Thoughts For Today ...Why Hide?

The Message (MSG)


Psalm 139
A David Psalm
1-6 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!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there!
If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings
to the far western horizon,
You'd find me in a minute—
you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I'm immersed in the light!"
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

13-16 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.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I'm about;
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

MY THOUGHTS

I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID IF I DONE SOMETHING WRONG I WOULD HIDE UNDER THE BED HOPING KNOW ONE WILL FIND ME BUT RATHER IT WAS MY UNCLE OR MY GRANDMOTHER THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO FIND ME UNDER THE BED ....I REMEMBER MANY TIMES I WAS AFRAID AND FEARFUL BECAUSE OF MY GRANDMOTHER FOUND ME SHE HAD A BELT THAT STING AND MY UNCLE WOULD HIT ME KNEES WITH HIS FIST ...BUT IT WAS NOT ABOUT BEING PUNISH IT WAS I THOUGHT I COULD HIDE FROM THEM AT TIMES ..ISN'T THAT IS WITH HOW WE RELATE TO GOD OUR FATHER ..WHEN WE FEEL ASHAMED WE DO NOT CONFESS OUR FALTS TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE LORD AND WE HIDE KNOWING IF I DID NOT CONFESS KNOW ONE WILL EVER KNOW BUT GOD KNOWS EVERTHING ABOUT US ....DAVID IN PSALMS 139 KNEW HE COULD NOT HIDE FROM GOD BECAUSE GOD IS EVERYWHERE AND KNOWS EVERTHING WE DO IN SECRET BUT GOD IS ALSO HAS GRACE AND LOVE TO FORGIVE US OUR WRONG DOINGS, SO WHY HIDE?

MY QUOTE FOR TODAY IS
Properly remembering our past sins with shame will deter us from repeating them and help us receive God's saving grace. When we recall our failures through the lens of Christ's mercy, God produces in us ongoing repentance and deepening humility.

BY ROBERT JONES

PRAYER FOR TODAY

GOD SOMETIMES I FEEL SO ASHAMED OF THE THINGS I DO AND WRONG AND I NEED YOUR HELP TO BE HONEST TO YOU TO OTHERS AND MYSELF THAT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO SEPARATE US FROM YOUR LOVE ..GIVE US THE STRENGTH TO GO FOWARD AND BE STRONG AND GIVE US YOUR STRENGTH BECAUSE IT ONLY COMES FROM YOU IN JESUS NAME AMEN

Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love



TODAY'S VERSE "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love" John 15:9 (NIV)
TODAY'S THOUGHT I have had Christians chide me for my passion over the unconditional love of God. What about the Holiness of God, the part of God that hates sin? And yes, I understand that God is Holy and that He doesn't have to love us at all - but He does. He chooses to. He sees my sin and then He sees the sacrifice of His son. Jesus Himself said it, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." How much does the Holy Father love His only begotten? Can we fathom it? And Jesus makes only one request. That we understand it? That we rationalize it? That we argue over it? No, He asks us to remain in His love. Like myself, Brennan Manning taught for years about the love of God without personally understanding its depths. Manning speaks of his own awakening in his book, Abba's Child. He writes, "Unwittingly I had projected onto God my feelings about myself. I felt safe with Him only when I saw myself as noble, generous, and loving, without scars, fears, or tears. Perfect! But on that day in Colorado I came out of hiding. Jesus removed the shroud of perfectionist performance and now, forgiven and free, I ran home. For I knew someone was there for me. -- I finally felt all the words I have written and spoken about stubborn, unrelenting love. That morning I understood that the words are but straw compared to the reality. I leaped from simply being the teacher of God's love to becoming Abba's delight." Today, you too can leap from reading to reality. Quit trying to earn His love and accept the unconditional love He has for you.
Romans 8:1 is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture, from both a theological and a psychological point of view. Theologically, this verse makes crystal clear the fact of our forgiveness in Christ. God has done through Christ that which we could never do, setting us free from the power of sin and death. Thus if we “belong to Christ Jesus,” the Greek reads literally, “if we are in Christ Jesus,” then we know that God does not condemn us. By his grace in Christ, we are forgiven, justified, and welcomed into relationship with him.
Romans 8:1 proclaims truth that touches our souls, or in New Testament Greek, our psyches. Thus it has powerful psychological implications. Many people struggle with a deep sense of their own inadequacy. We feel ashamed because of what we have done and even because of who we are. No matter what we might say about God’s love, in the depth of our hearts, we feel as if God stands against us in angry judgment. Though we are right to see and hate our sin, we are wrong in our estimation of God’s stance. If we belong to Christ by putting our faith in him, then there is no condemnation for us. Thus we can be free to approach God, knowing that he loves and forgives us. Though we rightly confess our sins to him, we see ourselves, not as dirty sinners but as forgiven sinners beloved by God, being renewed through his Spirit.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you ever struggle with the thought that God stands in judgment against you? Do you question God’s grace in your life? How might the truth of Romans 8:1 permeate your soul?






TODAY'S PRAYERGracious God, in some ways, this verse is so familiar to me. I’ve read it a hundred times. I’ve taught it, preached it, and written on it. It’s old news to me Father, dear Father. How long have I felt unworthy of your affection? How long have I strived trying to win Your approval? But today I quit. Today I quit trying to earn Your love. Today I surrender. I surrender to Your word and accept the love that You freely have for me. Thank you Father for Your unconditional love.

Thoughts for Today - Trapped?

TRAPPED?


Is anything too hard for the Lord? - Genesis 18:14a.
Nicholas White had a long, long weekend. He was trapped at work from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Nicholas went out for a little cigarette break and the elevator stalled after a fraction of a second voltage drop. No one noticed Nicholas was gone. Probably thought he had left for home a little early. No one noticed until Sunday afternoon when he was spotted on a security camera. It’s not like he didn’t try to gain some attention. He screamed, he banged on the walls, he pushed every button, and he tried to climb through the ceiling of the elevator. After his release he said he was relieved and a little shaky. He refused medical attention and said he just wanted to go home.
Have you ever been trapped? Not in an elevator but by life? Many people feel as though they are trapped by life. It may be financial, or it may be their health, or it may be their marriage, or their job, or family, or an addiction, or so many things that seem to get in the way of the enjoyment of life. 40 hours seems like a slight inconvenience compared to the lives which some are living year after year. We may very well feel like Nicholas. We bang on the walls of heaven, we scream, we push every button we can find, we try to climb out but no one seems to notice; not even God.
What can we do? How do we escape? Somehow our focus must go beyond our situation. We must look beyond our temporary circumstances of this world to the eternal circumstances of the Kingdom of God. Abraham and Sarah were trapped in their old bodies of 100 and 90 years of age. But God said they would have the promised child. Sarah laughed at the possibility. We would have laughed too. The spiritual reality, however, was that there was nothing too hard for the Lord. We must put our focus on and our trust in Jesus (Hebrews 12:3). We must deposit our fears, worries, cares, anxieties, situations, circumstances all upon God (1 Peter 5:7). When we do that we will find through the power of God we have been translated from our prison of circumstances into the freedom of eternal life.
QUOTE FOR TODAY Every person in the world, including yourself, will encounter various trials throughout life. Satan seeks to defeat you by tempting you to trust your own wisdom, to live according to your self-centered feelings, and to gratify the desires of your flesh. In contrast, God’s will is for you to be an overwhelming conqueror in all of these tests for His honor and glory.

Biblical Counseling Foundation
PRAYER FOR TODAY
FATHER IN JESUS NAME HELP US NOT TO FEEL TRAPPED IN OUR CURCUMSTANCES OF ADDICTIONS , TROUBLES AND TRIALS OF LIFE BUT HELP US TO KNOW THE TRUTH BECAUSE THE TRUTH HELPS US TO BE SET FREE FROM THE CHAINS WE ARE SO USE TO LIVING TOO .
FATHER IT CAN BE SCARY SOMETIMES ..PLEASE LORD GIVE US STRENGTH FOR WITH YOU ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IN JESUS NAME AMEN