Psalm 139; Acts 16:11-15

Psalm 139
Oh, Wow! This psalm hits close to home. It examines the characteristics of God and the nature of His relationship with you and me. Even the first verse gives us pause, "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." God is the only One who can know everything about us. No matter how close our relationship is with another human being, I believe we all reserve some part of ourselves from others. But we can't do this with God because He knows everything about us.

And so what does this psalm tell us about God and how He relates to each of us?

• He knows everything. v. 1-6
• He sees everything. v. 3
• He is everywhere at once. v. 7-12  
• We cannot escape His presence or hide from Him. He is always with us. v. 7-12
• He knows our past (even before we were born) as well as our future. v. 13-18
• He made us exactly as He wanted to, and He makes no mistakes. His workmanship is perfect. This is an important thing to remember when we tend to feel worthless or inadequate. God's "workmanship is marvelous." v. 13-16
• He loves us unconditionally. v. 17-18

 V. 19-22 sound harsh to our ears in this New Testament era. David is being honest in admitting that he hates those who hate God, those who misuse His name and oppose Him. We surely should be offended when we see and hear about God's enemies. We should do everything we can to uphold His good name. And we should remember that ultimately God Himself will deal with His enemies.

Perhaps David was a little convicted about his own motives in despising his enemies because in v. 23-24 he asks God to search for sin in his thoughts and to point out anything that offends God. This is good advice for all of us. And then when the Holy Spirit does point out our sin, we should confess it and let God lead us.

Acts 16:11-15
Paul, Silas, and Timothy continued on their journey stopping in the city of Philipi. They traveled a little way outside the city where they found some women gathered there. One of these was Lydia, a business woman who worshiped God. Paul preached the Good News to everyone who would listen, regardless of culture, gender, or social position. God had prepared Lydia's heart, and though the scripture tells us that she "worshiped God," apparently she did not truly understand the Gospel, the message that Jesus had come to pay for her sins, until she heard this message from Paul. Then "the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying." She was baptized along with other members of her household who were apparently saved too. She and the others did this as a testimony of what God had already done in their hearts. Then we see another evidence of her conversion in that she immediately extended hospitality to the men of God.