Worship the Creator!

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

may the LORD rejoice in his works…

Psalm 104:31

Psalm 104 reflects on the glory of the Lord with an exclamation of His greatness in the very first verse, and then again in this proclamation in verse thirty-one toward the end of the psalm. In between though is this massive celebration… a sort of sermon in song on the power of God in creation. It calls us to ponder our world and praise our God! There isn’t a lot of reflection that I am writing about here, but read the psalm, then read it again seeing how it breaks down into these interesting divisions:

I.  The majesty of God in His Person. (Psalm 104:1-4)

     A.  Greatness

     B.  Splendor - clothed in majesty

     C.  Brilliance - covered in light

     D.  Transcendence - over water, clouds, winds, and flame

II.  The wisdom of God in the foundations of the earth. (Psalm 104:5-9)

     A.  Stability

     B.  Judgment/Flood 

     C.  Control

     D.  Boundaries

III.  The provision of God in the water cycle. (Psalm 104:10-13)

     A. Springs and rains

     B.  Animals and Ecosystems

IV.  The abundance of God’s provision of food. (Psalm 104:14-18)

     A.  Vegetation in abundance

     B.  Wine, oil, and bread for people

     C.  Habitat for God’s creatures

V.   The song of God in the rhythm of day and night. (Psalm 104:19-23)

     A. Moon and Sun

     B.  Darkness and Light

     C. Nocturnal predators and Daytime Labor for mankind

VI.  The breadth of God in the vastness of the ocean. (Psalm 104:24-26)

     A.  Innumerable sea-dwelling life

     B.  Big ships and a bigger Leviathan

VII.  God cares for it all! (Psalm 104:27-30)

     A. Food and life.

     B.  Life and death.

     C.  Renewal

VIII.  Reflection upon the God of Creation (Psalm 104:31-35)

     A.  Corporate worship

     B.  Personal meditation

generosity matching the gospel

So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

2 Corinthians 8:11

Generous giving is a hallmark of Christian maturity. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to give of yourself like your Master Who gave everything. You not only want to give… your heart leads you to choices that make generosity a priority. This individual heart for generosity, when magnified within local churches, keeps the gospel moving forward and helps ensure there is no need among us.

Paul taught generous giving and modeled it. The Corinthian church had been part of his regular collection of funds for the relief of the persecuted church in Judea that had also been struck with famine. Paul made sure that the blessings of resources in the Gentile churches could be devoted to the Lord so that the Jewish churches could bear up under suffering the hardship of losing livelihoods and lives for the sake of their testimony of Jesus Christ.

The same reality drives Christian ministry forward now. The need for the gospel to go where it is unheard is still great. There are many places still on this globe where Christianity is persecuted. There is still extreme poverty, disease, and famine. The Church of Jesus should be the place where a generous Jesus motivates us to give like Him… to reject materialistic selfishness… to be a place where an overflow of God’s blessing can accompany the preaching of the good news that Jesus is Lord.

cut short

He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he has shortened my days.

“O my God,” I say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

you whose years endure

throughout all generations!”

Psalm 102:23-24

Fear dominates

destroys and

deludes.

My heart is broken

grieving and

confused.

My strength fails.

I am hurting.

Sleep a mystery…

all I see is my pain.

I need You, Lord!

MY GOD! Don’t let me die yet!

You are there…

beyond the fear.

You will comfort…

even as I grieve.

You will carry…

my paralyzed self.

You can heal…

what is wounded and ill.

Eternal God,

in my days now cut short

I cry to You.

Saving God,

in my confusion

I still trust in You!

If You cut me short…

If this ends my earthly days…

I have all eternity with You

without this pain.

I will believe You!

prayer and faith

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

I believe prayer is a powerful way to experience God at work. I pray daily, though definitely not as consistently, as I should. And faith must be at the root of regular prayer. Why else ask of God unless you trust in Him to answer? A prayer without belief is just a superstition. I take Jesus’ words here at face value. I must believe God will grant what I ask in true faith with motives that honor and trust Him.

There are some clarifications on how prayer and faith work in this promise from Jesus. In the immediate context it is clear that vindictive prayers from unforgiving hearts are ineffective. Jesus makes confession of the sin of unforgiveness crucial to receiving the Father’s forgiveness (Mark 11:25). In fact, that seems to be the primary focus of this teaching on prayer. Faith leads us to seek God’s forgiveness AND to forgive others who have wronged us as we bring our requests to God. So effective prayer does gospel work first and foremost.

