GPS for the week of August 31st, 2025
“O Lord, You Have Searched Me And Known Me”
Using your phone? Try a new app: www.bible.com
“We must bear patiently not being good… and not being thought
good (St. Francis of Assisi).” Our Lord, the One who knows
everything about us, will shape and guide us. We are clay in the
hands of God!
Dear Lord, help us to let you work in every moment of our lives.
Amen.
Monday 9.1 “Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are
you in my hand.”
Jeremiah 18:1-11
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to
the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went
down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.
The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand,
and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O
house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like
the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of
Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a
kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that
nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will
change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And
at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom
that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening
to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had
intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter
shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now,
all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.”
This is a message of God’s mercy. He wants to turn us from evil and
shape our lives for good.
Tuesday 9.2 “I come to the end-I am still with you.”
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit
down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with
all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know
it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand
upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I
cannot attain it… For it was you who formed my inward parts; you
knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very
well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in
secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld
my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that
were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty
to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try
to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am
still with you.” We can trust God who knows everything about us.
Wednesday 9.3 “The hearts of the saints have been refreshed
through you.”
Philemon 1:1-21
“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To
Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to
Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God
because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the
Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become
effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I
have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you,
my brother.” We all grow weary in this life. Let us care for each
other.
Thursday 9.4 “I am appealing to you for my child,
Onesimus.”
Philemon 1:1-21
“For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you
to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of
love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner
of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus,
whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he
was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to
- I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted
to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your
place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do
nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be
voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he
was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back
forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved
brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the
flesh and in the Lord.” This former slave won Paul’s heart by caring
for him in his times of need.
Friday 9.5 “Refresh my heart in Christ.”
Philemon 1:1-21
“So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would
welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you
anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my
own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even
your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the
Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am
writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.” Paul
rejoiced as love flourished among those who heard the good news.
Saturday 9.6 “None of you can become my disciple if you
do not give up all your possessions.”
Luke 14:25-33
“Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to
them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself,
cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow
me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a
tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether
he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a
foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule
him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.”
Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit
down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to
oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he
cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation
and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can
become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’” We
must meditate on these powerful words from our Lord.