Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.
Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Have you felt at times that you were born at the wrong time or wrong place? Do you feel like God misplaced you, thinking you were meant to live in a different family, another country, or time period in history, where you believe you would have fit in better, enjoyed living more, prospered, had a better quality of life?
Or, maybe like one of the many homeless I counseled, been told your entire life that you were an accident or a mistake a waste, you’ve grown up believing it?
But it isn’t true because God doesn’t make mistakes. He doesn’t put us in the wrong time and place. As well, He hasn’t given people the power to accidentally create another human or assign worth or personal value. Men and women may not have planned the lives of their children, but we know from His word Psalm 139:13-16, that God does plan for all of our eternities which wait far far ahead.
As Psalm 139:16 describes, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”
God carefully created each one of us, as Psalm 139:13 describes, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
No matter the circumstances of our conception or birth, Psalm 139:14 reassures us of God’s plan for us. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Even so, we may continue to still feel like we don’t know which way to turn in life; some may feel lost, but when we’re not sure which way to go, we ask God to lead us, and He will, like Psalm 32:8 assures, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.”
Life Makes Sense: God’s Story of You
Psalm 139:16 Living Bible
16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!
We love stories, but it’s surprising how easily we can end up missing the stories God has written for our lives.
Winston Churchill once famously claimed that history was simply “one . . . unpredictable pathway after another over which we have little, no control.”
In other words, he claimed there was no story behind our experiences in life, only a vast series of unpredictable events over which no one has any control.
Few things are more deadening to your soul than thinking that your life ultimately means little more than one unpredictable thing after another.
Yet that’s how we often feel.
On many days we view our jobs or careers or families as where we have “ended up” in life.
In fact, it can seem a bit presumptuous to think there’s some master plan behind whatever situation you are in right now.
But the Bible tells us that the events of our lives make sense because they are part of a much larger story.
The struggles of last month or the victories that we may claim in the next few weeks are not simply chance occurrences.
They are part of a story line that is going somewhere.
The work you do, the people you share life with, the abilities you have, and the weaknesses you struggle with are all part of a diverse collection of elements intended to make for a really good story—the story of you. God’s story of you.
Do you believe this?
Do you believe God?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 8 The Message
8 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.
3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?
5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden’s dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us stewards of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.
9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
When in our music God is glorified,
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried:
Alleluia!
How often, making music, we have found
A new dimension in the world of sound,
As worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!
So has the Church, in liturgy and song,
In faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue:
Alleluia!
And did not Jesus sing a Psalm that night
When utmost evil strove against the light?
Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight:
Alleluia!
Psalm 116:12-19 The Message
12-19 What can I give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me? I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God! I’ll pray in the name of God; I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it together with his people. When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him. Oh, God, here I am, your servant, your faithful servant: set me free for your service! I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice and pray in the name of God. I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it in company with his people, In the place of worship, in God’s house, in Jerusalem, God’s city. Hallelujah!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
What Shall I Render Unto the Lord?
The Psalmist expresses the depths of his love for the Lord because God hears and God answers unto His children when they call to Him.
In this Psalm, his song of deepest praise, the Psalmist recalls the many troubles and sorrows he has already encountered, then unleashes upon all his readership exactly how gracious and exactly how compassionate the Lord has been to him.
The Lord heard his cry for help, the Lord rescued him from death and despair.
And as the Psalmist remembers the merciful kindness and patient grace of the Lord towards him, he cries out,
“How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me?
What can I give to the LORD for all he has done for me?
What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?”
The Psalmist knows there is so much he wants to do to say “Thank You, God!”
Yet also within this psalm, the Psalmist knew, as we do, that there is nothing that we can do to exactly repay the Lord for all His grace and love towards us.
There is no amount of payment or reward that we can offer to God that could possibly pay Him back for the miraculous, wonderful things He has done for us.
There is nothing we can do, but we can surely offer Him our sacrifice of praise.
We can pour out our whole heart of gratitude to Him for our great salvation.
We can tell others, we can shout and sing to others of the wonders of His grace and mercy, and we can render unto God our hearts, to seek to do His will with a willing and obedient heart that is overflowing with love for our gracious Savior.
Oh! I wish I could influence God, but God is never influenced by man’s foolish attempts to repay Him for what He has freely given as an eternal gift of grace.
