March 26
DebDay 12: The convergence of Zoom and Psalm 65 (?)
I've been living on Zoom, averaging 2-3 calls a day, like a lot of us. I've read where some Legislative staffers and college students are on Zoom 8 if not 10 hours per day. It's a solid tool for a needy time. And, some may be encountering "Zoom fatigue."
On a side note, I was on a Zoom call today, we got hacked. We got "Zoom bombed" by some clown with too much time on his hands. Didn't see that coming. But I've added "Zoom bombed" to my vocabulary.
I thoroughly enjoyed a Zoom call with some of our church's leaders on Sunday afternoon. I was on a Zoom call with almost all of the Radiant elders (all five churches' worth) on Monday. I found myself asking myself, "This was great. Why haven't we done this before?" (We're going to go weekly now.)
Last night, Deb and I were on Zoom with our children (and a certain dynasty-carrying crown prince grandson.) We laughed, we got caught up, and afterward I wondered, "Why haven't we done this more often?" The Rydman Nation is going to make this a regular thing.
How could accessing people on Zoom result in so much tangible joy? Maybe because our Lord wants to bless me through connections with relationships I value and enjoy.
Seemingly unrelated to Zoom...but maybe not...is this bit in Psalm 65:3-4
"When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple."
This is another expression of the gospel, the good news of Jesus.
We can be joyful. We have been forgiven.
We can be joyful. We have been chosen to be His.
We can be joyful. Someday...we are to end up in His house for eternity.
But, and even though we are all painfully aware of how physically separated we are, don't miss this:
We ARE the House. We ARE the TEMPLE. (Check my work on this - go read 1 Peter 2:4-5)
If that's true, (and I think it is) then (this side of heaven) we are already IN the house...because... we ARE the house!
The point? We're currently separated, but we're not really separated at all. We're all bricks in a building, a temple that has certainly not fallen down.
This too is gospel, and in spite of our spatial separation, I am incredibly joyful, because the joyful good news of Jesus.
And that good news is for all of us! We can rejoice in that!
-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau
