“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk<\/em> uprightly” (Psalms 84:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It would be difficult to find a more intense expression of devotion in all of the Old Testament than the one above. To prefer a day in God’s court over a thousand elsewhere would be a strange desire to many.\u00a0 Few would sympathize with such a fanatic. Even good people might relegate such an expression to a madman!\u00a0 The language here is an expression of one who greatly delights in God.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there are others who would deem such service as “weariness” (Malachi 1:13). To them a sense of duty exceeds a sense of privilege, and obedience means constraint rather than joy! Joyless service is neither profitable nor acceptable. What a disappointment to the Father when his children take no delight in drawing near to him!<\/p>\n Here is a challenge for you the reader. Which truly brings delight? Which genuinely has your heart’s devotion? Is it God’s service or the world?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by George Slover “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1287,84],"class_list":["post-59458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-joy","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12161,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-christian-love-demand-a-willingness-to-lay-down-your-life-for-a-friend\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":0},"title":"Does Christian love demand a willingness to lay down your life for a friend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: While teaching the adult class I made the statement that a true characteristic of Christian love is that one would be willing to lay down his\/her life for his\/her friends.\u00a0 One lady stated that she could not do that.\u00a0 What are your thoughts?\u00a0 How would you answer this lady's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/clapping-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":1},"title":"Clapping in Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gardner Hall Is it wrong? If so, why? The last few years have seen the introduction of handclapping in congregations of the Lord, including a few that have opposed institutionalism. Though motives are often praiseworthy, serious questions are raised by the practice. Is it presumptuous? Is it practiced because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/clap_clap_clapping_by_Anima_en_Fuga-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":84905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/prayer-and-devotion\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":2},"title":"Prayer and Devotion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Larry White via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 31, 1987 We pray little because we desire little. A full soul, full of the world and fat on the plenty and pride of this world, will not be a praying soul. He requires nothing. The hungry soul longs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52608,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-we-conclude-that-a-person-is-glorified\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":3},"title":"How can we conclude that a person is glorified?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'd like to know how to define \"glorify.\"\u00a0 How can we conclude that a person is glorified?\u00a0 By what sign? Answer: The word \"glorify\" means \"to give glory to\".\u00a0 Glory can mean honor, praise, or devotion, but it is usually considered a much more intense word than any of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalms-100\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":4},"title":"Psalms 100","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 100 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a psalm which is specifically titled as one to be used for thanksgiving or during a thank offering, it is Psalms 100 II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What you should do ... \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Shout joyfully to the Lord \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some things are not meant to be kept\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46461,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/devoted-to-the-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":59458,"position":5},"title":"Devoted to the Word","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer When the problem of neglected widows came up in Acts 6, the apostles told the church to choose seven men of special quality to take care of it so that they would be able to \"devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word\" (Acts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/joy-300x200.jpg\")
What is the source of his joyful devotion? First, there is the joy of praise. “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth<\/em>” (Psalms 34:1). Second, there is the joy of communion with God. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want<\/em>” (Psalms 23:1). Third, there is the joy of fellowship with God’s people — the common prayer, the harmonious praise, and the sharing of a common salvation.\u00a0 Fourth, there is the joy of service — the privilege of opening the door of God’s kingdom as a refuge to the lost, and a place of consolation for believers.<\/p>\n