“But when the Pharisees had heard that He (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test Him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” Matthew 22:34-40
Today’s text is Psalm 84:10, a verse that is well-known in Christian circles through the song whose chorus goes, “Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere.”
In the ESV (English Standard Version) the verse reads,
“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.”
We continued our consideration of texts that lend support to the idea that God is more glorified when His glory is not only seen, but rejoiced in, that God wants not only our minds but also our hearts. Here are two we examined;
“O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed (happy) is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8
(These notes are an exerpt from a Bible study I led in December)
“. . . for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:13-15
Missing the target:
I heard it again the other day in church by a good man meaning well as he explained that mankind, left to his own devices, falls short of God’s standard of excellence.
A smiling corpse in a three piece suit is still rotting, stinking and dead;
Come to terms with the idea that we have capacities for joy and satisfaction in God that are enormous and cannot be satisfied by the American dream of health, wealth, marriage, family, sex, retirement, relationships, a good job, hobbies, sports, recreation, fame etc…and a pain-free death.
A Thanksgiving Week Musing
O that our hearts would have in them a right and deep appreciation and gratitude for all the beloved gifts God has given us, but that towering above those most intense and glad thanksgivings would be an increasing passion for King Jesus Himself.