"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Or, "Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion" (Psalm 84:5, Amplified Bible). "Righteousness will go before Him and shall make His footsteps our pathway." (Psalm 85:13)
This has been another one of those, "I-never-saw-that," Bible reading days. If you are reading the Bible looking for something, you will rarely, if ever, experience this. If you are reading the Bible looking for Some One, it will be a regular occurrence. Our texts are from two Psalms.
First, and I always love this about, "The Word of God," Jesus is not so much a "giver" as the, "I Am." Psalm 27 says, "The Lord is the strength of my life." Our text says that my, "strength is in You." All that Jesus has for the human race is in Him, not "from" Him. Can you see with me today the utter, deeply personal nature of this? The Deist's God is afar off, as is Allah and all other, "gods many." The Blessed Trinity, however, is Our, "....very present (right here, right now, in me) Help."
Secondly, notice that the, "Blessed," person is also the person, "whose heart is set on pilgrimage," viz., he/she is going somewhere, but not just anywhere of some random, self-centered choice. It is, "Blessed is the man whose...heart is set on pilgrimage," a journey, if you will, which is laid out in, "His footsteps our pathway." The Amplified and other versions add, "to Zion," which to me just emphasizes more the reality that my life's journey has, "strength," only in Jesus, and the objective of my life's journey is "where" Jesus is "going," Jesus' Purpose, Jesus' Will, Jesus' "Goal." This is all an amplification of Jesus' Words to you and me in John 12:26, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also."
Churches and "ministries" love to have meetings in order to "set goals." Psalms 84:5 and 85:13 do that for us.
Father, in Jesus' Name, in a world of so much bluster, but so little strength, I thank You that my, "strength is in You," that You have given me a, "heart...set on pilgrimage," and, "[Your] footsteps (are) our pathway." Amen.
This has been another one of those, "I-never-saw-that," Bible reading days. If you are reading the Bible looking for something, you will rarely, if ever, experience this. If you are reading the Bible looking for Some One, it will be a regular occurrence. Our texts are from two Psalms.
First, and I always love this about, "The Word of God," Jesus is not so much a "giver" as the, "I Am." Psalm 27 says, "The Lord is the strength of my life." Our text says that my, "strength is in You." All that Jesus has for the human race is in Him, not "from" Him. Can you see with me today the utter, deeply personal nature of this? The Deist's God is afar off, as is Allah and all other, "gods many." The Blessed Trinity, however, is Our, "....very present (right here, right now, in me) Help."
Secondly, notice that the, "Blessed," person is also the person, "whose heart is set on pilgrimage," viz., he/she is going somewhere, but not just anywhere of some random, self-centered choice. It is, "Blessed is the man whose...heart is set on pilgrimage," a journey, if you will, which is laid out in, "His footsteps our pathway." The Amplified and other versions add, "to Zion," which to me just emphasizes more the reality that my life's journey has, "strength," only in Jesus, and the objective of my life's journey is "where" Jesus is "going," Jesus' Purpose, Jesus' Will, Jesus' "Goal." This is all an amplification of Jesus' Words to you and me in John 12:26, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also."
Churches and "ministries" love to have meetings in order to "set goals." Psalms 84:5 and 85:13 do that for us.
Father, in Jesus' Name, in a world of so much bluster, but so little strength, I thank You that my, "strength is in You," that You have given me a, "heart...set on pilgrimage," and, "[Your] footsteps (are) our pathway." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
