Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Is it possible to dwell in His Kingdom and here on earth at the same time?

John 18:36a Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

If you consider the Word of God to be true, then these two statements are not contradictory. Jesus declared He does not have a worldly kingdom, yet He declares He will come and live with us.

Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Let me put it as plainly as I can; are your thoughts and actions of one who is living in the world or one who is living in His Kingdom?

A Kingdom is comprised of men and women and children who are subject to the King. They follow the orders of the King. Can you live in the world and follow the King’s commandments? Sure you can. One only has to see that man’s laws allow you to do things which God’s commands forbid. You can obey both at the same time.

Man has not made a law, yet, which makes thinking illegal. You have to act on a bad thought before you can violate man’s law. God is concerned with the condition of the heart. God wants your heart to be pure. The world cares not for your heart and even encourages you to violate God’s commands by enacting laws that allow for sin to exist without worldly penalty.

Sin will always have consequences regardless of what man’s law allows, for such is the nature of sin.

Are you a Kingdom dweller?

Psalm 121:8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

I do not often talk about my war, Vietnam. There was way too much craziness to relate to a Christian devotional, but this psalm brought me into remembrance of listening posts.

Perhaps the scariest of all the things I have been asked to do, certainly the loneliest, was being sent out for night watch, in the jungle, alone, on a listening post. I was sent out first to establish a position of observation on a trail leading to and from our main encampment. I was about one hundred yards from the outer perimeter.

When the night ambush patrols went out, I watched with gun and radio in hand. I was to ensure no enemy was following them out of camp after sundown. All during the night I waited and listened. You have no idea how pitch black the jungle can be at night. Just before dawn the patrol would make its way back into camp.

I would receive a call on my radio that they were coming in. This was the scariest part. In the pitch black of night I had armed men walking at me with as much stealth as they could muster. I would not know if these muted sounds were friend or foe until they were right on top of me. I had to restrain my anxiety and count off the patrol as they walked past me.

Then it was my job to make sure the enemy was not following the patrol to camp. Alone.

Is this what God does for us?

If so, I take greater comfort to know it is God on the listening post of life and not me.