We took a long-awaited trip to Scotland a few years ago. One of the highlights of our time there was the hike we took with a prominent Highlands guide. He was the author of several books on the history of the region and on the Gaelic language. We enjoyed some adventures in the Queen’s forest and at her cabin in the woods. Ask my bride sometime what happened at the cabin.

Our recent long-delayed 35th anniversary trip to Italy included a daylong walking tour of Rome. Rome was not built in a day, but we discovered how it can be walked in a day. (Helpful tip: Wear comfortable shoes.)

A good guide is worth whatever he or she charges. Beware, however, of guides like a friend of mine who grew up in the Dominican Republic. His childhood home was near where the tourists began their journeys around the island. He would guide tourists and tell them fantastic tales and local information with little basis in actual fact. Today he is a pastor and evangelist. 

The Sons of Korah are back with another hit song. Read the whole psalm beginning with the first verse and you get the idea it is all about Jerusalem. The famous last words, the bottom line, however, are about what make the city so remarkable. For the Jews of that day, it was the place where they could go meet with God. 

The greatness of the city was not the hills or the buildings or the awe one experienced upon first seeing it from a distance. The greatness of the city was the presence of God. 

It has been said, “All roads lead to Rome.” The ancient Romans were good road builders. This enterprise led to twenty-nine roads connecting all 113 provinces of the realm. Rome was the center of the world in many ways. 

For the Jewish people who lived a thousand years before Christ, all roads led to Jerusalem. It was the City of God. All roads led home to his house. 

The bottom-line truth SOK (Sons of Korah) want to impress on us that God is God and there is no other. They also want us to know God is our guide always and forever. Who better to walk us through our days and along our ways than our God who created us and everything else? Who knows the way we should go for adventure and ease, for meaningful employment and enjoyable relationships?

How do we get God to guide us? We simply acknowledge him for who he is. We ask him to lead us. Then we follow in his steps, we walk with him, and we walk before him. Adventures await. Knowledge expands. Wisdom is gained. Life is maximized. 

Put on comfortable shoes and let’s get going.

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