Pam Padgett - teacher
Psalm 90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Throughout all generations the Lord, the word from God, has been the dwelling place of HIS people who love HIM, believe what HE has said, and walk in that way by faith.
We have many examples in the Bible of those who have lived by the word of God such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David, to name a few. These lived in different generations, but all heard what God spoke to them. They "dwelt" in that word, choosing to live by that word rather than in the ways of their own minds or this world.
Another example is Noah ... Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Genesis 9:9)
Noah walked with God, going in the ways of God, obeying the word God gave to him. What God said was important to Noah and led him in what to do ... his "dwelling place". Wicked people were all around Noah, but he dwelt in what God said rather than in the ways of the wicked.
Genesis 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is
come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in
the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this
is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall
be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height
of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a
cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set
in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou
make it.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the
earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under
heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt
come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives
with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort
shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall
be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after
their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of
every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou
unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee;
and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
After the flood waters subsided from the earth, Noah left the ark when God spoke to him ...
Genesis 8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all
flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth,
and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth,
and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every
beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth
upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
Just as in previous generations, dwelling in what God says to us is our life. Our life is not of the ways of this world. We are nourished, taught, corrected by the Word of God.
John 15:1 I (Jesus, the Word) am the true
vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,
and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me,
and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.
Apart from hearing from God and dwelling in His word we have no life in us and can do nothing worthwhile in the sight of God.
Jesus Christ (the Word) ... the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)