Into the secret place

Did you know that there is actually a place where your inadequacies will totally melt away, where your sorrows are turned into joy and in fact is the only place where you can find out what you were put on this earth to do. This "wonder-filled" place is the presence of God. Psalms 16:11 says this about God's presence, "in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." The following verse in Psalms gives us one of the most profound instructions in all of the Bible concerning the importance of not only pursuing but actually living in the presence of God. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalms 91:1).

In order to better understand what this means let's take a moment and break this scripture down. The first statement in this verse says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high." The word "dwelleth" or "dwell" means to make one's home or to live. In other words, he who makes his home or lives in the presence of God will reap and enjoy the benefits of the second part of this scripture that says, they "shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The word "abide" finds its root in the word abode, meaning home or residence. If we live our lives in God's presence, we will then and only then enjoy the benefits that come with being in relationship with Him.

This is what is meant by "abiding under the shadow of the Almighty." Under the shadow of the Almighty is the place where God protects, heals, provides, teaches, frees, changes, and so much more. It is crucial at this point to note that our entrance into the secret place is a result of seeking God with our whole heart and is reserved for those who love and are thankful to him for who he is more than for what he does or can do. We must abide or live in God! Jesus said, "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. 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. 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. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."( John 15:4-8 ). The primary reason there are so many disillusioned people in our churches today is simply because they practice periodic visitation more than permanent residency. Everything God does is for the purpose of establishing an ongoing relationship with us.

Even though God's works are amazing to say the least, they were never intended to distract us from Himself. On the contrary, the miracles that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry as well as the ones He performs today were and are for one reason alone, to focus our attention on God and on the fact that He desires a close loving relationship with us. When we allow ourselves to become more focused on His deeds than on God Himself we have then allowed ourselves to be separated or severed from our source of life and will soon wither and die as Jesus stated. Paul, in his letter to the Romans addressed this very thing when he said, "they worshipped and served the creature more than the creator." ( Romans 1:25 ) This is the birthplace of idol worship and dead religion. As I mentioned in my last letter, this is where style becomes preferred and sought after more than substance, where more attention and effort is placed on seeking signs and wonders or on a particular group's way of doing things than on pursuing God Himself. This is the root cause of the Church's declining effectiveness in our communities! Paul, dealing with this same problem in Corinth said, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:16-18) There is one reason and one reason only that God even permits His miracles to occur, to focus our undivided attention on Himself. They were never intended for any other reason. Never forget that sin is anything that separates us from God! (Rom 14:23)

Never before have these and so many other kinds of distractions made it so difficult to stay focused on God. Deceptive armies of anxious spirits are laying siege on the minds of anyone who succumbs to their temptations. Their major objective is always our complete and total separation from our loving Father. Whether through the media, those closest to us, substance abuse, trying to do too much too fast, the love of money, being bound by the chains of indebtedness, striving for material possessions or just the hustle and bustle of everyday routines, the battles to steal, kill and destroy our relationship with our God and King have never raged hotter. Jesus Himself said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy"(John 10:10). Satan knows full well that his days are numbered and that anyone who presses their way into the secret place will be one less notch that he can carve into his gun stock. You need to understand that he hates anything or anyone who brings pleasure to God and will spare no expense in doing whatever it takes to separate us from Him. If we are going to develop and maintain the ability to live our lives in the presence of God, we are going to have to master the art of "staying focused" on Him as a lifestyle.

There is a little saying that goes, "Pursuit is the proof of desire." Luke said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:34) In other words, what you truly want you will go after. My Dad used to say, "Keith, isn't it amazing how people, no matter how poor or busy, seem to always find the time and/or the money to do what they really want to do." It's just a fact, without the "want to" we will never find our way into the secret place. At any and all cost, we must stay focused on God. Paul addressed this when he said, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Contrary to popular belief this ispossible! Always remember, there is nobody or nothing worth your relationship with God! Peter admonishes us "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (1 Peter 4:7). We must be clear minded and self controlled so that our communication with God is never interrupted! The only reason we will ever fail to reach the secret place is when we allow our focus on God to be broken. We must stay focused!

