Feasting on the Word..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Feasting on the Word

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Peter 2:2-3

Did you ever watch an infant take a feeding? Hungry little ones clutch the bottle, smack their lips, and make soft contented noises. They thoroughly enjoy their nourishment. But there comes a time when milk isn’t enough to satiate baby’s appetite anymore. That’s when a whole world of culinary possibilities opens up.

Comparing new believers to babies, Peter said that they “long for the pure milk of the word” (v. 2). You wouldn’t feed a newborn steak and spinach, would you? Well, baby Christians must sip scriptural truths that they understand. Then, like a growing child, they shoot up as they feast on Bible passages, gradually taking in more and meatier principles and topics.

Believers are not left alone to make sense of Scripture any more than babies and young children are expected to get their own meals. The Holy Spirit, who indwells God’s followers, illuminates the Word. That is, He makes the meaning clear to those who seek to understand. Moreover, according to Ephesians 4:11-16, God has given gifted Christians to the church to act as pastors and teachers. They are charged with equipping the saints for service (v. 12). These leaders instruct, clarify, and motivate people to grow in their personal faith and to fulfill the church’s purpose of reaching the lost.

God’s Word is a feast for our heart, mind, and spirit. This is one banquet table where there is no such thing as taking too much. In fact, the advice many parents give their children at the dinner table applies to the Christian life as well: “Eat up! Scriptural food makes you grow strong."

God is Good..... Craig Denison

 God is Good

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview: 

It’s vital to the Christian life that we as sons and daughters of the most high God allow our affections to be stirred by the loving, powerful nature of our heavenly Father. Too often we feel that God is distant or separated from us. Too often we allow misconceptions or lies to place a rift between us and experiencing God. It’s in reminding ourselves of God’s character that lies are broken and a pathway is laid for us to encounter his tangible love. Open your heart and mind and receive fresh revelation of the goodness of God this week. Allow your affections to be stirred and your heart to be filled with desire to seek the face of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” - Psalm 27:13

Devotional:

God is good. What emotion does that fact stir in you? I know for some this phrase stirs up unspeakable joy, while others of us seem to be immune to its emotion in our lives. I believe the issue for many of us is that the phrase “God is good” is so frequently said and so infrequently experienced. For many of us we are just told that God is good from a young age, but we are seldom given the chance to experience that goodness. Goodness is something meant to be experienced and then believed, not the other way around.

David said that he would look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He had already seen God's goodness in his life and believed that he would see it again. He knew for a fact that God was good and therefore he sought to experience that goodness. It's that same heart that the Sons of Korah had in the famous Psalm 84, singing, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God . . . For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:1-2,10). That sounds like the worship of a good God, a goodness that had been experienced.

When was the last time you experienced the goodness of God? Psalm 33:5 says, “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” God's goodness is here, just waiting to be experienced. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” God is always good, and every good and perfect gift you've received is from him! He demonstrates his goodness to us in innumerable ways, all the time. How is it then that we don't recognize it? How is it that we can be surrounded by God's goodness and not experience it?

God has proven in Scripture that he works in our midst demonstrating his goodness, but we have to take time to listen and respond to these demonstrations. In Psalm 27 God says to David, “Seek my face,” and David responds, “My heart says to you, your face, Lord, do I seek.” When God says "seek" he uses a Hebrew word that is meant for more than one person. God calls all of us, his people, to “seek my face.” Then in response we are to say, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Take time today to respond to God's invitation of goodness. Seek to look upon his face and to experience his goodness. He has laid a banquet table before you and is simply asking you to come and dine with him.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take time to quiet yourself and receive God's presence. Meditate on this verse:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

2. Respond to his goodness by telling the Lord:

“My heart says to you, Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8

3. Make David's prayer yours today:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Take time to make that prayer your own throughout your day today. Memorize it. Write it on your heart so that you can experience the goodness of God throughout your day. It only takes a minute to receive his presence and have the joy and peace that can only be found in Christ Jesus.

Extended Reading: Psalm 27

The Quiet Power of Sitting Alongside..... SARAH GERINGER

 The Quiet Power of Sitting Alongside

SARAH GERINGER

“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” Job 2:13 (NIV)

I tried as hard as I could to keep my heart from shattering. At the first family function while my husband and I were separated, I didn’t want to mar the celebration with my heartache. On that gorgeous spring day, I pasted on a smile for the photos and pretended everything was fine. But right beneath the surface, my reservoir of tears was near to bursting.

As the party plodded on, my emotions swirled: relief that no one questioned me about our separation because I didn’t have any answers; embarrassment because everyone silently knew about our split; depression over this first unwanted milestone; worry that my three children wouldn’t enjoy the day as much without their father.

