Second Sunday of Christmas – January 1, 2023
Holy Trinity Church – Tom Mount
“One thing I ask from Yahweh,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of Yahweh
and to seek him in his temple.”
– Psalm 27:4
David’s prayer
- Dwell in Yahweh’s house.
“Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
– Exodus 33:15
- Live coram Deo: “before God’s face”
- The triune God made us to live face to face
- Brother Lawrence: “Practicing the presence of God”
- Gaze on Yahweh’s beauty.
“For who in the skies above can compare with Yahweh?
Who is like Yahweh among the sons of God?
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.”
– Psalm 89:6-7
- “Gaze” Stare, be transfixed. Many of us merely glimpse his beauty
- In what ways is God beautiful?
- Seek Yahweh in his temple.
- “Seek” is bakar: inquire, seek, consider, meditate. Root = plough.
- God wants you to seek him (John 4:23)
- Two conditions:
- Seek God’s face, not his hand (Psalm 27:8)
- Seek God with desperation (Psalm 63:1)
“Oh God, you are my God! Earnestly I seek you! My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water!”
– Psalm 63:1
Practical steps to take
- Practice a daily quiet time.
“In the morning, Yahweh, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.”
– Psalm 5:3
- Three requirements: be alone, be quiet, be comfortable
- Listen to God through the Bible. Talk to God in prayer.
- The goal: “to make your soul happy in the Lord” (George Mueller)
- Try to “walk” at least one of your spiritual pathways daily.
A spiritual pathway is a way in which you most naturally connect with God.
- Worship, contemplation, service, relationships, activism, intellection, nature.
- Experiment with the classic spiritual disciplines.
“This is what Yahweh says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
– Jeremiah 6:16a
- Some time-tested disciples: solitude, silence, fasting, spiritual direction confession, personal reflection, soul friendship.
The Key: if your “one thing” is to walk with God more intimately, you must make this the highest priority in your life and make the time to pursue it.