Psalms 122:1-2
When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem’s walls!
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
When
we picked the children up from Sunday school, Timothy met us at the
door, excitedly saying over and over…“We had a special guest today - his
name was PAUL!” Another child’s dad had portrayed the Apostle Paul and
“visited” the K-1 class. As we drove home, Timothy told us all about
Paul…how he had been tossed into the sea…then he wandered the
desert…soldiers “punched him” and threw him in jail…and he wrote letters
to another boy named Timothy! OUR Timothy was so
impressed and excited…and he has since told his mom and others about the
“special guest” who came to visit on Sunday.
I have no doubt
that this little guy will be eager to return to the house of God. He
will be anxious to learn more about Paul and his friends. This dad and
the Sunday school teacher made the Bible come alive for these
children…and this makes MY heart leap for joy!
It seems like we
often forget just how interesting and exciting God’s word can be. We
fail to fully grasp the inspiration of the stories of faith and courage
as demonstrated by people like Moses, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel, and Paul.
We overlook the “human” examples of how others struggled – and sinned –
and experienced the grace, mercy, forgiveness and blessings of
God…people like David, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Peter. We fail to
recognize the lessons in patience and hope that were demonstrated by
people like Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth, Abraham, and John the Baptist.
I
promise you…there is nothing new under the sun. If you will only open
your Bible and start looking, you will discover this for yourself. And
you will also see how God has cared for His people all along…how He
cares about YOU and me…and how we can tap into His strength and power to
overcome anything and everything.
We get so bogged down in
things that really don’t matter. We wallow in self-pity and fumble
through life wondering about “the answers”. And all the while, they are
right in front of us. We don’t know about Paul and Jeremiah and Queen
Esther, because we are not focused on God’s word and seeking His truth.
We lack the eagerness of an almost-six-year-old to find out more about
God and what He offers. And the end result is that we simply “lack” in
general – in every area of our lives.
It’s time for a “spiritual
makeover”. God has equipped us with everything we need to serve Him, to
serve others, and to do this thing we call “life”. He beckons us to
“come home”…to seek Him and discover the joy of dwelling “in His
house”…to invite Jesus into our hearts and minds and make a place for
Him there. We can experience the eagerness of kindergartners and
first-graders as we build our faith.
A “special guest” may not
appear in our office, classroom – or even the living room! But if we
genuinely seek God, He will show up and make our hearts leap. Let us go
into the house of the LORD…are you coming with me?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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