We must also remember that confession of sin checks our motives. We can “ask amiss” for selfish reasons (James 4:3) and that would not be a prayer of faith. Our hearts instead should pray for God’s will to be done (1 John 5:14). Even Jesus Himself, agonizing in Gethsemane, framed His most personal prayer requests in surrender to the Father’s will (Mark 14:36).

With our hearts at peace with others, our motives aligned with Christ’s rule, and our desire most for God’s will to be done, we can pray in faith. And God hears us, whatever we ask. He longs to give what is good to His children! And so we are not surprised that God delights in answering prayers in this way.

earthen jar

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

The gospel is a treasure that Jesus puts on display to bring glory to Himself. He did not choose elaborate cathedrals or art museums to show off the beauty of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:6). Instead, Jesus is on display in the common details of the lives of His followers. We are simple pottery jars, unpolished clay pots, that Jesus lives in and through. It is in the ordinary that eternity is made known.

And the clay jars of our lives are not delicately displayed out of reach. Rather, the bumps and jostles of every day work let us shine His light everywhere. We know affliction, perplexing problems, persecution, and must identify with Christ’s suffering when we are jars of clay. Yet God is faithful so that we are not forsaken, crushed, in despair, or given over to death (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

We HAVE this treasure… right now. In spite of our experience, either good or bad, joyful or sad, healthy or suffering, easy or hard, even abundant or scarce. God is shining the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ in us. The face of Jesus, our loving, powerful Lord, shines upon us in grace. And so we look to Him to find that the surpassing power comes from Him and not our selves. He is what is constant in our changing circumstances.

Jesus,

I am a clay jar… very plain and unremarkable. Yet You have chosen this vessel of utility to display Your glory. And in the wave of change, in the suffering and affliction, in perplexing circumstances, or in the times where Your light causes the darkness to attack, may I trust that You are the surpassing power and I am just a thin, earthenware pot… in my fragility trusting Your ability. I am humbled that You would pour Your surpassing power into me. I don’t deserve it because of my continuous failure. Please show the world that all power, glory, wisdom, and restoration belongs only to You!

Amen

a letter from Christ

And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:3

Every Christian that is born again through belief in the gospel, who through the ministry of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit grows in conviction to follow Jesus, is a “living letter” of recommendation for the power of disciple-making gospel ministry. Every disciple is a true testament to transformation by Jesus. We must faithfully proclaim the gospel. We must faithfully teach sound doctrine. We must faithfully encourage holy living in Christ. The power behind it all, the Spirit of the living God, will write this continuing story in our hearts for generations to see.

This was true even in situations where Christians in churches struggled to follow well. The Corinthian Church was this wonderful story in spite of past conflict, divisions, and willingness to tolerate immoral relationships in the church. Despite their struggles, the gospel prevailed and made them into “a letter from Christ”. If Jesus would write His story there, He can certainly write it in broken lives even now!

Lord,

I think of the challenges I present as You write Your beautiful story of grace in me as I struggle. Forgive me when I have selfishly chosen a favorite sin over Your Lordship. Sometimes I am just lazy…sinfully so. My heart can crave comfort over growth. My heart can turn to sinful, soothing past behaviors when You are trying to make something wonderfully new and powerful in their stead. My heart can fuel itself on anxiety when You are longing to pour out Your peace into me. My heart can seek praise for myself rather than humbly give it all to You. My heart can judge and bitterly increase selfish agendas and explanations, huddling deeper in self-righteousness, rather than submit to loving all people as You do and working things out in Christian family in the church. Lord Jesus, I pray that Your Spirit keeps showing me where my inner sins must be forsaken so that in my heart Your letter of love, Your epistle of encouragement, and Your transformative truth can remake me to be Your glorious story for others to clearly celebrate what Your hand has written!

Amen

singing like stars

The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

Psalm 97:6

The stars shine to reveal a greater glory. This psalm calls us to lift our eyes to the night sky. The starry host of the universe splashed out like a twinkling velvet blanket filled with jewels is testament to the righteousness of God. Their light shines to sing across the vast universe songs of the greatness of God Who created them all. Astronomy is the servant of theology. The singing suns of our galaxy all praise the Lord in unison. And we can watch their performance nightly!

