Known and Loved by Glenna Marshall

 

KNOWN AND LOVED

BY GLENNA MARSHALL

Known and Loved by Glenna Marshall. It wouldn't be me reading a book without journaling my way through it! This book looks at Psalm 139.

The word "known" means a thorough examination, and intimate evaluation. God has seen every hidden corner of our hearts and every secret thought in our minds. He truly knows what's in our hearts better than we do.

But God already knows you, it is not a case of him getting to know you now. Before you even took a breath God knew you, even before you were conceived.

Then the present tense is used - God knows what we are doing now. He knows us when we lie down to rest and when we get up again. He is fully familiar with every mundane moment of our ordinary days.

When I read these words they struck me with such freshness. Imagine someone knowing all about me in the past and now in the present. If our closest and dearest knew the things we are thinking ... yet God does. No wonder the bible talks about him as a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. All our thoughts and actions - he knows about them. All our plans and dreams - he knows about them. Even if we feel like life is tough at the moment or life is lonely and we are drifting through - God knows about them. When we work with people and they fail to appreciate us for who we are or take us for granted - God knows about it.

Whatever our circumstances right now God knows about - such an amazing thought to meditate on today! 

There is another aspect to God's knowledge too. As someone who believes in God and has a personal relationship with him, it is hard to imagine that God continues to think of me personally because of my sin. Sin is a short word with a long sentence. It doesn't go away even when we have committed our lives to God. We fail and disappoint God so often. We say and do things that make us wonder never mind anyone else whether we can be truly one of God's children but here is the wonderful truth - God loves us no matter. God knows when we will get it wrong and mess up. We matter to God. He has invested so much in us to turn his back on us. And his knowledge of us is individual - he knows when people will turn against us and mock us for our faith. He knows the people that look down on us because of our faith. He knows the ones who will point the finger at us but still he loves us. He knows and understands how hard and lonely it is even when God's own children don't want to be with us or be associated with us.

When we fail God yes he disciplines us but not like any human who holds us at a distance and will not have anything to do with us. God is angry yes but not forever. He draws us back to himself and restores our relationship with him - he is the only one who can and does do this.

The psalmist says that God knows before a word is on our tongue. Such a revelation - when I think of the anger and hurt in my words sometimes it is good to know that God knows about them. He doesn't hold us at arms length when we say the wrong thing like humans do. He doesn't dwell on those words either. We are God's treasure, the one he takes delight it.

What a thought today! 

Rushing ahead but chapter 3 of Known and Loved by Glenna Marshall has spoken to me about one aspect that I am personally wrestling with - condemnation of self.

Like Glenna I accepted faith in Christ as a child. I have lived a long time as a believer. That means most of my disobedience to God has occurred and will occur as a Christian who has been raised to new life in Christ. I must fight against sins now after conversion the way other non believers have to fight before they accept Christ. Does this mean I question the genuineness of my faith and feel the shame of my sin? Maybe not as often as perhaps I should. But it does hit you like a body blow when something goes wrong and you are aware of past sins all at once at the same time (but that is the enemy at work). Does it make me feel that even now I shouldn't be sinning in this way? Yes most definitely.

God's word speaks yet again in situations like this. I am not to hide in shame nor fear that God doesn't like me anymore. This is when I need to remember to run to Jesus. 1 John 2 verses 1 to 6 shows me I don't need to condemn myself. Jesus has already paid for my sin, past, present and future. They are covered. There is no more punishment for them. Nor is there any reason 'to make things right'.

I need to learn yet again that nothing is hidden from God. Yes I need to confess present sin to God, I will be doing that every day until I die but I should not dwell on it. The Lord knows me through and through. He will accept my confession and my repentance and then ... he forgets it. So should I! And I need to learn to stay close to him more and more.

I love how Glenna Marshall in her book constantly draws you back to the bible.

In chapter 3 she uses the story found in John's gospel chapter 8. There a woman is caught in the act of adultery. It is easy to gloss over this story but fact is she was caught in the act! Under the Jewish law both people ie the man and woman should have been stoned to death. The religious leaders brought her to Jesus. They wanted to do it but also wanted to hear what Jesus himself would say in response. Jesus said "let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her". It began to dawn on those in the crowd how unqualified they were to stone her so one by one they left. When Jesus looked up he asked the woman where all her accusers where. He then told her that he didn't condemn her, that she was to go and sin no more.

In one encounter with Jesus this woman's shame and condemnation were removed and she was charged to live her life without sinning in this way again.

What a picture of what Jesus does when we come to him. Jesus took all our shame on himself on the cross. He gives us forgiveness because of his death. Our shame is washed in Jesus' blood and we are made pure. We deserve to be punished for our sin. We deserve for God to be angry. We should endure the humiliation of public exposure for sins we have committed. But Jesus did this instead for sins he did not commit. Your shame has been removed by the Saviour who loved you enough to take it upon himself.

