This is where we get our the song Better is One Day. I love the way Ray plays the drums for this song. Very driving.

How lovely is your dwelling place, Oh Lord almighty
for my soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied, within your presence
I'll sleep beneath the shadow of your wings

Better is one day in Your courts,
Better is one day in Your House
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere....

But what is really florring me right now is are verses 5-7!

In order for us to be strong, we must be weak and recognize our weakness. Then we can rely on God for strength, which brings us to this verse. Blessed is the man whose strength is in the Lord, which comes from "the pilgramage"! This is not my home. Pilgrams Progress comes to mind. Let's continue. The Valley of Baca was where David traveled when he was fleeing from Saul. It is concidered a place of mourning. But our very passing through it creates springs, a place of feeding and life. A place where the rain gathers. In the valley, we need to remember that we are just passing through. It's ok to mourn, but it is also a place of refreshing, taking us from strength to strength, relying on God.

Oh God, let us be strong!

 

Psalm 84

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath.^[a] A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ 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.<sup>[b]

8</sup> 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!

Psalm 63

It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes a scripture can jump out at you and start to change your world. Of course scripture is life changing, if you live by it. If you don't then maybe you're life wont change, and just maybe you're living a godly life, however unlikely. So I've been chewing on Psalm 63 for some time because I believe God told me to read it.

Psalm 63

¹ O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

³ Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
⁴ Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

⁶ When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
⁷ Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
⁸ My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.

¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

This declaration shouts loud and clear. This is the declaration we all need to make. Oh God, You are my God! I get up by 3 almost every morning. That's pretty early. Nice and quiet. Early will I seek You.When will we realize that our soul has a longing and nothing else we do, no matter how well or poorly we do it, will satisfy that longing? We find ourselves in "desert" areas of our life. A dry and thirsty land, where there is no water. So what did David do? He gave us the example in vs. 2. Get to Church! Why? To witness God's power and glory! Now this may mean different things to different people. For me, I know God moves in my church. It's there the "bon-fire" for our soul can be ignited. I go to church expecting to witness His power and His glory.

Verses 3-5 remind us that we may as well be dead than to live a life without God. Once God is truely in your life, you can't stop prasing him and this is something that causes a blessed chain reaction. We find our soul is full. Like after eating the best parts of a huge meal. Reminds me of the Thanksgiving feasts I used to take part of as a young child.

Verses 6-8 -- When we find we can't sleep, remember what God has done for us. Some would say don't count sheep, count your blessings. Rejoice in those times when God may have kept you from doing your will. God doesn't up hold us with His right hand by grabbing the front of our shirt as we tag along, but rather He wraps his arm around us and helps us to walk, carrying us as we become stronger following Him.

Verse 9 and 10 can be taken 2 ways as I see it. 1) That it is a prayer. One of those "God get them" moments. Or perhaps 2) It is a realization that God stands against those who stand against His people.  I'm not going to lie, both appeal to me. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Verse 11 closes this short song with another declaration, the king (little k) will rejoice in God, and those who love God will rejoice in the Glory of God. Those other people mentioned in verse 10 wont be able to say anything. Maybe they will be stunned. Maybe they will get saved. What happens when we rejoice in God's glory?  The Glory of God is redemption. Salvation and healing. And his power is revealed.

I praise you my Lord, oh my God. You never let go, thru the calm and thru the storm. How easily You bring me to my knees in repentance and thanksgiving. Thank you for loving me so, for being my father and my friend. Forgive my stubborness and help me to make right choices, in every area of my life.

The Funk

Ever been at that place when you realize you're in a funk. It's sort of a drought. You almost feel like you're sitting in a boat, that is in the middle of a desert and you're praying for rain. Or perhaps you've stopped praying... What do you do then? I feel like there is no escape, but at least I'm at the point of kinda fighting back. Yes, I see movement in my life again. So tired of feeling like floatsum, or that junk that gathers where the waters meet on the beach. So I try to swim. I'm told to be content where I'm at and not to dispise humble beginings. I've tried that, and honestly, I'm not very good at it. I don't want to be in this emotional place I'm in. Feeling powerless and blah. So I move. Working at changing something, alsmost anything would be good. I see road blocks and walls and need to smash thru. But right now all I can do is wait, wait, wait. I hate being poor. I like to spend money, which is probably one reason I'm poor. I also like to make money and right now that isn't really happening either. I have an interview on Tuesday, and hopefully I will have another soon. Movement, something to keep from being stale.