And no matter what science shows us about universal vastness, radiation and wavelengths of light, structure of interstellar objects, or the composition of planets, stars, and nebulae, the vast stretches in which this little watery rock we call Earth resides is all made to bring our attention in worship of the God Who made it all. Creation proclaims that there is a God. Everybody, everywhere, need only to look up to be instantly humbled by His greatness.

Yet this universe is only one thought of His. Eventually we know He will unmake it all in a fiery end, only to remake a new heavens and a new earth that doesn’t just proclaim His righteousness, but is the very HOME of righteousness (Revelation 21:1; 2 Peter 3:13). For now the stars sing expectantly for their rebirth.

Lord Jesus,

A look at the night skies calls me to worship. And it calls me to expect that day where all things are new in You. And in a new heavens and a new earth You will be universally the brightest light. May I shine as brightly as the stars with that hope!

Amen

Declare His glory!

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Psalm 96:3

Declare His glory!

Proclaim God’s grace!

The Lord has delivered

this fallen race!

Declare His glory!

Magnify God’s name!

Make Jesus known

and spread His fame!

Declare His glory!

Worship the Lord!

For His truth is

accessible in His Word!

Declare His glory!

His praises we sing!

Salvation He gave us

in Jesus our King!

Declare His glory!

Jesus conquered the grave!

Evil is defeated

in the new life He gave!

Declare His glory!

Salvation has come!

Let all people know

to receive God’s Son!

Declare His glory!

His work is new creation!

Proclaim the gospel now

in every nation!

He will deliver us again.

He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

2 Corinthians 1:10

It may get difficult when we follow Jesus. In fact, Paul seems to expect that whatever “affliction” he experienced in Asia (1 Corinthians 1:8), was a direct result of his commitment to preach the gospel and could happen again. We do know from the book of Acts that opposition and rioting accompanied Paul all throughout his ministry in Asia (see Acts 19 for the account). What is interesting is how it affected Paul personally. Look at these descriptions in 1 Corinthians 1:8-9:

• He was “utterly burdened”.
• The trial was “beyond” Paul’s strength. He felt powerless.
• Paul despaired of life. That’s right, he wanted to just die. That is severe.
• Paul felt the “sentence of death”… a feeling of impending doom.

All of those feelings would send Paul in trust to his knees. Sadly today, if he told a church leader he felt this way, most wouldn’t feel equipped to talk to him and would instead suggest a therapist or a check-in at a mental health provider to deal with his massive “depression”. But God had all the resources Paul needed in order to get through the trial and the storm of feelings that came up within him.

Paul relied on God, whose power raises the dead. And though he felt emotionally dead in the affliction, it was the power of Christ that delivered him. The deadly peril was something God could end. And Paul was delivered. What’s more, Paul believed that in any difficulty God would deliver him again. And that faith in the fact of a delivering, raising God kept gospel ministry solidly advancing despite repeated hardship.

So no matter what we face, God can be trusted. We may feel “burdened” in a trial. God will bear it. We may feel stretched beyond our strength. God is all powerful still. We may despair of the pain of living. God will raise what feels dead to us. We must trust Him, especially during our hardest feelings.

God is always faithful.

For the LORD will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalm 94:14-15

No matter how bad things look for God’s people, He never abandons us. Even when Israel, throughout a checkered history of faithlessness by people who were easily drawn away into false worship, worldliness, and idolatry, even then God lovingly disciplined them to bring them again to repentance so that He could once more honor His covenant blessings. God is always faithful even when we are not!

Right now God’s mercies lead us to repentance where again God’s people can enjoy the blessings of God’s grace upon us. We do not have Israel’s covenant in the church, but we can be just as fickle in our gospel commitments and faith. But God is faithful when we are not. He convicts us through His Holy Spirit. He calls use back through the gospel. He forgives freely when we confess sin, repent and believe, and entrust ourselves to the transformative work of trusting and obeying His truth. God is always faithful even when we are not!

