For many people Monday
mornings are difficult, as they know it is the beginning of another week which
will be just like the last. Get up, wrestle to get the kids off to school, try
and get yourself to work on time, drag through the work day, rush home, feed
the kids and then collapse into bed only to do it all again tomorrow. If that
isn’t enough, this morning we woke up to news that the worst mass shooting in
American history occurred late last night. This Monday morning is a stark
reminder of the result of the fall of mankind long ago in the Garden of Eden.
Psalm 84 is a bright spot in
what otherwise looks to be a hopeless existence. It is a reminder to Christians
that we do not belong in this world. We were created for more.
Psalm
84:1-2
How lovely is your dwelling
place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
There is a much better place
to live. That place is with God.
Psalm
84:3
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
There is a home for all of
us. That home is at the altar of God.
Psalm
84:4
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
Being blessed is being happy.
The only place to find that is to dwell with God.
Psalm
84:5-7
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
As the days go on in light of
last night’s shooting, we will hear discussion of how to prevent more shootings
like last night’s. The truth is they can never be stopped completely. We will
never be safe from violence and evil as a society until Jesus comes. As my
pastor said just yesterday, it will get worse. It will. But we don’t have to
live in fear. We can trust in God. He is our strength.
Psalm
84:8-11
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Are you wondering how you can
ever feel safe again? Are you afraid that if you go to enjoy a concert or a
ball game, some crazed killer will take your life? If you are a Christian, you
need not fear. Hear the Word of God.
Psalm
118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
What can man do to me? “He
can kill me”, you cry. If you are a Christian, then that means he can send you
home to Jesus. And guess what Christian? A day in God’s courts is better than a
thousand elsewhere. Do you believe that?
Psalm
84:11-12
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
It is a sad morning. Pray for
those suffering through this tragedy. But place your hope in Him. Live your
life free from fear because when it’s taken from you, and it will one day, you
can dwell in the courts of God.
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