envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

Pray Without Ceasing, Week 4, Day 23

by David Joynt on June 24, 2019


PSALM 84:3 | Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts; my King and my God.


The pilgrim remembering his temple visit recalls a vivid details—the roof is open to the sky and birds nest in the eaves, making their home in clefts in the great structure. Sparrows and swallows are humble birds but the Temple is recalled as a place where everyone can find a spiritual home. No visitor is insignificant. The magnificent architecture and the carefully orchestrated rituals are meant to include and make comfortable everyone who enters. The cosmic God still has his eye on the smallest creature.

What makes a sanctuary accessible and inviting as well as beautiful?

What kind of bird is your favorite?

Tags: home, temple, pilgrim, birds

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

More from Pastor Joynts Devotionals

return to Pastor Joynts Devotionals