Flight Paths

Keith called me outside one Saturday.  I was in the middle of something important and was a little irritated. It is hard enough to do things these days when I have to lean so close, squint so hard, and put up with the resulting headaches trying to see what I am doing.  Then he wants to interrupt me, and I will just have to start all over again.  But I sighed, a louder one than was called for, and dutifully went outside.
            The afternoon sun was waning, for which I was grateful.  No matter how dim the day I have to reach for sunglasses nearly all the time now.  He took me to a shaded spot on the west side of the field and pointed.  Then I saw it, or them as it turned out, probably a hundred dragonflies darting here and there all over the place. 
            He felt bad for me because I could not see them all the time.  In fact, I would not have known what they were had he not told me, but I think my vision of them was the best.  He saw them in the shade as well, when they once again became ugly black bugs, but I only saw them as they came out of the shadows, the sun striking their wings and lighting them up like tiny golden light bulbs.  Then they would disappear, but more would appear in their place, over and over, darting here and there in movements no one could possibly predict.  I think my view was much more magical than his, and therefore far more delightful.  We stood there watching them for several minutes.  I probably could have stood their longer since I had the better view, a view he would never have because he could see so well.
            No matter what we may be going through in this life, God always prepares good things for us, but we will never see them if we always stay inside ourselves, commiserating with ourselves, rewinding over and over the tape of all our troubles till we can recite them from memory to anyone who asks, and even some who don’t.  There is a silver lining somewhere if we just search, and in the searching who knows what treasures we might find? Besides, it will keep us too busy to complain so much.
            Go out there today and look for those silver linings—or the golden dragonflies, or whatever God has specially prepared to help you through this day.  You will find them, but only if you have a mind to.
 
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  Psalm 23:5,6.
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

In Exodus 15, 16, & 17 we see the Children of Israel acting in a way that seems unbelievable.  Having just seen God free them from slavery by sending ten plagues upon Egypt, being led by God in a pillar of cloud/fire, and being saved from the Egyptian army by passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, they then spend the next two months complaining every time something doesn't go just right.  

In 15:22-27 they camp at Marah after a three day march and cannot drink the water because it is bitter.  At this point all it says the people did was grumble a bit and ask what they were supposed to drink.  Moses prays and God miraculously sweetens the water.  God doesn't seem perturbed here because after sweetening the water He offers them a sort of preliminary covenant saying if they obey Him He will allow none of the diseases of Egypt to afflict them.  So far they've only been a bit grumpy in a nasty situation.  Understandable.

Then comes chapter 16.  Here, exactly (and only) one month after they were freed from Egypt the people begin murmuring because they don't have enough food.  vs 3 “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Essentially they are saying that instead of freeing us and leading us to a Promised Land as His chosen people, we wish God had just killed us while we were slaves.  They are complaining about their salvation because they are hungry!  Moses warns them that they are complaining against God, not himself and Aaron.  God makes a show of His glory to let them know He has heard their grumbling, then feeds them with manna from heaven (literally).  

Chapter 17 really tops it off.  In verses 1-7 the people again become angry because they don't have enough water.  This time their complaint goes beyond an understandable grumbling during a tough situation.  They accuse Moses of trying to kill them all in the wilderness.  They are so clamorous that Moses fears he is about to be stoned.  They even begin to question God's concern:  "Is the LORD among us or not?" (vs 7).  Again, God displays His glory to scare them straight and then provides the needed water.  

What makes chapter 17 so dumbfounding is that twice in the previous month-and-a-half they had been lacking and God had provided and yet, when they found themselves in need again, they didn't remember God's previous care.  They complained even more vehemently than ever.  Instead of reveling in God's salvation, they are complaining about it (16:3).  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE??!!!!!

Yet, how often do we do the same thing?  We accept God's blessings all our lives with hardly an acknowledgment, but the first time that something bad happens we wail, "How could God do this to ME?"  We forget the abundance of food we over-eat, the homes with indoor plumbing, electricity and air-conditioning, the closets full of clothes and the nice vacations.  Instead we whine about how God is mistreating us because of one trial we have to make it through.  Worse, how often do we join in with the Israelites who asked "Is the LORD among us or not?" by declaring, "I just can't believe in a God who would let this happen."?  

