by David Brenneman
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 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. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Psalms 139:1-24 NASB1995
How personal do you take your walk with Jesus?
Is His presence in your life your first thought or somewhere down a list of people?
I read this passage this morning and began piecing together what we know of the Disciple's lives.
They were considered uneducated.
They were of various backgrounds as far as employment goes.
They were a mix of single and married.
They were from what was considered the 'just getting by' crowd to those who were from families that had money due to their family business.
In other words they were made up of people not too dissimilar to people in the Church today.
People like you and I.
There's meme's out there of the Disciples trying to get away for a day from being with Jesus that are and yet are not funny.
The truth is they never accepted the idea of being anywhere else.
Reread the passage from today.
How personal was David's thoughts of his relationship with his Lord and his God!
Do you really put things above your times with Jesus? Do you put things above your time with Jesus?
A great snare of the devil is how to get us to waste our time, our energy, our lives rather than counting the cost and living appropriately in the Lord.
I have perhaps 6 dozen movies yet really can no longer see a value in watching any again. I can't see a value in watching any new movies that don't have a solid Christian theme. I find no value in sports due to what it brings out in me which is nothing good. I find no value in berating people, belittling people, raging at people over a stupid game...and thereby ruining my testimony in Christ before others.
The Disciples were living a life that exemplified being with Jesus. Single or married they lived a life that was to have what Jesus said and taught as their highest priority.
Consider how deeply David felt a little such thoughts.
“I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.”
Psalms 101:2-4 NASB1995
He set a standard and would not be moved.
The bar that I personally have set it seems the Lord, thankfully, adjusts in my life to make me more like Christ.
It was a personal choice to remove televisions from our home. That was one worthless thing. We still do have other things that we're more controlling of to try to curtail that are just as worthless.
It was a personal choice to no longer read science fiction novels for me. This was replaced with more time in God's Word. Something of eternal value.
We do more damage to our testimony and our life in Christ by holding onto whatever He says isn't beneficial to growing in Christ.
We lose out on the righteous life that God desires for us to be doing when we control rather than the Spirit controlling whatever is in our hearts and minds.
We cannot know what the Lord's plans are for us until our obedience is complete.
So my Dear Reader...just how personal is your walk with Jesus?
What are you keeping in your life that has no business being in your life for it serves no purpose in the Lord?
If you find yourself convincing or trying to convince yourself of what you deserve to have in your life...you're in trouble.
If you have reached what the world refers to as retirement and have given up on serving the Lord as you once did...you're in trouble.
All the Apostles gave their all until the day the Lord called them home.
Jesus, the epitome of the standard, gave His life in the fulfillment of the Father’s plan for Him.
Jesus would not let anyone or anything deter Him from His Father’s plan for Him.
Are you going to follow in their footsteps?
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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