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    Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You
    Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You
    Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You
    Ebook146 pages2 hours

    Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You

    By Erica N. Bryant

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    About this ebook

    "Anxiety, fear, and depression plague God's children in ways that keep us bound to the things from which Christ has set us free."

    But there is an overflow well of healing, hope, joy, and peace that emanates from living in the light of this truth--you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

    In Dwell, Erica shares her own experiences of overcoming childhood trauma and rejection by discovering the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through biblical truth and honest transparency, Dwell reaches in to honestly examine how the Holy Spirit leads us to living a full, free life. Dwell will help you

    * if you have ever experienced the pain of rejection and loneliness;

    * if you know that God has a plan for your future, but life's circumstances seem to continually hinder your progress;

    * if you have experienced unexpected pain and disappointment and need encouragement to continue on; and

    * if you seek to understand more about the role and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

    In Dwell, you will go on a journey to healing and wholeness, knowing that the Holy Spirit lives within you.

    *****

    Erica N. Bryant is wife and mother of two. She is an elementary educator and literacy advocate. Erica is the president and founder of Sparrow's Song Ministries, a group of believers who "just love Jesus." Her The Word W.O.R.K.S. campaigns have helped women renew and strengthen their relationship with God by falling in love with His Word. Erica serves faithfully at her home church, Strait Gate Deliverance Center, where her father, Bishop Jerome Rogers, is pastor.

    2

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristian Faith Publishing, Inc.
    Release dateMar 16, 2022
    ISBN9781639610280
    Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You

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      Book preview

      Dwell - Erica N. Bryant

      Chapter 1

      No Place like Home

      Home is where the heart is.

      There’s no place like home.

      Home isn’t a place; it’s a feeling.

      Home is where our story begins.

      Love begins at home.

      Home is my happy place.

      My husband’s favorite show is HGTV’s House Hunters. It doesn’t matter which one it is—House Hunters, House Hunters International, House Hunters Beachfront Property, or House Hunters Tiny Houses. At any given moment, House Hunters can be playing on my television. If you’re not familiar with the show, let me give you some context. The show takes prospective home buyers on a short journey to view houses, but not just any houses. They are trying to find the one they will make their home. I often wonder why they choose to have this process play out on television. The process of finding the right home is not an easy one. You can’t just step in the front door and say, This is it. You have to visit the kitchen because you will spend time there. You have to check out the bedroom because that’s where you will rest. You even need to view the bathroom because you will spend a good deal of time there too. The house you choose will be your home, the place where you will dwell. When you’re looking at prospective homes, you imagine the furniture that you will have. You think about where you’ll put your favorite chair and where you’ll store your most precious possessions. You carefully consider the rooms your children will sleep in; you want them to be close enough to reach them but far enough not to always hear them. You will work hard to make your home comfortable and inviting. You want it to be a sanctuary where we find rest and experience peace.

      Home, however, does not just describe a physical place. It describes a state of mind. Often, you’ll hear someone travel across a particular state line and say, I’m home. That person may be still traveling, but they are in a familiar area. Home is familiar. Home is where you are loved. Home is where you are accepted. Home is lovely. Home is refreshing. Home is healing and hopeful. Home is our dwelling place.

      Psalms 84 gives us a glimpse of this.

      How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! (Psalm 84:1)

      The psalmist begins by relishing the beauty of the temple (scholars disagree on whether the psalmist speaks of the temple figuratively or the tabernacle of old). The temple was beyond beautiful, like nothing that had been seen before. It was David’s desire and Solomon’s legacy, filled with gold, silver, and jewels. You could not find a more beautiful edifice. The true beauty of the temple, however, was that the manifest presence of the living God rested there. The worshippers of the day believed that God’s presence was relegated to that place, the tabernacle and then the temple was it—the only place where you could meet with God. If you wanted to be in the presence of God, go to the temple.

      When King Solomon built the temple, it was filled with the glory of God. First Kings 8:10–11 tells that at the dedication of the temple, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. A derivative of the Hebrew word shachan is Shechinah.¹ This word, though not found in scripture, is found in many Jewish writings and describes the abiding presence of God. Sometimes this presence would appear in a visible manner like it did at the temple’s dedication. The Shechinah glory of God manifested in the form of a thickness that rested among the people, so much so that the priest could not perform their duties. Scripture says, And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled His temple (1 Kings 8:11, 2 Chronicles 5:14). The temple was indeed beautiful, but the true beauty was found within its walls, inside its courts. That is where the glory of the Lord was found. The significance of the temple could not be measured by its aesthetic value.

      In these days, travelers and refugees would lament because they could not get to the place where God dwelled.

