Jump Start # 3683

Psalms 84:10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

I had a bad day. I’m out on the road preaching. The morning began with a text from someone saying that I had left my Bible at the church building the night before. That never happens. NEVER. I may forget my phone. I may misplace my wallet. But I always know where my Bible is. It only gets worse. Those that have heard me preach know that I like to use fill-in the blank sermon notecards. For the morning class, I brought the wrong notecards. I never do that. NEVER. After class, I went out to eat with someone and left my satchel in the backseat of his car. My Bibles were in that, along with pens, sermons. I couldn’t believe it. That never happens. NEVER.

I thought of my favorite kids book, Alexander, and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Throughout that Alexander story, poor Alexander wants to go to Australia to just to get away from all his problems. I thought about booking a flight there myself.

Why was I so forgetful, I kept asking myself. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was doing too much and just wasn’t focusing like I should have. Maybe this. Maybe that.

Bad days. They happen. You are in a hurry one morning and you can’t find the car keys. Now everything stops. You spend the next twenty minutes looking everywhere and you still can’t find them. Oh, you have a lot to do today and the school calls and your child is sick. That changes all your plans. Or, a neighbor calls and needs your help.

Bad days. Car won’t start. Dog is not acting right and needs to go to the vet. Furnace isn’t working. The internet is out. Oh, the list can be long and it doesn’t take much to interrupt what we were going to do and create a messy or bad day.

Here are some thoughts:

First, a bad day can become a bad week if you let it. You can continue to beat yourself up for misplacing something, not taking care of something or just being forgetful. Keep your perspective. My Bible was safe in the church building and when I arrived there I knew right where it was. Some inconvenience, that’s all. There are so many who have lost souls and they don’t realize it. There are folks in Florida and North Carolina who still do not have running water or power. Some have lost family members. Some have to start over. All they had was lost. Keep your perspective.

Second, learn and do better. I guarantee you that the next day the right notecards were carried. My Bibles were with me. This wasn’t going to happen again. And, that’s what we do. We do better. Maybe someone was in the hospital and we never came to visit. Maybe there was a funeral and we didn’t go. It slipped by us. We were busy. And, now the feelings of guilt overwhelm us. It’s hard to look at those people because we feel like we let them down. If you need to apologize, do it. But more than that, learn and do better. Don’t make the same mistake again.

Third, stay on top of things by being organized and efficient. Put things in the same place every time. Get things laid out the night before. There are things that we cannot control, such as a child getting sick or things breaking down. Learn to adjust. Learn to use those moments to do other things.

Bad days tend to lead to prayer more than good days. We need guidance, help and support when days are not turning out well. We need the Lord. Bad days remind us that we are not in control. There are things such as the weather, other people, technology that are beyond the limits of our control. There are days when we are at the mercy of others and their schedules and we just have to be patient and wait. And, it’s that waiting that is so hard. I tend to think that if we pray for patience, God puts us in situations that calls upon us to be patient. It’s more than just waiting. Some wait, but they are fuming and mad. Some wait, but they are not patient. Some wait and all you hear are the sighs and “I’m bored.” Others wisely use the moment to send some encouraging words to others. They’ll catch up on some Bible reading. They will use the moment to pray.

In fact, bad days are only bad if you allow that to happen. The day may not end like you anticipated. Your plans may have changed many times throughout the day. What you were going to do is not what you got to do. But that doesn’t make it bad. Growing up I had a Gumby toy. You could twist him, bend him, stretch him. And, after all that, he still had a smile on his face. Maybe that little toy knew something. Our days may bend us, stretch us, turn us and twist us, but can we keep that smile on our face?

For me, the rest of the week turned out well. No lost Bibles. No wrong notecards. No forgotten shoulder bag.

Roger

Jump Start # 2714

Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.”

Much of the wisdom literature is written as contrasts. In Proverbs, it’s the fool contrasted to the wise. In Ecclesiastes, it’s one thing that is better than another thing. And, here, our verse from Psalms, shows us another great contrast. Being with the Lord is contrasted to being apart from the Lord. One day compared to a thousand days. Threshold compared to tents. Standing contrasted to living. God contrasted to the wicked.

There are some lessons for us:

First, it’s one or the other. It’s not both. It’s not being in God’s courtyards and then going off elsewhere. It’s not standing in the house of God and then living in tents. It’s one or the other. And, that alone throws many people. They want both. They want to live in tents of wickedness yet spend a day in God’s house. And such a cavalier spirit reflects the emptiness of religion in America. Rather than pulling people closer to God through the preaching of His word, too many have opened the door to rock shows, skits, plays, and fun and games. It’s what people are interested in, they say. It’s the only way to attract a crowd these days, they believe.

Our verse doesn’t allow both. It’s either living in tents or standing in the threshold. All in with God or not in at all.

Second, the value of one day of worship surpasses long periods of superficial pleasure without God. One day compared to a thousand days. A thousand days is more than two and half years. The comparison isn’t close. It’s not a day compared to three days. It’s not one day compared to a week. It’s one day compared to two and half years. The Psalmist saw the true and lasting value of being with the Lord. The encouragement, the growth, the fellowship, the depth, the insights, the spiritual comfort—those are all life changing and character building. A thousand days of fun and games may make us feel better, but they do not make us any better. The feelings are soon forgotten and we remain the same. However, that day within God’s temple can alter one’s future and eternity. It can change the direction that his entire family is traveling. It can be life saving.

What does this tell us about missing services? Oh, it’s just one service we say. Yes, it’s just one, but what a difference that one can make.

Third, there are things we find in the presence of God and in worship that can not be found anywhere else. Given a thousand days and the Psalmist wouldn’t have what he found in that one day in the temple. The living in tents would be comfortable. Tents back then, were like mobile houses. They were large, had carpeted rugs and very spacious. It’s not the tents we take camping these days. One could live in tents. Israel’s first place of worship was in a tent—we call it the tabernacle. And as nice and comforting as those tents would be, they wouldn’t help the person on the inside. In the presence of God, holiness intersects with us. Goodness is placed before our eyes. Faithfulness, trust and love become living concepts. The tents of wickedness won’t give you such insights and hope.

Worship is good. It brings together those who believe. And, in this period of Zoom, and internet church, we must remember, that is not nearly as good, nor can it ever equal or replace our coming together. We need to be together. Those that remain isolated will not have the wonderful benefits as being with each other. Imagine having Thanksgiving dinner via Zoom. Just not the same. It’s like watching a ballgame on TV or actually being in the stands. Not the same.

One day in the courtyards—not even within the Temple structure itself, just the courtyards. That one day is better than a thousand days outside. This ought to make us realize why Sunday is the best day of the week. It ought to put a wonderful desire in our hearts to anticipate and long for Sunday worship. Powerful, beneficial and enjoyable is our worship to the Lord.

One day better than a thousand. Sure is something to think about.

Roger