Gates and courts

May 6, 2008

Walking with God is a progressive thing. Just like a baby has to learn to crawl before it can walk, and walk before it can run, so it is with the walk with God. This even applies to our prayer life. Let's look at the Psalms...


Psalms 100:4 KJV
(4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Now something is lost in the translation here. Just what doe it mean to enter courts and gates and stuff? Some newer translations can help us:

Psalms 100:4 BBE
(4) Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name.

Before we could enter into someone's house (as they said in years gone by, their courts), we have to pass through the door of the house (otherwise know as the gate). Just like I cannot walk into your house without you inviting me in through the door and then into the house, I cannot just walk in on God without going through the proper procedure. I have to come in through the gate. Even Jesus tells us that we have to go through the gate to be with God. Once we have gotten their we can choose not to leave and be forever in His presence. Or we can fall in our walk and then have to come back in through the door.

The key to getting back into the good graces of God is to follow procedure, be joyful to get into the door. In other words, be thankful for what you have, not complaining about what you do not. Then you can move into praising Him and move into the living room of God to visit with Him.

Read through the Bible in one year in Historical order
Today
Psalms 89:1-52, Psalms 96:1-13, Psalms 100:1-5, Psalms 101:1-8, Psalms 105:1-45, Psalms 132:1-18
Tomorrow
2 Samuel 7:1-29, 1 Chronicles 17:1-27
http://tinyurl.com/24beby for a daily reading tool