      How blessed are we! God has chosen to tabernacle—to dwell—with us. Better still, He has chosen to dwell within us. And we can say, like the psalmist, How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord!

      Some may find that difficult to say based on many factors, including external aesthetics or outer influences. But in the same way that the real beauty of the temple was found in Who filled it, our beauty is not the glamour or glitz, the chic or modern, the rustic or retro. Our beauty radiates from the inside. You’ve probably heard that all of your life. I’m not just talking about your personality, your temperament, or your character. I’m speaking of the fact that the Holy Spirit living in you leads to a life filled with beauty, love, and power! He empowers us to overcome the pain, trauma, and wounds that many of us carry. He comes in and works to heal from the inside out.

      Solomon’s temple was torn down between 587/586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar and was rebuilt in 516/515 BC.² When the temple was rebuilt, there were those who rejoiced with joy, yet others wept because it paled in comparison to the beauty and allure of the former temple (see Ezra 3:12). The account found in Haggai, chapter 2, tells us that many who had seen the former temple regarded the new temple as nothing! (v. 3). But Jesus, Himself, the desire of all nations, would come into this temple. This temple would be filled with glory (v. 7), and in this place, the Lord promised peace (v. 9). This peace would only come through the Prince of Peace, Jesus.

      Some of us have been regarded as nothing. Some of us have regarded ourselves as nothing. Let’s deal with that lie now. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit! (I can’t say it enough.) The Holy Spirit fills us with the glory of God, and that glory shines through us. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a catalyst for us to receive peace, the peace that we so desperately need. The peace we cry out for.

      I want to point out one more thing recorded in Haggai. Verse 9 begins with the Lord of hosts declaring, The glory of the latter temple shall be greater than the former. How could the glory of the latter temple be greater than Solomon’s temple? According to the people’s assessment, the latter temple, though truly beautiful, was not even in the same category as the first. The latter, however, was indeed greater because that prophecy was fulfilled in Christ. He stood in the latter temple in the flesh, and it was filled with His glory. This is also fulfilled in us. The Holy Spirit dwells in you; He sets up residence and makes you His home. And I declare this over your life, "Your latter days will be greater than your former days. Your future will be greater than your past." God desires to do such great things in and through you! And when you know and understand your worth and value, you will be an unstoppable force.

      Do you not know that you are God’s temple, and that God’s spirit dwells in you?

      The Holy Spirit is not in the market for a home like those on House Hunters. He has chosen to live in every believer! You and me! We are home to the very presence of God. We house His presence in our bodies. (I’ll say it again; you might as well join me!) We are the temple of the Holy Spirit! We are a container for the very glory of God. No matter how battered and bruised, no matter how tall, short, slim, stout—whatever! Your loveliness is defined by Who lives inside you. This truth—this truth—made me free!

      You need to take this truth and truly run with it. Allow it to define who you are. Allow your inner and outer presentation to be guided by this truth. Okay, yes! I said outer presentation too. Don’t take this as a super-judgy legalistic standard but do some soul-searching. Ask yourself, Am I trying to mask what I feel on the inside with what I wear on the outside? Ask yourself, Are my standards of style and dress dictated by others instead of a true expression of my worth? Am I willing to submit even that to God? I have struggled in that area, and it reveals my heart’s posture in so many ways. That is why Proverbs 31:30 warns, "Charm is deceptive, and outer beauty is fleeting" (emphasis mine). Just like the temple, outer beauty is temporary, but beauty that comes from within cannot be diminished or quelled.

      Let’s end this chapter with another wonderful thought from Psalm 84, verses 10 and 11, Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

      Remember travelers and refugees would long to be within the temple walls because the presence of the Lord was there. The glory of the temple was His presence. So this psalmist announces that even one day in the temple is much better than one thousand days in any other place. As we come to understand that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we will begin to see each day we have as a better day! You don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to see the remnants of the temple (although I would suggest it). You have the capacity to experience better days every day. It doesn’t come from visits to your local church. (Again, I would suggest that you do attend.) As a believer, you are never apart from the spirit of God. His spirit reveals better in your life. His spirit empowers better in your life. As we break open this truth, you will begin to know the favor that He has given you. You will begin to understand how you are an honored vessel. You will come to understand, all the more clearly, that He is not withholding good from you. He is not withholding peace from you! He is not withholding joy from you! He is not withholding love from you!

      He is not restrictive in His blessings! Nope, He is not stingy! The Father wants us to walk in an overabundance of all the things that He has promised. Let’s continue to discover these truths together.

      Do you have a painful past that you fight to come to grips with?

      Do you feel defeated and deflated as you consider your past? Your present? Your future?

      Have you allowed God to define even your outside presentation?

      Confessions of Faith

      I am the temple of

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