We are told to go and sin no more. That means we don't need to hide our past sins from him. He bled for them. He died for them. He was raised to free you from them. He already knows the things you are ashamed of and what is more - he chooses to forget them.

Is this not good news? Such good news! My heart is singing right now knowing all this.

Reading and taking notes on chapter 4 of Glenna Marshall's Known and Loved tonight.

Once again Glenna refers to scripture and this chapter is full of references!

Initially Glenna takes us back to Genesis 1 and talks about how God separated the darkness and light. The dark of the night is when fear rears it's ugly head, when anxieties multiply, when sleep eludes us because the stillness of the shadows give us an opportunity to think. Darkness = shame, regret, pain, sorrow and sin. But God knows us in the dark.

Daniel 2 verse 22 "He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him."

Then when we turn to the sermon on the mount we see that God cares about the birds of the air. We are of more value than them. God cares for us when we suffer. He is invested in our lives. We have been made in his image and he sees our suffering and sorrow.

Glenna makes a point that was made during our sermon today - Jesus is right in the situations we are in today. Psalm 23 proves this. When night seems to close in on us and pain is at its worst God is right there in the middle of it.

And the amazing truth of all is found in Romans 8 - Jesus and the Holy Spirit both are praying for us. But we need to draw near to God and let him in, to allow him to work with us through the difficult times.

I love Glenna Marshall drawing us to the story of the woman with the issue of bleeding for 12 years - the story is found in Mark 5.

For her one thing was important - to touch the hem of his garment. She swallowed her pride, the risk of embarrassment and drew near to the only one who offers lasting hope. In faith she let what was hidden come to light. Jesus was aware of all this.

When we draw near to God that is what we are doing - reaching for the hem of his robe. We are drawing near in faith, knowing that Jesus is aware of our suffering and praying for us.

He is giving us exactly what we need in the dark night of the body and soul. He is giving us mercy and grace in himself.

I have to be honest and say that I read fast, too fast at times! Lately I have become aware that I am "missing" something as I read so I am trying to slow down and savour some of what I read.

When I reached chapter 4 of Glenna Marshall's book Known and Loved I decided to stop taking written notes and just keep on reading. Then I became convicted and went back to chapter 4 again and took notes. I am glad I did because this was actually the best chapter. It so resonated with me as it was all about suffering. Glenna did a brilliant job of using scripture to make me think.

Suffering comes in many different forms not just physically. There is the mental and emotional anguish perhaps from situations and people. To recognise that God is right there with you in the midst of it all is something that I have heard repeatedly throughout my life but to experience it, well that is a different story. Also recognising other people's suffering is something I have become more aware of.

We are often told to draw near to God in these difficult times, which is easier said than done. But recognising the mental, emotional and physical agony that Jesus himself went through on the cross puts things in a totally new perspective.

For me recognising that it is not just Jesus who presently intercedes on my behalf but also his Holy Spirit was eye opening. The Holy Spirit is given to us at the time we trust Christ as Saviour and Lord. He is the inner voice of reason and help when we need it most. But why do we not ask for his help? We want to do it all by ourselves. We want to work things out in our own way but like the disciples on the boat in the middle of the storm there is a point when we realise it is not possible to ride out the storm. We need help and we need to cry out for that help. That is when we receive mercy and grace.

I am journaling chapter 5 of Glenna Marshall's book Known and Loved. I have come to this verse "you are fearfully and wonderfully made!" (Psalm 139 verse 14) 3 years ago after one of the numerous appointments for my cancer diagnosis I walked into a shop and spotted this little plate and had to buy it. It is a verse that I cling to ever since. My surgeon had told me that my lung cancer was operable and no treatment would be necessary following it. He also explained how when one part of the lung is removed the remaining parts actually heal and take the place of the part that is missing. I didn't quite understand it at the time but many months later after surgery he showed the proof through xrays. You wouldnt have guessed that the third part was ever there in the first place. Amazing how our bodies are formed. We are fearfully and wonderfully made indeed!

As I said yesterday this chapter is all about body image. I was reminded at the outset that I am created by God and in his image. My life matters to God. That brings meaning and value and purpose. Every cell has been formed by God. As you let that sink in also realise God wrote every story of my life from beginning to end, from first word to last, before I was me. This came forcefully to me as I also read Jeremiah chapter 1 when God tells his prophet that he knew all about him and that he would be a prophet before he was even born. Glenna takes us back to Genesis and relates the story of how God made everything in this world. After each act of creation God looked at it and said it was good it when he came to creating humans he said it was very good. Nothing else in this world bears the image of its maker - only humans! Everything went wrong when Adam and Eve sinned. We bear in our bodies the curse of sin and death, we are aging from the moment we take our first breath. I love this quote from Sam Allberry "Christians have been raised spiritually but not yet physically. We are running new-creation software on old-creation hardware." But one day we shall all be changed! Paul tells us that Jesus will transform our low!y body to be like his glorious body. When Jesus was raised from the dead he had a real body, it could be touched, it was not some spirit appearing before all these witnesses. So we are promised the same - all evidence of the curse of sin and death will be removed for ever. And the most wonderful thing - we will spend eternity with Christ.