It is easy to read Exodus and see how foolish the Israelites were in their complaints.  It is easy to cluck at them and wonder at their little faith when seeing such wondrous workings of God, but then, I'm not thirsty as I read these passages.  I'm not listening to my children crying from hunger.  Not to justify their lack of faith, but instead to again ask the question "Do I do any better when in the same situation?"  Is my faith really stronger?  Or am I self-righteously self-assured as I drop pearls of wisdom on my suffering friends only to cry out louder than any of them when my time for testing comes?  If I don't have faith in God when suffering, then I don't have faith in God.  Instead I am like the faithless Israelites who spent their lives whining and ultimately died in the wilderness far from the Promised Land.  

Finally, remember that God isn't a sadist.  The point of trials is to make us stronger, not just to let us suffer. 

Heb. 12:5-11  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  It is for discipline that you have to endure. . . he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
 
Lucas Ward

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2Cor 11:3).
            I am afraid that too many of us think the verse above cannot possibly apply to us.  We would never be tricked like that, we think.  Paul, speaking earlier in the epistle, states that he is not "ignorant of Satan's devices" (2:11).  Unfortunately, despite our self-confidence, we often fall for his bait, hook, line, and sinker.  Let me give you an example.
            Many years ago, a young woman shared with me that her neighbor, who was a Wiccan, had invited her over for a meal.  She had gone in order to get to know her better, and to learn about her beliefs with a desire to reach her, if possible.  Fish, it seems, was on the menu, and her hostess had laid out the fish, stroked it with both hands, and then thanked the fish for giving its life to sustain hers.  "Isn't that beautiful?" the young woman asked me, "and oh, so spiritual."  As usual, finding the right thing to say did not occur when I needed it.  In fact, it took a few years, but now I might wonder aloud why thanking God for our meals is less spiritual than thanking the fish or the cow or the pig or the chicken?  Because that is who we are supposed to thank—God is the one who gave us those things.  Warning of a coming heresy that would forbid certain foods, Paul tells us that our meals, even that same fish, God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving (1Tim 4:3-4), thanksgiving to God, that is.
            It is not my intent to list the belief system of Wicca, but the Mother Goddess, nature, fertility, seasons, and the cycle of life are essential elements.  That should immediately make a Christian's ears tingle.  Of those sorts of beliefs Paul says,  …they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Rom 1:25).  The neighbor's actions were a perfect example of worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.  Although it will be presented as an almost hyper-spirituality, Paul says it is a lie. Yet that is how paganism, which is what Wicca is, has made deep inroads into our culture, even among Christians who should know better, who should be able to see past this false spirituality. 
           Wiccans are known to be peaceful, even harmless.  But folks, they are deadly to our souls.  Certainly, be friendly to your neighbors and strive to be an example and teacher of your faith as you serve their needs.  But keep your eyes open and don't be taken in.  Satan is not so stupid as to make them look like evil personified.  He is simply reeling out a bait that looks delicious.
 
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds (2Cor 11:13-15).
 
Dene Ward

I found a verse the other day that intrigued me--for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, Rom 14:17.  While the meaning is obvious—in the context of eating meats sacrificed to idols, Paul is telling them that being in the kingdom is a matter of the inner man not the outer man—I still wondered why those three things were chosen among the many traits describing Christians.
            Before much longer I found Romans 5:1-3.  Those three things are not three separate items, as if they can be chosen one without the other, they are a chain reaction.  I am justified (made righteous), and as a result have peace with God, and that creates joy in my life. 
            Keep reading down to verse 5 in Romans 5, then add 12:12 and 15:13 to the mix and you see that joy is inextricably bound with hope.  The Greeks did not use “hope” the way we use it, a wish for something that could go either way, but as a confident assurance or, as Keith likes to say, “a vision of a certain future.”  Along with the apostle John in 1 John 5:13, I should be able to say, “I know I am saved; I know I have been forgiven; I know I have a relationship with God; I know I am going to Heaven.”  Is there anything that should inspire any greater joy?
            Being joyful does not mean we may not face sad times; it does not mean we must not ever grieve in a trial.  What it does mean is that we will bounce back from those times because joy is the foundation for our lives.  If, instead, I come through a trial with an attitude only toward myself, what I have endured, and what I believe others should be doing for me because of it, my joy has turned into bitterness.  In fact, I have not successfully endured that trial at all. Whenever I allow something to smother my joy, in at least that much I have allowed that thing to be more important to me than my relationship with God. 
            This is easier said than done.  I used to wonder how to have this joy that everyone kept telling me I was supposed to have.  God does not leave us without direction.  Col 1:9-14 gives us several techniques for having joy.  Be filled with the knowledge of Him; walk worthily of the Lord; bear fruit in every good work; give thanks for our salvation.  Do you know what that boils down to?  Focus on the good things and stay busy serving others. 
            Joy is like a glow-in-the-dark toy.  The more I focus on what God has done for me and what he expects me to do for others, the longer I sit in the light and the stronger my glow will be.  But if I sit too long in the shadow of sadness and grief, focusing too long on myself, my joy will begin to fade until eventually it is gone altogether.    
            If you find yourself alone in the dark today, it’s time to come back into the light before your joy disappears, along with the hope that reinforces it.  This is a choice you make, one that has nothing to do with what happens today or what anyone does to you, but with the path you choose to take regardless.              
 
