Out of internet here at home for 8 days. Glad it came back last night. I learned a lot from that downtime.
I was reminded of how it’s also nice to work in a location separate from your home. I was reminded of how it helps to drive to and from home, as a means of mental transition from work mode to… well, general mode, and vice versa. You really appreciate other things when something is taken away.
…You really appreciate some things when other things are taken away. You really appreciate some folks when other folks are taken away.
That’s been the story of my life for this season… and one thing I have come to appreciate, whether I be at a loss regarding something, or someone – it’s the people that choose to stay. Family. Friends. Fellowship. The greatest assets we have in this reality are not things, but people.
And with that said I don’t know who you are, dear reader, but I wish you all the best. Thank you for choosing to stay.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning;
Great is thy faithfulness, o Lord;
Great is thy faithfulness.
Even during these times, our God is faithful. Indeed, we are blessed with God, the Maker of all – in that we’ve known through Christ that He chooses to stay, each and every time. We are blessed, even when we are alone and have nothing – for we have a Father who loves us, a Father who loves us with an everlasting love.
And this is no flippant presumption – Christ paid with literally EVERYTHING for us to make this claim, and to claim this promise. We boldly declare, now and every day, that God is for us and not against us, and nothing can ever separate us from His love – NOT because of what we know, what we do, and/or who we are, but our trust is in nobody else but Christ and His finished work.
We give glory and praise to our God through Christ, who gave up so much, and paid it all – stepping down from glory, laying down His body and allowing His blood to be poured out – that we would not only have God’s attention, but that we would be fully reconciled to Him, that as Christ calls Him His Father, so we also cry out, ‘Abba, Father‘.
Indeed, in all that we face and in all we’ve experienced, and in all we’re going through, the song will always be:
Great is thy faithfulness, o Lord;
Great is thy faithfulness.
Psalm 122
The Joy of Going to the House of the LORD
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
2 Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.
‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’
Let us enter His gates, and give thanks to His name.
Let us declare peace upon the city of Jerusalem, declare peace upon the nation of Israel.
Let us declare in prayer, that peace would swell and reign within the walls.
I’m looking at this from the outside in, and seeing this as a Gentile from the perspective of Christ and His finished work… Here and now rationalizing, and trying to understand this for myself.
We’ve shifted from seeing the nation of Israel rejoicing in anticipation of entering into the presence of the Lord – ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord‘; Now, understanding that through Christ, the Lord has made us His dwelling place – We are not gods ourselves, but we have been so reconciled to God, both Jew and Gentile; So reconciled that we can say that the Lord lives within us, and the Lord has made us His house.
On one side of the coin a nation was excited to catch a glimpse of eternity in His presence; Now, through the lens of Christ we are even more appreciative – a chosen people enjoying being fully and absolutely reconciled to our God and Father, present with Him as He is present with us, this time, all the time, till the end of time and beyond.
Sure, we continue to pray with the rest of our brethren for the peace of Israel, for the peace of Jerusalem… but we do so knowing that the peace that goes beyond all understanding is already guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. From peace, we declare peace.
In fact, here and now, we are thankful for peace, and genuine peace that ministers to our being – because the fact is, times have never been this chaotic.
The darkness continues to grow – but not only are we kept still in supernatural peace, but we continue to rejoice, knowing that the light shines brighter in the darkness, and the One whom the winds and the oceans obey is on our side.
Our peace is further proven in the pain. Our Foundation is further proven in the chaos.
As we continue through this day, I suppose our prayer ought to continue, as the Psalmist says:
Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.
Because we are always with Him, and He is always with us, we seek His good, and He, in His goodness, sought us and seeks us.
To God be all the glory, forever and ever. Amen, and amen.
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