I thank you, Lord, that You have not forsaken me. You have not abandoned the good work You have begun in me. Although in many sins I have struggled to believe You, yet You have always gently drawn me back, corrected me in love, and forgiven my failings. You have never failed. You will not forsake me. And Your justice will prevail against a sin-darkened world. You will continue to build in me true heart-uprightness so that I will live in and follow the justice, righteousness, and truth in Jesus Christ. You are always faithful, even when I am not! Amen!

not the end

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

No more is death the stinging foe. No more does the Law only point to my failure and deserved punishment. Jesus has changed all that! Praise the Lord!

Yes, mortality is still our limitation in the sense that our bodies do indeed wear down and die. But this is not the end that it once was. Jesus died and rose again so that we might have the wages of sin paid in His death, not ours. And we live again in His resurrection! That is the great good news of the gospel. Death isn’t the end or the master of our future. Jesus is the Master and our eternal Savior. That is the victory! Praise the Lord!

Even as difficult as life may get, or as brutal as mortality can get as it takes a toll on our bodies or looms in our imaginations, Jesus has it all under control. By faith, Christians trust this and have a confidence that is impossible to find anywhere else. By faith we trust that death has no more sting. By faith, the Law has no more condemnation. By faith we have victory in our Lord Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord!

joy & worship

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Psalm 92:4

Two thoughts stir me from this verse: 1) God’s work should motivate worship. 2) Joy itself is a kind of worship. Both thoughts are worth some reflection today.

God’s work should motivate worship. Each morning dawn is a fresh work of God, a gift given to me and to all the world. I know that Creation delights me. The beauty and power of God in the work He has made, both point to the even greater delight of His awesome power and glory in His Presence. And so my love of a walk through the woods, an alpine view, a flowing stream’s music, or a still lake’s whisper are all motivators to worship the God Who gives me this life. His work in His world makes me glad.

God also works in lives. People are His portraits and our lives together are His stories. I am privileged as a pastor to interact at a deep level in the storyline plots and the stunning portraits God is creating still. This is His work as well, and He makes me glad in it.

Joy itself is a kind of worship. God made our emotions in His image. He loves to delight in his children and we should delight in Him. Worship isn’t all about reciting the correct creed only, but also rejoicing in our Redeemer regularly! And that joy is a true mark of heart-engaged worship in and of itself.

Lord,

Your great works call me to contemplate You in awesome wonder. And the joy You give me, transcendence I find in one-on-one time in Your Word and prayer, enthusiasm as I sing Your praise with Your people, and joy and gladness at everything from delicious BBQ, to a trout in my landing net, to my heart-beating at the top of a mountain pass, all of these are the joy of worship and I thank You for the fullness of life that You grant in these blessings!

Amen

the sermon of Moses

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17

This prayer request comes at the very end of Psalm 90 and is a prayer composed by Moses. And the rationale for asking this of God is clearly not selfish in concern. Moses had made that very clear in the entirety of this psalm. God’s people do not deserve God’s favor because of their own outstanding merits. In fact, the opposite is really the case. Here then is the “sermon” of Moses in this psalm:

• God is the Creator and sustainer of everything (Psalm 90:1-2). This has always been the case for all generations. And God’s power and scope extend from eternity past to eternity future.
• Our mortal lives and the passage of time are insignificant in the light of the power of an eternal God (Psalm 90:3-6). History is like a night’s dream. Humanity is short-lived.
• God is also holy and judges sin (Psalm 90:7-9). He scrutinizes all we do and sin always brings us up short.
• We are consumed with our brief lives and give little to no thought to the staggering power of God (Psalm 90:10-12). We are in desperate need of God’s wisdom to accept our limited perspective and “number our days”.
• What we really need from God are these things:

1. His pity on us (Psalm 90:13).
2. His grace poured on us (Psalm 90:14).
3. His renewal of our broken lives (Psalm 90:15).
4. His work and power acknowledged and revealed in us (Psalm 90:16).

Only in this humble state should we dare to seek God’s favor and hope that He can build something from our lives. Thankfully, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, all of Moses’ “sermon” is fulfilled. And we can claim favor in Christ’s forgiveness and find our lives established in submitting to His Lordship.

dim mirror

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12

As wonderful as it is to walk with Jesus everyday… to seek God in prayer… to take in His Word and meditate on His truth… to worship Him in song, study His Word and proclaim His greatness… I am still only knowing God in a very dim reflection. All I am doing, though wonderful, will one day be eclipsed in the dawn of eternal life with Him. Until then, all is still dim.

I sometimes feel the glass to be dimmer when my faith encounters obstacles. I’d say the glass gets dim each time I choose to sin for sure. And it gets dim when the darkness of a lost world intrudes on my attitudes. And suffering itself can dim the mirror. I feel like the coronavirus pandemic with its waves of upheavals, sickness of people I know, and even death brought to families around us has indeed dimmed the glass for all of us. It makes eternal hope that much more a reality as we now head into a third straight year of experiencing this worldwide plague.

The reality of the dim mirror is acknowledged by the Apostle Paul. We must accept that in a passage all about the superiority of God’s perfect love, we don’t know exactly how God’s love fits in our darker seasons because our glass is dim! We know only “in part”. But there is a “then” coming… a “then” beyond today’s mere earthly mirror gazing. We are created to dwell with God Who fills the universe with His presence. And in eternity, the dim mirror is shattered and gone as we are face to face with our Savior’s love!

That final love will be full. We will know God fully, even as He now knows us fully. No more mirror! No more darkening of our vision! Sin will be gone. Sorrow will be no more. Suffering will just be a memory as tears are wiped away from our eyes. A clear vision of Jesus our Savior lets us then simply KNOW all the warmth of our Creator and His eternal love for His children.

You rule it all, Lord.

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

Psalm 89:11

You rule it all, Lord.

The universe is Yours.

The words came from Your lips

and a vast universe just appeared.

You rule it all, Lord.

The stars are Yours.

You said, “Let there be light”,

And countless suns ignited at Your pleasure.

You rule it all, Lord.

The earth is Yours.

Sea and dry land, and all in them

were made by You, for You, through You.

You rule it all, Lord.

The only kingdom

The only power

And the only glory belong only to You.

You rule it all, Lord.

Kingdoms we have built are Yours.

We pile our anthills, but You

control our destiny with You forever.

You rule it all, Lord.

I too belong to You.

You redeemed in grace what was broken by sin

so that Your Son might be King, and You are building Your Church!

You rule it all, Lord.

Of Your Kingdom there is no end.

Eternity will roll on… a new universe

the home of righteousness where Jesus reigns now and always!

unity as one

For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

1 Corinthians 12:14

Jesus intended His church to lovingly exhibit unity in a union. Many people/parts are created by Jesus into one church/body. That principle should be celebrated in earnest EVERY time Christians gather… especially these days. We are one in faith. We are one in worship. We are one in prayer. We are one in praises. We are one in the gospel. We are one as we put ourselves under scripture’s authority in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

This is all true in a Sunday worship gathering. It is also to be true throughout our weeks as we gather in small groups, for fellowship and accountability, for encouragement and counsel, or for mentoring and instruction. Christians should agree around Christ, the gospel, the unity of God’s Spirit, and should enjoy the bond that ties us together: the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. This should be our daily life together.

The last decade, with the explosion of individual digital expression and content, online “communities” of every stripe, and social media, that principle of union has been challenged. In many cases, Christian unity has been shattered. It breaks my heart to see how the Church, the Body of Christ, has been broken by this, especially over the last six years with contentious politics a hallmark of our culture. Believe me, the irony of me writing about this on a blog is not lost on me. But I would say these things face to face! And besides, for the three of you who actually read this blog, I doubt you will disagree. I wish Christians would somehow literally “share the hell” out of this truth of unity so hearts would change. But honestly, sharing or liking this post won’t really get to the heart of the issue.

You see, Christians have judged each other and fractured the body of Christ over political opinions, health decisions, educational choices, and personal preferences on a wide variety of personal and societal concerns. Unfriending isn’t just digital anymore. The beauty of one body from many parts is being lost, and it is tragic.

