There's No Place Like Home

You remember the scene... Dorothy has been moved through time and space, landed in a mystical, magical land, met three new friends, encountered danger and great evil, been accused of murder, been celebrated as a hero and directed by a fraud and a genuinely good "spiritual" presence. For what? What is Dorothy desperately longing for throughout her entire journey to and from Oz? Home. She is willing to do whatever it takes to get home.

Isn't that what we are all doing in this life? Either we are believers in Christ and longing for our Heavenly home. Or just trying to make sense of this place we now call home, here on earth.

In our next verse of thanks the psalmist is speaking literally of the temple in Jerusalem, where God's people publicly worshipped Him. However, I see it more as a prophesy for us of heaven. It comes from a fairly short chapter in the book of Psalms. I'm including the psalm in it's entirety because I believe it's message is that strong. Worth the read.

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

1"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his^a ;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations."

In verse 4 (our verse of thanks) the literal meaning of "Enter into his gates" are the gates which lead to His temple, or to the place of public worship. The "courts" were literally the open spaces which surrounded the tabernacle or temple. It was in these places that worship was celebrated, and not in the tabernacle or temple itself. Today this would refer to the sanctuary in our churches where we worship.

When I came across Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary I couldn't believe that he saw this psalm the same way that I did... as a prophecy! I love the part about our motives to worship God and what God is in himself and what he is to me (in bold).

   Psalm 100:1-5: An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him. - This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad soever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.

The more I study God's Word and the more time I spend in His presence, the more I feel His Spirit so near, so real. The peace that God gives deep within me is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Ever! It makes me realize that this life, here on earth, is not where I belong. This IS NOT my HOME. Heaven is where I belong. Heaven is my home.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" Philippians 3:20

"And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth... Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13b & 16

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

The lyrics from Laura Story's Blessings say it so well:

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is a revealing of a greater thirst

This world can't satisfy

I encourage you to listen to the song for yourself by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOOFAaUGfRE When you're finished just click the back arrow and it'll bring you back here.

Dorothy was willing to do whatever it took to get home. The thing is, she had what it took to get back there the entire time she was on her journey. Glenda, the good witch, placed those ruby slippers on her feet as soon as she conquered the Wicked Witch of the East. All she had to do was click her heals together and say, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." We too, have the "ruby slippers" of Christ's blood to bring us home. All we have to do is trust in Jesus, confess our sins, and have the faith of a child that He will take us to our heavenly home one day. Then we can "enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." Can I have an Amen?! There's no place like home... our heavenly home.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b