"I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Cor 6:16b; KJV). Something similar is found in Exodus 25:8, where God told Moses to make a holy place so that he could dwell among them. That word dwell, means to stay, abide, remain.

Similar scriptures are found in other places in the Old Testament. In Psalm 22:3 it says: "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”. In the Old Testament God dwelt in the tabernacle and the prophets met with him there but in the New Testament we learn that: "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). In John 15:4-7 Jesus told his disciples that he would abide with them. The word abide, in the New Testament, has the same meaning as "dwell" in the Old Testament. In John 14:23 we are told that God the Father and Jesus will make their home with us and in Eph. 3:17 we read that Jesus: “may dwell in our hearts by faith”. What a privilege, we can communicate with the God of the universe any time any day, wherever we are and whatever we are doing because he is right inside of us. 

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We have all often heard it said that talent, gifting and calling may get us where we want to go but it is character that keeps us there. Jesus had a proven character (Heb 4:15). He exhorted us to be perfect just like God is perfect (Matt 5:48) and God himself said we should be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Paul was able to say follow me as I follow Christ (1 Cor 11:1). Jesus said I only do what the Father gives me to do (John 8:28).

It seems to me that character is basically rooted in obedience to God. Jonah was a prophet called of God but he objected to taking a message of warning to an evil nation and decided to disobey God. God got his (Jonah’s) attention by getting him thrown into the sea and into the belly of a whale; Jonah was still unhappy when God forgave that nation (The book of Jonah). You would have to say that Jonah had a character or obedience problem.

Abraham on the other hand obeyed God’s command to go and sacrifice his (Abraham’s) son. Once God saw Abraham’s obedience he intervened, before Abraham killed Isaac and provided a ram for the sacrifice. (Gen 22) The place where this all occurred was the same mountain on which God allowed his only son, Jesus, to go to the cross. Jesus was obedient even to death upon a cross (Phil 2:8).

Peter tells us we can be: “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4; KJV). He also tells us that God’s power, the power of the Holy Spirit, can enable us to walk in Godliness through our knowledge of Jesus the word (2 Peter 1:3). So, let’s get into our bibles and allow the Holy Spirit to show us how to walk in obedience to God. To obey God is to obey his commands and directives seen throughout the bible. Study the life of Jesus and of the great men and women of the bible; follow them as they followed God. Character will keep you where you want to be.

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"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant” (Ps 25:14 KJV). The Hebrew word for secret in this context suggests an intimate conversation between friends.  Wow! To think that we can have that kind of relationship with God. Of course, it says that we must fear and worship him in order to have that kind of relationship.

This is not the only place in the Bible that we read this either; In Proverbs 3:32 we read that God's secret counsel is with the righteous. In Genesis 18:17 God spoke of his intention to share with Abraham his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah and in Genesis 6:13-14 God revealed to Noah that he would send the flood.

We know that Jesus shared many secret mysteries with the apostle John (Rev 1:1) because the whole book of Revelation is the result. In the New Testament in John 15:15 Jesus said: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known unto you". God is a person and he longs to communicate and share his closest thoughts with us; we need to be open to that, to put aside time to allow that and create the right environment for it. So, take God at his word today and enjoy intimate conversation with the Lord.

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The love of God is spread abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). In the Greek this form of love is agape (noun), an unconditional love. Agape was not really used in the Greek until its use in the Bible. Phileo (verb) is the more commonly used Greek word for love and is a brotherly love or affection that is dependent on our ability to love a person because of mutual attraction and feelings.

When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him in chapter 21 of John’s gospel, Jesus used agape but Peter could only reply with phileo. God commands us to agapao (verb; John 13:34). With agape we can love the unlovable by faith. We may not be naturally attracted to some people but we are commanded to agapao them.

Our greatest example of love (agape) is that of the Father for us: “For God so loved (agapao) the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; KJV). Christ died for us while we were sinners.

If you want to understand agape then read 1 Corinthians chapter 13, especially verses 4-8a: “Charity (agape*) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is no easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” (KJV).

This is how God loves us and how we should love him and each other. Don’t get me wrong, we can “phileo” as well, but we must agapao all peoples. Is that wow or double wow? Enough said.

*added for clarity.

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"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Ps 27:14; KJV). When we pray in faith we sometimes have to wait long periods of time for our prayers to be answered. However, we need to stay in faith, trusting the Lord to come through for us.

In Psalm 31:14 David said he trusted in God. That is how we need to wait for answers to prayer. David again, in Psalm 37:7 said to: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him”.

Abraham and Sarah are good examples of people who had to wait a long time for an answer. In Genesis 17:5 God told Abraham that he would be the: “father of many nations’ but this did not come to pass until many years later. However, we are told in Romans 4:20 that he did not waver and was empowered by faith. In Hebrews 11:11 we are told about Sarah's faith - that she was able to conceive a child when she was old.

If we are going to wait well we must be ready for satan's lies and refute them with the word. We must exercise hope, allow our words to agree with the word of God and not the devil and keep thanking God in advance for the answers we are believing for. “Faith and patience inherit the premises” (Heb 6:12b).

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