looking heavenward

"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.
Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you. Selah
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;

listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
Look upon our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

the LORD bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty,

blessed is the man who trusts in you."

Psalm 84

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"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 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 11:13-16

God with us

from the time of the conquest of Canaan...

"The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: 'Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.'"

Deuteronomy 31:23

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to the time of the prophets....

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

Isaiah 43:2

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and the time of Christ...

"All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' - which means 'God with us.'"

Matthew 1:22,23

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and yet today...

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:20

weeping

"A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more."

Matthew 2:18

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In memory of those killed at Virginia Tech.

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Jesus,

we mourn with those who mourn.....

at His word

"This is the one I esteem:

he who...

trembles at my word."

Isaiah 66:2

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LORD

help me to always

tremble at your word.