“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude” Psalm 84:1-4 (NLT)
Longing. Fainting. I am struck with how passionately the author expresses his desire to be in God’s presence or how fun it will be to sing his praises continually. However, today my eyes keep getting drawn to the directional word, “interlude”. A lot of times you’ll see the word “selah”. This implies a time of reflection. The composer of the Psalm wants the singers to pause, reflect, and meditate on what was just sung. He wants people to stop and really think about the words and their impact before moving on.
Our fast-paced, overly-booked, overly-worked society doesn’t allow much time for “interlude” and reflection. So, I’m challenging you to slow down right now. Read the verses above or maybe another verse that has been on your mind today. Take a moment. Don’t rush through the words. Pause and reflect on what the Lord is telling you. Sometimes the sweetest worship experience is just being quiet before the Lord soaking in His word and resting in His presence.
May you have many “interludes” with our Lord today,
Lisa
“Worship is the magnification of God and the minimization of self. One of the most succinct expressions of a worshipper’s heart in all the New Testament came from John the Baptist: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’” (page 168 from Dr. James Macdonald’s book, “Vertical Worship”).
Many times, it’s easy to come to church hoping to hear our favorite songs sung, favorite verses read, or favorite preaching style preached, and so on. We think of church like Burger King’s 40-year-old slogan, “Have it your way”. However, when we do that we are missing out on the real reason we are there. And what is the real reason we meet week after week? Because “…we have been rescued from our sins, united with a risen, living Christ and with each other through faith in Jesus. And because of that union with Jesus and with each other, the Bible, God’s word, calls us to regular, weekly expressions of our corporate joy and thankfulness before God in worship,…” (John Piper)
We don’t come to fill our preference tank. It is taking the focus off of ourselves and putting it on the One who deserves it. Timothy Keller puts it this way, “Worship is pulling our affections off our idols and putting them on God…at our deepest level, we were created for worship.” I love that! What idol are you and I holding on to that gets in the way of worship? Pride? Selfishness in which we insist on our way? Unforgiveness? Worldly distractions?
I pray that when it comes time for worship we come with affections duly placed where God may have it His way. May we come with anticipation of God’s presence, His Word made alive in us, His love showered upon our hearts. And in light of all He has done for us, giving God the praise due His name. May we expect to be moved by His Spirit and not necessarily by the elements that make up our time together. God can use those things, yes, but He doesn’t need them to make an impression on a heart that is open to His still small voice.
Worshiping with you today,
Lisa
The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns (Psalm 99:1; Revelation 19:6).
Father, let us not be like those who have turned their back from following you or ones who do not seek You. But let us be a people who trust in your steadfast love and follow your direction. Help us to remember whether in good times or in struggles to remember we are not forgotten by You and that You know and find us valuable. To You, we lift up our soul!
(Zephaniah 1:4,6; Psalm 143:8; Luke 12:6-7)
I have mentioned before that I spent about a month in South Africa on tour with Carpenter’s Tools/Youth for Christ when I was in high school. At one point on our tour we stayed for about three days in a small African village with several host families. Most of the homes were huts made from sticks, mud, and thatch, but we were housed with families that had bigger homes made of wood but still had dirt floors, no electricity, and no running water. Several generations lived under one roof, but they were so generous to offer their home and precious food to us for a few days; giving up the one bed they owned so we girls didn’t have to sleep on the dirt floor.
In between concerts we worked with a translator as we met with our “neighbors” to talk about Christ. The fact that this village was poor was not lost on us and made us feel guilty for what we took for granted at home. They truly had very little to offer us but what they did, they gave freely and joyfully. And during times of worship together, I saw such peace and joy on their faces. Here they were surrounded in poverty and unrest, but their faith in God was unshakable.
What I took away from that experience was our faith, trust, and joy in God is not determined by circumstances. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says,
“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
This small group of South African believer’s joy did not rest on what they had or didn’t have but the assurance that God saved them, was their strength, and He would take care of them. Your version of the above verses could go like this: Though I have no job, money, or resources, and my friends and health have failed, and my future seems to hold no possibilities, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; my salvation, my strength. He helps me to run with power and reach those unreachable places.
Even though there are times when we feel like we have nothing, God is still there. He is still good. He is still powerful. He has saved our souls and we can say with complete confidence Psalm 52:8-9,
“I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,”
Rejoicing with you because He has done it!
