Week 4 - Has the invitation been sent?

Sacred Insight: Living it out in community
How does this scripture apply to how you relate to your own community – whether fellow believers or those who are not yet believers?

Now that we’ve explored the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of God, we need to decide where to go from here – in other words, what’s the action item? How do we plug the knowledge about God that we learned from Psalm 139 into our lives and allow it transform us and those around us. The end of our power chapter gives the answer to that question.

Psalm 139:23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,  and lead me in the way everlasting.

Here, though we know that God already sees us and knows us through and through, we are called to issue an invitation to God. Instead of passively knowing that God is all of these things, it becomes time to actively invite him to “search me… know me… lead me”.
Did you know that God is waiting for your invitation? And when you ask God to take action in your life, when you open yourself up to his power and his voice, God will move.

Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

We have to remember that God has all the power and might to do more than we ask or imagine, but he also gave us free will to choose who to follow. If we choose to rely on ourselves and not invite him into our homes, he will abide by our wishes. But make no mistake, God will not leave. He will stand on our porch knocking on our door until his knuckles are bleeding. And when we decide we want God in our lives, it is our responsibility to answer the door and welcome him inside.

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

It can be a little scary to invite the most holy and perfect God into our hearts and lives – to see our wobbly insecurities and our ugly and judgmental thoughts. But fortunately, God is not just holy and perfect, he is also overflowing with mercy, forgiveness and grace. Plus, remember that he actually already sees and knows you and your so-very-human foibles already. So invite him to search your heart and know your thoughts – to make your offensive ways obvious to you so that you can be led in a better direction.

Psalm 139: 23 Search me, God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,  and lead me in the way everlasting.

This is where our community comes in. Because it is so often the people around us who have the objectivity to speak into our lives, to show us where God is calling for change and maturity. Likewise, sometimes we are called to speak lovingly and gently into the lives of those around us.
But first, we issue the invitation to our Heavenly Father, asking “search me, God, and know my heart…”

How does this scripture apply to how you relate to your own community – whether fellow believers or those who are not yet believers?

With gratitude and humility, take a moment to ask God to reveal any offensive ways in you and to lead you into a new direction.

Why is it essential to answer Jesus’ knocking in order to minister to the community around us?

How can our community be integral in searching out offensive ways within us?

Live It Out:

Before you start your day, stop for 3 minutes and ask God “How am I coming into today?” Ask him to show you how you feel, why you feel that way, and invite him to speak to that experience.
Ask: “Holy Spirit, who or what do you want me to notice today?” Maybe it’s a lonely student, a tired coworker, a neighbor in need, or even a family member.