WEEKS OF SEPTEMBER 20 & 27
“SHELTER”
Since I have been kept quite busy, I have decided to combine 2 weeks into one, and write the message I had for the 20th.
In looking up the word “shelter' in the dictionary, found that there are several meanings. Here are a few of them:
Something that provides cover or protection as from the weather. Also a refuge or haven. Some synonyms are-- retreat, refuge, asylum, sanctuary.
Cover... suggests a concealed place resorted to hastily for temporary protection.
Retreat... applies chiefly to a place of seclusion to which one retires for meditation or escape the demands of worldly affairs.
Refuge... suggests a place of escape from actual pursuit or from actual harassment.
Asylum... legal protection
I. The first shelter
1. Adam & Eve
(a) Fig leaves. It was their “covering” (Gen. 3:7). and, as usual, man had to try to do things his way.
2. God's perfect way required a blood sacrifice (Gen 3:21)
II. Protection from the weather
1. Paul was shipwrecked (Acts 27:20-24)
2. We can have this same kind of protection according to what Jesus said (John 14:12).
3. Going back to the Old Testament, David wrote about a “safe haven” (Psalms 107:29-30)
III. Refuge
1. Cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6, 11& 12)
2. God is our refuge (Deut. 33:27 & Psalms 46:1)
IV. Sanctuary... a sacred place such as a church. The most holy part of a sacred place.
It is my belief that the Lord desires sacred place to be in our hearts. If you have never prepared a place in your heart for the Lord, why not do it now? Please go to my “plan of salvation” link on the web page and follow the directions. Then email me at [email protected] and share what the Lord has done for you.
Sincerely in Christ,
Dean