Psalm 84 Recalculating! Kurtz Family Adventures

"How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven's Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.
Even a sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near Your altar, O LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God!
What joy for those who can live in Your house, always singing Your praises.
What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
O, LORD, God of Heaven's Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob.
O, God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
Show favor to the one You have anointed.
A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.
The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
O LORD of Heaven's Armies, what joy for those who trust in You." 
(Psalm 84)  

Dear friend, (I'm sharing this post with you; I actually wrote it for my family, but I thought that maybe you would enjoy it too.)

     On multiple occasions the Kurtz family has been known to try to outwit a GPS program designed to help navigate our way to and/or from a destination. “Let’s see what happens if we take this road instead.” “No, that CAN’T be right!” Can you put a GPS program into a tailspin? If you can, the Kurtz family may be the ones to discover how to confound it!

     So far, however, regardless of our choices, the GPS tells us, “Recalculating,” and then shortly issues new directions. Without fail, we always arrive safely at home. Detours, side stops, even our mischievous efforts are sorted and overcome in the end.

     What’s even more exciting and fulfilling is that each Sunday we can “Recalculate” as we come together for worship. We haven’t been lost all week, but our journeys may have contained detours, side stops, and yes (gasp), mischief. Attending church (Sunday School, morning worship, evening Bible study) resets our focus and our course, readjusts our vision, and refreshes our minds, hearts and souls.

     With a combined 70 plus years in the tool and die industry, Bob and his dad know the importance of regular “Recalculations” in their work. Would you believe that there is a person whose sole job is to travel from tool shop to tool shop, to ensure that the surface plates are perfectly flat? Why is that so important? If this working surface is even a tiny fraction off, everything they do will be similarly out of alignment. Nothing will succeed if the working surface isn’t first established correctly.

     This, too, is why we need to be committed to coming to church. It’s easy to let the world tilt our view and taint our motives. On Sunday, we come to the Master Recalculator and to His Word, and we let ourselves be realigned. How joyful it is to undergo realignment! When Sunday ends, we see more clearly, and our hearts are filled and ready to begin again.

• Do you love Sunday for these reasons?

• Is there a sparkle of joy as you prepare for church, knowing that you are going to meet with the Lord and with His people, and there you will be refreshed, recalculated, and realigned? 

• How can we make the most of this opportunity? 

• How can we encourage it in others? 

• Are others able to tell that we are joyous when in the house of the Lord?

I continue to pray for you!

Heavenly Father, We thank You for establishing a place for worship and renewal. How we need to realign our lives each week!