Bulletin Articles

Bulletin Articles

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Psalm 139

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

Sunday, August 13, 2017

The title of this article comes from praise the Psalmist uttered to our heavenly Father (Psa. 139:14). Throughout this chapter, the majesty of God is brought forth. Here is a list of things man ought to acknowledge about our Creator.

 

Psalm 139:1-6

The Lord knows everything about us, even things as simple as when we sitting down or raising up (verse 2). There is nothing we can think of that our Father does not know (verse 3). The same goes for every word that we utter – everything is heard by Him (verse 4). Realizing that He observes and knows us so well should cause admiration for His knowledge and a realization that we could never attain this ourselves (verse 6).

 

Psalm 139:7-12

Knowing the unlimited power of God, there is no place anyone could go to hide from Him. If into heaven, He is there. If into the depth of the grave, He is there (verse 7-8). The same is true if one goes into the depths of the sea – the hand of God is there (verse 9-10). It does not matter what time of day it is, for He is light even in the darkness (verses 11-12).

 

Psalm 139:13-16

Our God creates us in our mother’s womb (verse 13). When our bodies were stitched together at conception, we were not hidden from

Him (verse 15). Yes, each life has substance and is seen by the Creator even in the womb (verse 16). This is a reason why we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Many people might not see anything of worth when we are barely formed, but God does!

 

Psalm 139:17-18

When all of this is realized, it ought to cause us to value the thoughts of God and to desire to know all we can from Him (verse 17). The Psalmist spoke wisely when he stated that the thoughts of God are like the sand (verse 18), meaning, there is so much we can learn. Problems will come when we foolishly think we are so smart, especially those who think they know better than God. Before we think of ourselves too highly, we need to stop and consider the overwhelming might and wisdom of God.

 

Psalm 139:19-22

A natural outcome of such devotion to our Lord is a distaste towards those who disrespect our Father in heaven. There is a longing to be away from such people (verse 19). God’s children cannot stand hearing anyone speak His name in vain as this is wicked (verse 20). This feeling is not rooted in a lack of love for the lost. Rather, it is a perfect hatred for those who hate God (verse 21-22). Therefore, those who are enemies of the Lord are our enemies (verse 22).

 

Psalm 139:23-24

In the end, the faithful followers will cry out to the Father asking that He search us and know our hearts (verse 23). We want to make sure He knows that we do not want any wickedness in us or any sin held against us. We also want to express our desire to be lead in the right way (verse 24). This makes sense as the goal of His people is to be able to spend eternity with Him.

 

Yes, we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Let us realize and appreciate what this means. God recognizes and cares for each of us individually. He has known us from the womb and loved us before we knew Him (Romans 5:8). His knowledge and strength stretch far beyond anything we are capable of. May this knowledge cause each us to be the kind of people the Lord wants us to be by faithfully following his commands every day of our lives (John 14:15).

 

                                                                                              Chuck

Why did He create man?

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Why did He create man?

 

      A couple of weeks ago I was in a class and was asked an interesting question. The person wanted to know that since God is omnipresent and omniscient – everywhere and all knowing (Heb. 4:13; Psa. 139:7-10), if He knew man would be so wicked, why did He create man?

 

Although this is a question that only God can answer, there are some things revealed in the scriptures that might give us some insight. We need to remember that just because our God is all knowing, it does not mean He cannot chose NOT to know things, He can. When Jeremiah spoke to the people of Judah, God said, “they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind.” (Jer. 19:5).

 

Since our God did not think of something, did that limit His power? Of course not. Now, if God chose to know everything it would seem a little strange that in Genesis 5:6, we would find these words, “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”  It would seem odd that God would create man in the beginning, knowing full well that the world would become so evil, that He would be upset about it.

 

 The scriptures reveal that God put in place a plan of redemption before the world was even created (Eph. 1:3-4). Does this mean that God knew that Adam and Eve would sin? It is not out of the realm of possibility. However, having a plan in place to help redeem mankind if they sinned, doesn’t mean our Creator knew it. I am not suggesting He didn’t know, all I am saying is, there are things our God can choose not to know.

 

Am I thankful mankind was created? Absolutely. But regardless of whether our Father chose to know everything, it doesn’t remove His great love for with He loved us. Giving us a soul that can live with Him forever – that is awesome just to think about (Gen. 1:26; Matt. 16:26).

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                           Chuck