Thank God that the scriptures lay out an easy-to-understand guideline for anyone who wants to begin and maintain a close relationship with our wonderful King. It directs us "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psalms 100:4) God is directing us how to properly enter into His presence. In order to begin our pursuit of God, we must first learn to come before Him with hearts filled with thanksgiving! This is totally opposite of the more commonly practiced approach of attempting to bring a grocery list of wants or throwing ourselves at His feet as a result of some form of problematic hysteria. I'm not saying that we shouldn't bring these things before God because He loves us and is truly concerned with every aspect of our lives. What I am saying however is that our problems, wants or even our needs should never be the first things out of our mouths. If this has been your approach, you need to stop putting the cart before the horse and change it. I can pretty much guarantee, if we were to try and approach an earthly king this way, it would be considered dreadfully disrespectful and would result in your case not being heard at all. Not to mention the fact that you would be abruptly and forcefully escorted off the castle grounds. If the way that one is to approach an earthly king's throne is so important then wouldn't it stand to reason that the way we approach the throne of the great God and King of the universe would be all the more important. It is crucial at this juncture to also note that with any sitting king, there is protocol that must be followed in order to be permitted into their presence. For example, the protocol includes things like cleansing oneself, being taught by the king's servants proper etiquette on how to approach the throne, what to and what not to say while in their presence, and how to exit. It was of the extreme importance to know that any deviation from protocol could, as they would say in days of old, cost you your head!

Before we can dwell with God, we must first learn that there is a proper way to approach Him. In order to do this, we must understand that God gave us the example of earthly kings and kingdoms as a way to help us better understand how He designed the Kingdom of Heaven to operate. Our understanding of kingdom protocol is so important to our relating to God that the establishment of kings and kingdoms on the earth would play a key role in His timing for sending Jesus. In order for people to better understand Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, there first had to be established kingdoms in the earth. This is why I believe Paul said "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law"(Galatians 4:4).

Understanding kingdom protocol is so key to our relating to God that kings, kingdoms and other kingdom related things can be found in over twenty seven hundred verses in the Bible. I believe that we Christians in America are at a grave disadvantage where understanding kingdom life is concerned. We have been raised in a republic where our leaders for the most part are elected every four years. At any given time about half the people in the United States are in favor of the sitting President or government official while the other half would really rather hang'em. I believe that this climate of growing disrespect for leadership has had a crippling effect on how people in this country approach God or view the Church and her leaders! Much like many in our churches base their view of God on the way their earthly fathers are or were, the same could be said that many Christians in America have based their views on the Kingdom of God by the way they see our government run. This is a terrible mistake!

Once we have properly entered His gates with hearts filled with thanksgiving, our next stop and final destination is his courts, the place where we ultimately stand before our great King. An 1828 version of the Websters dictionary defines court or courts as "A palace; the place of residence of a king or sovereign prince. The hall, chamber or place where justice is administered." If we take another look at this scripture in Psalms, it also instructs us on how to enter the place where God Himself resides, His courts. "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psalms 100:4) Once again, the same version of the Websters defines praise, "To commend; to applaud; to express approbation ( pleasureful approval) of personal worth or actions. To extol in words or song; to magnify; to glorify on account of perfections or excellent works." Perhaps my most favorite account of pure praise for our Great God and King is cited in the book of Revelation, "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:8-11). Praise His wonderful and glorious name!! So, "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth."(Psalms 33:3-4) True praise emanates from a thank-filled heart and goes up before our Father's throne as a pleasingly sweet smelling savor. If you have thought, "what could I ever do for God?", this would be it. He enjoys nothing more than pure praise!!

Lastly, at the end of the Psalms 100:4 scripture, you will notice that once we have both entered through His gates and are standing before Him that we are then, to bless His name. What does "bless" really mean? The Greek definition of the word bless is "to praise; to celebrate with praise." The Hebrew definition however shows us something a bit different, "to be blessed; to pray to, invoke or to ask a blessing of." The word invoke means, "to call forth; to call on for assistance, ask for aid or protection, appeal to someone for help."

Even though God already knows what we need before we ask him, for the purposes of relationship He still requires that we ask. (Matthew 6:6-8) and (Isaiah 65:24) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8) Never forget, God takes great pleasure in giving to those who truly love and seek Him with all of their hearts! "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalms 100:5)

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7) "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33)

God's word is clear when He directs us to "enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Any deviation from this Kingdom protocol or any other scripture will result in our stopping short of a close loving relationship with God hence our never truly enjoying life or the fulfillment of His perfect will and purpose for our lives. From this day forth make it your lifestyle to take a heart filled with thanksgiving, praises and blessings before the throne of God and watch what happens. You will then begin to enjoy the kind of relationship with Him and the kind of fulfillment of His purposes in your life that you have always longed for! I guarantee it!!


