Tag: christian

Psalms 139: 3-4

~ Mom Morsels
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Intimately Acquainted with All My Ways

Isn’t it nice to know someone cares? Like when you’re feeling down and someone close to you notices. God notices you too! Psalms 139 verses 3-4 New American Standard Bible shows us just how closely He notices:

You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

So why would God scrutinize our path and lying down? Maybe, because He cares? My husband and I care about our children and you better believe we scrutinized their paths and lying down. When they were heading out somewhere and were dressed inappropriately, we might ask, “Just where are you going dressed like that? Go change please!” When they were ‘lying down’ too much as teenagers and wouldn’t get up to do chores, yup, we scrutinized their paths and they got to work on the chores! All this because we cared about them and wanted them to grow up to be mature godly adults.

So, yes, God scrutinizes our paths for the same reason, because He cares! Scrutinize H2219 means to winnow. And winnow means “to blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff”. In Luke 3:17 NASB we read about how God feels about chaff:

His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

In this verse, the chaff are the wicked which God will thresh out. But from Psalm 139, we can see that God also winnows our paths. When He lets the winds of affliction, trials, difficulties blow through our lives, He is blowing away the chaff that we have allowed to accumulate. He’s getting rid of the waste that clutters our lives and makes us unfruitful. He wants us in His barn, but not our chaff.

And according to our verse, He knows all your ways. The way you twirl your hair. The way you get your sensitive feelings hurt so often (That would be me! Working on it!). The way you hate Brussel sprouts with a passion. He knows. You don’t have to explain yourself or your ways to Him.

That word on your tongue…Ever wonder why when you are about to say something that’s off, you get a little check in your spirit? Maybe I shouldn’t say that. Because He knows what you are about to say! Because He knows your thoughts even before you have formed them into words to speak out with your tongue. Wow, what a gift to save us a lot of trouble and to keep us from speaking hastily. If we would just learn to listen to His Spirit within us when He give us that little check! But praise God we have His forgiveness to cover any words spoken unrightly.

Remember the virtuous women in Proverbs 31: 26? She opens her mouth with wisdom. This means that there are times she will keep her mouth closed and it is wise to do so. Like if she doesn’t have control of her emotions in that moment- she may want to keep her mouth closed. Like if what she is about to say will not build someone up or give grace in the moment, she may want to keep her mouth closed. Like if what she is about to say, she will have to ask forgiveness for later (Yup! Done that many times!), she may want to keep her mouth closed. Still learning this personally!

So in that moment when you are feeling misunderstood, please remember that

YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS IT ALL, HE KNOWS YOU AND YOUR WAYS AND HE CARES.

In His Love,

Suzanne

Psalms 139-Introduction

~ Mom Morsels
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Know Your Identity

Knowing your identity is so important! If you are not sure of who you are, then you can be swayed to be someone or something you were not intended to be. You can be swayed to do things you were not intended to do. The Bible teaches us just how important KNOWING YOUR IDENTITY is.

When Satan had his one audience alone with the Son of God Himself, he used his best tactics. What did this include? Let’s look at Matthew 4:1-11 new American Standard Bible (italics mine to see what satan’s tactics were)::

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’’ Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, so that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’’Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.

Out of the three chances Satan had to tempt Jesus, he used two of them to try and get Jesus to doubt who He was. Satan attacked His IDENTITY. If that is Satan’s best tactic against Jesus, why would Satan use anything less on us? This is why so may Christians struggle with their identity in Christ. Because Satan is after our identity! Identity is exactly where Satan attacked Jesus and it’s exactly where Satan attacks us.

So I don’t think we can expect that at some point we will ‘arrive’ and no longer have to battle with this. I think we should even expect that these types of attacks on our identity will continue and so this is a heads up for us to be on guard, to be ready! So “…be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” ( 1 Peter 5:8 NASB). DON’T LET IT BE YOU THAT IS DEVOURED! Be ready! Be on the alert! One way to be on the alert is to have His Word in your heart, so that you can be sure of who He made you to be, of your IDENTITY. Studying Psalm 139 will help!

Why is identity so important? Because it is out of knowing who we are, that we can give ourselves humbly to serve others, and this includes serving our family. Let’s look at Jesus example in John 13:3-5 NASB (italics mine):

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

It was out of KNOWING HIS IDENTITY-that He came from God, that He was going back to God, that God had given Him the victory-it was out of this knowing, that Jesus was able to humbly lay it all aside and wash His disciples feet. Ok, sorry, but I am UNDONE by this! The King of Kings humbled Himself and washed the disciples feet. Can you imagine? I would have been like Peter and said, “No, Lord! Don’t wash my feet!” (that comes later in the chapter). And Philippians 2:6 says that Jesus did not have to “grasp” His equality with God or His identity. He already knew His equality with God. He was secure in it. Because He was so secure in His identity, He was able to humble Himself to wash His disciples feet and to humble Himself even to point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

As we follow Jesus example, if we also become secure in our identity, not needing to grasp for it, but firmly holding onto our identity as CHILDREN OF GOD, then we are able to humble ourselves and serve others, and put their needs above our own. That is why KNOWING OUR IDENTITY IS SO IMPORTANT.

So moms, let’s

KNOW WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST, SO THAT WE CAN HUMBLE OURSELVES AND SERVE OTHERS.

In His Love,

Suzanne