God's Love Story
Psalm 139
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
(PSALM 139:14)
We all need to be reminded of how much we are loved by God, especially when the world's cares and burdens have us feeling unloved. Psalm 139 is a great place to find that affirmation. God has created us carefully and purposefully and is very interested in every facet of our lives.
Jesus taught us that the very hairs of our head are numbered (Matthew 10:30); that as He cares for the birds of the air, the lilies and the grass of the field, He knows and cares for us even more (Matthew 6:26-34). Like any good parent, He assures us that He will provide for and care for us.
He is the great designer of our lives, knowing our special achievements and our routines, the things that surprise us, the circumstances that lead to success or drain our energy. He reminds us in Luke 15 of the celebration over a lost sheep, lost coin, or lost son when each is found. When we wander and come back to Him, He celebrates. He intensely loves us and is with us through every situation, listening as we share our heart with Him.
INSIGHT
IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT WHAT CONCERNS ME CONCERNS MY HEAVENLY FATHER. I AM NO BOTHER TO HIM!
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ezra 5-6
Psalm 28
Mark 7
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
5 You hem me in —behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths,[a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to[b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 139:8 Hebrew Sheol
b. Psalm 139:17 Or concerning
THE GAMES BEGIN
With security tight and traffic snarled, the 2012 Olympic Games in London official begin. As our eyes turn to those who are running their race have you stopped to consider the race you are running?
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