{"id":294,"date":"2012-05-03T11:42:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T11:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=294"},"modified":"2012-05-03T11:42:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T11:42:00","slug":"going-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=294","title":{"rendered":"Going Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There is something about that phrase that brings complete joy to my heart. Sometimes I get so excited just thinking of going home that I can hardly stand it. <\/span><\/div>\n
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For me, living across country from my entire family means trips to Ohio for special occasions, visits, or holidays. And then once I am there, I am just as excited at the thought of heading toward Colorado and my loved ones left behind.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Going home. Why is it so comforting? What makes it so special?<\/span><\/div>\n
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If we look at the definition of home according to Merriam-Webster, it is \u201cthe social unit formed by a family living together or a familiar or usual setting, a congenial environment, or the focus of one\u2019s domestic attention.\u201d[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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This definition includes some important words. Family. Familiar. Usual. Congenial. Domestic.<\/span><\/div>\n
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That\u2019s why the word home brings such warmth and comfort to our longing hearts.<\/span><\/div>\n
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When I come home to Ohio, there are a few things I enjoy. Some of my favorite foods are here. Some of my favorite places are here. Some of my favorite people are here. Some of my favorite memories are here. Going home allows me to enjoy of all of these.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I\u2019m so grateful that God has something to say about our homes, because it is so important to us. His Word shows us how we should build our homes, how to maintain our homes, about our spiritual homes, and our eternal home.<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n
Building a Home<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Psalm 127:1 tells us, \u201cUnless the Lord builds the house,\u00a0the builders labor in vain.\u201d<\/i> <\/span><\/div>\n
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When the foundations of our homes have God as the source of strength, there will be greater success. Allowing God to be in the middle of everything that goes on in our homes will produce a useful family for His kingdom.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Righteous Home<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
When we\u2019ve built our homes on God\u2019s Word as the foundation, He offers promises that we can believe. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Proverbs 3:33 says, \u201cThe Lord\u2019s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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And Isaiah 32:18 tells us, \u201cMy people will live in peaceful dwelling places,\u00a0in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Following God\u2019s commands and living holy lives leads to blessings within our homes. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Spiritual Home<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
We also have the calling to create a spiritual home within our physical bodies.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cAnyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (John 14:23)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cAs you come to him, the living Stone \u2014rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him\u2014you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (1 Peter 2:4-5)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Eternal Home<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
In 2 Samuel 7:10a, God promised Israel a home of their own. \u201cAnd I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed.\u201d <\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Just as God promised the Israelites that home in the Old Testament, He has promised us an eternal home. A place where we can go home and be with Him forever.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cMy Father\u2019s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?\u201d <\/span><\/i>(John 14:2)<\/span><\/div>\n
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My parents have moved from the houses where my siblings and I grew up. I have no emotional attachments to where they live now. Although the houses are not the same, where they live is still \u201chome\u201d because of my family who live there. Because of the familiar, usual, congenial, domestic environment that exists there. Because at home, wherever it is, there is love.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I believe God created us with this longing for home so that we might have a deep desire to go home. Not just our physical homes, but our eternal home. It\u2019s no wonder that we want to go home.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
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Donna<\/span><\/div>\n
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[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/home<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is something about that phrase that brings complete joy to my heart. Sometimes I get so excited just thinking of going home that I can hardly stand it. For me, living across country from my entire family means trips to Ohio for special occasions, visits, or holidays. And then once I am there, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}