WHERE DOES GOD LIVE?
Acts 7:44-50 “‘Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God’s favour and asked that he might provide a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?”’
COMMENTS: Today’s devotion is a reminder to recognize and need to deal with ways we try to box God into our own plans and goals. What was God’s purpose in creation of the ark of the covenant and having it placed in the Holy of Holies in the temple? What was the purpose of the pillar of light at night and pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 13) for the Israelites coming out of Egypt’s bondage? What is the purpose of churches centuries ago with a steeple reaching far above other structures with a cross on top? Why were beautiful stained glass windows put in those churches as in newer churches patterned after them? Why do we have an altar in our church with a communion table with word “In Rememberance of Me” we see every time we enter the church? Why is a cross displayed in our churches in prominent view? I am sure you can think of many more examples both in churches and church history as well as from scripture that poses same question but all with the same response. To remind us fickled and frail and forgetful and weak and easily distracted humans God is with us and ready and eager to help and guide and protect and instruct us along life’s journey each and every day – with each and every step. The stained glass windows originally were to teach those who couldn’t read the stories of God’s faithfulness and redemption. The cross high above other buildings to remind everyone Christ is on His throne and watching over us. The intent was and is a good one. But we stopped noticing the cross and reminder to us. Then we started building structures that climbed far above the church steeple cross and then hid it from view so was harder and impossible for others in the city to see it. There is a church in New York City that still stands. It is the church where George Washington worshipped when the capital resided in NYC instead of Washington, DC. It was in that church George Washington went with the new congress to pray for God’s guidance and blessing for our new country after he was inaugurated as the first President. It was there all congress prayed together with same passion for God’s guidance and direction. It is significant that the ground the twin towers were built on was part of the original ground owned by that church and the twin towers shadowed over that church’s steeple and cross. Our country lost something when it’s people and leaders began to forget why God blessed us with such a country and what our mission was, just as the Israelites forgot. I believe, by replacing those towers with the new “freedom tower”, we have learned nothing and still stand in defiance and rebellion against our God who has protected us since nation’s creation and is warning us now of coming judgment. Below are some pictures showing St. Paul’s in 1799 and more recent with twin towers in background, with God’s protective hand sparing this church while destruction of twin towers rained all around, and with the new Freedom tower again being built in background. God is pleading for us to turn back to Him in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God’s mercy and reminders that He is near are all around us!
If we don’t notice or see them, well, it isn’t God’s fault or neglect. IT IS OURS! I hope this devotion and pictures help you, as does I, gain a sharper realization and clarity and renewed passion as I pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 for my own rebelliousness and for our country and world’s as well. Join me in praying for God’s merciful forgiveness for us, our country and world. Below and above are pictures of St. Paul’s Chapel described above.
Below picture is St. Paul’s Church as seen today. God spared this church when the towers fell nearby while surrounding structures encountered significant damage. God spared this church because it is where George Washington and the first Congress gathered and prayed for God’s blessing and covenanted with God to follow His laws. It is also in this church where food and comfort and prayer was given to the firemen and volunteers during recovery of 911. It is a structure to remind us God is faithful but those who rebel against Him will not go unpunished if they do not repent. I hope this helps you realize how God inspired and guided those he drew to settle and build what was to become the United States of America, a country He equipped and commissioned to minister to, help, and evangelize His gospel to the world. Well some have and some still do that work, but our country has fallen far short of God’s call and so much worse today. We so need to repent and seek His forgiveness and re-commissioning.
Published by donsdevotions
Don McDaniel - Who am I?
Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever.
Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me.
I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private.
However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool.
Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry.
He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 .
I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine.
I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward.
Don & Arlene McDaniel
In His Service,
Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ )
You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials. View all posts by donsdevotions
donsdevotions 
May His name be praised .
LikeLike