WHAT THIS MEANS:
Try saying these two strange words out loud, they're fun to say! What they mean: GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING and IS EVERYWHERE! This is something we definitely tend to forget!
The Bible says:
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought . . . Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought . . . Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
(from Psalm 139)
Wow! What an amazing God we have! This is both good news and bad news. The good news is that He will never leave us and is with us in every situation - good or bad. The bad news is that we can't just serve God on Sundays and Wednesdays or only when we are in church. God knows all of our thoughts all the time everywhere! ACTION:
No more trying to fake God out. He knows. You might as well be real with him. No more living for God at church but not at school or with your friends.
Don't ever again say, "I can't do that, I'm at a church function." It doesn't matter. God is everywhere, all the time.
TODAY (or tomorrow if you're reading this at night):
1. Do something to remind you that God is there all day long. Ideas: Set an alarm on your watch or phone every half hour, make a mark on your hand, tie a string around your finger, decide that everytime you see a black car, you will think about God; get creative - just do something that will keep God in your mind all day long.
2. Talk with someone about God today, nothing specific or complicated, just talk about him. Talking about him keeps him on your mind.
PRAY: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23-24)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(these are intended to help get discussion started - please do not feel confined to these questions: comment as you like!)
What did you do to remind yourself that God was with you all day?
Why do we feel like it's ok to live one way outside of church, but another when we are at church? Does this make any sense?
I wrote GOD on my hand today :) But i think a lot of us have to live two different ways because church sets high standards for everyone. When you go to church, everything seems to be an assumption. "Yes i ASSUME that you are just a good Christian as i am." "I ASSUME that everybody's walk with God is going well." "I ASSUME you have been doing the right thing." And that's just an opinion. I'm sure everyone doesn't do that but that's just what it seems like only because it's a small community and we know each other pretty well. The elders in the church assume that everyone's kid is perfect and well behaved so they expect them to act that way when they see them. That puts pressure on us to be the good kid. So when you come to church you put on your fake smiles to impress and to achieve that standard that others have set. I'm not saying that we're bad, but we are raised differently and we are faced with the challenges of growing up and all that. To me, it doesn't make sense for us/me to do this at all and i realize how dumb it is for me/other people to act like this. From my opinion of course. Isn't church a place where you are supposed to be yourself?
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