Psalm 139:1-6 ESV
O Lord, you have
searched me and known me!
You know when I sit
down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path
and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is
on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind
and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
For the follower of Jesus Christ, these words are comforting
and assuring. God, who created us, knows everything about us. He knows us much
better than we even know ourselves. He knows us inside and out, through and
through. He knows what we are going to do or say even before we know it. He
knows what we are thinking, and he knows our attitudes, too, for he can see all
the way into our hearts, and he knows our true motives, as well.
He knows it all even before it happens, and he sees it all,
too. Nothing, not anything is hidden from God’s sight. So, no matter where we
go, God is there watching. No matter what we watch, or what conversations we
have with people, or what activities we are involving ourselves in, God is
there observing our every move. And, what we do matters to him, for he made us
for a purpose, and that purpose is that we give glory to him by our lives.
Yet, many people live their lives as though this is not
true, and many of them are Christians, too, but who are living in spiritual
adultery against their Lord. For, they have partnered themselves with lust and
lewdness, and they are believing the lies of wolves in sheep’s clothing rather
than the truth of God’s Holy Word. In fact, they are rejecting much of God’s
Word in favor of the teachings of mere mortals, because the lies comfort them
in their sins.
For, the lies tell them that they can be saved from their
sins and be bound for heaven and yet still walk in sin, and still live in
rebellion against Almighty God. For, they are convinced that once they are
saved, God’s grace covers it all, and their sins no longer matter to God. And,
some even go so far as to say that God no longer sees when they sin, and so
they can be involved in all kinds of wickedness and gross immorality, and they
say that when God the Father looks at them, he only sees Jesus, who is God the
Son.
Yet, many of them are not merely denying the truth of God’s
Word to console them in their sins, but they are now actually joining in with
these wolves in sheep’s clothing to stand in opposition to God’s Word and to God’s
messengers, too. And, they are campaigning against the true gospel of our
salvation, accusing it of being “works-based salvation” or hateful, intolerant,
extreme and/or radical.
And, they are doing this all in God’s face, too, with him
watching, but in direct opposition to him, targeting his Word and his
messengers (witnesses) who are spreading the truth of his gospel. And, too, they
are building a case against those who are teaching the truth, calling them
radical and extreme, or bigoted and intolerant, or hateful, while they themselves
are embracing the lies.
For they are a
rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to
hear
the instruction of the Lord;
who say to the seers,
“Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us
what is right;
speak to us smooth
things,
prophesy illusions,
leave the way, turn
aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of
Israel.”
Isaiah 30:9-11 ESV
Psalm 139:13-16 ESV
For you formed my
inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's
womb.
I praise you, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your
works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not
hidden from you,
when I was being made
in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the
earth.
Your eyes saw my
unformed substance;
in your book were
written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Yet, there is comfort here for those who are following the
Lord with their lives. There is comfort here, too, for those who are being
accused falsely, and who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ
and for the sake of his gospel.
God made us. He knit us together in the womb’s of our
mothers. He placed us in the families where we grew up. He created each and
every one of us with a unique design and purpose. Not one of us is the same,
and although we were all created to give glory to God by our lives, we don’t
all have the same exact purpose or calling in life. We don’t all have the same
function.
But, all those who are followers of Jesus are to leave our
lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in surrender to his will and in
obedience to his commands. This is his will for all of our lives. He created us
for this purpose when he gave us new birth in him. Our lives are no longer to
be our own, to live them however we want. Sin is to no longer have dominion
over us, but Jesus is to be our only Lord (owner-master).
God has a design and purpose for each one of our lives, and
for all of us it is to give him glory by how we live our lives, to submit our
lives to him, and to reverence him and to give him honor by following him in
obedience. And, we can do this because of what he did for us on that cross.
For, he died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. His grace to
us is deliverance from the control of sin over our lives and it is freedom to
walk in holiness.
For, it is not grace if it leaves us still bound in our
sins, still walking in the flesh, yielding to sinful practices. God’s grace
delivers from slavery to sin, and it empowers us to live righteously before our
God all our days. Amen!
And, so if you are one who is holding to the truth, and who
is sharing the truth with others, and if you are presently under fire for
believing the truth and teaching the truth to others, and your friends and
family have turned their backs on you, and they have betrayed you, know that
God is fully sovereign over your life. All the days ordained for you were
written in his book before one of them came into being, so find comfort in
that.
Know that the same God who made you, and who knows all about
you, and who created you for a purpose, and who is watching over your life, has
a plan and a purpose for this, too, and he will give you all that you need to
survive this onslaught, which is truly directed at him, and to come out
victorious. Just keep on in doing what he has called you to do, and keep
entrusting your life into his hands, and he will carry you through.
Psalm 139:23-24 ESV
Search me, O God, and
know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be
any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Again, God created us for a purpose, and that purpose is for
us to give glory to him with our lives. And, he gave us his grace, and he
provided the way for us to be saved from our sins, and to have eternal life
with him, too. And, that way is the way of the cross in our lives, in dying with
him to sin that we might live with him to his righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph.
4:17-24).
So, we should all pray for God to search our hearts, and to
show us what is in our hearts, for anyone of us can be self-deceived, at times.
Anyone of us can convince ourselves, at times, that either God doesn’t see, or
that he doesn’t know, or that he doesn’t care, now that we are under grace.
But, his grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!”
to ungodliness and fleshly lusts (worldly passions) and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return
(Tit. 2:11-14).
And, the truth of his gospel of salvation is that we must
die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness if we want to have
eternal life with him. This is not saying we will be perfect, but that sin
should no longer have dominion over our lives, but that Jesus should be our
only Lord. And, now we should walk (conduct our lives) according to the Spirit
and no longer according to the flesh (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
For, if we walk according to the flesh, and not according to
the Spirit, we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God
(Gal. 5:19-21). And, we are all going to reap what we sow, too. For, if we sow
to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death).
But, if by the Spirit, we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will
reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8). So, know the truth and live the truth, for your
life depends on it.
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
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