Psalm 84

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 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. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. - Selah” Psalm 84:1-4 (NKJV)

I recall, sometime around 2005, hearing Matt Redman’s song “Better Is One Day” for the first time.  The recording is so beautiful, and it still ministers to me.  The lyrics to Redman’s song were taken directly from today’s psalm, which is appropriately titled “The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God.”  

What if your church was so amazing (and I hope it is) that someone had to drag you away after the services?  What if nobody ran to their cars to beat each other to the restaurant, and security had to politely ask everyone to leave so they could get ready for the next service?  Dr. Adrian Rogers used to tell his congregation at Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, “If you don’t leave, you can’t come back!”

On the other hand, it has been said that familiarity often breeds contempt.  There are many preachers’ kids who have grown up around the ministry, yet they end up resenting the ministry.  The aspects of ministry they often resent are not the righteous components that draw a person to a closer walk with God: prayer, Bible study, godly community, servanthood, and humble evangelism.  When ministry kids grow up to resent ministry, it is always the human aspects of ministry they reject: envy, pride, excess and personal neglect, all in the name of the Lord.  So you don’t judge the modern church culture too harshly; ministry kids in the Bible didn’t always finish well, either.  Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-3); Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas (1 Samuel 2:12-17) and Samuel’s sons (1 Samuel 8:1-3) are a few Biblical examples of the tragedy that can befall those who grow up around ministry yet fail to focus of the godly aspects in favor focusing on the human failures of ministry leaders.

I have heard it said that Jesus cleans His “fish” after He catches them.  It means that the prerequisite for our becoming Christians is admitting that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves.  The testimony of a Christian is not how we overcame the odds and rose to a level of self-righteousness that God was impressed with, so He drafted us onto His team.  Quite the opposite!  His righteousness is so great, in that while we were sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8).  What makes God’s presence (in this psalm, literally the temple, God’s “house”) so blessed is that He is there, and He has made a way for us to commune with Him, despite our sin.  The closer we get to Him, the more we love Him and desire to honor Him because we realize more how much He loves us.  Who would ever want to leave that?

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