“You notice everything I do and everywhere I go.” –Psalm 139:3
I’m a private person. I’d venture to say I am more private than most. I think it comes from being an only child. Growing up, I always had my own room, my own stuff and my own time. I’m so private, I won’t even let my wife in the bathroom when I’m “covering my feet,” as the Old Testament so delicately puts it.
Of course, a locked door and a request for privacy may deter my wife, but it doesn’t stop God. According to this verse, God takes notice of everywhere I go and everything I do once I get there.
I guess that has its benefits. I had a friend who once told me that when he goes to the grocery store, realizing God is there with him, he asks “Lord, what would you have me eat this week?” I’m a little afraid of that question, because I’m pretty sure God wouldn’t appreciate my caffeine addiction or my fly-like love of sugar.
But, it is an interesting thought. God is not just the God of the great, but of the small as well. He goes with me to the grocery store, and He watches as I go about my morning routine. He is aware of the OCD issue I have when it comes to setting my alarm clock at night.
God notices all of my quirks.
A lot of people would take this verse and talk about purity of thought. Most Christians would probably take this verse and remind you to be on your best behavior because the eyes of Texas are always upon you.
That’s been done. What interests me about this verse is that my quirks and inconsistencies are known by my creator. He takes time to notice that I eat each item of food on my plate completely before moving on to the next. He is aware that I misplaced my stereo remote three days ago and have been going quite mad ever since.
He knows which DVDs I’m going to dust off and watch when I’m sick. (They’re the same every time.)
He sees my quirks, and has a good chuckle because He knows that particular set of oddities belongs only to me and no one else.
This line is both comforting and frightening. It is comforting in the sense that knowing God listens to my thoughts gives me a feeling of connectedness with my Creator. It brings a tremendous amount of solace to know God understands me so well and so deeply as to know my very thoughts.
But it is disturbing and terrifying at the same time. I know my thoughts. I know how carnal they are, how frivolous and blasphemous they are. If I could peel back the curtain and let others see my thoughts, you would see how vain, self-centered, manipulative, paranoid and depraved my thoughts are. If I were to truly speak what was on my mind, I wouldn’t have a friend in this world.
My thoughts are the one place I don’t want to let God in. I don’t want Him to know my worst sentiments or to let Him hear the idle thoughts that come out of nowhere and that I don’t even think I can control. My mind can be a scary place, even for me— and I don’t like to think my Father in Heaven would want to even take a peek in there— but he does. Over and over again.
He sees my thoughts clearly and chooses to do so. Even more unfathomable is that He chooses to love me, even after knowing what goes on in my mind. That is an indescribably powerful love. Think about your darkest most carnal most evil thoughts… if your spouse or closest friend were aware of those, would they still be able to love you?
This is the true measure of God’s unconditional love! His thoughts are not our thoughts, but He loves us despite even our most vulgar thoughts.
“You know when I sit and when I rise.” –Psalm 139:2
You may not care when Uncle Luther sits or rises, but God does.
Of course, if one believes in an all-knowing God, one would have to conclude He is aware of all we do. But don’t brush over the power of this verse. Don’t look at it just as Scriptural evidence of God’s omniscience. Look at the minutia. God knows when I sit and when I rise.
That He knows this may be obvious, but the fact that He cares is amazing. How many people do you care that much about? When you’re at work, do you care if your spouse is sitting or standing? I love my wife more than I could ever describe in this blog, but I’ve never sat at work and thought, “I wonder if she’s sitting down right now.”
Social networking allows us to keep track of such small details, but even though someone on Twitter may inform me they are sitting down (in 140 characters or less, of course,) I’m not going to care. I might think “Thanks for sharing. That’s nice.” Then I would go on about my day and forget. It’s such a minor detail.
And yet, God is aware of when we sit and when we stand. The God who is described as all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present, actually bothers with such minor details of my life.
I don’t know what to do with that kind of love. I’m certainly not capable of loving that way.
It’s easy to think that God is with us during our great triumphs and that He is available to rescue us in our deep despair, but it isn’t easy to see God in the small stuff. Does God really know when I cut my toenails? Is He with me when I’m driving to work? When I walk to the mailbox every day, is He watching me then?
He is so great and my life is so dull. Why would He take such an interest in my sitting and rising, my coming and going? Why does God make my business His business?
“Oh Lord, You have searched me— and you know me.” –Psalm 139:1
Maybe this is what it looks like when God searches someone?
