6-Dec-14 – Emily's Snippets

Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:2-3There is nothing as precious as an open door or an open gate to welcome us home. Can you imagine the beauty? Every time I came home to see my parents, the door was open wide, I could smell delicious sniffs of favorite foods wafting toward the door. Arms were held out in welcoming hugs. Going home was the best. Those moments are a blessed memory now, as my parents left this earth, and found another open gate welcoming them home to the Presence of God.Faithfulness and righteousness is the pathway to that open gate. The song, Open the Gates of the Temple…Strew palms on the Conqueror’s way, Open your hearts, O ye people, that Jesus may enter today.…(Frances Jane Crosby) were the lyrics that I cherish and still remember with joy. (Thanks, Mom)Righteousness is the way, and it is not steep or rough. Why? Because God is trustworthy and He smooths our pathway. All we need to do is search each day to know our Lord and glorify His Name. When the way seems the most difficult in the hours when the world sleeps, I will continue to search for you. And in the early dawn, your Name is on my lips. Some day soon, I will see the gate open wide and beckoning arms waiting to hold me close.Dear Lord God, Each day I long for you and want to know you as my Lord Master. I praise and glorify your name. I seek your face and love you, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. Isaiah 26:7-9