Monday Devo
Scripture:
Psalm 139:13-15
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
Commentary:
139:13–16 You Even Saw and Loved Me before I Was Born. These verses illustrate the point of vv. 11–12 (the section begins with for, showing the connection to the previous) by describing a particular “dark place” where the Lord saw and cared for the singer, namely, his mother’s womb. God was active as the unformed substance (embryo) grew and developed; indeed he is the one who formed my inward parts and knitted me together. God saw him, and even had written in his book, every one of … the days that were formed for me. The worshiper realizes that, even before his mother knew she was pregnant, the Lord was already showing his care for him. His personal life began in the womb (see note on 51:5), and God had already laid out its course.
139:14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If the ESV text is followed, the statement helps the worshiper to marvel over the mysterious process of a developing baby. The word translated “wonderfully made” (Hb. nipleti) has a slightly unusual spelling (the expected spelling is niple’ti), which favors the ESV footnote: “I am fearfully set apart.” This takes the word to be the term for God setting his people apart (Ex. 8:22; Ps. 4:3) or making a distinction between them and those who are not his people (Ex. 9:4; 11:7; 33:16). The faithful person singing this, who in the OT would be the child of faithful parents, can affirm that God set his special love upon him from the earliest stages of his personal life (cf. Ps. 22:9–10; 71:5–6).
139:15 in the depths of the earth. As a parallel to in secret, this would be a poetic expression for the darkness and secrecy of the womb.
139:14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If the ESV text is followed, the statement helps the worshiper to marvel over the mysterious process of a developing baby. The word translated “wonderfully made” (Hb. nipleti) has a slightly unusual spelling (the expected spelling is niple’ti), which favors the ESV footnote: “I am fearfully set apart.” This takes the word to be the term for God setting his people apart (Ex. 8:22; Ps. 4:3) or making a distinction between them and those who are not his people (Ex. 9:4; 11:7; 33:16). The faithful person singing this, who in the OT would be the child of faithful parents, can affirm that God set his special love upon him from the earliest stages of his personal life (cf. Ps. 22:9–10; 71:5–6).
139:15 in the depths of the earth. As a parallel to in secret, this would be a poetic expression for the darkness and secrecy of the womb.
Questions:
- From the very beginning of the Church, Christians were meant to stand out. In fact, the Biblical word for "church" is ecclesia which literally translates to a group of people that are "called out." We are the called out ones! We are to be called out of our culture and now represent a NEW culture and Kingdom. We are not to lean on our own understanding, but acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. Scripture is now our authority. To simply do what's right in our own eyes is idolatry! Christians are called to be COUNTERCULTURAL. Why do you think it's so easy for Christians to just go with the flow? Have you noticed this tendency in your own life? How do we stand strong against the current of culture?
- God obviously designed every part of us on purpose and with much care and His workmanship is MARVELOUS! In fact, even the science will tell you that all 37 trillion cells in your body have a specific sex and are testifying in unison that you are either male or female. And it was God that did that. Going even further back, in Genesis 1 we see that God set up gender roles from the very beginning. He made them male and female, and it was GOOD! THIS is where we get our stance on sex and gender; God's Word. Not culture, not TV or movies, not what our friends or family think... not even what feels good or compassionate or loving! Do you struggle with feeling that holding to the truth on this issue is somehow unloving? How do we approach this issue in a loving way without compromising the truth?
Pray:
- That you would live as a "called out" person.
- That you would strive to be countercultural.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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