Today we started our services with one of my favorite Psalms. Psalm 23.
For me it was always a comforting way to see and feel the presence of the Lord. Not as a booming voice, nor burning bush.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
This is not the Lord of Wrath but the gentle Good Shepard. Not the Lord of Sodom and Gomorrah but the Lord of Isaiah
Isaiah 40:11 – “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (NIV).
It is this Lord that our reading and sermon speak of.
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
This the God that teaches us that He is not in the fancy palace nor the golden shrine. No this Lord is with his people
And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed.
We to often put our show in the big and glorious without noticing that in the quiet shade of a little tree stands our Lord beside us.
Let us great the Lord everyday as he stands with us not above us or on some shining hill but right there beside us.
In Jesus name we give thanks.
Noral R.