After two hours of awkward posing, I retreated to the front porch for a breather. Watching the children play in the yard, my emotions rose inside like a groundswell. I desperately wondered how I would keep myself together for the long drive home alone.

Alone. That was my overriding emotion. Utterly and permanently alone, I feared. Discouragement threatened to overwhelm me.

Right then, my brother-in-law joined me on the porch. Always a man of few words, he simply sat beside me. We eventually engaged in light conversation, mostly about the children. But I knew why he was really there. He wanted to make sure I didn’t feel so alone.

Driving home, I had a mini come-apart behind my sunglasses. What a relief to let some of my tears spill out. In the late afternoon sunlight, I grasped at reasons to be thankful, clinging to faith like a life raft. As I thanked God for my brother-in-law’s comforting presence, I remembered this scene in Job’s story:

“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13).

Job was enduring massive heartache — terrible and permanent losses shaking him to the core. Sitting in ashes, he was a pitiful sight.

His three friends ministered to him. They wept aloud, tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads (Job 2:12), all common expressions of grief in their culture. Then they sat beside him in silence for seven full days before ever speaking any words of comfort.

In the grief of my separation, what I needed more than anything was to know I wasn’t alone. When I felt alone, I was tempted to lose hope. Isolation is where Satan invites us to descend the staircase of despair. But when someone offers to sit alongside us in our pain, we can find comfort in the quiet power of community.

I’ve experienced other times when others quietly sat alongside me, listening and loving without words. I’ve learned that simply sitting alongside someone who is suffering is often the best way to show God’s love to them.

If you read further in the book of Job, you’ll see how his friends blundered their words. It’s so easy to say something unintentionally offensive to a grieving person, even when we’re trying to help. I’ve made that mistake before.

But because others demonstrated the quiet power of sitting alongside me in my pain, I’m learning to close my mouth and simply sit beside others who need care and comfort.

Many of us don’t know what to say or do when someone is hurting. Isn’t it refreshing to read this biblical example of simply sitting alongside someone to offer comfort? We can all learn to do this. When we sit beside others in their pain, God will work through us with His quiet power to remind them they are not alone, but seen and loved.

Father God, I want to comfort others like You have comforted me. Teach me how to comfort simply through the quiet power of sitting alongside them in their pain. I want You to be glorified as You comfort them through my silent presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (NIV)

What Happened When Adam Failed (Genesis 3:12-13)...... By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 What Happened When Adam Failed (Genesis 3:12-13)

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” -  Genesis 3:12-13 (ESV)

Genesis 3 reads like one intense game of finger-pointing. God questioned Adam while he was hiding, and Adam blamed Eve. Then God questioned Eve, so Eve blamed the serpent.

Sound familiar? I don’t know about you, but I can be pretty quick to cast blame far away from myself after I sin, too. It’s like I try to toss it up in the air, hoping it sticks to anything at all when it lands and distract the attention away from myself. Guess what? That’s part of our depraved nature. I bet your kids do that too, don’t they? They don’t have to be taught to lie, exaggerate, stretch the truth, or point the finger of blame. It comes to them as a fleshly, sinful survival method. 

The ironic truth is the only true survival method is found in confession and repentance. Adam and Eve figured that out eventually, but not before it was too late for their freedom in the Garden.

After the serpent tempted Eve and she fell into sin, it’s noted in verse six that Adam was right there. (Genesis 3:6 ESV) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Even as Eve took that first bite, Adam failed his husbandly role with her.

That might sound familiar too, huh? A husband not being protective. A husband causing hurt instead of compassion. A husband following instead of leading. Even as far back as the Garden of Eden, man has struggled to fulfill his God-given role. Adam failed Eve. (Eve also failed Adam, but that’s a devotional for a different day!)

You don’t have to look far to find a woman who has been disappointed by a man. When God questioned Adam, he immediately pointed to Eve and said (vs 3:12 ESV) “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.

I can only imagine Eve’s face when Adam said, “the woman you gave me.” Ouch! Instead of blaming Adam back, Eve turned and blamed the serpent. Sure, the serpent was involved in the deception, but at the end of the day, Eve’s sin was her own choice. Adam’s sin to follow her was his own choice. And in those choices, death sprung to life.

The consequences of this exchange between God, Adam and Eve we still experience today. Man was cursed with futile work. Woman was cursed with painful childbearing and with an endless power struggle against her husband. The earth was cursed. The serpent was cursed. Death entered the world.

But what’s beautiful here is that Jesus, through the Gospel, stepped in and more than fulfilled the role that Adam failed.

Romans 5:19 (ESV) For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

There’s no good news without bad news. Adam and Eve are the poster kids for the bad news, but in Geneses 3:15 (ESV) we have the first glimpse of hope. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The first glimpse of Christ.