	Did you know that there is actually a place where your inadequacies will totally melt away, where your sorrows are turned into joy and in fact is the only place where you can find out what you were put on this earth to do. This "wonder-filled" place is the presence of God. Psalms 16:11 says this about God's presence, "in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." The following verse in Psalms gives us one of the most profound instructions in all of the Bible concerning the importance of not only pursuing but actually living in the presence of God. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalms 91:1). In order to better understand what this means let's take a moment and break this scripture down. The first statement in this verse says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high." The word "dwelleth" or "dwell" means to make one's home or to live. In other words, he who makes his home or lives in the presence of God will reap and enjoy the benefits of the second part of this scripture that says, they "shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The word "abide" finds its root in the word abode, meaning home or residence. If we live our lives in God's presence, we will then and only then enjoy the benefits that come with being in relationship with Him. This is what is meant by "abiding under the shadow of the Almighty." Under the shadow of the Almighty is the place where God protects, heals, provides, teaches, frees, changes, and so much more. It is crucial at this point to note that our entrance into the secret place is a result of seeking God with our whole heart and is reserved for those who love and are thankful to him for who he is more than for what he does or can do. We must abide or live in God! Jesus said, "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. 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. 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. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."( John 15:4-8 ). The primary reason there are so many disillusioned people in our churches today is simply because they practice periodic visitation more than permanent residency. Everything God does is for the purpose of establishing an ongoing relationship with us. Even though God's works are amazing to say the least, they were never intended to distract us from Himself. On the contrary, the miracles that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry as well as the ones He performs today were and are for one reason alone, to focus our attention on God and on the fact that He desires a close loving relationship with us. When we allow ourselves to become more focused on His deeds than on God Himself we have then allowed ourselves to be separated or severed from our source of life and will soon wither and die as Jesus stated. Paul, in his letter to the Romans addressed this very thing when he said, "they worshipped and served the creature more than the creator." ( Romans 1:25 ) This is the birthplace of idol worship and dead religion. As I mentioned in my last letter, this is where style becomes preferred and sought after more than substance, where more attention and effort is placed on seeking signs and wonders or on a particular group's way of doing things than on pursuing God Himself. This is the root cause of the Church's declining effectiveness in our communities! Paul, dealing with this same problem in Corinth said, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:16-18) There is one reason and one reason only that God even permits His miracles to occur, to focus our undivided attention on Himself. They were never intended for any other reason. Never forget that sin is *anything* that separates us from God! (Rom 14:23) Never before have these and so many other kinds of distractions made it so difficult to stay focused on God. Deceptive armies of anxious spirits are laying siege on the minds of anyone who succumbs to their temptations. Their major objective is always our complete and total separation from our loving Father. Whether through the media, those closest to us, substance abuse, trying to do too much too fast, the love of money, being bound by the chains of indebtedness, striving for material possessions or just the hustle and bustle of everyday routines, the battles to steal, kill and destroy our relationship with our God and King have never raged hotter. Jesus Himself said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy"(John 10:10). Satan knows full well that his days are numbered and that anyone who presses their way into the secret place will be one less notch that he can carve into his gun stock. You need to understand that he hates anything or anyone who brings pleasure to God and will spare no expense in doing whatever it takes to separate us from Him. If we are going to develop and maintain the ability to live our lives in the presence of God, we are going to have to master the art of "staying focused" on Him as a lifestyle. There is a little saying that goes, "Pursuit is the proof of desire." Luke said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:34) In other words, what you truly want you will go after. My Dad used to say, "Keith, isn't it amazing how people, no matter how poor or busy, seem to always find the time and/or the money to do what they really want to do." It's just a fact, without the "want to" we will never find our way into the secret place. At any and all cost, we must stay focused on God. Paul addressed this when he said, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Contrary to popular belief this ispossible! Always remember, there is nobody or nothing worth your relationship with God! Peter admonishes us "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (1 Peter 4:7). We must be clear minded and self controlled so that our communication with God is never interrupted! The only reason we will ever fail to reach the secret place is when we allow our focus on God to be broken. We must stay focused! Thank God that the scriptures lay out an easy-to-understand guideline for anyone who wants to begin and maintain a close relationship with our wonderful King. It directs us "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psalms 100:4) God is directing us how to properly enter into His presence. In order to begin our pursuit of God, we must first learn to come before Him with hearts filled with