Does your life matter? Do you earnestly seek after another's approval? Well you are not alone because we all do it! I found this chapter the hardest to read and I think it was because it hit home a little too much. Like me you probably are thinking, I know I am created in God's image but perhaps also like me you long for more. We want our lives to matter, to be remembered for something great. How we do that is by looking for opportunities that make people sit up and notice. We want people to know that we lived and loved and worked. What actually is more important is that God knows about every moment contained in our lifespan. In Psalm 139 David praises God for the vast extent of his thoughts - "how precious to me are your thoughts O God. How vast is the sum of them." Did you know that during our working hours we have about 6000 thoughts? Imagine how many thoughts God has of us! David goes on to say "if I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake and I am still with you." That is some number! But David realises as we all should that when we awake from our sleep God was watching out for us the whole time. God knows and sees everything but we should not be fearful, nor hide in shame. God takes pleasure in us. Now that might be hard to reconcile when we think of some of the things that we ourselves would not be happy to admit we have said or done in a day. God is good and he does not act beyond his own perfect desires. He wanted to save us so he sent his son Jesus to lay down his life. That shows the extent of his love for us. If we acknowledge our sins, repent and accept Christ as Saviour we can know that love of God. But we don't have to now convince God to keep loving us. He has already loved us with the kind of love he has for his Son. And his love endures forever. If you are in Christ you do not have to fear God's thoughts about you.

I said in a previous post that we all want to live our lives so that people will remember us. And how do we do that exactly? To serve God's kingdom purposes not our own. Not that of other people. In our efforts to make our lives matter we must do so with an eye on eternity. Our thoughts are fickle and stained by sin but God's are not. It is God's opinion that is most important and his purposes will stand forever. God will not let our lives float away without meaning. The longing to be unique and remembered is at its core, a desire to be known and loved by someone who won't forget us. This is why God's thoughts of us matter the most. Being image bearers means our lives must be connected to God for us to really find purpose and meaning. "To be in the image means that human beings were not created to stand alone. We must get our significance and security from something of ultimate value outside us. To be created in God's image means we must live for the true God or we will have to make something else God and orbit our lives around that." Tim Keller We do not have to work so hard to make a mark on this earth in order to be known and remembered. We can live small lives of ordinary faithfulness, fighting sin and loving God because he knows our names and will never forget us. We can live for our eternal city whose builder and architect is God, knowing that he will never forget or forsake us for he is not ashamed to know us. Being known and loved by God shapes our innate desires to matter into desires that matter for eternity. What matters most - you were dead in sin but Jesus made you alive. He loved you while you were a sinner. You will be known and forever loved because he died for you. That says more about you than any tombstone could.

I am still struggling with that last chapter in Known and Loved. I guess it is because of that desire to be known and loved by those around me. To be remembered. I strive too hard. I find it difficult when I am knocked off my own pedestal. I scream internally when things happen that make me look bad. I know what it means to be unappreciated in all areas of my life ... But there is one who.knows and loves me regardless of what I do and say. That matters more than anything that this life throws at me. To be surrounded by such love is like a warm blanket that I need to wrap myself in each and every moment that I live.

Reading chapter 7 of Known and Loved by Glenna Marshall in view of recent events in America has brought home the message - should I hate God's enemies? In the middle of Psalm 139 we have imprecatory poetry. David often wrote such poetry and it seems wildly out of place particularly in this psalm. Imprecatory psalms ask the Lord to enact judgment. They are prayed in tandem with God's will and his word. I have seen many use these words "come Lord Jesus come" today but wonder if many realise this is actually an imprecatory prayer? Asking Christ to return means you are asking him to come back and vanquish all our enemies sending them to hell because they have rejected Christ openly. But what about our own friends and family members who have yet to come to faith in Christ? Because if Christ were to return so many of them would be included in our request. It is God who should exact judgment, not us. We trust the Lord to make things right when the time is right. He alone will do it with equity and righteousness, his actions unstained by sin. David desires for God to slay the wicked the ones who speak against God with malicious intent. He hates them for they hate God. He loathes them for setting themselves up against this God who has set his love and affection on David. He counts as his enemies those who hate the God he loves. I We respond to Jesus by loving our enemies and praying for them. And we respond like Jesus by longing for the Father to be glorified in all the earth. He is not glorified by sinful wicked injustice. Belonging to Jesus means identifying with him. We identify with Christ in his suffering and we identify with God as the One who rules the universe and rightly deserves the worship of every bowed knee and every confusing tongue. We should hunger for the day when king Jesus the Righteous comes to set things right for good. So we pray. We pray for him to come and we pray for people to repent. And we speak the name of the great knower and Lover to all who will listen so that they too will be swept up in the never-ending love of God.