Pastor Buddy’s Blog

How lovely are Your dwelling places…

Filed in Devotions & Studies, General |

Journal,

We had located to a small town in Central Louisiana to raise up a ministry. It was 1976. We had no sponsor, no congregation, and no means of support. I had my wife who loved me and trusted me in my calling, our three children, my guitar and Bible, and not much else. What I did have, however, was a stewardship from the Lord. I knew in my heart that the Lord was leading me into this venture of faith.

And that’s where the problem began. One evening laying in bed, I am much awake. The struggle is taking place in my thought life. ‘What am I doing here?’ ‘How will I take care of my family?’ ‘Did I really hear from God?’ I was in unfamiliar faith territory, with no one to look to but the Lord. During this moment of struggle, I felt in my spirit to get up, that the Lord had something to say to me.

I got up, picked up my Bible, went to our kitchen table and sat down. My Bible fell open at the book of Psalms.

It was then that I heard the Shepherd speaking.

The Lord began to share with me the purpose of that book. He shared why the book of Psalms is so important. That this book was given to teach us how to think, how to pray, what to believe, how to believe, that it is filled with promises, providence’s, provisions, prayers, praises and so on and on.

He shared that it is a prophetic book that is filled both with heavenly treasures and heavenly wisdom. But our eyes have to be opened to see that which is hidden for us.

From that moment my appreciation for the Psalms leaped forward and has never lagged to this day. I discovered that each Psalm has a story to tell. The key is to remember that they are written for believers, and most all of them, if not all of them, have a Christological intent.

This means that the Psalms are written especially for those whose hearts belong to Jesus. They have the power to fill our hearts with Jesus. They have the power to allow us to see past the veil and into the very treasures of heaven.

This is why we hear Jesus say,

“‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:44,45.)

Did you know that Psalms is the one book mentioned in the New Testament that has a direct correlation to living a Spirit-filled life. Certainly the whole of the Bible is filled with spiritual life, but Psalms is unique. This is why we hear Paul write,

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” (Eph 5:18-20)

OK, now that brings me to a devotional that I would like to share from the book of Psalms. Psalm 84, begins with…

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!

Then the Psalmist goes on to say, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” 

This Psalm opens with the longings of the heart. And while the Psalm has in view the earthly Jerusalem and the tabernacle, its deeper spiritual reference is for those who have been born from above. Its lessons go far beyond an earthly Jerusalem.

To be born again is to be born from above. In this ‘heavenly’ birthing we actually become children of God, or, heaven’s children, or, if you will, ‘children of the throne.’ In the heart of every born- from-above person, God places a ‘Holy Spirit’ seal. Paul calls this seal the ‘pledge’ of our inheritance. The seal cannot be broken. It is a seal of ownership. But it is also a seal that includes the very breath of the influence of heaven. Its our ‘home town’ seal.

The seal lets us know that we are pilgrims in this life. And because of the seal we can say with Paul,

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.” (2Co5:1,2.)

See the connection. The Psalmist said, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord.” But in the meantime, we groan. We all have these groaning times in this life. Paul uses the same language as the Psalmist. “We groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.”

The book of Hebrews tells is that this ‘longing’ is one of the signs of a true believer. It is applied to the Old Testament saints who longed for Messiah and for a country that was to be their own. It says that Abraham “was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (He11:10)

Then it speaks of all the holy ones before Christ. Of them it says,

“[They] confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Cf. He11:13-16)

Psalm 84:3,4 continues with…

“The bird also has found a house…

…and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. Even Your altars, O Lord of host, My king and My God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

How can we dwell in the house of the Lord today? Its not as hard as you may think. The apostolic writer said that we have become the ‘house’ of the Lord, in this life. That is to say, that we are the very dwelling of God in the Spirit.

But the issue here is that heaven’s children are able see the goodness of the Lord in everything. Even the swallow has a lesson to teach us about God. Perhaps she knows much more than we realize. Did not the Lord say,

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt6:26)

With a former church we pastored our parsonage was a mobile home. Every morning when I took my shower, I would hear this bird-like singing. One morning I happened to look out through the small window, and caught a glimpse of a small bird on a limb. He was singing his little heart out. Each morning the little bird would come to sing for me. This went on for a good time. 

As we continue, Psalm 84:5 says…

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You…

… in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”

Again we can reflect on Jesus. The highway to heaven’s Zion is the path of Jesus. The Psalmist said in another place that God would make the Messiah’s footsteps “into a way.” (Ps85:13)

So when Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” the Lord’s response was simple and direct. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

So where are the highways to Zion? Are not the highways to Zion in our hearts?

And where is our true strength? It is in Jesus. The Psalmist said, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You.” Did you know that most burn out in a believer’s life is a burn out of the flesh. There is no burn out in the Spirit. The Spirit refreshes. But if we are doing our work in the flesh, we will wither with weariness.

Let’s now look at the path that leads us home. After all we live in the nasty now-and-now.

The Psalm continues…

“Passing through the valley of Baca (Hebraism for ‘vale of tears.’) ...

…they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings.” (V6)

How many times have we been through the valley of Baca? I’ve been there often. There is no use in me telling you about my “Bacas.” You’ve been there. It is a place of deep sorrow. But it is in the valley of Baca that we come to know the Lord in a even more intimate way. Thus we hear in another place, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Ps30:5)

One day the Lord may pull back the veil on our life and allow us to see all the ways He intervened in those moments of deep sorrow. And what may amaze us the most, is when He shows us His intervention in our lives before we came to a conscious knowledge of Him as our Lord and Savior. It is very much like the song which says, “He was there all the time.”

The Psalmist continues, “They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” (v7) Listen to the language. Every one of them!

Every one of them appears before God in Zion…

Why does this sound familiar? Jesus said, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (Jn6:40)

This is Jesus saying, “Every one of them will appear before God in Zion.” In another place He says, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me!” (He2:13)

It is like Jesus is saying, “Here we are Father. They are all here. I haven’t lost a one of them. I have kept them in Your name. The family is home.”

Listen to this prophecy:

“Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” (Isaiah 40:11)

Salvation is an awesome and wondrous thing. But it only becomes truly awesome when we realize that our salvation is never based on anything we can do. Jesus alone saves us. He saved us. He is saving us. He will save us.

He intervenes in our lives constantly. He intervened before we came to know Him. And He is ever present in our lives afterwards to help us process every struggle.

The older I get and the longer I serve the Lord, the more I appreciate the lessons of the book of Psalms. I can well say with David,

“I have been young and now I am old [older than young], yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread.” (Ps37:25)

Is it any wonder that our path goes from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from blessing to blessing, and yes, even from baca to baca.

Well — What about 1976 and the stewardship from the Lord?

I eventually came to realize that the stewardship the Lord had given me was to raise up a mentoring society. You can’t mentor disciples if you have not yourself become a disciple. And a true disciple has to know about walking with the Lord in the land of sanctified faith.

Time will not allow me to share the many times that the Shepherd has spoken very clearly in my life. But I don’t have to tell you about those times. You have had plenty of your own times of speakings.

So lets simply conclude this devotional with the ending prayer of Psalm 84. No need for me to explain prayer. Listen with your heart:

“O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.

I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tends of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (vv8-12)

What say ye — How are you doing on your way home?

Much love coming your way,

Buddy