Don't be a copy!

 "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." - John Mason

This is the short quote that stands at the bottom of my diary for today. These words immediately reminded me of two wonderful passages in the Bible.

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it." - Psalm 139:13-14

Thought: We spend so long comparing ourselves to others, when we should be living out the person who we were created to be.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Search me and know my anxious thoughts

I have often felt that this prayer in Psalm 139 has to one of the bravest prayers I know.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23-24

To invite God to search the core of our being is to have complete trust in the mercy of God. Intellectually we may understand that we can't hide from God, so to ask God to 'know' our hearts, and our anxious thoughts, is really to stop running and to be still before God. That can be scary, but it doesn't need to be. 

If we are serious about walking in the ways of Christ, we need to be willing to be completely vulnerable before our Maker. What do you feel?

Jeremiah prayed a similar prayer: But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. (Jeremiah 12:3)

Living in Grace

D3LM3

I can't take it all in

Part of the Lectionary readings for this week focus on the beautiful passage from Psalm 139. In his paraphrase, Eugene Peterson sums up the splendour of God's love for us, but stating: "this is too much, too wonderful - I can't take it all in!"

"God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!" - Psalm 139:1-6

God's presence is indeed an amazing gift to us all. Sometimes we just have to shake our heads and marvel at the Good News - it is too much to take in.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Searching deep within

Psalm 7:9 – “… for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men/women and examine all their motives and their thoughts.” (Living Bible)

The Psalmist reminds us that it is only the Spirit of God that can penetrate deep into our hearts and souls, searching out our inner thoughts and motives.

I still maintain that one of the bravest prayers we can ever pray is:

"Search me, O God and know my heart." - Psalm 139:23

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Even before we were known on earth

Every time I read Psalm 139 I am reminded of how much God loves each one of us. And then when we read the same passage from a few different translations, the wonder of God's love becomes even more pronounced. Take the words from Eugene Peterson's paraphrase as an example:

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day." - Psalm 139:13-16

Max Lucado adds another unique insight into these words when he contemplates how God has loved us even before we breathed our first breath – “You were loved in heaven before you were known on earth.”

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Check up

"Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24

I have always admired this honest prayer of David, where he gives permission for God to test his heart and to 'know' what is going on in his mind. It reminds me of going to the doctor, where we give them permission to do a series of tests in order to discover what is wrong with us - it is called a 'Check up.' In a way, we are saying to the GP - "please search my heart and body and find out why I am feeling sick."

In coming to God today we should we saying the same thing, but obviously related to our spiritual well-being. "Lord, I am not feeling so good, so please would you get to know my heart and help me find out why I am anxious or troubled."

Are you willing to pray this part of Psalm 139 as a prayer today?

If yes, then it may be best if you gave yourself a little time and a quiet space to pray.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Knowing yourself

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle

Being self aware is such a rare thing nowadays. Either people are so full of themselves or so critical of themselves, that they can't strike a balance. I know that the older I get, the more I understand about myself, but I have a long way to go yet. 

In my opinion, the more we are honest with ourselves and come to understand who were are, the more open we should be to receive Jesus. When we understand our weaknesses, sins and need of a Saviour, then we are in the right space to call out to God.

Even if you are still struggling to know yourself, turn to the One who knows you better than anyone else.

Psalm 139:1 - You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Hand upon you

"You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me." - Psalm 139:5

This verse was part of our readings on Sunday and it brings such a vivid word picture to mind. It is made all the clearer when you read this insight from Robert Alter, who says that this verse should rather say ... “You set your palm upon me". Of course in Hebrew culture the significance of blessing was very huge and the act of laying a palm on the head of someone else spoke of grace and mercy. It was a great sign of blessing. 

And so, as we go about our daily tasks, let us remember that our Lord chooses to lay his palm upon our heads in a sign of peace and love. He desires to bless us and not to curse us.  The additional statement that reminds us that God 'hems us in' then doesn't seem to be as scary - it is news of God's favour - the ultimate Good News.

"To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer." - Henri Nouwen

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/blessing

Living in Grace

D3LM3 

My calling, your calling

We catch ourselves often wanting to be someone else. We even begin to think that what they are doing, is perhaps what we should be doing. However, in the end, we will make ourselves frustrated and dissatisfied. Your calling, is not my calling. If I live my life trying to fulfil what God has given you to do, then I am going to become very grumpy.

Listen to the words of one of Mother Theresa's biographers:

"The call to change political structures or seek justice, though recognised as valid, was not hers. Hers was to deal, one by one, with those whose horizons had shrunk to the bowl of rice they craved. Those seeking to understand were put to work because "love was best proved in deeds"..."

So, if you would like a little advice. Stop trying to be someone else. Be yourself. Use your God-given gifts and stop wishing you were someone else.

Psalm 139:14 -  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Living in Grace
D3LM3