Verse of the Day 6/23

Psalm 84:5 (NKJV) Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

 

My devotional reading this morning in the Psalms brought me to chapter 84 and one of my favorite verses in the Psalms.  I especially like the NKJV as it speaks of a pilgrimage.  For me the word brings images of Abram in antiquity being called out of Ur to follow God.  It reminds me of David and many of the prophets of the Old Testament who lived their lives looking forward to when Christ, the Messiah would come.  It makes me think of Christian in Bunyan's "Pilgrims Progress.  It makes me think of Christians through the century that endured hardships, trials and the testing of their faith, yet held out to the end looking for that glorious appearing.

 

The word and verse also bring to mind a song learned as a child at Schiller Park Evangelical Free Church, "This World is Not My Home".  Several of the "kids" I grew up with receive these devotionals and I'm thankful that their hearts are set on pilgrimage as well.  Though we may go through the valley of weeping for a time, we've got our minds and hearts set on another place that outshines the sun, way beyond the blue.

 

This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore

O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Psalm 84  (NKJV) The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

 

84 How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!