THE SECRET PLACE
Suggested Reading: Psalms 90-91
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Goreme is a town in Cappadocia, an historical region of Turkey. The people who settled here built their homes within these unusual, cone-shaped hills. This area was first settled during the Roman period. Christians were persecuted and for protection they dug subterranean dwellings into the rock hillsides. The believers in Christ were literally dwelling in a secret place as our key verse says. When Christians became the majority in the region, many churches were carved out of the solid rock. These amazing structures can still be seen today. Cappadocia is mentioned several times in the New Testament, including Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Psalm 90:1 & 91:14
So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom….
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 90 is unique in that it is the only one composed by Moses. He probably wrote this during the wanderings in the wilderness for 40 years, when they had no place to call home. They could not fortify themselves against enemy attacks. Moses learned that their only safe dwelling place was in the Lord. Considering the shortness of our days, 70 to 80 years approximately, we need to pack in all the wisdom we can gain so that “the beauty of the Lord will be upon us, and the works of our hands will be established” (90:17).
Psalm 91 teaches us that the secret place with God every day (it could be this blog) is the place of security. The world can be shut out and a sense of belonging to God is ours. We’re at home in the presence of the Lord! This is true protection!!! The warmth of God’s love is here!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, here I am, dwelling in Your secret place. I pray that I will learn more and more to relax and dwell constantly in Your presence.Thank You for this peaceful place of complete security, for now and for eternity! This is only because of Jesus in Whose Name I ask this great mercy. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I have personally experienced the fact that God “is my refuge and fortress.” As an evangelist who has shared the message of Jesus on the streets first, and then for decades on television, I’ve had attacks on my personal integrity which had no substance, and attacks on the effectiveness of the ministries which I’ve led. I felt totally unworthy when I received an award in 2008 for “Integrity in Life and Ministry,” along with Billy Graham, who received the same honour that year, presented by the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. I believe the secret of honouring God in honesty and love to all is that consistent “secret place” time with God early every morning. My meditation contained in this daily blog happens in that “secret place.”
I have three years to go before I reach the big 80! I’m claiming the last verse of Psalm 91! God writes to me through the Psalmist and says, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation!”
Yours because of the Lord’s promise to “establish the work of our hands!”
David
P.S. God is truly establishing His work! He works through all of us. I’m so thankful that He continues to establish His work through Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. Rev. Ron Mainse, our Spiritual Director, Don Simmonds and the Board of Directors, and our new Global Chief Executive Officer, Dr. John Hull, along with the entire team at Crossroads, with the foundation of all who pray for us and support financially, work with God to maintain, grow, and establish a strong and effective work…a work of GOD!!! Here’s another clip from one of the days in this week’s telecasts on the theme of “Fear Not!” (click here).
In another part of historic Cappadocia, the city of Kaymakli was created by persecuted Christians who excavated the relatively soft rock deep below the ground with the access opening well hidden. This is one of the below-ground rooms, and the round stone was likely a kitchen table. While this underground city consists of 8 floors below ground, only 4 of them are open to the public today, in which the spaces are organized around ventilation shafts. Archeologists think that there could have been up to 3500 people living in this city. So far 36 underground cities have been discovered in Cappadocia.
I can think of nothing more nourishing for my soul than spending time alone with our Lord early in the morning in reflection, prayer, scripture and following this blog. Thank you! Amazing photographs with the rock formations, fog and below ground shelters! Blessings, to all!
Totally agreed. Amen, David!
Father God
I ask to heal me i have had many seizures over the past while and
have been having its not been easy over the past few days and for
your protection in whatever I do and wherever l go.
In Jesus name
Amen
Lianne Hogg
I ask for our family of bloggers to pray for me to .
Lord, may your restful hand be upon Lianne and ease any anxiety or physical condition causing her to seizure. I pray Lianne has proper medication if necessary, and Lianne is taking this at prescribed times. Also, that her family and physician are understanding of her condition and provide support and wise direction to stabilize and heal Lianne in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Yes Lord heal Lianne because where two agree as touching it shall be done by our father in heaven and we praise you in Jesus name Amen 🙂
We pray to You, our Heavenly Father, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to the sanctity of the Holy Spirit, for our dear sister, Lianne Hogg. We bring her health concerns, safety, and well being before You, our gracious Lord. We trust in You, with all our heart, and lean not unto our own understanding. In all our ways, we acknowledge You, and know that You shall direct our path. We hold Lianne up to you, dear Lord, and pray for her seizures to come to an end and return no more. We pray for her fear and anxiety to completely dissipate and for her sense of calm and peacefulness to return. For we know we are covered under Your feathers and it is under Your wings that we take refuge. And we know that Your truth and faithfulness is our shield and protector. We trust in You, Lord, with all our hearts. We pray without ceasing, and give thanks to You, in everything. We thank you for Lianne, Lord, and the gift that she is to us on this blog. We worship You, and praise You, Lord. In Jesus Holy name, we pray. Amen, amen, and amen.
