Renewal of Your First Love..... Craig Denison

 Renewal of Your First Love

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

One of the best aspects of spending time alone with God is being renewed daily by his word and presence. When we make space for God in our lives, especially at the beginning of the day, he is faithful to renew and prepare us for all we will face out in the world. Scripture says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Where do you need renewal? How greatly do you need God’s mercies in your life? He has a plan this week to both teach and guide you into an encounter with him that will renew you with his overwhelming goodness and love. Make space for God. Make time to encounter him. And experience the refreshing spring rain he longs to bring to heal the dry and weary places of your heart.

Scripture:“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4

Devotional:    

Out of God’s great desire to be truly loved by his people, we have been given the gift of free will to choose who and what we will give our affections to. God, knowing full well that not all of us would  choose to love him, still created us out of his longing for close relationship with us. You see, so great is our heavenly Father’s desire for relationship with us that he suffers as he watches his children choose to love people, ideas, and possessions that will never fully love us in return. So great is his love for us that he responds to our sin of idolatry with grace and mercy every single time. And so vast is his affection for us that he sent his only Son so that we might be restored to close relationship with our heavenly Father once again. But still, we choose to love things other than God. Still we seek out satisfaction and love from creation rather than the Creator. Still we choose to place our hope and affections in the world instead of in God. If we are to live the life God intends for us, the only fulfilling life possible, we need a renewal of our first love.

Thousands of years ago, the church in Ephesus was much like we are today. Revelation 2:4 says in reference to the church in Ephesus, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” The Ephesians were still working and waiting for God. They hadn’t abandoned their faith, just their first love. But Scripture makes it clear that when it comes down to it in the end, what will be most important is the way in which we have loved God. When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). Loving God is our first priority. Our love for God is the foundation on which all of life is to be lived. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” This life is all about the posture of your heart.

Reflect for a minute on just how incredible the love of our God is. Scripture makes it clear that he isn’t after our service first, but our love. He only desires us to work with him if it is done out of our love for him. If we prophesy, show incredible acts of faith, or even give up our lives for him out of anything but love, he calls it “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” God is after your heart. More than anything else in the world, he wants to love you and be loved by you. Of course he wants you to co-labor with him and obey his commandments, but only out of love for him. Yes, he wants you to lead others to him, but out of the desire to share the incredible love you’ve been shown. Too often we size up our relationship with God based on how often we’ve gone to church, how many mission trips we’ve been on, how many people we’ve won to Jesus, how many committees we’ve served on, or how much of our finances we’ve given to God. And too often we do all of that trying to win over a God who already loves us more than we could ever ask or imagine. God is the father in the prodigal son story running out to meet you and celebrate you regardless of anything you’ve ever done or will do. He’s the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one. He’s the God who leaves his throne to die for the very people who shouted, “Crucify him, crucify him!” And he’s the God who waits patiently every day to show you the depth of his love, that nothing you could ever do will change the way he loves you.

Nothing could be more important than living your life on the foundation of God’s greatest commandment: to love him. And while it’s incredibly important to spend your life loving God, he knows you will only be able to do so if you’ve encountered his love first. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” Experiencing God’s love is the beginning and end to everything we do as his children. It’s out of encountering the affections of our heavenly Father that our hearts will be stirred to love him back. Let’s take time today to encounter the love of our heavenly Father and let his kindness draw us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Encounter the heart of God, and let his love renew within you your first love.           

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s love for you as revealed in his word. Receive his presence. Let him speak his love straight to your heart.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

2. Reflect on your own life. Where do you seem to chase after the affections of the world before God? What idols are in your own heart? Who or what do you love more than God?

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4

3. Ask the Lord to heal those places of your heart. Be drawn to repentance from God’s kindness. Repent to him the places where you’ve idolized someone or something. Receive the healing that happens when you confess your sins.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

The Bible is clear that God will always forgive our sins as believers. His heart is always for restoration. He always desires to lead us to a life where our hearts are in no way veiled before him. Idols and sin tie us down to the world in ways that keep us from the fullness of relationship available in God. Engage in the act of confession. Spend time consistently giving your sin over to God, and receive the healing and renewal he longs to bring you. May your day be filled with peace as the result of God’s forgiveness, nearness, and loving-kindness.

