Trained to Discern..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Trained to Discern

Dr. Charles Stanley

Hebrews 5:11-14

In today's world, impatience is all too common a trait. We want food, help, and information fast. Just waiting for the computer to boot up or the "next avail-able agent" to answer our call can cause frustration. But the Lord specializes in slow, steady work. He's more interested in a quality outcome than a speedy process.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of spiritual discernment. When we become Christians, we aren't instantly wise and knowledgeable. It takes a lifetime to grow to maturity. Some believers, however, don't seem to grow up at all. They get older, but their understanding of God's Word never goes very deep.

This lack of godly wisdom is caused by ignorance of the Scriptures, apathy and complacency about spiritual things, and a failure to apply biblical truths. Discernment requires time and effort. You can't simply move through life, thoughtlessly reacting to situations yet never learning from them. Take time to reflect on your responses and observe the consequences of your actions and choices. If you feel convicted by what you notice, let that motivate you to begin a lifelong pursuit of the Lord and His ways. Start reading the Bible regularly. And as you do, ask the Lord to open your heart and mind to understand what He's saying.

But just reading God's Word isn't enough. Without applying what you've read, all you'll have is head knowledge. Obedience trains us to discern good and evil. Through practice, we learn wisdom and develop spiritual maturity. If you'll begin today and patiently persevere, in time discernment will come.

God's Heart Doesn't Stop with Us..... Craig Denison

 God's Heart Doesn't Stop with Us

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

One of the greatest privileges as a child of God is that we can have the heart of our heavenly Father. We don’t have to wonder how he feels about us. We don’t have to wonder if he will guide us. We don’t have to question whether he loves us or cares about us. Through the Holy Spirit we have continual, free access to the heart of God. May your relationship with God go deeper and become freer as we learn how to have God’s heart this week.

Scripture:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7

Devotional:    

As wonderful and life-giving as it is to access the heart of God for ourselves, having God’s heart isn’t meant to stop with us. His heart is meant to fill us, empower us, and transform us to live in such a way that we are light in the darkness. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said:

 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

As a believer you can reveal the heart of God to others. You’ve been given access to a deep, revelatory knowledge of God’s love that you might shine the light of God’s goodness to a world that only knows darkness. You can reveal the heart of God through the way you honor rather than speaking ill. You can represent the humility of Jesus by serving rather than being self-seeking. You can reveal God’s grace by offering compassion when others treat you poorly. And you can display the courage that comes from a true understanding of God’s unconditional love by living authentically rather than building up a false image.

You were made to share God’s heart. You were made to co-labor with him in seeing the gospel be proclaimed and bear fruit in the lives of others. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God has work prepared for you today. Look for opportunities to share what God is doing in your life. Look for ways you can be a reflection of the aspects of God’s heart he’s revealing to you. Don’t let the love of God be contained to you like a secret, but share it freely, knowing that his love never runs out and is what every human heart is searching for.

Take time in guided prayer to allow God to fill you with passion to reveal his heart to a world in desperate need of restored relationship with him.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of sharing God’s heart with the world. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to be a reflection of God’s heart.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

2. What aspect of God’s heart can you share with someone today? What part of God’s character can you reflect to the world around you?

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to put a person or group of people on your heart that he wants you to love well today. Ask him how he wants to use you to reveal the heart of God. Journal his response.

An important aspect of sharing God’s heart is trusting in faith that he will use you. When you choose to live a life co-laboring with your heavenly Father you get to experience the supernatural. It’s miraculous when people choose to accept Jesus. It’s astounding when our service, compassion, and love tears down walls around people’s hearts that they might be more open to God. Don’t just live a normal life today. Allow God to use you by sharing his heart. May your day be filled with wonder and awe at your heavenly Father who uses you in mighty and powerful ways.

Extended Reading: 1 John 4

How to Fall in Love with Jesus..... GLYNNIS WHITWER

 How to Fall in Love with Jesus

GLYNNIS WHITWER

“‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.’” John 15:9 (NIV) 

A friend of mine recommended a TV program she was sure I’d like. It didn’t seem interesting to me, but on her recommendation, I watched the first episode. As suspected, I didn’t like it. So I passed on watching it again.

But she insisted, “Please give it another chance. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Because I trusted my friend, I watched the next episode. That time something caught my interest. So I watched another episode, and I started to enjoy the characters. They were quirky and intriguing. The more I watched the show, the more I loved it. My friend was right!

I’d judged that show based on my superficial observations, but once I really got to know the story, I was hooked.

Isn’t this the case with many things? 

We easily make judgment calls, certain we won’t like something — whether it’s music, a book, food or people. Then, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because we never really get to know what we judge at the start.

Jesus can be like this, too. For some, seeing Jesus as a baby in a manger is as close as they want to get. Perhaps the grown-up Jesus seems a bit intense or demanding or narrow-minded. So it’s easier to stay at a distance from Him.