Adam failed Eve in the Garden by standing there while she was being deceived by the serpent, by not speaking up for God’s Word, and by not taking charge of the situation and leading her away from temptation. But Jesus stepped in to fulfill all of our failures. Because of God’s love for us, and because of His holiness and justness, He made a way to atone for our sin and failures by becoming the perfect sacrificial lamb. By living a sinless life, dying, experiencing the wrath of God poured out, and rising again, Jesus fulfilled it all. He covered Adam’s sin. Eve’s sin. Yours. And mine.

Your husband will fail you. You’ll fail him too. You’ll fail your kids and your friends and your co-workers. And they’ll all fail you. But because of Christ, we can forgive ourselves and others. As believers in Jesus, we can move forward despite our failures because they’re remembered no more at the foot of the cross.

Because Jesus paid it all.

When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Time: God is Able to Restore the Years..... By Debbie McDaniel

 When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Time: God is Able to Restore the Years

By Debbie McDaniel

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. You will have plenty... and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know... that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other." - Joel 2:25-27

If we’ve lived long enough, we know this to be true… sometimes, life is hard. It doesn’t always go our way. Things don’t always work out in our timing. And often, it seems we get hit from all sides. Problems can leave us spinning, wondering why we didn’t see it coming.

Days, months, even years can go by. We look back and wonder how it all went so fast, yet seemed so slow when we trudged through the difficulties. And though we might try our best to live our lives in a way that honors God, it doesn’t erase the fact that we live in a fallen world. We’re constantly face-to-face with so many battles -  hardship, struggles, broken relationships, illness, and our own weaknesses too.

In the midst of all that, we may sometimes feel like we’ve lost time, missed opportunities, or blown chances along the way. We may struggle with feeling as if we’ve walked through too many broken years of pain. Like God could never work through that stuff, it’s just too messy, or too difficult.

But the good news is this: there’s still hope. For He alone is our Hope-giver.

Restorer.

Redeemer.

Healer.

Friend.

God is able to restore all that’s been stolen.

He knows our way, He is close, and He’s working far beyond what we can fully see.

There’s a new season up ahead, don’t give up. If we woke up this morning, then God’s not finished with us yet, there’s still good in store.

He is able.

He is faithful.

He is greater than anything we face in this life, and much bigger than our own brokenness or weakness.

Keep moving forward in His grace and power.

Intersecting Faith & Life: If you need God to redeem your time and restore the years the “locusts have eaten,” through the difficulties or hard circumstances you’ve faced, bring it before Him today. All of it. Ask Him for His power to work mightily through all you have faced, bringing good and renewed strength for this next season still in store. God alone brings hope, choose to focus on all the blessing that He can bring from the struggle. He is able to turn it around to work in your favor, and for His greater glory.

Further Reading:
Jeremiah 29:11
Isaiah 43:19
Job 23:10

A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to Do..... By Christina Fox

 A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to Do

By Christina Fox

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105

One of the first steps toward making a tough decision is to seek God in prayer.

Perhaps you are in the midst of a difficult decision right now. If so, this prayer is for you.

Father in Heaven,

I come before you today with my mind swirling with different thoughts and feelings. I have a hard decision make and I just don't know what to do. I feel helpless and confused. I'm worried about the consequences to my decision. I worry about the impact my decision will have not only on myself but on others as well. To be honest, I fear making the wrong decision.

Your word tells me that if I seek after wisdom you will provide it. So I am seeking you, the source and fountain of wisdom. You've written everything you want me to know if the pages of your book, The Bible. I pray that as I read your word, it would shape my wants and desires and longings. I pray that it would impress on me what matters most to you. I pray that as I consider the decision before me, that I would remember what your word teaches about your sovereignty and control over all things.

You know this problem before me. You know how it turns out. That's because you are the Alpha and the Omega. You know the end from the beginning. Nothing happens apart from your will and plan. Not only are you sovereign, but you are good. All your plans are holy, righteous, and good. I can trust that you know what is best for me. When I move forward with this decision, I know that it is your will and that you will use it for my good and your glory.

Forgive me for getting caught up in wanting to know the future and how everything turns out. Forgive me for treating you like a "magic 8 ball." Forgive me for fearing the future and for waiting around in the hopes that the answer will be written on the wall. Help me to rest and trust in who you are. Help me to look to Jesus, knowing that if you gave of your own Son to save me from sin, how will you not also be with me in all the challenges and decisions of my life? There is nothing and no one that can separate me from you; I have nothing to fear.

You are my Rock, my Savior, and my Deliverer. Be with me as I move forward in this time of confusion and difficulty. Above all, may your will be done on earth, and in my life, as it is in heaven.

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.