{"id":1202,"date":"2023-03-01T15:25:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T15:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/?p=1202"},"modified":"2023-03-09T15:26:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:26:03","slug":"purpose-not-punishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/?p=1202","title":{"rendered":"My Dwelling Place"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;1px|||||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text quote_border_weight=&#8221;2px&#8221; quote_border_color=&#8221;#F7BAAF&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; module_id=&#8221;quote&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.1&#8243; quote_line_height=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_font=&#8221;Vidaloka|||on|||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;Vidaloka||||||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#161616&#8243; header_4_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; header_4_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; header_5_font=&#8221;Vidaloka||||||||&#8221; header_5_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_5_text_color=&#8221;#161616&#8243; header_5_font_size=&#8221;50px&#8221; header_5_line_height=&#8221;1.2em&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;11px||||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; header_4_font_size_tablet=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_4_font_size_phone=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_4_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_5_font_size_tablet=&#8221;35px&#8221; header_5_font_size_phone=&#8221;22px&#8221; header_5_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;rgba(22,22,22,0.11)&#8221; border_width_top=&#8221;1px&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;1px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>\u201cFor in Him we live and move and have our being.\u2019 As some of your own poets have said, \u2018We are His offspring.\u201d <\/b><b>Acts 17:28<\/b><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.1&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The need to feel connected and safe is built into our spiritual DNA by the Creator. As a child, I had nightmares, where I was lost and couldn\u2019t find my way back home. In other dreams, I was abandoned, and exposed to danger, while my family hid safely behind a door, or under a blanket. As an adult, that unfulfilled need for security led to bad choices, where I sought refuge in all the wrong places. Then Christ came into my life: The Friend who sticks closer than a brother. As I surrendered to His love, Jesus became my Dwelling Place\u2014 and for that I\u2019m so grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Lord,\u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You alone can show us who we are, where we belong, and what we\u2019re truly worth. Now I understand that all fear and doubt is rooted in the absence of that knowledge. This divine fellowship has changed how I see myself, how I relate to others, and how I journey through life. Each day opens with new mercies and closes with the assurance that my keeping God is watching over me.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For further study<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">:<\/span><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proverbs 18:24; 18:10<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psalm 68:5; 27:10; 121:3-4<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah 43:1<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John 10:28<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lamentations 3:22-23<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cFor in Him we live and move and have our being.\u2019 As some of your own poets have said, \u2018We are His offspring.\u201d Acts 17:28The need to feel connected and safe is built into our spiritual DNA by the Creator. As a child, I had nightmares, where I was lost and couldn\u2019t find my way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<img width=\"960\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bellaword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/newspaper-1140x758.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\n\n<b>\u201cI am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called&nbsp;you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel\u2014&nbsp;<\/b><b>&nbsp;<\/b><b>which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion&nbsp;and are trying to pervert&nbsp;the gospel of Christ.&nbsp;But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,&nbsp;let them be under God\u2019s curse!\u201d Galatians 1:6-7<\/b>\n\nThe Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It\u2019s the truth that sets us free, from both the power and the wages of sin. Because the enemy is the author of lies, he distorts and perverts what God has said and done. False Gospels serve those who\u2019d rather embrace their sin, than repent of it. The theologies behind these fake gospels may use harmless sounding labels like <i>inclusive <\/i>or<i> progressive. <\/i>But anything that leads us to celebrate what God forbids, is not of God, and therefore has no power to redeem. So, we can choose to walk in truth by the Word\u2014or embrace our old nature by the counterfeit. One offers life\u2014the other offers death. But there is no middle ground.\n\n<i>Dear Lord,&nbsp;\n<\/i><i>Please keep us from deception. For in your perfect love, you are neither double-minded, nor swayed by popular opinion: You change not. No one can improve your word or your finished work. By your grace, we can take the narrow path, where our hunger for truth overrides the flesh. In Jesus\u2019 Name. Amen.<\/i>\n\nFor further study:\nMatthew 24:24 \/ 2 Corinthians 11:4\nLuke 17:22-23\n2 Timothy 4:3-4 \/ James 3:1\nMatthew 18:6-7\nGalatians 5:17 \/ Romans 7:18\nJohn 10:27 \/ John 10:4-5\nMatthew 7:13-14","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afterbirth","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1202"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1202"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1206,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1202\/revisions\/1206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}