Psalm 84:5 ~ "Blesses is the man whose strength is in You. Whose heart is set on pilgrimage."
My children love hotels (or at least the 6 who have stayed in one). Love hotels. Love the TV (which we do not watch at home). Love the indoor pool (which we certainly do not have at home). Love the continental breakfast, cereal to be exact (which we only have on Sundays at home). Love sleeping on floors (which floors we do have at home), go figure.
We have a lovely home that God has blessed us with and amazingly enough all of us have our own bed, with our own sheets that hundreds upon thousands of strangers have not slept on! We have all the things that we are in need of and none of it has to be crammed into a bag at home. We have a kitchen with plenty of food and we do not ALL have to share one bathroom at home. So, why the love of hotels?
Truly, we can ask ourselves the same question ~ so, why the love of this world? It is not our home, so why do we crave its ways and luxuries? It is not home, our Dad is not at home here.
Why do most of us prefer a cup of coffee in a plastic cup rather then a mug from home? Or food prepared from another's kitchen while surrounded by a crowd of strangers?
Why do we love things that are not of our Home?
While the answers do vary there is a common thread throughout them all ~ fast, easy, exciting, new, tasty and expensive.
The common thread ~ they feed our flesh, our lower nature, they satisfy body and we willingly disregard spirit.
1 Peter 2:11 ~ "Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles (in this world) to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul."
But . . . blessed is he whose heart is on pilgrimage. A heart headed home is one He will bless. A heart that has slowed and heard the call of his Father and a heart that has stilled and tasted the sweet of his Eternal Home, truly, this is heart blessed.
A heart that sojourns continually, a soul that settles on only his Eternal Home. The one who knows he is a pilgrim whose True Kingdom transcends all that we can know or fathom, he is blessed.
He will not settle for belongings crammed in a bag, slumbering on sheets shared by an untold sum, he does not want coffee in a disposable cup or food prepared by an unknown. No, he will not settle in this foreign land, in this imposter home; he yearns for the final tick-tock that sends him to his Holy Hearth. And, until then, his heart cannot be at rest, it wanders and sojourns and races patiently Home.
Certainly it is not an aimless wander, for the pilgrim knows that while he is an alien in this strange land there is still much to be done. The Father sent His Son to this unsettled land to tell the tale of Land True, to live amongst the natives, and offer residence in the Realm of Grace. And Son came, and tale was told, and story unfolded, and many of this strange land sold all that they had to gain this Land True. And these that followed Son True began this pilgrimage Home, their hearts cried "Hurry! Take us to this Holy Home!" And as they trekked they told the tale of their Land True and others would join and their hearts would sojourn Home.
So, for a sliver of time wander we must but wander to wanton one and to the wayward soul and tell of Wonder of our Home.
Fast approaches the day when all those who pilgrimage will be gathered Home. And around the Holy Hearth not a few tales will be told when a wanderer won the wanton soul and we all will glory at the Wonder of us all. Holy Hearth burns brightly of His glory in our Holy Home. And not a tear will fall or a heart be in need of travel for the final tick-tock will have carried us all home to our Eternal Home.
Here we must ask ~ is our heart on pilgrimage? Are we constantly desiring for things not of this world or have we settled down quite contentedly in this foreign land? Do we yearn for our Other World or just more of this world? Is our desiring truly for Him or just a peace and an ease here and now? For if we truly pilgrim then the ways of this foreign land will be vile to our senses and we will find an unsettling in our soul until He gathers us Home.
A stranger in a land an alien is entirely just that ~ strange. Are you strange in this land? Am I an alien to all around? We should be a peculiar people, consecrated and certainly weird. Never quite settled, always eyes on the skies, never on what is around. Weird. Strange. Peculiar. Does that describe us? I am afraid we are far more settled in this land than we care to notice. We care primarily for things of this foreign land ~ their foreign gods (money, success, safety, luxury, and beauty), their foreign appetites (food, drink, vices, and entertainment), their foreign thoughts (lust, greed, rage, and selfism), and our hearts are not sojourning, they are settling right here in this foreign land.
But, blessed is he whose heart is set on pilgrimage . . .
We must wrestle our hearts from this foreign land and their hell-bound foreign gods and fix our eyes on our Eternal home.
He never intended for us to be comfortable here. If you are comfortable, then you have a problem.
Today I raced. I raced home and I made bread in this foreign land and I raced home. Today, I taught Pre-Algebra in this alien world, but my heart was pilgrimming on. Today, I washed towels and I asked Him again, "To please wash our hearts clean," and I traveled home. Today, I trudged under this daily sun and I spoke to my Eternal Son and He guided me onward and upward. Regardless of our day, we must be vigilant and diligent to wrest hearts from this wayward world and fix hearts on their Home.
A slice of time that determines our eternities. Here today, gone tomorrow. You are not home. Do not be lulled into the slumber of the dead by the methodical sway of this wanton world. For the slumber of the dead will awaken with a start at their final tick-tock to a damned eternity. You are not home, but you must now choose your home.
