“We were the beggars
Now we’re royalty
We were the prisoners
Now we’re running free
We are forgiven, accepted
Redeemed by His grace
Let the house of the Lord sing praise”

House of the Lord, Phil Wickham

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household…”

Ephesians 2:19, NIV

Many of us were, at some stage of our life, foreigners and strangers – outcasts, the odd one out – the black sheep or the one who just didn’t fit.

We all know what it feels like, to varying degrees, to feel out of place.

But the love of Christ calls the lost and wandering from all the corners of the earth to the foot of the cross. “Sinner, oh, sinner, come home!”

The Apostle John writes, in the first Epistle that bears his name: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)

We who were orphans – alone and scattered – now have a home. We now have a family. We are children of God!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of homecoming.

You might not be celebrated by the world, sometimes you might not even be celebrated by the ones you love – but God rejoices over us with singing! The whole host of heaven comes alive when even just one lost sheep wanders back into the fold!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of belonging.

Not only do we belong to Him, but we also belong to one another – as Christians we are baptised into the family of God. As His children we belong together – knit together by the love of Christ. As His children we belong to each other – to serve one another in love and compassion.

When we are baptised into the family of God we no longer walk alone. God walks with us, but so do our brothers and our sisters in the Lord. We are there to comfort and console one another, to journey together, to share our burdens – but also to rejoice as one voice, hearts in one accord, to sing the praises of the Lord!

There is joy in the House of the Lord – the joy of identity.

No longer strangers or foreigners, we are now citizens of the Kingdom and children of God. We are the Bride, the Body – the redeemed – we belong to Him!

We have gone from the rags of spiritual poverty to the riches of His grace and mercy, from being beggars to being royalty!

His Name is now written on our hearts – we are His Body, we are His Bride.

Let the House of the Lord rejoice – the whole household of God – the redeemed of the Lord: Let us sing and shout His praise! Let us proclaim the goodness of the One who has called us out of darkness and translated us into the light of His Kingdom – He who has called us as a peculiar people.

You might not fit in anywhere else – but you fit in here! You might feel out of place in the world, but here we belong.

Let the House of the Lord rejoice! And in rejoicing, may we make known the great deeds and the great love of our God! In rejoicing, may we beckon the outcast, the weary and the burdened: ‘Come taste and see that the Lord is good! Come and find yourself in the House of the Lord!”

If you have not yet found the joy of your salvation – if you still have questions, doubts and fears – reach out! It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done – your Father is calling you home!

Reach out by sending an email to andre@adlabuschagne.co.za.

We want to journey with you.

Come and join us in the House of the Lord! Come home!

Prayer: There is joy in the house of the Lord! I thank you for Your love, the same love that called me out of darkness and into Your light! I pray today, Lord that I will remember and be mindful of the joy of my salvation today – and that I will share this joy with those around me in the hopes that many more will come home. Let me be a beacon of Your love and grace. Let me be a safe space. Let me be Your hands and feet on the earth, ready to seek out the lost and embrace the sinner – leading them back to Your heart. In Jesus Name! Amen!