NEWSLETTER - MAY 2007

VERSE OF THE MONTH:
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Psalm 84:1-2 (NIV)

IN THIS EDITION:
The Father’s House
New Media Resources

THE FATHER’S HOUSE
The Psalmist writes with a passion for the house of God. He longs to be there. Everything in him earnestly desires the Father’s presence. His heart cries out for the Living God. In fact the word used for yearning is the same as “missing”. He fondly remembers something and misses it - he longs to be back there again!

This Psalm shows us some wonderful things about the Father’s house.

It is obviously a place of safety and security. It is a place where all needs are satisfied. It is a place where the weak and vulnerable can be at home; it is a place of praise and worship. It is a place of strength and it is where we can find springs of living water, even when our hearts feel they are in a desert place.

The Father’s house is a place of satisfaction. To be at the door for just one day would totally satisfy. To be close to the Father’s presence for just one day is better than being anywhere else for a thousand days. The Father’s house is so wonderful that being a doorkeeper would have been enough for the psalmist.

This theme is echoed in Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”

The Father’s house is not a building. It is a relationship. As we come close to Him we are drawn into His heart. Entering His heart is not conditional on our behaviour, our position or our function. All of us can come close and find that we are safe in His arms. We can find that all the things shown us in Psalm 84 can be true for us.

Father, I desire your presence. I want to live in your house. Thank you that you are always ready to welcome me home!

NEW MEDIA RESOURCES
At the beginning of April we joined with David and Heather Johnson in Scotland for a weekend conference. We had a great time together and the talks from this event are now on the website. Please feel free to listen to these online or download them to listen to at your leisure.

EVENTS
The events page has recently been updated so please have a look: www.afathertoyou.com/signposts/events.html. If you live in the Oxfordshire area you can be notified of the occasional events that take place in that area. Follow the link at the top of the Events page.

In His love

Mark Gyde