This is just one sentence and very few words, yet the implications of this one sentence are huge. What this sentence says about God is astounding. This psalm begins by telling us that the nature of our God is not passive. He does not sit on the sidelines and watch the story unfold. He doesn’t create with His hands and then let go to see what happens. He is active in His zeal for His people and is intimately acquainted with those whom He has created.
Out of the entire universe, God has searched me. The maker of all that is and ever was is not just aware of me. He isn’t just aware that humans exist. He has looked down from wherever He resides and found me. He didn’t just glance either. He didn’t do a cursory inspection. He thoroughly examined every part of my life.
It says in this passage that God has searched us so completely that He knows us, and the next few verses will tell us just how deeply.
This is a God who knows His people even better than they know themselves.
I cannot begin to tell you how comforting that is. I don’t know about you, but I struggle to truly know myself. Half of the time, I can’t even tell you why I’m feeling the way I am. I question my motives, I don’t understand my desires. I don’t know why the thoughts that come to my head show up there or where they came from. I wonder, as the Apostle Paul did, why I do the things I don’t want to do.
There is an ocean in my soul separating who I am from who I want to be, and I’m sure there’s an even bigger chasm between who I think I am and who I truly am. But God knows not only who I am in reality, not only who I think I am, and not just who I want to be. He knows all of those more intimately than I do, but He also knows who He created me to be.
He doesn’t question my motives because He knows them completely. He doesn’t have to ask why I do things I don’t want to do, because He knows that. He’s the only being in all of creation that truly “gets” me. Sometimes when I can’t put my feelings into words, it helps to know that my Father in Heaven knows and understands those feelings.
It begs the question, why would God have any desire to search someone so completely, and the only conclusion I can come to I don’t understand. The only reason someone would search the depths of another’s soul and would want to know everything about them is because they love them.
The Creator of the universe loves me that much… and when I think that, I crumble. I can’t take the gravity of such a thought. I don’t see anything in me that is worthy even of the love of another human being, let alone my maker. I have dark places and if God knows me completely, He knows where each of those places are. And somehow, in spite of shining a huge light into that darkness, He still loves me? I can’t grasp that kind of love.
I’m going to take a break from my normal ranting and grumbling. For the next few days I will set aside my usual criticisms and ponderings and reflect on one of the most beautiful word pictures found in the Bible.
Not to sound clichéd but the next few blogs are more for me than for anyone who may be reading. I want to spend some time looking closely at Psalm 139, which—more than any other passage I can think of—describes how deeply God loves His people.
We live in a society of unfaithful marriages, throw-away relationships and shallow friendships. I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time I turn around I’m losing a friend, meeting an enemy or struggling to know who I can trust.
This song written by King David thousands of years ago tells of the love of a God who doesn’t change. The one being in all the universe who knows me completely… The only One who knows my motives, will not second guess me and will never have an inaccurate perception of me.
This is the song of a God who knows me better than I know myself and who sees my strengths and weaknesses—and doesn’t run or turn away. He is the only One capable of loving me unconditionally. So, for the next few posts, I invite you to meditate with me on this old Psalm. Some might call it over-used, but I know I can’t hear of God’s love enough.
To start, I’ll post the Psalm in its entirety. In the posts that follow, we will look at each passage together and reflect on this unshakeable and undeserved love the Father has for us.
Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 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 know it completely, Oh Lord. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, Oh God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, Oh God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Oh Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
For those of you who can’t tell from previous posts or who are just tuning in, it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. Uncle Luther is a Presbyterian. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to go soft on his own people. Ready? Here goes nothin’…
You might be a Presbyterian if…
Your pastor is currently on part 23 of a 12 part series.
You have made Jesus lord of your life, but you’re still holding on to your wallet with all your might.
You’ve ever caught yourself praying in the name of Calvin.
You believe God has predestined the elect to eternal life, but have a strong desire to witness to people on airplanes.
You refer to The Westminster Confession as “The Newer Testament.”
When asked for advice you’ve ever responded by saying: “Deal with it.”
Everywhere you look you see evidence of depravity.
You think “Matthew 18” is an entire chapter devoted to church discipline and conflict resolution.
You know what the “Doctrines of Grace” are.
You prefer tulips to daisies.
You understood #10.
When confronted with someone’s pain, your first thought is about God’s role in suffering instead of what you can do to help.
You have ever tried to convert other Christians to Calvinism.
You thank God daily for the ESV Bible translation.