That the proof of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:  whom not having seen you love; on whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9.
 
Dene Ward
 

What has happened to create this doubt [doubt from hidden conflicts] is that a problem (such as a deep conflict or bad experience) has been allowed to usurp God’s place and become the controlling principle of life. Instead of viewing the problem from the vantage point of faith, the doubter views faith from the vantage point of the problem. … The world of faith is upside down, and in the topsy-turvy reality of doubt, a problem has become god and God has become a problem." (Guinness, "God in the Dark," 151–152) 
            "'I am the LORD your God. … You shall have no other gods to set against me' is not only a principle of correct theology but of sound psychology. Whatever assumes in our lives a practical importance that is greater than God will become god to us. And since we become what we worship, to let an unanswerable problem become god to us is the surest way to guarantee that life will be characterized at its heart by defeat." (Ibid., 152, ellipsis in original)

Os Guinness, God in the Dark

As winter turned to spring this year, we noticed all the usual signs.  The azaleas spilled white, red, and all shades of pink and purple blooms under every live oak in sight.  The dogwoods created white spotlights in the forests when a sunbeam broke through the gloom.  The robins made brief rest stops on their return migration north, and hummingbirds buzzed our feeder, empty since last October, letting us know they were back and ready to be fed.  Oak pollen sifted down in a yellow powder all over the car.  The temperature and humidity rose as did the gnats, flies, and mosquitoes out of the swamps and bogs.  And Chloe started shedding.
            Magdi always sheds individual hairs as she rolls in the grass, as she scratches, as we pet or brush her.  But Chloe sheds in clumps.  Whenever she rose, she left behind wads of red fur on the grass or carport, reminding me of the floor of a beauty salon after a haircut.  Every time we scratched her head, the clumps stuck to our hands and clothes, or floated off with the breeze as if we had blown red dandelion puffs.  Before long she looked like an old sofa with large threadbare patches.  Eventually all her winter coat fell off—everything except a two inch fringe running down her hind legs.  Now she looks like a canine cowgirl wearing chaps.
            But you know what?  She is still Chloe, our one-year-old Australian cattle dog.  She still loves to eat.  She still nips at Magdi’s heels.  She still chases butterflies and grasshoppers, and plays tug-o-war with ropes and rags.  She still has a sweet little face that melts my heart.
            When we become Christians, Paul tells us we should lay aside the old self, Eph 4:22, crucify ourselves, Gal 2:20, and become new creatures, 2 Cor 5:17.  Too many times we do what Chloe did, shed the outer self only.  The inside stays the same.  We still consider ourselves before others, we still give in to every temptation, we still excuse our poor behavior instead of grabbing hold of the power of Christ to really change who we are.  We are still exactly the same person; we just have a new haircut.
            Changing is hard—it does not happen overnight.  But how many of us can examine ourselves honestly today and see a change from that day we claimed to make a commitment?  How long has it been?  Even one year should show a significant change for the better, and how many of us have twenty, thirty, forty years or more under our belts and still make the same mistakes on a regular basis?
            Don’t just sweep some hair off the floor today.  If you haven’t already, start making a real change in yourself.
 
I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  And be not fashioned according to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, Rom 12:1,2.
 
Dene Ward

I have never been so disappointed in a book.  The author comes well-recommended by readers of his earlier work, Twelve Ordinary Men, a book of essays about each apostle.  So when I picked this one up, I expected more of the same.  I did not get it.

Since I have made a lifelong study of the women of the Bible, I first used it sporadically, reading the women I was studying in particular when they intersected those in this book.  As luck would have it, that meant I only read the essays on Mary and Hannah, two of the four I subsequently deemed acceptable when I finally sat down to read it all.  By "acceptable" I mean more right than wrong.  The other two were Anna and Mary Magdalene.  In fact, Mary M almost got an even higher rating because of the excellent job Mr. MacArthur does in debunking many of the wrong beliefs about her.  On the other hand, his view of her possession by seven demons left me shaking my head and saying, "Huh?" 