Agree with you Beverlee in prayer for Lianne!! Amen & Amen
My prayers will be with you. If the seizures continue, think of getting checked out at an emergency as perhaps the drug level of the anti-seizure medication is off. Blessings in Jesus’s perfect name. Please keep us updated. Your “blogger friends” care. Keep safe Lianne.
Amen & Amen Beverlee … God Bless You Lianne!
Oh Lord to abide under your shadow reminds me of the mother hen protecting her chicks under her wings ,
There is safety
Peace and confidence in knowing God is taking care of me and knowing that Im loved no matter what , even though our days are numbered we have no fear because God goes with us through whatever it is all the way
For He yhat has startedthe good work within you will complete it until the day of His appearing or henn He calls us home.thank you for your prayers and blessing to all my fellow bloggers ?:)
Amen, Brenda! 😉
So blessed by this message today! I have often searched for the deeper meaning of ‘the SecretPlace” thank you David Mainse for your daily blog.
Thank you for insights from The Lord!
I
We were away for two weeks, and I wasn’t always able to read the daily blog.
I am thankful to be back at the daily “secret place” , although I was able to keep up with the Scripture reading.
Thank you to all those who help to give us in “blog land” our daily mana.
God’s heart is both inclusive and exclusive- meaning He loves us all the same, yet at the same time loves us all differently. It is the secret places of God where I experience His exclusive love for me–where He reveals His heart for me to me in the ways I need to experience it. In that place I reveal myself to Him in ways I do not show another soul on the planet. It is in these moments of private abiding I am strengthen and my ability to love others is lit- so the exclusive love become fuel for the inclusive love we are all called to share. Fellowship with believers is important, but spending one to one time with God alone in the secret place is equally important. Our time there will not be like anyone else’s, but in the end it will benefit everyone equally. Amen.
Amen…agreeing with all those wonderful prayers Lord! In my dream land today, I was indeed In the “secret place” of the most high, so filled with d Holy Spirit that I healed a man with a very disfigured face, two sharp teeth like that of a lion and two trunks on the back of his head! This man believed and asked me to pray for him, right before my eyes It happened, every part of his face and head went back to normal! I felt the Holy Spirit and I rejoiced all the way! I believed that was a message from God and it shall come to past! Stay blessed fellow bloggers, it is well with us all….Amen!
Wow! Amen.
Wow! God is amazing!
Blessings. God is amazing.
His will!
Unite my heart and spirit for all the prayers prayed for Lianne today. Pray Lord you will keep her in perfect peace as her heart is stayed upon you. Yes, we need to stay in that secret place with the Lord and how the photos tell us about that secret place in Cappadocia. “…they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.'(Heb. 11:38). I have claimed Psalm 91 many times as I’m sure many of you and try to keep it memorized. God bless you everyone.
I pray for Lianne H heal her Lord Jesus ‘ YOU healed people in the Bible with
deseases ,many similar to Lianne’s so I pray this will be YOUR will in Jesus
Name I pray, Amen….R…
Psalm 91 is beautiful! Patricia, blessings to that amazing healing. HIS will! Wow!
Sorry, I didn’t think all my comments got in. Comic relief. I am obviously new to the email world. I’ll be more careful next time. Just another day. Humbled. I’ll have to tell the girls at work this one! Good night. Time to sleep off a good laugh.
Please pray for my sister Ollie. A week ago her children convinced her that she should place her husband into an extended care facility. And so were able to get a placement for him, and came and did the moving.
She is broken hearted and so is he, as he is still able to know all that is taking place,even though his short memory is gone; and they miss each other.
My sister feels she is trapped in a web, and that it has been too soon to move him. Her husband’s name is Merv.
She feels she could have cared for Merv for at least another year or more, and that she yielded under the pressure of her children. Please pray for comfort and peace of mind for Ollie.
Awesome photos ? info! Not just this photo either! I love the one of the strange conic structures at Goreme (Capadocia) Wow!!!
Great photos and info on the early church in Turkey!!!