Passage of the Day:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d]7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.9 Look on our shield,[e] O God; look with favor on your anointed one.10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you, Psalm 84:5-12.
Reflection:
I was fortunate enough to have attended numerous spiritual retreats in high school and college. While several of these weekends were memorable, one message from a keynote speaker has stuck with me through the years. Skip Wilkins was speaking to an auditorium full of athletes while sitting in a wheelchair. My initial thoughts were, “how could this man relate to athletes?” Prior to a water-skiing accident that left Skip paralyzed from the waist down, he was a high school all-American in 4 sports. He spoke about the thousands of full scholarships that he received in the mail daily. Skip went on to talk about how human beings have this void in their hearts, trying different things like sports to see if one will satisfy this internal hunger. When schools began to withdraw these full rides after his accident, Jesus never left Skip. Perhaps, this is what the Psalmist means by the saying, “better is one day in God’s presence than a thousand elsewhere.” This is one of the spiritual blessings of placing your hope in Jesus.
Prayerful Action:
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Titus 2:11-13.
Clinging to a Glimmer of Hope this Fall:
The apostle Paul reveals to the Church at Rome the gift of God in Romans 6:23. Meanwhile, one of Jesus’ disciples has a vision of a door with only one doorknob on your side of this door, Revelation 3:20. God doesn’t force Christians to spend time with Him. Yet, according to John, Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts, but we have to let Him in. The blessing of hope in Jesus is experiencing heaven on earth as you hear, listen and obey God’s calling for your life.
Song of the Day:
Final Thoughts:
Today’s song helped me during my transition from Delaware to South Carolina in 2022. May the lyrics of This is a Call help you understand the blessing of placing your hope in Jesus, Romans 10:9-10.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 