Lisa
Our Father, who knows what we need before we ask and to whom we have seen your power and glory in our lives, we seek you to comfort our waste places and make the wilderness of our lives like Eden; fresh, renewed, and healthy.
Where there is desert in our heart, transform it into a thriving garden so that joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and song will be found in us.
Thank you for your steadfast love that is better than life. We bless you with every breath and lift our hands in praise to You!
(Matthew 6:8; Psalm 63:2-4; Isaiah 51:3)
Worshiping our amazing Father with all of you today,
Lisa
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:2-12 NIV)
A while back I was reading through Matthew and had so much fun “re-discovering” truths and precious nuggets that I sometimes just skim through or take for granted. One of those precious truths is the word “blessed”. According to Warren Weirsbe, blessed was a powerful word for those in Jesus’ day. To them it meant “divine joy and perfect happiness”. The word was not used for humans; it described the kind of joy experienced only by the gods or the dead. “Blessed” implied an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that did not depend on outward circumstances for happiness. So in a sense verse 2 of Matthew 5 could say, “Divine joy and perfect happiness for the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Weirsbe goes on to explain that the beatitudes describe four attitudes:
1. our attitude toward ourselves (v.3)
2. our attitude toward our sin (vv.4-6) When I read those verses, the word “meek” jumped out at me. I found out that the word was used by the Greeks to describe a horse that had been broken. It refers to power under control. Gives a whole new perspective on that word, doesn’t it?
3. our attitude toward the Lord (vv.7-9)
4. our attitude toward the world (vv.10-16) The Pharisees thought they were conserving God’s word, when in reality they were preserving it; “embalming it so that it no longer had life!” (Weirsbe)
Sometimes I can be like the Pharisees. I get so concerned about obeying the letter of the law for the sake of the law instead of obeying out of love for my Lord. The difference between being a Pharisee and a follower is the attitude and motivation behind our actions. It all comes back to our hearts.
I encourage you to re-read the beatitudes closely. Maybe stop and examine one or two of them closely. You now have a better understanding of the word “meek”, but what does it mean that the “pure in heart” will see God? What does a pure heart look like? Act like? How can one possibly achieve one? (Hint: power of the Holy Spirit) Or what does it mean to be a “peacemaker”? Is that the same as a “peacekeeper”? And why do you think they are called “children of God”? Have some fun “treasure hunting” in the Scriptures today! I can promise you, you will find something of value and worth!
Worshiping (and treasure hunting) with you today!
Lisa
“Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Here I am.’
‘Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.’
The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ‘Stay here with the donkey,’ Abraham told the servants. ‘The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.’
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, ‘Father?’
‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.
‘We have the fire and the wood,’ the boy said, ‘but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?’
‘God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,’ Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’
‘Yes,’ Abraham replied. ‘Here I am!’
‘Don’t lay a hand on the boy!’ the angel said. ‘Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.’
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means ‘the Lord will provide’). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’
Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.’ Genesis 22:1-18
I’ve always struggled with this passage. God promises Abraham many descendants, takes what seems like forever to make good on that promise, and then asks Abraham to give up that promise by killing his one and only son. My struggle is that if put in the same situation, would I obey without argument like Abraham or would I fight and argue and plead for the life of my son? Would I love and know God so much that I would trust Him and know He was doing what was best for me? For my son?
God and I have these conversations quite often. I know God has my best interests at heart and He sees the whole picture, but my feeble, weak heart argues that there has to be a better way. It doesn't make sense. I don't want to do it that way. I think I know better than God. Oh to be like Abraham and just trust without argument that God's plan is perfect.
So, maybe we have to ask the question, “When faced with life’s challenges, are we going to waste time arguing with God about His ways or trust Him knowing His ways are better than ours? My prayer is that we get to know our God so well and follow Him so closely that no matter what He allows in our life or challenges us to do, we will trust Him with complete confidence.
Here’s some great wisdom and insight from my friend, Brenda:
“Picture Isaac on the sacrificial altar. Now contemplate this. Sometimes what we think is going to kill us is actually where we find our salvation.” Brenda Storms
I love it! It may be hard to see in the midst of troubles, but I pray we would trust God enough to know He is bringing about good in what may seem like a complete mess. Whatever God asks of you, He will supply what you need so go ahead, obey with confidence, because He is loving you through it and bringing about something wonderful! "I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.'"(Psalm 31:14)
Worshiping with you today,
Lisa
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude” Psalm 84:1-4 (NLT)