Extended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

How to Handle Your Hurt..... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 How to Handle Your Hurt

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

Today's Bible Verse: “…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” - Exodus 14:14 (ESV)

Have you ever gotten your feelings hurt and proceeded to tell everyone you knew about it? I have. I’m quicker to run to my best friend or my spouse with my pain rather than to the Lord. When I’ve been wronged, I immediately want the validation of “yes, you’re right and they’re wrong” or “you have every reason to feel hurt” or “I can’t believe they did that to you!” It eases the ache, doesn’t it?

While there’s nothing wrong with sharing our hurt with a trusted friend or family member, our heart motivation while sharing matters. That’s what turns a prayer request into unseemly gossip, or an emotional vent into sinful slander.

Have you ever vented to a friend about someone else and then later, when the emotions had passed and the situation resolved, felt like you needed to go back and smooth over that person’s reputation?

Speaking too quickly in our hurt typically leads to more conflict and more sin. But when we’re taking that initial emotional load to the Lord, it’s a safe place. Where do you run when you’re hurt? If it’s not to the Lord first, you’re doing things out of order. (I am preaching to the choir here!)

What would change in our hearts if we immediately went to God in prayer instead of our neighbor?

In Exodus 14, Pharaoh was getting closer to the fleeing Israelites and they were afraid. They whined and complained to Moses in that fear, questioning everything. But Moses told them to “fear not.” He essentially said to wait and see what the Lord was going to do. Then he spoke verse 14. “…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Sometimes, we need to stop complaining and just wait on the Lord. I don’t know about you, but being silent in my hurt doesn’t come naturally to me. I want someone else to know what happened and make me feel better. Because I’m impatient, I don’t always go to the Lord first and receive that comfort and peace. I try to manufacture it elsewhere and it falls short.

The next time you’re hurt or offended, challenge yourself to run to the Lord in prayer before running to a friend. Maybe you’re still able to share the struggle with your friend afterward, but when we vent in prayer first, we lower the risk of sinning in our hurt. Plus, we have the added benefit of feeling closer to the Lord because of purging our hearts before Him and receiving reminders of His presence and love. Why rob yourself of that opportunity in your pain?

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 also reminds us that there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”  Before you open your mouth to vent about an offense, take a moment to remember the Israelites. Remember the miracles that can come when we keep silent and wait on the Lord. Take your hurt to the one who overcomes the battles and already has the victory.

A White Bread Faith ..... By Ryan Duncan

 A White Bread Faith

By Ryan Duncan

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.- 1 John 3:10

When I was still in high school my mother became a vegetarian. Now, I have nothing but respect for vegetarians, but as a guy who likes his steaks extra-rare, this created a few problems in our household. Suddenly our family was exploring what people called “organic” dishes. Tofu, quiche, we dined on whole-grain pasta sprinkled with nuts, strange cheeses, and enough broccoli to kill an entire fourth-grade class. It wasn’t all that bad actually; my mother was very gracious and still cooked meat for the carnivores in the house, but I suspect a soy-based meat substitute found its way into our meals on more than one occasion.

The worst part though, was the bread. My family went from using your typical sleeve of wheat bread to buying those thick, iron cast loaves so brown they were almost black. I can remember sitting in the cafeteria during lunch, watching my classmates as they flagrantly devoured their delicious, white-bread PB&J’s, while I chewed the same bite of sandwich over and over for almost an hour because chunks of grain were still floating around in it. Back then, I would have given anything for a sandwich made from white, Wonder Bread.

The thing is though, ask any nutritionist and they’ll tell you white bread barely counts as grain at all. It tastes good, but that’s because it’s been almost entirely drained of nutrients. All the beneficial vitamins and minerals have been lost, and in the end, we are left with food that really isn’t as healthy as we’d like to think it is.

How many of us Christians are looking for a “White Bread” relationship with God? We show up at Church on Sunday and pray before each meal, then tell ourselves that should be enough to help us grow in our faith. It’s a sweet deal with all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks. Don’t fool yourself; God wants to be so much more in our lives than our Sunday morning service. He is looking to make us lights of the world, to bring peace where there is strife, hope where there is despair, and grace where there is hate. You won’t be very prepared for that if you just stick to the Sunday Sermons. Don’t deny yourself a good, healthy, relationship with God. Read the Bible, get involved, and above all, be sure to make him a part of your daily life.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Find ways to get involved with your home church. Volunteer for events, or try mentoring some of the younger students. Parents, are your children involved in a youth group? Encourage them to give it a try.

