Note from Lisa and Daily Bible Reading Update

Hi GEMS!

I am up early and sitting at my computer on a beautiful sunny morning. I see the incredible nature of God in the way He faithfully grants each of us a new day in which to make an impact the people around us. I have been daily praying for you and I’m looking forward to being with you again – whether at summer picnics or when we get together in the fall!

God has been leading me to Psalm 139 this week, so we’ll spend some time looking at this interesting section of God’s word.

Love ya!
Lisa

Thur/June 19: Psalm 139:1-4
You know how you sometimes hear that “God is always with you”? This section shows us one place where the Bible teaches us this. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter what you say – the Lord is there.

Fri/June 20: Psalm 139:5
Here, we see the loving protection of God. He lays His hand upon you. Are you seeing it? Sometimes, we miss how God is protecting us because He isn’t doing it in the way we want. If you are truly His child, you are a part of His promises, and He is protecting you. If you’re not “feeling” this, perhaps a good prayer starter today is, “Father, please show me how you are protecting me – open my eyes to see you.”

Sat/June 21: Psalm 139:6
In this verse, the “knowledge” is God’s complete knowledge of every single thing about us. Do you ever find yourself doing or thinking things and you wonder, “Where did that come from? Why am I acting/feeling like this?” We mystify and amaze ourselves sometimes—but God knows us more deeply than we can know ourselves. Because of this, as we draw closer to Him, He reveals more and more about who we are to us.

Sun/June 22: Psalm 139:7-8
One of the characteristics of God is that He is omnipresent. This means that because He is Spirit, He is in all places at all times. Our human minds cannot really understand how that’s possible. But, this verse assures us that this is true. What a comfort to know that the God we worship is able to be there for each one of us at all times no matter where we are. Additionally, we need to remember that because God is omnipresent, He sees everything we do…”The Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do.”

Mon/June 23: Psalm 139:9-10
The idea in verse 9 is that God sees the entire scope of the world. The “wings of dawn” meaning where the sun comes up (in the east) and “far side of the sea” probably meaning (at the time of this Psalm’s writing) the most western seas. Again, we see the promise and comfort from verse 10 – He will lead us and guide us everywhere we go.

Tue/June 24: Psalm 139:11-12
We cannot hide from God. He sees all the wonderful things you are doing everyday, and He sees the ugly things you do. Remember, you are not condemned for the “bad”, but you do need to confess them to God and simply ask His forgiveness.

Wed/June 25: Psalm 139:13-16
I LOVE these verses. I refer to them all the time when I’m talking to someone who does not like the way God made them. Either they think they are too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, too slow, they have a disorder, they’re not pretty enough, their nose is too big, it’s too small, etc. etc. Read these verses and see that God made you. He does not make mistakes. Every person is wonderfully made. Another way to understand these verses is, ““I thank you because I am so wonderfully and mysteriously made, and because all your works are so wonderful; you know me completely” (Robert Bratcher)

Thur/June 26: Psalm 139:17-18
These verses give us a way to worship God. When you are getting wrapped up in the problems of your life, it’s so easy to lose the “big picture perspective”. In verses 17 & 18, the psalmist is reminding us that the God who knows us and is with us has more “thoughts” than we could ever imagine. He is so immense and incredible—yet, He personally cares for each one of us. You are precious!

Fri/June 27: Psalm 139:19-22
Wowser! Strong words! #1 – I love the honest emotion we see here. This guy was not afraid to lay out exactly how he was feeling—and we should never be afraid to do the same with God. The psalmist is showing his hatred for those who are enemies of God. He is so in love with the Lord that he cannot stand those who hate God. Of course, we have to strike the right balance between hating the sin, but loving the sinner.

Sat/June 28: Psalm 139:23-24
Are there any of us who have “anxious thoughts”? Use these 2 verses as a prayer to the Father. You can’t hide anything from Him anyway, so open up and acknowledge that you want Him to search you. Looking at the very last line – what a loving conclusion to this great Psalm. God, “Lead me in the way everlasting”. It’s only the things of God that last; our lives are better and stronger when we live according to His ways.

Sun/June 29: Psalm 143:10
This is a great follow up prayer verse. By ourselves, we cannot always do the good things we know we should and that we want to do. Here is an honest prayer that says, “God, I need you to show me how to be like You.”

Mon/June 30: Psalm 26:2-8
Verses 2 & 3 again touch on the idea of God examining our hearts. Verses 4-8 give some ways that a Christian lives when she is wanting to please God.

Tues/July 1:Jeremiah 17:10
I keep taking us into the Old Testament because I believe it is very important for us to see that the core characteristics of God have been around for thousands of years and He does not change. That is a comfort to me when my world is going crazy. I am hooked up to God who has seen it all and still the world continues. Here, God again assures us that He sees what we do and rewards us for choosing right ways. Never forget, however, that when you do wrong, you can be forgiven – but His forgiveness cannot take away the consequences that come from our choices.

Wed/July 2: Ephesians 4:20-32
Paul is writing to the church and telling them to remember that they are Christ’s people. He reminds them (and us) that when we choose to live as His children, we are new creations. With each new day, we can grow towards being more like Him. Paul gives some specific examples of ways to live a God-honoring life.