There is nothing we can do to repay the Lord for all His goodness and loving-kindness He has shown towards us, but we can live a life that is pleasing to Him by trusting His Word and seeking in all that we say and do to live a godly life.
We can render unto God our gifts and our talents, to walk in spirit and truth, submitted to the guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and letting the love of Christ shine through us in thought and deed, to the glory of the Father.
We Can Use All Our Creative Talents to Glorify God
Psalm 138:4-6 The Message
4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.” They’ll sing of what you’ve done: “How great the glory of God!” And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.
It is written in the very first line of the Bible: “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1, emphasis added).
Creativity begins with God.
He had a plan and had a good design for the cosmos and spoke it into being.
We have a written account of how creation came to be, and how the very first people were made by God. God spoke, made, and revealed it all through the written word – He was behind the entire creative order that we see around us.
When we look at the intricacy of a snowflake or a leaf or a spider web, the symmetry of a butterfly, or the perfect location of the earth’s position in the rest of the solar system, we witness to all the handiwork of our Creator God.
He also planned that we would be made in His image (Genesis 1:26), so it is no surprise that we get to experience the wonder and joy of creativity ourselves.
With all of the wonders and miracles of this creative potential surrounding us every single day we live, how can we use our creative talents to glorify God?
Give All the Glory to God Alone
Whatever we do, we are to do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
That includes our creative endeavors.
As the apostle Paul shared,
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
In Colossians 1:16 it says: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
It is through Jesus that everything has been made and it is all for Him (John 1:3).
God made the universe through His Son (Hebrews 1:2) and it is by faith that “we understand the universe was formed at God’s own spoken command, so what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
It’s right, it’s good, it is an abundantly authentically joyful thing, to always give all of the glory to the only One who made it all, for whom it is all for.
It also fulfills the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Luke 10:27).
What we create should not ever be worshiped, nor should we glorify ourselves or others in ours or theirs creative pursuits.
That does not mean that we do not enjoy or appreciate what we create, what they create but we remember to keep our love, affections in their rightful place.
Participate in God’s Masterpiece
We have the immense privilege of joining with God in His creative purposes for the world.
It was God’s wonderful idea to create people and to get the first man to name the livestock, the birds and the wild animals (Genesis 2:20).
God “brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).
This was God’s idea to involve us, not an idea of our own making.
God made the first woman as a helper, creating her from the rib of the man, and he named her too (Genesis 2:21-23).
They would work together in the world.
God invites us to participate in His grand design on earth, and invites us into actively participating in mission and ministry for His own kingdom purposes.
We are made in His image and formed by Him, God has a plan and a purpose, establishing our steps (Proverbs 16:9).
We can use our creative talents for good or for ill, but as we look to Jesus, our desires will become more and more like His.
Using our gifts of creativity enables each of us to singularly, uniquely, express a critically important part of who God has designed us all to be (Psalm 139:13-16).
That will definitely look different for each person, as we are all individuals with unique gifts, talents and abilities, yet we are, each and every single one of us, all “fearfully and wonderfully made” shaped, by Him in His Image (Psalm 139:14).
Love Others with Our Creativity
It is important to remember the first two commandments as we create: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving the Lord always comes first.
We need to spend time with Him regularly; it is vital to build and nurture a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
As we do this, it will transform our longings, desires to love and serve others.
God loves the people whom He created, and He designed us to be in community together.
As we create to the glory of God and out of love for Him, it will spill over into how we use our gifts, talents, time and creative resources for edifying others.
This might look like caring for those in need, volunteering our skills, designing something to the best of our ability with utmost integrity, photographing or painting beautiful landscapes to show God’s work on display, so much more.
There are endless opportunities to be creative.
The people in our homes, communities and the wider world can be unbelievably and miraculously blessed, truly uplifted, inspired by our God-given creativity.
Manage Our Creative Talents Well
We are to steward what God has given us and remember that all good gifts come from Him (James 1:17).
Even as we are diligent and disciplined with our time, resources and creative talents, we can continue to learn and develop and mature in our creativity.
As we look to Him who is the giver and provider of all we need, we worship Him alone, rather than anything that we create.
Throughout the Bible, there are examples of humans using their gifts and abilities to create things to worship other than God.
We saw it when the Israelites created a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32) and in the construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-4).
In both cases, they made a god or a name for themselves, demonstrating the skill, but also the deep-rooted malignant pride too characteristic of mankind.