thanksgiving! This is totally opposite of the more commonly practiced approach of attempting to bring a grocery list of wants or throwing ourselves at His feet as a result of some form of problematic hysteria. I'm not saying that we shouldn't bring these things before God because He loves us and is truly concerned with every aspect of our lives. What I am saying however is that our problems, wants or even our needs should never be the first things out of our mouths. If this has been your approach, you need to stop putting the cart before the horse and change it. I can pretty much guarantee, if we were to try and approach an earthly king this way, it would be considered dreadfully disrespectful and would result in your case not being heard at all. Not to mention the fact that you would be abruptly and forcefully escorted off the castle grounds. If the way that one is to approach an earthly king's throne is so important then wouldn't it stand to reason that the way we approach the throne of the great God and King of the universe would be all the more important. It is crucial at this juncture to also note that with any sitting king, there is protocol that must be followed in order to be permitted into their presence. For example, the protocol includes things like cleansing oneself, being taught by the king's servants proper etiquette on how to approach the throne, what to and what not to say while in their presence, and how to exit. It was of the extreme importance to know that any deviation from protocol could, as they would say in days of old, cost you your head! Before we can dwell with God, we must first learn that there is a proper way to approach Him. In order to do this, we must understand that God gave us the example of earthly kings and kingdoms as a way to help us better understand how He designed the Kingdom of Heaven to operate. Our understanding of kingdom protocol is so important to our relating to God that the establishment of kings and kingdoms on the earth would play a key role in His timing for sending Jesus. In order for people to better understand Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, there first had to be established kingdoms in the earth. This is why I believe Paul said "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law"(Galatians 4:4). Understanding kingdom protocol is so key to our relating to God that kings, kingdoms and other kingdom related things can be found in over twenty seven hundred verses in the Bible. I believe that we Christians in America are at a grave disadvantage where understanding kingdom life is concerned. We have been raised in a republic where our leaders for the most part are elected every four years. At any given time about half the people in the United States are in favor of the sitting President or government official while the other half would really rather hang'em. I believe that this climate of growing disrespect for leadership has had a crippling effect on how people in this country approach God or view the Church and her leaders! Much like many in our churches base their view of God on the way their earthly fathers are or were, the same could be said that many Christians in America have based their views on the Kingdom of God by the way they see our government run. This is a terrible mistake! Once we have properly entered His gates with hearts filled with thanksgiving, our next stop and final destination is his courts, the place where we ultimately stand before our great King. An 1828 version of the Websters dictionary defines court or courts as "A palace; the place of residence of a king or sovereign prince. The hall, chamber or place where justice is administered." If we take another look at this scripture in Psalms, it also instructs us on how to enter the place where God Himself resides, His courts. "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Psalms 100:4) Once again, the same version of the Websters defines praise, "To commend; to applaud; to express approbation ( pleasureful approval) of personal worth or actions. To extol in words or song; to magnify; to glorify on account of perfections or excellent works." Perhaps my most favorite account of pure praise for our Great God and King is cited in the book of Revelation, "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:8-11). Praise His wonderful and glorious name!! So, "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth."(Psalms 33:3-4) True praise emanates from a thank-filled heart and goes up before our Father's throne as a pleasingly sweet smelling savor. If you have thought, "what could I ever do for God?", this would be it. He enjoys nothing more than pure praise!! Lastly, at the end of the Psalms 100:4 scripture, you will notice that once we have both entered through His gates and are standing before Him that we are then, to *bless His name. What does "bless" really mean? The Greek* definition of the word bless is "to praise; to celebrate with praise." The Hebrew definition however shows us something a bit different, "to be blessed; to pray to, invoke or to ask a blessing of." The word invoke means, "to call forth; to call on for assistance, ask for aid or protection, appeal to someone for help." Even though God already knows what we need before we ask him, for the purposes of relationship He still requires that we ask. (Matthew 6:6-8) and (Isaiah 65:24) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8) Never forget, God takes great pleasure in giving to those who truly love and seek Him with all of their hearts! "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalms 100:5) "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7) "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33) God's word is clear when He directs us to "enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Any deviation from this Kingdom protocol or any other scripture will result in our stopping short of a close loving relationship with God hence our never truly enjoying life or the fulfillment of His perfect will and purpose for our lives. From this day forth make it your lifestyle to take a heart filled with thanksgiving, praises and blessings before the throne of God and watch what happens. You will then begin to enjoy the kind of relationship with Him and the kind of fulfillment of His purposes in your life that you have always longed for! I guarantee it!!
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