I was especially sad to see scriptural errors in the book.  When he correctly states that Isaac was born when Ishmael was 14, then says that he was weaned at 2 or 3, so Ishmael was 14 at that time, I had another head-shaking moment.  In fact, I had quite a few in the whole Sarah essay, which eventually garnered a "NO" next to it in the table of contents.

The larger problem I have with this book is the theology he tries to cram in where it does not belong.  Women who pick up a book like this, especially with the subtitle "How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You," are not looking for a treatise on original sin or the direct operation of the Holy Spirit.  They want something practical, something they can use every day as they face their own particular trials or their own individual searches for meaning in their discipleship.  They do not need lessons on Calvinism, which is what the essays on Eve and Lydia are all about.  As someone who is not a Calvinist, they left me out in the cold.

Let me say this however:  the Introduction on God and the Bible's view of women is outstanding.  If it weren't for all the Calvinism, it would be worth the price of the book alone.  So, if you find it in a bookstore, stand there and read it.  Take notes if you have pen and paper.  It is that good.  But when I have only 4 "yeses" next to essays, along with four "nos," only two "Oks" and one "maybe", I am not sure you should be wasting either time or money on it.

Twelve Extraordinary Women is publilshed by Nelson Books, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing.
 
Dene Ward

I bet you have all used them sometime in your life, maybe even every day.  Leo Gerstenzang, who was born in Poland on June 3, 1892, invented the cotton swab.  He sold them under the name "Baby Gays."  We know them as Q-tips, but did you know that the Q stands for "quality?"  And despite doctors' warnings, I bet most of you stick them in your ears.  The doctors may not like it, but sticking a spiritual Q-tip in your figurative ears is a good idea.
           Jesus once made a statement that has always made me flinch.  After the parable of the sower, when listing all the various soils and what went wrong with each hearer, he added, as Luke records it, Be careful therefore, how you hear, 8:18.  In a society big on blaming everyone but ourselves for our problems, this is truly one of the biggest.  Unlike the early church, which seemed to thrive on helping each other overcome problems with confessions and exhortations, we seem to think that no one has the right to tell us anything that might even slightly indicate that we might need to change.  Or we “wear our feelings on our shirtsleeves,” as the old saying goes, so we can be offended at the least provocation.
            Jesus makes it plain in this passage that how I take what people say to me is entirely up to me.  It only makes sense when you think about it.  If I had no control over my reactions to what others say, then it would be to my advantage for people to say hurtful things to me, wouldn’t it?  In fact, getting my feelings hurt would be the ideal way to go.  Then I could be angry and strike back with no qualms at all. 
            I could ignore the rebukes others offered for my sins as long as I felt insulted, and could keep doing them, couldn’t I?  But Paul says in Rom 2:6 that God will render to every man according to his deeds, not according to how someone corrected me.
            I could ignore the one who tells me I am wrong about what I believe if I thought he had evil motives and bad intentions, couldn’t I?  But Paul also says of those who preached with bad intentions, What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and therein I rejoice, Phil 1:19.
I could hear false teaching and not have to worry about checking it out, right?  But Jesus said in Matt 15:14, they are blind guides and if the blind guide the blind, they both fall into a pit.
            So here is my obligation:  Listen to what others say, and evaluate it based upon truth, not upon how they say it, who they are, and whether or not I like them or their teaching.  Judgment Day will not dawn with three groups of people, including a group who “got their feelings hurt,” or “didn’t like the preacher,” or “were provoked,” and because of that did not do what they should have done.
            There will only be two groups:  the ones who did right and the ones who did not.  Let’s get out those Q-tips and clean out our ears.  Be careful how you hear.
 
He who corrects a scoffer gets to himself reviling, and he who reproves a wicked man gets himself a blot.  Reprove a scoffer and he will hate you; reprove a wise man and he will love you.  Give instruction to a wise man and he will be even wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning, Prov 9:7-9
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel. Prov 12:15
 
Dene Ward

A long time ago, when Keith preached for a small country church, he and I used to do our visiting on bicycles.  With two toddlers aged 3 and 1, we each had a child seat over the back wheel of our bikes and off the four of us would go for an afternoon or early evening of making the rounds to our elderly or ill brothers and sisters, or to make new contacts in the rural community whenever someone moved in. 

We rode sometimes as far as five or six miles one way.  We learned the roads far better than we would have by car.  The traffic on the highways was scarce so we could easily avoid the potholes.  We learned to use the center of the dirt roads.  You simply couldn't plow your way through the thick white sand on the corners and edges.  We also learned why lime rock roads are often called washboards.  Talk about vibrations—our teeth were still chattering a half mile after we turned off of one.