Further Reading: Revelation 3:15-17

A Prayer to Help You Discover Your Gifts and Abilities..... Dr. Neil Anderson

 A Prayer to Help You Discover Your Gifts and Abilities

Dr. Neil Anderson

"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another." - 1 Peter 4:10

For the Christian, true fulfillment in life can be summarized by the popular bumper sticker slogan, "Bloom where you're planted." Peter said it this way: "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another" (1 Peter 4:10). Your greatest fulfillment in life will come when you discover your unique gifts and abilities and use them to edify others and glorify the Lord.

God allowed me to understand this vital principle before entering the ministry while I was still employed as an aerospace engineer. I knew God wanted me to be an ambassador for Him where I worked, so I started a breakfast Bible study in the bowling alley next door. My announcement about the Bible study had only been posted in our office about an hour before a Jewish fellow pulled it off the wall and brought it to me. "You can't bring Jesus in here," he objected.

"I can't do otherwise," I said. "Every day I walk in here Jesus comes in with me." He was not impressed with my response!

One of the men who found Christ in the Bible study took over when I left Honeywell to enter seminary. A few months later I went back to visit my friends in the Bible study. "Do you remember the Jewish fellow?" the leader asked.

"Sure, I remember him," I said, recalling his brash opposition to our Bible study.

"Well, he got sick and almost died. I went to the hospital and visited him every night. Finally, I led him to Christ."

I was ecstatic at the realization that I had become a spiritual grandparent. The sense of fulfillment was exhilarating. And it all happened because I started a simple little Bible study where I worked in order to do what Paul said: "Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).

Prayer: Father, I want to bloom where I am planted and resist the temptation to compare myself to others. Help me see the ways you have uniquely gifted me to serve you and your Kingdom. Thank you for making me just as I am. Forgive me for the ways I have compared myself and coveted the abilities of others. I pray that, starting today, I would see the opportunities if front of me to use my gifts and abilities. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

A Lenten Prayer for God to Bring Beauty from Ashes..... By Debbie McDaniel

A Lenten Prayer for God to Bring Beauty from Ashes
By Debbie McDaniel

“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isa 61:3

As we walk through this season of Lent, we’re reminded again that sometimes… life is hard.

Sometimes it hurts.

Sometimes it’s dark.

And it leaves its mark, like ashes of grief, in the deepest parts of our souls, where no one but God can really see.

Yet even in times of ashes and struggle, even when we think we’ve been forgotten in our seasons of waiting, God is still there. And He is bigger. 

As believers, we can still hold on to hope.

For He never intends for us to stay stuck in our sin, pain, or deep sorrow. He heals and restores, He calls us onward, He reminds us that in Him, we have great purpose and hope.

There is beauty and greatness behind every mark of darkness. The ashes will fall away, they don’t stay forever, but His greatness and glory shine forever through every broken place and flaw we’ve struggled through.

Jesus conquered death. He lives forever. He reigns in glory. And we have victory in Him.

Take courage dear friends who are facing deep battles. He is greater than any enemy we face in this life. We overcome because He has overcome and our lives are hidden in Christ. May God cover you with peace, may He bring healing in the face of hard news, may He bring deep, abiding joy that makes no sense to the world, may He bring comfort and care as He wraps you in His arms. The God of miracles fights for you today, and He is Mighty.

There's still beauty ahead...straight out of ashes.

Christ redeems.

Grace.

Dear God,

In this season of Lent we’re reminded of our own difficulties and struggles. Sometimes the way has seemed too dark. Sometimes we feel like our lives have been marked by such grief and pain, we don’t see how our circumstances can ever change. But in the midst of our weakness, we ask that you would be strong on our behalf. Lord, rise up within us, let your Spirit shine out of every broken place we’ve walked through. Allow your power to be manifest through our own weakness, so that others will recognize it is You who is at work on our behalf. We ask that you would trade the ashes of our lives for the beauty of your Presence. Trade our mourning and grief for the oil of joy and gladness from your Spirit. Trade our despair for hope and praise. We choose to give you thanks today and believe that this season of darkness will fade away. Thank you that you are with us in whatever we face, and that you are greater than this trial. We know and recognize that you are Sovereign, we thank you for the victory that is ours because of Christ Jesus, and we are confident that you have good still in store for our future. We thank you that you are at work right now, trading our ashes for greater beauty. We praise you, for you make all things new.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.