able to fill the earth with His glory – every believer a shrine for the indwelling of His presence so He can walk, live and be revealed all over the earth - in every body, every home, every city and every nation!

And think of this. The more children that we bring into this world, the more bodies there are for God to fill with His presence. Therefore the more of God’s ways, His light, His truth, His love and His righteousness will fill the earth. What a vision!

We must remember of course that God cannot fill our “naos” unless the blood is shed. The high priest could not enter that sacred place without the blood. The blood makes the way for God’s presence in our lives. Live in the cleansing of the blood as He forgives you of the sins you confess to Him. Live under the protection of the blood as you acknowledge the power of the blood of Jesus to save you and deliver you.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, please help me to comprehend your amazing purpose for my life, that my body is a sacred place for your presence. Please cleanse me from every evil sin in my life that I will truly be a holy temple to reveal your glory in this world. Help me to reveal your glory in my home, in my kitchen, in my daily relationships and wherever I walk. Amen.”

 

AFFIRMATION: