Pastor's Weekly Musing
Hey everyone!
An incomprehensible aspect of God is that He's omnipresent: everywhere all at once. When you pray, God is fully present with you as if you're the only human in existence and He's got infinity to spend with you. No matter where you go, whether it's the highest mountain-top or the lowest valley, He's there. Even if you run as far from God as you think is possible, you can't get to a place where He's not already been there, waiting.
Simultaneously, He's omniscient: He knows everything. Not just facts about the universe (which He created), but even internal, imperceptible things that no one can see, even things we don't know about ourselves! Before you even utter your thoughts out loud, He knows what they are, why you think it, what the source is, the motivation behind it, the goal in mind, the pain beneath it, the hope you're pursuing in it. He knows it ALL. It's mind-numbing, right?
David writes poetry to try and capture the idea, in Psalm 139:
"You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely."
David is coming to terms with the knowledge of God, how incredibly vast and deep His wisdom and awareness truly is. He goes on:
"You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."
Can you sense David's claustrophobia? He can't go anywhere and God not be there! It's "too wonderful" for him to ascertain.
If you have an incomplete view of the goodness and character of God, this would be horrifying news. He knows my every thought?? That doesn't like something to celebrate, like it's divine surveillance of some kind.
But we know the conclusion the David comes to in Psalm 139:
"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."
Because David knows who God is and what He's about, He knows that all this wisdom and knowledge, this omniscience and omnipresence, they're all funneled together for our good. God thinks "precious" thoughts of us, all day every day. He desires your good, not destruction or punishment. He loves you and wants a close relationship with you.
Ponder that today for a bit. He knows it ALL -- all your idiosyncrasies, your thoughts, opinions, pain points, worries, hopes, fears, dreams, inconsistencies, sins, victories -- He knows you. And that's a GOOD thing, a REALLY good thing! He knows you fully and loves you completely.
What a Savior!
An incomprehensible aspect of God is that He's omnipresent: everywhere all at once. When you pray, God is fully present with you as if you're the only human in existence and He's got infinity to spend with you. No matter where you go, whether it's the highest mountain-top or the lowest valley, He's there. Even if you run as far from God as you think is possible, you can't get to a place where He's not already been there, waiting.
Simultaneously, He's omniscient: He knows everything. Not just facts about the universe (which He created), but even internal, imperceptible things that no one can see, even things we don't know about ourselves! Before you even utter your thoughts out loud, He knows what they are, why you think it, what the source is, the motivation behind it, the goal in mind, the pain beneath it, the hope you're pursuing in it. He knows it ALL. It's mind-numbing, right?
David writes poetry to try and capture the idea, in Psalm 139:
"You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely."
David is coming to terms with the knowledge of God, how incredibly vast and deep His wisdom and awareness truly is. He goes on:
"You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."
Can you sense David's claustrophobia? He can't go anywhere and God not be there! It's "too wonderful" for him to ascertain.
If you have an incomplete view of the goodness and character of God, this would be horrifying news. He knows my every thought?? That doesn't like something to celebrate, like it's divine surveillance of some kind.
But we know the conclusion the David comes to in Psalm 139:
"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."
Because David knows who God is and what He's about, He knows that all this wisdom and knowledge, this omniscience and omnipresence, they're all funneled together for our good. God thinks "precious" thoughts of us, all day every day. He desires your good, not destruction or punishment. He loves you and wants a close relationship with you.
Ponder that today for a bit. He knows it ALL -- all your idiosyncrasies, your thoughts, opinions, pain points, worries, hopes, fears, dreams, inconsistencies, sins, victories -- He knows you. And that's a GOOD thing, a REALLY good thing! He knows you fully and loves you completely.
What a Savior!
__________________________________________________________
Some great in-town conferences are taking place this month:
- The Resiliency in Grief Conference is a great local gathering that aids in walking though trauma and grief. On April 21-23. Click HERE for more info.
- The Weekend to Remember is a great marriage conference that is local and awesome. On April 21-23. Click HERE for more info.
- The Refresher is an awesome city-wide women's conference hosted by Ignite Life coming up on April 28-29. Click HERE for more information and to register. This is a great opportunity for the women of Meadows to gather together to worship, grow, and connect.
- The Resiliency in Grief Conference is a great local gathering that aids in walking though trauma and grief. On April 21-23. Click HERE for more info.
- The Weekend to Remember is a great marriage conference that is local and awesome. On April 21-23. Click HERE for more info.
- The Refresher is an awesome city-wide women's conference hosted by Ignite Life coming up on April 28-29. Click HERE for more information and to register. This is a great opportunity for the women of Meadows to gather together to worship, grow, and connect.
__________________________________________________________
Wasn’t Pancake Sunday awesome? Those cinnamon swirl pancakes were just ridiculous. Many thanks to all who made it happen! I love this church!
__________________________________________________________
Did you get your picture taken on Easter Sunday? Click HERE to go to the Meadows Flickr account. We got over 300 pictures stored there. You can peruse and download for free! Pretty cool, right?
__________________________________________________________
This Sunday, we'll continue our series, APPRENTICE.
Last week, we looked at the context of 1st-century discipleship and connected it to what Jesus meant when He tells us, "Follow me." It's a call to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. We'll spend the next few weeks breaking down this idea.
Join us this Sunday for Part 2 - Be with Jesus.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the walkway!
Pastor Ron
Last week, we looked at the context of 1st-century discipleship and connected it to what Jesus meant when He tells us, "Follow me." It's a call to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. We'll spend the next few weeks breaking down this idea.
Join us this Sunday for Part 2 - Be with Jesus.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the walkway!
Pastor Ron
Recent
Archive
2023
March
June
September
2022
March
July
September
2021
January
Categories
no categories