May 3, 2001

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I
may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold
the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

This is a rich verse. David had whittled his life down to one point:
"One thing have I desired of the LORD." Also Paul did that with his
life. He said, ". . . but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

Today, we need to whittle down our lives, as we would whittle down a
pencil, until we can write with it. Our lives are very complicated, so
we must keep whittling! Sometimes we feel like Martha in the ktichen.
She was encumbered with much service (see Luke 10:40). Poor Martha
became frustrated trying to do everything at once. How complicated life
has become for many of us. We are frustrated, under tension and pressure
all the time. But it is woerful to whittle your life down to what is
most important. It is a relief to reduce your life to the lowest common
denominator. Whittle your life down to the knowledge and love of our
Lord, and the tension, pressure an endurance of each day will ease, as
you place it all in His wonderful hands.

Now notice the "one thing" in David's life was "that I may dwell in the
house of the LORD all the days of my life." Now I don't think David
intended to take his sleeping bag into the tabernacle and stay there.
But he wanted the ark, which was God's meeting place with His people,
with him in Jerusalem. He went to great lengths to bring it to Jerusalem
and erected a tabernacle for it and planned an elaborate temple for God.
That was the "one thing" in David's life. What is the "one thing" you
are doing for God in your life today?

We have access to God through Christ Jesus, and this is the thing we
ought to rejoice in! He is the One who will enable us to whittle our
lives down to that one point. What a wonderful thing it is to have
access to God!

In the house of God was the mercy seat. David needed mercy ~ and I am
sure you need mercy, as do I also. In the house of God was an altar that
spoke of the cross of Christ. This provided for David access into the
presence of God. We can approach God through the the Lord Jesus today.
We have access into this marvelous grace. What a privilege is ours to
have access to God!

God Bless you as you whittle yourself down to God's gracious grace.

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