My wife was a Southern Baptist when we were dating. We taught Sunday School together in a Southern Baptist Church where I was grudgingly a member, but I never fully bought into the theology. I’m a little nervous about this one because of the size of this particular denomination. I wouldn’t want to risk alienating a majority of my readers. But… it has to be said, so here goes…
You might be a Southern Baptist if…
When someone refers to the fathers of the Christian faith you immediately think of Charles Stanley and Billy Graham.
You’re reasonably certain all Catholics are going to Hell.
The altar call at the end of the sermon lasts longer than the sermon itself.
Your lunch is frequently held up by “one last sinner” at church.
Your typical tip at a restaurant consists of a 99 cent tract, a stick of mint chewing gum and the 72 cents you had in your pocket.
Everyone else is wrong.
Your rebuttal when challenged by another Christian is, “That’s not what My Bible says.”
The body and the blood are secondary. It is all about the water, the method of Baptism and whether or not babies should be baptized.
Your entire statement of faith could be summarized by simply saying, “We’re not Catholic and we baptize by immersion.”
You’ve ever referred to a dance as a “foot function.”
You think Jesus’ first miracle was when he turned water into grape juice.
The doors of your church are locked more often than they are open.
You make it a point to pray before any meal at a restaurant—and do so until the food is cold.
You send all your money and resources to support foreign missions, but the homeless five miles from the church remain unfed.
You are pro-life, but there is never a war you don’t support.
I was raised in a Methodist church. I haven’t forgotten who brung me to the dance, but I also haven’t forgotten the laugh riot that is the UMC. Ready… Get set…
You might be a Methodist if… (Go!)
The building fund is more important than the tithe.
You believe Jesus saves people from their sins— you just aren’t sure everyone has sin and needs saving.
You believe women can and should be ordained— but you don’t want to ordain them.
No one in the congregation actually knows what the denomination as a whole believes.
Your church has to have a traditional and contemporary service, otherwise World War III will break out over the music used during worship.
You have been in the same church all your life but have gone through 27 new pastors.
You have never been a Catholic, yet carry around the same amount of guilt.
A committee meeting is required to determine whether or not to repair a broken window in the sanctuary.
You can somehow make every situation in life relate to grace in some way.
You’ve ever wondered why “Blessed Assurance” is in your hymnal.
The majority of your congregation consists of Baptists who are only Methodists because they don’t want to be called Baptists.
You actually know the pledge to the Christian flag and the pledge to the Bible.
You think a new slogan covers a multitude of sins.
Your church has ever canceled Sunday evening services due to the Super Bowl.
This blog is the first in a series of satirical lists about different Christian denominations. There are too many denominations for me to get to all of them, but I do at least intend to hit the ones I’ve had some experience with. This is an exercise in laughing at ourselves folks. Don’t feel unfairly picked on by any of these lists. I fully intend to pick on everyone fairly. Let’s start though with one of the most quirky denominations in all of Christendom, the Independent Fundamental Baptists.
I once dated an Independent Fundamental Baptist and at the time was convinced that these were the best churches in the country. A little bit of church shopping at a handful of these small, close-knit operations taught me a few things I didn’t know and a whole lot of things I didn’t care to hear anymore about. I’m glad I didn’t join up, but sometimes I do think about wandering in for a good laugh.
And now… You might be an Independent Fundamental Baptist if…
You have ever used the phrase “Get right with God.”
You believe that Jesus spoke Aramaic and the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek— but the 1611 King James Version is the only inspired Word of God.
Evangelism consists of tracts, bus visits and a “magic prayer.”
You believe women deserve second-class treatment in the church because Eve “started it” by eating the forbidden fruit.
You treat everyone outside the church as a “pagan” or “heathen,” unless, of course, you can win a free steak dinner by inviting them to church.
You believe masculinity is defined not by a man’s leadership in the home or his faithfulness to God—instead it is a simple question or whether or not he urinates standing up.
Most of your church music resembles a either a barbershop quartet or old drinking songs.
You can take prophecies from Jeremiah regarding Israel that have already been fulfilled and apply them to the United States.
You just can’t for the life of you understand why God would choose such a nasty process for human reproduction.
The thought of people burning in Hell makes you smile because you feel they are getting what they deserve.
You’re not sure if liberals can really be Christians. In fact, you secretly hope they can’t.
You have memorized the book of Leviticus.
Who’s next? So many denominations, so little time…
