Setting Priorities
Setting Priorities
Today’s Reading: Psalm 81-85
Psalm 84:1-2 “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty, My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my cry out for the living God.”
If you were given free, front-row tickets to attend a concert of your favorite singer or attend a playoff game of your favorite sports team, what priority would you give it? Would you cancel all your other plans to attend, or would you casually cast the tickets aside and go about your day as usual? When I was in seminary, I was once given front row, center court tickets to see the Portland Trailblazers play the LA Lakers. At the game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 30,000th point, and they awarded him the game ball about 10 feet from where I was sitting. I don’t recall my plans before receiving the tickets, but rest assured, I was at the game. We prioritize what we value, and yet how often do we allow distractions and the insignificant to divert us from coming into the presence of the creator of the universe?
In Psalm 84, the Psalmist sings the praise of being in the presence of God. Without question, the greatest privilege given to humanity is the invitation and freedom to come to the place of worship and enter into the presence of God. For the Psalmist, there is no greater joy, no higher priority, no greater longing than to enter into the courts of the Lord and come into the presence of God. When we attend a concert or a sporting event, we experience the joy for a short time, but in the end, we go back to our daily life with nothing more than a mere memory. However, when we enter into the house of God and join with his people in the praise of God, we are eternally blessed (vs 4). It is there that we obtain the strength for all the struggles and trials of life. For the Psalmist, the time he spends in the House of God worshiping God has eternal value and worth (vs 10). Time spent with God and with his people makes an everlasting impact on our lives, yet it is the one thing that we often push aside in the business of the day. If we receive tickets to a concert or sporting event, we adjust our entire schedule to make it a priority. Yet it seems as if the church is pushed to the bottom of our priorities. We attend only when it is convenient.
In Verse 8, the Psalms affirms that those who set their heart on going to the temple of God will be eternally blessed. In other words, God gives eternal blessings to those who prioritize hi. When we set him as the object of our affection and priority, he hears our prayers and cares for us. He blesses us with eternal blessings that are unequaled. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3 that in Christ, he has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We cannot even begin to fathom what he has done for us in our salvation or what he has in store for us in eternity. This is why the Psalmist affirms that “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere (vs 10). How about you? Is God a priority or a convenience? Is attending church to meet with him your greatest joy or a duty to perform? Our greatest prayer to God should be the plea for God to give us a heart for him and to be with his people. That is a prayer God loves to answer.
Today’s Reading: Psalm 81-85
Psalm 84:1-2 “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty, My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my cry out for the living God.”
If you were given free, front-row tickets to attend a concert of your favorite singer or attend a playoff game of your favorite sports team, what priority would you give it? Would you cancel all your other plans to attend, or would you casually cast the tickets aside and go about your day as usual? When I was in seminary, I was once given front row, center court tickets to see the Portland Trailblazers play the LA Lakers. At the game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 30,000th point, and they awarded him the game ball about 10 feet from where I was sitting. I don’t recall my plans before receiving the tickets, but rest assured, I was at the game. We prioritize what we value, and yet how often do we allow distractions and the insignificant to divert us from coming into the presence of the creator of the universe?
In Psalm 84, the Psalmist sings the praise of being in the presence of God. Without question, the greatest privilege given to humanity is the invitation and freedom to come to the place of worship and enter into the presence of God. For the Psalmist, there is no greater joy, no higher priority, no greater longing than to enter into the courts of the Lord and come into the presence of God. When we attend a concert or a sporting event, we experience the joy for a short time, but in the end, we go back to our daily life with nothing more than a mere memory. However, when we enter into the house of God and join with his people in the praise of God, we are eternally blessed (vs 4). It is there that we obtain the strength for all the struggles and trials of life. For the Psalmist, the time he spends in the House of God worshiping God has eternal value and worth (vs 10). Time spent with God and with his people makes an everlasting impact on our lives, yet it is the one thing that we often push aside in the business of the day. If we receive tickets to a concert or sporting event, we adjust our entire schedule to make it a priority. Yet it seems as if the church is pushed to the bottom of our priorities. We attend only when it is convenient.
In Verse 8, the Psalms affirms that those who set their heart on going to the temple of God will be eternally blessed. In other words, God gives eternal blessings to those who prioritize hi. When we set him as the object of our affection and priority, he hears our prayers and cares for us. He blesses us with eternal blessings that are unequaled. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3 that in Christ, he has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We cannot even begin to fathom what he has done for us in our salvation or what he has in store for us in eternity. This is why the Psalmist affirms that “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere (vs 10). How about you? Is God a priority or a convenience? Is attending church to meet with him your greatest joy or a duty to perform? Our greatest prayer to God should be the plea for God to give us a heart for him and to be with his people. That is a prayer God loves to answer.
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