As I see it, here is a novel solution, one I have committed to: Refuse to believe that digital and social media communications are REALLY the sum of any person! Yeah… don’t be deceived by the devil’s divisive digital strategy. It is tempting to think just because someone’s thoughts were converted to ones and zeros by a computer program, transmitted ethereally through what seems a spiritual void known as the Internet, then pushed into pixels by another program into photos or sentences on your own personal  electronic screen, that  somehow we have the true picture of who they are. We get possessive about our digital devices, as if someone intruded with a direct thought into our brains. No, they put something on the internet that you saw. You did not see them or know them completely by that experience. You see what we really have is a profound digital distance from the person, and NOT THE PERSON THEMSELF! Get that, OK? All that digital distance makes it way too easy to judge and then decide what we will think about a person. Christians, that is bad form. I dare say, it is evil and divisive. Refuse it. Just say no to your judgmental tendency and scroll down. Heed the call to pursue in-person connection instead. Refuse to do hours a day of digital diversion ABOUT people and instead commit to hours WITH people. And then you will begin to be a part of the design Jesus has for His Church.

two important spiritual truths

Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

for you answer me.

Psalm 86:6-7

There are two spiritual convictions that King David demonstrates in this prayer that also should be part of the lives of Christians. They require humility and faith to accept and live out. But they show what it takes for our souls to be properly positioned in prayer. And they will take us far in our walk with the Lord.

The first conviction is a humble request for God’s grace. David pled for God to be gracious to him. He knew that his sins did not make him worthy of God’s favor. So in humility he prayed for God to be gracious. Grace is ALWAYS our overwhelming need, and if we will humbly believe and pray that way in every prayer, our souls will cease to be demanding. We will forfeit pride and entitlement. We will realistically confront our need for our Savior. And God will grant grace to those who truly believe and live this way.

The second conviction is confidence in God despite circumstances. In the day of trouble, David could pray to God, KNOWING God answered. His faith was a confident expectation. He prayed not in a baseless superstition, but in a confidence in conversation that God heard him. He was as confident in conversation with God as he was talking to a member of his royal court.

Lord,

May I lean into Your grace which is my constant need. I never will need less than grace or more than grace in this life. May I confidently speak with You in all my concerns knowing that You love me, hear me, and answer my prayers.

Amen

Highways in our hearts

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Psalm 84:4-5

The temple of Yahweh was the center of Jewish worship. Being within its boundaries was to be physically obedient to the covenant relationship with God. It was about obedience, it was about worship, and it was about blessing. A select few temple workers basically lived on Zion. One such group was the “sons of Korah” — temple singers and worship leaders who wrote this particular psalm. They rejoiced to be in the position of service to God through their constant nearness in the temple. They are the ones who know the blessing in verse four: “ dwelling in your house” and “singing your praise”.

But there was an equally blessed group starting in verse five. They find strength in God and desire from the heart to make the journey to worship the Lord. These were the countless Jewish pilgrims who regularly trekked to the temple for feasts and sacrifices. In their hearts are “the highways to Zion”. A poetic roadmap of worship led them to experience the same three things as the sons of Korah: obedience, worship, and blessing. These people had a spiritual GPS that guided them regularly to the joy of worshipping God. And at the temple their internal satisfaction was like the end of the destination gladly announcing: “You have arrived!”

Temple singers made sacrifices of life to live in their joyful worship. They resided at the temple. They lived for nothing but their sacred duties. The pilgrims likewise had their sacrifices as they journeyed to delight in God in Zion. They traveled through the valley of Baca (literally weeping) as sorrow accompanied their commitment. And God refreshed them even in that suffering (Psalm 84:6). They needed strength to journey on (Psalm 84:7). They are driven by a transcendent sense of value — God above all else (Psalm 84:10)! God lights their way and protects them as their Sun and Shield (Psalm 84:11).

All efforts made to prioritize the worship of God and obedience to our Lord Jesus are worth it! He bestows favor and honor (Psalm 84:11) and is Himself the reward of the journey (Psalm 84:12).

They laughed at Jesus.

And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

Mark 5:40

They laughed at Jesus

     when He said

          a girl was just sleeping

               and not dead

They had been mourning

     and would not accept

          that Jesus could really

               raise the dead

Yet Jesus was in control

     sent mockers outside

          and with parents and disciples

               went to a dead girl’s side

They watched in wonder

     listened to what Jesus said

          when with a command

               He raised her from the dead

They had laughed at Jesus

     but were later overcome

          with joy and amazement

               that death had not won

If they laughed at Jesus

     they will laugh at us too

          refusing to believe

               He redeems and makes new

Yes Jesus is Lord

     and will show His control

          as His grace we receive

               and new life we now know