Even idolizing people made in the image of God lends itself to the worship of the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
There is risk and temptation to pursue and follow created things and step into idolatry, rather than to the single minded single directed worship of our God.
Therefore, we must bring our creativity before the Lord, knowing it is Him that we are serving, and we should use our gifts and talents respectfully and wisely.
Embrace the Skills Given to Us
God gives skills to different people.
We are all given certain abilities, even if it may take us a little while to discover or develop what they are.
In the building of the Tabernacle, there were many who had different skills given to them by God which would be used to complete it:
“All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded” (Exodus 35:10).
It is a beautiful picture of some of God’s people who were “willing and whose heart moved them” and brought materials and offerings to God for this work (Exodus 35:21-22).
Men and women all participated together, and there was a fervent willingness, highly developed skill involved to make what God had commanded come to be.
Are we also willing to offer our skills in whatever way is needed for God’s glory and purpose?
God Equips Those Who He Calls
God also equips those whom He calls to a specific task.
In the building of the Tabernacle, the Lord chose Bezalel of the tribe of Judah, and filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all kinds of skills, to make artistic designs (Exodus:35:30-34).
He also equipped him and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan to be able to teach others. God is the one who fills us with the skills for the tasks that He has called us to.
The creative process means walking through trials and frustrations at times, but can also develop our perseverance and character.
God can use our creativity to shape and transform us into the likeness of Jesus as we seek to use our creative talents for His glory.
He is interested in our hearts.
As we create, we can ask Jesus to help us honor Him in our pursuits.
We can use our gifts and talents and our creativity to build up believers, spread the good news to those who do not know Jesus, support those in need, and use it as a way to provide an income for our families and programs of our churches.
As we surrender, yield to God, continually thinking “not my will but yours be done,” He takes our creative offering, transform it for His glory and purposes.
God saw the two loaves and five fish, and He was the One who filled the crowd.
Give Him your imagination, your creative talents, your need to express your gratitude, no matter how big or small, let Him deeply satisfy your every need.
As pastor and theologian Reverend Dr. John Piper said:
“God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
My dear loving Heavenly Father, I just want to thank You for loving me so much that You sent Your Son to die for me so that I might live with You forever. Thank You, Father, for the innumerable ways that You demonstrate Your love, protection, and provision toward me. I pray that I may have an attitude of gratitude toward You in all I say and do so that You are praised and glorified in my life. Remember all those artists, inspire their diverse creative gifts, those whom you have placed among us, for are they not, O Lord, the fellows of your inspiration? Do they not, Lord God, bring to your people great proof of your divinity and our part in it? In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
Praise the Lord, O my Soul! For I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God! You are made by God! I am made by God! Just as surely as ANY one has been made by God; we have been made by God. He knew us before anyone knew we were there. He had already devised plans for all of us before anyone planned our arrival. God made us well! How do we know? Look around at all God has made.
Psalm 139:13-16 The Message
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
14 I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14 is among the most quoted verses in the book of Psalms. However, not all of us really know what this verse really means. In this devotional, let me take some time to share with you 5 lessons for you to understand Psalm 139:14!
What can we learn from Psalm 139:14?
There are many important lessons we can learn from our verse for the day.
We can rather easily and quite eloquently turn it into a full Psalm 139:14 sermon because of the immeasurably, indescribably rich lessons this verse possesses.
This beautiful and inspiring verse gives us a glimpse of God’s creative work. He created us in a fearful and wonderful manner. Among God’s creation, it is only us that God personally hand made. He went down from His throne on high and step down to gather a handful of dirt and soil to form His most special creation.
God’s creation of man is intimate, personal, and most importantly, special.
We are the pinnacle of God’s creation and that means that you and I come with a great purpose devised and implemented by God Himself.
So, here are the five Psalm 139:14 lessons you should learn today.
Lesson Number 1: God’s wisdom is infinite
The Bible tells us we are created fearfully and wonderfully. As what we have already read, it takes a great measure of wisdom, I would say, supernatural wisdom and massive creative power beyond our imagination for a Being to create such a magnificent design.
Take a look at our human body, from the smallest subatomic unit to its biggest organ, is made with such intricate precision and complex design to support life.
No doubt: God our Creator is beyond our wildest imagination.
His ability is beyond us and is able to perform whatever He wishes.
He is sitting on His Majestic Throne on High and at the same time, playing out His great plan to bring forth as many children as possible to His Kingdom.
