Place of Assurance - Lent 2018

[Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations…from everlasting to everlasting  Psalm 90:1-2  

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me, and let's explore God’s Presence, our dwelling place.  Are you dwelling in the presence of God? ~ Donna Howell Oswalt]

“You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

Jeremiah, a prophet who predicted the Babylonians would capture Judah, writes a letter to the captives exposing the false prophets. Telling the Jews to settle in their new home, build lives, pray for their captors and serve God where they are, for their captivity will be long. Initially with vanity but later with despair, the Jews laughed at God then later mourned their fate. Within Jeremiah’s letter is a favorite verse of many people: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you a future and hope.Jeremiah calls the people into a spirit of prayer, encourages them with hope, and reminds them to seek God, “with all your heart.”

As Jesus begins His ministry, many of those He encounters are in spiritual bondage, captive to disease, rejection, arrogance and pride. Held prisoner by false truths, Jesus brings healing and hope, forgiveness and freedom. Jesus calls us, too, “Seek Me with all your heart.” Blessed Assurance, unbind me from the chains that hold me hostage, the doubt that imprisons my success, the fear that feeds my insecurity, the darkness that steals my hope. Count me alive in Christ. Find me! I seek You with all my heart! -dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2014 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author

Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

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Place of Giants - Lent 2018

[Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations…from everlasting to everlasting  Psalm 90:1-2  

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me, and let's explore God’s Presence, our dwelling place. Are you dwelling in the presence of God? ~ Donna Howell Oswalt]

“David shouted in reply [to the Goliath, the giant Philistine],’You come to me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty – the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you … and everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue His people. It is His battle, not ours. The LORD will give you to us!’” 1 Samuel 17:45-47 NLT

The armies of Israel and the Philistines camp on the opposite sides of the Valley of Elah in Judah. For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening, the Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army. David, son of Jesse, a shepherd boy from Bethlehem, is given bread and cheese to take to his older brothers who serve in the Israelite army. He sees Goliath, the champion from Gath, come forward, shouting his challenge to the army of Israel. David tells King Saul, “I’ll go fight this Philistine, for he has defied the armies of the living God!” David goes with the confidence that the LORD will be with him. He picks up five smooth stones from a stream. Armed with his sling, David steps out with faith in a mighty God and wins a victory over the giant!

Over three thousand years later, this story about facing the giant continues to be told, continues to be relevant to us. Today the historic Valley of Elah rests in the hill country of Palestine. A stream runs through the valley during the rainy season. There are no landmarks, no memorials. People frequently pass this place but remain unaware of the historical battlefield. Many of our struggles are fought on a spiritual battlefield where giants taunt us, where others remain unaware. Like incense rising, when we pray to the Living God, we experience spiritual victory over the giants. God of the Angel Armies, see the giants before me. Call them by name; conquer them! Give me strength to step out in faith knowing You are leading the battle, preparing the way, giving the spiritual victory. Count me alive in Christ. May Your Glory mark these places! ~dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2014 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author

Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

Place of Wisdom - Lent 2018

[Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations…from everlasting to everlasting  Psalm 90:1-2  
During this season of reflection and renewal, join me, and let's explore God’s Presence, our dwelling place. Are you dwelling in the presence of God? ~ Donna Howell Oswalt]

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90:1

Commonly credited to Moses, Psalm 90 draws our thoughts to God’s Power in contrast to human frailty. God, everlasting to everlasting, is not bound by time but dwells in eternity; humanity is brief and finite. Verses 7-11 refer to Kadesh Barnea, a place of decision, the beginning of the Israelites’ 40-year journey in the wilderness. This prayer acknowledges their poor decision, lack of faith in God, rebellion, and God’s anger with them. A plea for compassion and restoration follows with an expressed desire to find satisfaction in God’s mercy.

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Our experiences of success and failure, past and present, help prepare us for life, but all of our life experiences collectively prepare our hearts for eternity. Only in realizing a need for God, in trusting the power with God, in searching the wisdom of God, can life be fruitful now and eternal after. Elohim, God of All-Power, grow me with Your compassion and unfailing love. Let wisdom flood my mind. Sometimes life walks, wades, wails, and waits; other times, the days dance, dream, delight, and discover. In all these times, my soul longs to dwell with You forever. Count me alive in Christ. Satisfy me with Your mercy! ~dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2014 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author

Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

Ash Wednesday ~ Jehovah Shammah

[Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations…from everlasting to everlasting  Psalm 90:1-2  

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me, and let's explore God’s Presence, our dwelling place. Are you dwelling in the presence of God? ~ Donna Howell Oswalt]

“And the name of the city from that time on will be THE LORD IS THERE.”

Ezekiel 48:35 NIV

While living in Babylon in a refugee settlement among the exiled Israelites, the prophet Ezekiel encounters “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking”. Through visions to Ezekiel, God reveals His warnings to an unrepentant Jerusalem, judgments on all nations, hope for Israel, and a New Jerusalem. Most refuse to listen to Ezekiel. Forty-eight chapters and over twenty years later, Ezekiel records as the Sovereign LORD declares, ”And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”  Jehovah Shammah, Hebrew for ‘The LORD is there,” describes the New Jerusalem, the same city in Revelation 21:3 where God will dwell with His people.

Although idol-worshiping Babylon seems an unlikely place for Israel to find God, He is there. After Christ returns and all Believers live in the New Jerusalem, God will be there, too. God desires to dwell among His people. God’s presence exceeds our finite boundaries of time, location, and circumstance. Lord, today as I come to the altar acknowledging my infinite dependence on Christ, let me leave the altar wearing the ashes as a sign of repentance. Whisper the hope of THE LORD IS THERE into my brokenness, into my disappointment, into my weakness, into my silence, into my vanity, into my prayers.  Count me alive in Christ. Jehovah Shammah!  Amen ~ dho

All rights reserved ~ used with permission of the author

Copyright 2014 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author

Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

LENT Begins Tomorrow!

[Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations…from everlasting to everlasting  
Psalm 90:1-2  

Lent begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. I pray this will be a season your soul finds new intimacy with Christ. I will be posting weekly this year, and hope you will find spiritual renewal in God’s presence! -dho

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me, and let's explore God’s Presence, our dwelling place. Are you dwelling in the presence of God? ~ Donna Howell Oswalt]

Rest in Prayer

"True silence is the rest of the mind;
it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body,
nourishment and refreshment."
William Penn


The world is full of noise and busyness, all competing at the same time for the same mind! In the world there is little silence; there is not much true rest for the mind.

Jesus tells us, "Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace ..." (Matthew 11:28-30 The Message)

Jesus lived the example of spending time in prayer ~ away from the crowds ~ alone with the Father. This is how He demonstrated real rest ~ rest for the mind, the body and the spirit ~ rest in the middle of chaos ~ rest in the presence of God ~ rest in the silence. Listen to the words of Jesus; seek Him in the silence ~ learn [His] unforced rhytms of grace. ~dho