We found another good reason to avoid the edges of the roads—snakes!  More than once one of them jerked back from the road and slithered further into the grass it had been just about to leave.  Whenever we passed a flattened rattlesnake or moccasin in the road, we gave a little cheer.

And we also learned about wind.  I was reminded of it the other day when Lucas called and told me his experience with his bike and the wind.  It goes like this.  You are having the greatest ride of your life.  You feel great.  Your legs seem to fly on the pedals.  You can up the gears with impunity and virtually zip down the road.  Then you turn around to head back home.

Suddenly you understand why the ride out was so easy.  You are headed into a wind that had formerly been at your back.  You pedal harder in lower gears.  Your calves and thighs burn.  You begin to huff and puff.  Sometimes you wonder if you are making any progress at all.  And it takes you half again longer to get back home than the ride out.

When I see someone trying to navigate the trials of life without God that's what I think of—pedaling against the wind.  I cannot imagine facing problems without God.  What's the use of it all?  You can't count on help from anyone because, like you, they are all in it for themselves.  You don't believe that anything good will come from it.  You are pedaling into a headwind so strong you will be lucky to even stay in the same place instead of being blown backwards.  Who will listen to your cries?  Who will hold you up when things get even worse?  And why did it happen to you anyway?  Nothing makes sense.  And sooner or later, even if you get through this one, another problem will rear its ugly head and there you go again.

But with God on your side things are different--the wind is at your back.  It may still be a rough ride.  Life can deal you some bad moments.  The French have a phrase:  c'est la vie.  Such is life.  You can't get through it unscathed.  But with God behind you, you know you have help.  You have someone to lean on, to talk to, and to count on.  Because you have His Word in your heart you can make better decisions.  Because you pray you can feel calmer and more content.  Knowing that He will send help through your brothers and sisters, through Providence, through his Holy Spirit, and because you believe He will answer your prayers, you can face the impossible and come through it far better than you might have otherwise.  You know there is a reason—be it learning or growing stronger or refining your soul, you know you will be better on the other side of this affliction.

Are you riding with the wind, or against it?  If you don't have that relationship with God, if you don't know Him through his revelation to us, and if you never bother to talk with him unless you want something, maybe you are headed in the wrong direction.  Just because you sit on a pew, you aren't necessarily on the right road.  It's easy to get bogged down in the sand corners.  Just because you were once baptized into the Lord's body, you aren't necessarily a part of it now.  There is a snake out there just waiting to strike at your ankles.  You need to turn that bike around.  He wants to help you, but He can't as long as you keep riding against the Wind.
 
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isa 40:28-31)
 
Dene Ward
 

Sometimes the craziness people come up with, both scholar and layman, amazes me.  Yes, the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and must be followed to the letter, or why bother at all?  But God did spend over a millennium trying to communicate with us in our language, exactly the way we use language, so that we could understand exactly what that Word means and follow it.  And guess how we communicate?  We use idioms.  We use hyperboles.  We use all sorts of figurative language every day.  Yet still people think that every single word in the Bible is meant to be taken literally and ignore obvious figures to the point that entire convoluted false doctrines can come from it.
            Here is a simple example:  And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day (Luke 2:36-37).
            We could spend a lot of time on those two verses alone.  We could talk about the family Anna came from, and their obvious devotion to God, a devotion that sometime in the distant past caused them leave their property in the northern kingdom and travel south at probably great loss.  We could talk about the difficulty translating her age and marriage so that we really are not sure if she was 84 or whether it had been 84 years since she became a widow—not really as far-fetched as you might imagine if you do some research.  But let's just concentrate on the last couple of phrases:  who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day. 
            Many would have her living at the Temple and doing nothing else in her life.  But look at the things she did "night and day."  I don't have to be a Greek scholar to know this:  if "night and day" means 24/7, she would not have lasted more than a few days because one of the things she did "night and day" was fast.  What applies to fasting applies to the rest.  She simply made a habit of fasting.  Not every single day all day long.  What does an exasperated mother mean when she says of her teenage son, "All he does is play video games?"  See?  We use the same sort of language all the time.  (See what I just did?)
            So this good woman made a habit of going to the Temple, of worshipping God with fasting and prayer.  We can do the same thing, except our temple is the body of Christ, the church.  Are you following Anna's example so well that someone would say of you, "She worships God all the time?"  That's what we should learn from Anna, if we learn nothing else at all.
 
One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple (Ps 27:4).
 
Dene Ward