August 17 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

These meditations are on the psalms. All those songs about Zion, the temple, and the Son of David really make sense when they are sung In the New Testament church.

Bible Reading:

Psalm 84

Bible Text:

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked (Ps. 84:10).

Devotional:

Nothing on earth is better than being close to God. And heaven is "heaven" because there we will be with the LORD forever.

In the mind of the Old Testament God-seekers, the LORD can be found on the temple hill. For us it's a bit different. But the psalmist's religious fervor is exemplary. He is a pious pilgrim who aches for God: "My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

The end of our pilgrimage is the new Jerusalem. Our hearts cry out with longing to see the outline of the new city. But we have such a long way to go, and we can become so weary.

Our church buildings are not "houses of God." But church buildings are important to us because in them God and God's people come together. These encounters are crucial for every lover of God.

"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked," says the writer. By "doorkeeper" he may mean some lowly position. His point is that he'd rather be very small in God's company than a big shot anywhere else.

Many people have bumper stickers that read, "I'd rather be sailing," or bowling, or whatever their favorite pastime is. The pilgrim's bumper sticker reads, "I'd rather be a doorkeeper." And sometimes we sing, "I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold."

Only the overall picture of our lives will show whether we mean what we sing.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.