{"id":3251,"date":"2015-06-03T17:56:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T21:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=3251"},"modified":"2015-06-03T18:18:21","modified_gmt":"2015-06-03T22:18:21","slug":"worship-wednesday-choose-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=3251","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Choose Well Whom You Serve – The Doorkeepers (Bowab) of Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/a>\"64\"<\/a>\"37\"<\/a>A day in your courts is better\u00a0than a thousand elsewhere.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/em>I\u00a0would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>than dwell in the tents of wickedness<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>For the Lord<\/span> God is a sun and shield;\u00a0<\/span>the Lord<\/span> bestows favor and honor. <\/span><\/span>No good thing does he withhold\u00a0<\/span>from those who walk uprightly.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>O Lord<\/span> of hosts,\u00a0<\/span>blessed is the one who trusts in you!<\/span><\/span><\/em> \u00a0 – Psalm 84:10-12<\/a><\/p>\n

For many years, we were apartment dwellers in the desert city of Cairo, Egypt. The Nile River winds gloriously south-to-north through the city, but it is nonetheless a remarkably dusty place. The fine sand of the Sahara blows in daily and covers everything in its wake. Washing windshields, sidewalks, and hallways must be done each morning. These\u00a0are among the many needful tasks for which the doorkeeper is responsible.<\/p>\n

Most\u00a0residential buildings have a doorkeeper, called a “bowab” in Arabic. He and his family often live in a tiny space on the bottom floor of the building. He, his wife and children run errands, do various other tasks for building\u00a0residents,\u00a0find taxis for those who need them, and stand guard, so to speak, at the door of the building.<\/p>\n

\"28\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The bowab has a lower station in life, but the ones I’ve known treated their work and those they served with dignity and graciousness. They may have preferred a different path, but maybe because of lack of opportunity or education, this was their life. Whether they chose it or not.<\/p>\n

I had read Psalm 84 before moving to Egypt, but not until meeting the bowab of our building did these\u00a0words come alive to me. This Psalm is written by the Sons of Korah* who were doorkeepers and porters those days in the house (tabernacle) of the Lord. They have a fascinating history which set the stage for them also to be sincere worshippers of God – humble, joyful, passionate worshippers.<\/p>\n

Reading this Psalm, I am reminded of the pull of the world on us to walk away from God. To leave our stations. To choose to do something else. To be someone else. We begin to believe the voices that we deserve something different…something better…we owe it to ourselves to break free. Our thoughts can get more and more muddled…with that wanting something more…more than this?! More than what we have in Psalm 84?<\/p>\n

We choose our course in life. God draws us to Himself, but we choose<\/strong> to align ourselves with Him or with the world.\u00a0There is no “not choosing”. On days when my thinking gets clouded, I’m so grateful for\u00a0the Word of God – how\u00a0the truth of who God is resonates in my heart and mind. He is my Sun – driving away the darkness and my fear with it. He is my Shield – deflecting the arrows meant to wound and confuse me. He withholds no good thing from those who walk with Him.<\/p>\n

“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>than dwell in the tents of wickedness<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/em>”<\/p>\n

\"Alexandria01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Just this morning, a friend reminded me of his devotional reading today out of A Daily Dose of Spurgeon<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges; there they dwelt with the king for his work.”<\/em> <\/strong>– 1 Chronicles 4:23, ASB<\/a><\/p>\n

Potters were not the very highest grade of workers, but “the king” needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service… We, too, may be engaged in the most menial part of the Lord’s work, but it is a great privilege to do anything for “the king”; and therefore we will abide in our calling… The text tells us of those who dwelt among plants and hedges… They may have desired to live in the city, amid its life, society, and refinement, but they kept their appointed places, for they also were doing the king’s work… Ye unknown workers who are occupied for your Lord amid the dirt and wretchedness of the lowest of the low, be of good cheer, for jewels have been found upon dunghills ere now, earthen pots have been filled with heavenly treasure, and ill weeds have been transformed into precious flowers. Dwell ye with the King for His work, and when He writes His chronicles your name shall be recorded.”<\/em> – Charles Spurgeon<\/a><\/p>\n

Remembering the Sons of Korah and the Egyptian bowab helps me reckon with my station in life. How thankful I am that God has delivered me out of merely existing for myself and into gloriously serving Him. There is nothing menial there. All momentous. Nothing small. All mysteriously and\u00a0lovingly God. I want to stand at that door…how about you?<\/p>\n

\u201cChoose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<\/a><\/p>\n

If it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord<\/span>, choose this day whom you will serve<\/strong>, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord<\/span><\/strong>.\u201d – Joshua 24:14-15<\/a><\/p>\n

\"7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

YouTube Video – Better Is One Day – <\/em>with Lyrics\u00a0– by Matt Redman<\/a><\/p>\n

*Who were the Sons of Korah in the Old Testament?<\/a><\/p>\n

Egypt Essentials: The Bowab<\/em> by Erin Owen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A day in your courts is better\u00a0than a thousand elsewhere.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u00a0would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God\u00a0than dwell in the tents of wickedness.\u00a0For the Lord God is a sun and shield;\u00a0the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold\u00a0from those who walk uprightly.\u00a0O Lord of hosts,\u00a0blessed is the … Continue reading Worship Wednesday – Choose Well Whom You Serve – The Doorkeepers (Bowab) of Egypt<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[810,926,1241,50,33,317,761,1002,32,47,203,946],"tags":[1379,1381,603,1387,1377,1382,1380,271,1378,575,1384,1386,1383,1385],"class_list":["post-3251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-good-gifts","category-attending-or-focus","category-contentment","category-god","category-inspired","category-lessons-learned","category-redeeming-restoring","category-transformational","category-walk-with-god","category-wednesday-worship","category-word-of-god","category-worship","tag-better-is-one-day","tag-bowab","tag-cairo","tag-choose-well","tag-doorkeeper","tag-egypt","tag-erin-owen","tag-matt-redman","tag-psalm-84","tag-sahara","tag-shield","tag-sons-of-korah","tag-sun","tag-worshippers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-Qr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3251"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3273,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3251\/revisions\/3273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}