Race on and race up.
My children love hotels (or at least the 6 who have stayed in one). Love hotels. Love the TV (which we do not watch at home). Love the indoor pool (which we certainly do not have at home). Love the continental breakfast, cereal to be exact (which we only have on Sundays at home). Love sleeping on floors (which floors we do have at home), go figure.
We have a lovely home that God has blessed us with and amazingly enough all of us have our own bed, with our own sheets that hundreds upon thousands of strangers have not slept on! We have all the things that we are in need of and none of it has to be crammed into a bag at home. We have a kitchen with plenty of food and we do not ALL have to share one bathroom at home. So, why the love of hotels?
Truly, we can ask ourselves the same question ~ so, why the love of this world? It is not our home, so why do we crave its ways and luxuries? It is not home, our Dad is not at home here.
Why do most of us prefer a cup of coffee in a plastic cup rather then a mug from home? Or food prepared from another's kitchen while surrounded by a crowd of strangers?
Why do we love things that are not of our Home?
While the answers do vary there is a common thread throughout them all ~ fast, easy, exciting, new, tasty and expensive.
The common thread ~ they feed our flesh, our lower nature, they satisfy body and we willingly disregard spirit.
1 Peter 2:11 ~ "Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles (in this world) to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul."
But . . . blessed is he whose heart is on pilgrimage. A heart headed home is one He will bless. A heart that has slowed and heard the call of his Father and a heart that has stilled and tasted the sweet of his Eternal Home, truly, this is heart blessed.
A heart that sojourns continually, a soul that settles on only his Eternal Home. The one who knows he is a pilgrim whose True Kingdom transcends all that we can know or fathom, he is blessed.
He will not settle for belongings crammed in a bag, slumbering on sheets shared by an untold sum, he does not want coffee in a disposable cup or food prepared by an unknown. No, he will not settle in this foreign land, in this imposter home; he yearns for the final tick-tock that sends him to his Holy Hearth. And, until then, his heart cannot be at rest, it wanders and sojourns and races patiently Home.
Certainly it is not an aimless wander, for the pilgrim knows that while he is an alien in this strange land there is still much to be done. The Father sent His Son to this unsettled land to tell the tale of Land True, to live amongst the natives, and offer residence in the Realm of Grace. And Son came, and tale was told, and story unfolded, and many of this strange land sold all that they had to gain this Land True. And these that followed Son True began this pilgrimage Home, their hearts cried "Hurry! Take us to this Holy Home!" And as they trekked they told the tale of their Land True and others would join and their hearts would sojourn Home.
So, for a sliver of time wander we must but wander to wanton one and to the wayward soul and tell of Wonder of our Home.
Fast approaches the day when all those who pilgrimage will be gathered Home. And around the Holy Hearth not a few tales will be told when a wanderer won the wanton soul and we all will glory at the Wonder of us all. Holy Hearth burns brightly of His glory in our Holy Home. And not a tear will fall or a heart be in need of travel for the final tick-tock will have carried us all home to our Eternal Home.
Here we must ask ~ is our heart on pilgrimage? Are we constantly desiring for things not of this world or have we settled down quite contentedly in this foreign land? Do we yearn for our Other World or just more of this world? Is our desiring truly for Him or just a peace and an ease here and now? For if we truly pilgrim then the ways of this foreign land will be vile to our senses and we will find an unsettling in our soul until He gathers us Home.
A stranger in a land an alien is entirely just that ~ strange. Are you strange in this land? Am I an alien to all around? We should be a peculiar people, consecrated and certainly weird. Never quite settled, always eyes on the skies, never on what is around. Weird. Strange. Peculiar. Does that describe us? I am afraid we are far more settled in this land than we care to notice. We care primarily for things of this foreign land ~ their foreign gods (money, success, safety, luxury, and beauty), their foreign appetites (food, drink, vices, and entertainment), their foreign thoughts (lust, greed, rage, and selfism), and our hearts are not sojourning, they are settling right here in this foreign land.
But, blessed is he whose heart is set on pilgrimage . . .
We must wrestle our hearts from this foreign land and their hell-bound foreign gods and fix our eyes on our Eternal home.
He never intended for us to be comfortable here. If you are comfortable, then you have a problem.
Today I raced. I raced home and I made bread in this foreign land and I raced home. Today, I taught Pre-Algebra in this alien world, but my heart was pilgrimming on. Today, I washed towels and I asked Him again, "To please wash our hearts clean," and I traveled home. Today, I trudged under this daily sun and I spoke to my Eternal Son and He guided me onward and upward. Regardless of our day, we must be vigilant and diligent to wrest hearts from this wayward world and fix hearts on their Home.
A slice of time that determines our eternities. Here today, gone tomorrow. You are not home. Do not be lulled into the slumber of the dead by the methodical sway of this wanton world. For the slumber of the dead will awaken with a start at their final tick-tock to a damned eternity. You are not home, but you must now choose your home.
Race on and race up.