Lesson Number 2: Humans are not the product of evolution
It is really not the lack of evidence that is causing people to abandon their faith or deny the existence of God. The true reason is that people willfully ignore the evidence. If you have eyes to see, and ears to hear, then you will find a world of wonders that shouts the existence of an Intelligent Maker.
The human body, among the many amazing wonders on earth, is just a living testimony of the creative works of our heavenly Father. The human body is a super complicated creation, beyond words to simply just evolve from a single cell organism in a primordial soup.
When you carefully consider all scientific facts and studies, you will arrive at the conclusion that the universe is far too complex to be a product of random evolution. Indeed, it takes more faith in believing evolution than it does creation.
Lesson Number 3: God created you and me
Life is a miracle. Your very existence is a miracle itself.
The problem with us is that we get too accustomed to miracles that we don’t take the time to appreciate them anymore.
Genesis 1:26-27 Amplified Version tells us:
26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
I want you to remember that God created you. Because of that, you are unique, special, and most importantly, have a purpose in life.
Don’t let other people tell you otherwise.
Nobody’s ugly, worthless, or not good enough. You are the child of the Living God and in your veins run the blood of a person created by God.
But what if you have physical challenges? Are you still a fearfully and wonderfully made person?
This is a hard question to answer especially for people who have those challenges or those people whose loved ones suffer from those conditions.
However, let me tell you. Even if you have such challenges, it doesn’t change the fact that you are still a child of God.
In such a situation, yes, it’s hard to understand why anyone is in a certain condition, that life seems to be unfair.
In God’s time, we will know the answer why, but don’t let your conditions be the cause of losing faith and hope. Instead, use it as a way to learn the lessons God wants you to learn. God will not give you a problem you cannot handle.
This might be a cliché, but still, I will say it: fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Just trust God’s timing, He will make all things beautiful in His time.
Lesson Number 4: We are made to give reverent praise and worship our Creator
In the realization of how awesome our human bodies are and how impressive the creation is, we must each bow down in humble adoration to God’s majesty.
Like David, when he fully and fearfully realized he was fearfully, wonderfully made, he praised God! He deeply recognized how marvelous God’s creation is.
God obviously does not need our praise. He is not a malignant narcissist who lives on an eternal chorus of flattery and adulation.
We need to worship God for our own sake. When we praise God, it helps us to remember YAHWEH and YAHWEH alone is our great Provider.
He is the Source of all good things that we have.
When we worship God, it helps us appreciate our great dependence on Him and His authority over us.
We ultimately submit to His will, do our best to fulfill His purpose in our lives.
Lesson Number 5: God is our Father
Do you know what’s really amazing that you should never forget?
It is that God is our Father.
King David knew we are created in the image of God and that we are His children.
It is comforting to note that God is genuinely our Father who takes care of us. He provides all our needs. He protects us, heals us, comforts us, listens to us, guides us, and most importantly, immeasurably and unconditionally loves us.
God already knew us even before we were born.
He wanted to build a close relationship with us.
He already knew us intimately.
Now, it is our turn to know Him deeper and better each day.
Final words
These are just but a few of the best lessons we can learn from Psalm 139:14.
Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
This shows us how special we are in the sight of God.
No matter what problems you and I go through, just remember that God is our Creator and our Father.
He won’t leave you nor forsake you. He is always there to help us in times of needs, comfort us in times of suffering, and rejoice with us in times of our joy.
Because God loves us, we need to use this knowledge to encourage us and move us even closer to our Father. By doing so, we will then be able to experience the fearfully beautiful love, fearfully immense joy of God’s outpouring care for us.
Therefore, dear Christian, rejoice in the fearful wonder of your God. Rejoice in how he fearfully knit you and I together in our mother’s womb. From the very beginning he was taking care of us. Fearfully rejoice in how he knows all of our days. Nothing is beyond his knowledge or power.
He takes care of you and me each day of our lives until you and I wake up in the glory of heaven and are with our Lord Jesus forever. How fearfully, wonderfully our Creator and Father God works! All Praise to the Lord, the Almighty! Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us pray,
Jeremiah 33:1-3 Amplified Version
Restoration Promised
33 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’
God my Creator and Father, teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your Holy Spirit lead me on level ground. I see your faithfulness and goodness in what you have done for me throughout my life. I think about these things, and I thirst for you. Let me hear of your unfailing love every morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Keep me on firm footing for the glory of your name. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 