Thanks John for your thought here.

Vicki

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Schwery" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 6:15 AM
Subject: Re: [ECHURCH-USA] God's dwelling


> I think that, God in His omnipresence dwells in us, and in an actual
> place.  The book of Job says something about in the north beyond the
> empty space.  I would have to look it up but I don't care to do it, now.
>
> earlier, Helen, wrote:
> >"Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion"
> ><http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ps+9:11&sr=1>Psalm 9:11
> >
> >God at Home
> >
> >Zion - Where does God dwell? David tells us that He dwells in tsiyyon
> >(Zion). But what does that mean? Did you think Zion is the same as
> >Jerusalem? Did you think Zion is a heavenly city? Do you see images
> >of pearly gates and streets of gold? Perhaps there is a more
> >intriguing image that you never considered. What if tsiyyon (Zion) is
> >connected to tsiyyah (dry land)? What if the home of God is precisely
> >in the parched desert of my soul? What if God resides where I cannot
> >survive without Him?
> >
> >   I suggest that God is most real to us where we are least able.
> >Where we fail and succumb to our greatest temptations and fears, God
> >is there. Where we struggle and fret, God is comfortably present.
> >Where life puts us through the wringer, God washes us clean. The
> >curse that haunts your desert place is there to bring God's grace
> >into your life.
> >
> >Most of us flee the desert. We do all that we can to protect
> >ourselves from those empty, dried out, frightening places, those dark
> >alleys and dim stairways that crush us with guilt and remorse, that
> >overwhelm us with anxiety and shame. But what if those are God's
> >apartments and streets? What if He is most at home in the slums of
> >our lives? What if Zion is the dry land?
> >
> >I have traveled through some very desolate places in my life. I find
> >that every exit on the road I travel today leads immediately to
> >parched land. I have often struggled to regain my footing and tried
> >desperately to get back on track when I realize I am face down in the
> >sand. I am tempted to think that God is impatiently waiting for me
> >back on the highway, ready to remind me that I need to watch where
> >I'm going. That's a lie straight from hell. If I really pay attention
> >to the sand in my eyes and nose, I discover that there is a gentle
> >hand wiping away the grains. God is right there with me, lying in the
> >sand next to me, breathing the same stale air, feeling the same
> >terrible heat. He looks into my eyes and says, "This is my home too.
> >You must be thirsty. Lean on me while I get you something to drink."
> >
> >Have you met God in Zion? Do you know that He lives where you are dying?
> >
> >-Skip Moen-
> >Edited copy
> >
> >
> >   "God lives in the wilderness of our desperation.  He's at home
> >there."   -Skip Moen
>
> John
>