But if we keep Jesus at arm’s length, we’ll never get to know Him. And if we don’t get to know Him, we won’t love Him.

If we want to move faith from our heads to our hearts, we must fall in love with Jesus.

To fall in love with Jesus, we must know Him. Not superficially, but deeply. That kind of knowledge takes time and persistence, just like any good relationship. Jesus invites us to abide in His love — rest, stay, tarry — not rush past it. In John 15:9, He said, “‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.’” 

Many of us equate loving Jesus with obedience. Obedience is surely part of showing we love Him; even Jesus said that. But the love Jesus wants is our affections, our emotions, the longing of our hearts. How do we get there?

For years, my faith was academic. I knew who Jesus was, believed He was the Son of God who died for my sins and chose to follow Him. I studied the Bible and did my best to make good choices. But there was always a formality about my faith.

Everything changed when I started knowing Jesus as a real person, not just someone to be studied. When I read about Jesus standing by a shamed woman, daring the self-righteous to convict her, I imagined Him doing that for me and loved Him.

When Jesus stood at a well, talking to a woman everyone shunned, I pictured Him talking to me despite the potential rumors and loved Him.

When Jesus stopped and healed a woman who in faith touched His cloak and was healed, I knew He’d stop for me, and I loved Him for that.

When Jesus endured false accusations, was betrayed by His friends, rejected by His own, was beaten, crucified and even experienced His Father’s face turned away so I could be free from the curse of sin, I loved Him more.

I could go on and on. There are so many reasons to love Jesus, but here is a truth to embrace: Jesus is real, and He loves us. And for us to experience that love and offer it back, we need to know Him. Really know Him.

Will you join me in seeking to know Jesus more?

Lord, thank You for loving me first. Thank You for sending Your Son so I could know You as more than a distant God, but someone I can love like a friend. Help me know You more and love You more. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Ephesians 3:17b-19, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (NIV)

The Next Right Thing (2 Chronicles 20:12)..... By Brent Rinehart

 The Next Right Thing (2 Chronicles 20:12)

By Brent Rinehart

“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

When King Jehoshaphat learned that three armies were joining forces to invade Judah, he was rightfully afraid. He didn’t know what to do, but his next steps are a great example for all of us.

He assembled the people, and he began to pray: “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you…If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. (2 Chronicles 20: 6, 9 and 12b).

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

Do you ever feel like this? The weight of the world is on your shoulders. You don’t know what to do or which way to turn.

I don’t make a habit of taking life lessons from Disney movies, but one of my daughter’s favorite is Frozen 2. In the film, Anna is devasted as she thinks her sister Elsa is dead. She doesn’t know what to do. She sings: “I won't look too far ahead, it's too much for me to take. But, break it down to this next breath, this next step, this next choice is one that I can make. So, I'll walk through this night stumbling blindly toward the light, and do the next right thing. And, with it done, what comes then? When it's clear that everything will never be the same again, then I'll make the choice to hear that voice, and do the next right thing.”

The next right thing. It’s really that simple. We don’t have to know the outcome or what the pathway looks like 20 steps ahead. We have to take that next step and keep moving forward.

For those of us who know the Lord, that next right thing is keeping our eyes on Him and seeking his counsel. We may not know what to do, but there is always something we know we can do. Just like King Jehoshaphat, we can approach the throne of God and seek His wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

And, that’s the beautiful thing: God listens and will answer. The Lord answered Jehoshaphat’s prayer. “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

Whatever battle you are facing today, seek God. You may not know what to do, but you can do the next right thing. You can seek God, and trust that He will listen and answer. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

The Corinthian Man-Creed..... by Shawn McEvoy

 The Corinthian Man-Creed

by Shawn McEvoy

Be on your guard, stand firm in faith, be men of courage, be strong; do everything in love. - 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Today's verse hangs on a board on the wall of my son. But years ago, long before my son was even an inkling, I came across that verse as I was sending my own father one of many letters I composed over the years to share with him the importance of salvation, and the value of life in Christ. My sister, mother, and I came to know the Lord in 1980, but it took another 17 years, seven months, and 26 days worth of praying, heart softening, and brokenness for Dan McEvoy to surrender.

And it wasn’t this letter or the above verse that pushed him into it. No, this letter I was writing simply to tell him how blessed I was to have begun dating a woman (who eventually became my wife) for whom faith came first, and I was giving God all the glory and credit and all that good stuff, and probably telling him how God delights in blessing those who trust in Him.

With the letter I enclosed a quick-and-dirty page of graphic art involving the aforementioned verse from Corinthians in some fancy font, with a clip-art picture of a sailboat, kind of as a visual aid to my letter, indicating, I suppose, what it was like for the man of God to live in this world under the Captaincy of Christ.

Well, so. After he died in 2001, I found that letter and piece of "art" in my father’s desk, looking as if it had been read and glanced at often. Something in me knew then that if I were ever to have a son, I’d commit to raising him to manhood under these same five principles:

• Be on your guard. Be ready, be alert. Expect God to be involved, expect Satan to attack. Let the wonder of creation still catch your eye.
• Stand firm in faith. Be unmoved because you know intimately that of which you believe in. Become biblically literate.
• Be a man of courage. Fear is not from God (2 Timothy 1:7), so go your way boldly. The worst that can happen – even death – still ends in victory and glory for the Christian.
• Be strong. Physically, yes, let’s take care of ourselves, and present our bodies as holy. But remember that the Lord is the strength of the strong (Ephesians 6:10), and that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
• Do everything in love. Here’s your motivation, because he that doesn’t love doesn’t know God (1 John 4:8), and the world shall know you by your love (John 13:35).

So when Jordan was born, and we had the dedication service at our church, that’s the verse we selected to have read. When he was about two-and-a-half, he started reciting it by memory and making up arm/hand motions to go with it. We call it our “Man-Creed.” 

But here’s the secret: these couple verses from the closing of Paul’s first letter to Corinth aren’t first-and-foremost for Jordan… they’re for me.

When I first realized that, it caught me, ironically enough, "off my guard." I had been more than happy to tell my own father how to "be a man," and was perfectly willing to raise my son to be one according to the Word. How, I wonder, did I intend to do so without living out the credo, making it my own?

The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible comments upon the 1 Corinthians passage thusly: "[Paul] shows that they ought to make their hopes of salvation to depend not on Apollos or any other teacher; that it rests with themselves." Yes, and on how I am willing to live, or better, whether I am willing to let my life be of greater worth than my words.

I don’t know about the other guys out there, but it definitely helps me to have something to live by, to recite, to write on my heart, ponder the meaning of, and connect to other scriptures as I strive to be a man after God’s own heart. And it doesn’t hurt that this creed I now try to follow is affecting its third generation in my family.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Allow me to recommend teaching your child – no matter how young – to recite Bible verses that reflect who they are and can be in Christ, and make it real in their lives. But while you’re doing it, "be on your guard." One of them may just become your own credo.

Further Reading

Ephesians 6:10

A Prayer for Earth Day..... By Jennifer Heeren

 A Prayer for Earth Day

By Jennifer Heeren

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” - (Psalm 139:14)

The definition of faith is to believe in things that we cannot see. And God rewards and loves faith. But there is plenty to see that builds faith as well.

1. The Placement of Earth in the Universe

In space, stars often explode into supernovas. The Earth, however, is located in such a position that it doesn’t fall victim to devastating collisions with stars. Our moon also protects us from collisions with debris. Nearby Jupiter draws objects that have the potential to hit the Earth. In the universe, too many stars grouped together can cause immense radiation. The Earth only has a few stars near it so too much radiation isn’t a problem.

Somehow, our planet is placed in just the right position to protect it.

2. The Climate for Life on Earth

The Earth is just the right distance from our solar system’s sun—any closer and we as well as our water supply would burn up and any further we’d freeze. Even the tilt of our planet makes a huge difference. If it was tilted differently, temperatures would quickly rise or lower to extremes. The size the Earth is also just right to hold just the right amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide—both are essential to sustaining life.

The Earth is different from every other planet around it and it contains the perfect conditions for life.

3. The Intricacies of the Human Body

The human body has many, many parts and systems that work seamlessly to fight off problems and disease. For the most part, everything works perfectly without the person’s opinion or guidance. It takes seven octillion atoms to make up one human body. The eye has the equivalent of 576 megapixels. Even the smallest parts of us have a purpose. The pinky finger contributes to about 50 percent of the hand’s strength.

The body has a multitude of parts that work in sync.

And best of all, God didn’t just create a functional world, although that alone is huge. He also gave us the ability to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell so we could appreciate beauty as well as function.

It takes more faith to believe that an explosion alone created this perfect environment than it does to believe that an Almighty Engineer built it. When you throw a bunch of random things in a pile, you do not get intricate design. You get chaos. But when you engineer and design things, you come up with products that have a purpose and beauty too. The extreme details involved in life as we know it point extensively to a Creator who deserves to be praised!

A Prayer for Earth Day

Dear Creator God,  on this Earth Day and all days, let me always be in awe of Your wonderful works of creation. I don’t want to take the details of the world You created for me for granted. Everything around me is wonderfully complex and splendid. You, Lord, are both an Engineer and an Artist that built a world to perfectly sustain life. But you didn’t stop there. You also made immense details that please all of our senses as well. There are beautiful things to see, sounds to hear, textures to feel, yummy food to taste, and even delightful aromas to bring us enjoyment. Thank you for the details of life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.