The Blessings of Inadequacy..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Blessings of Inadequacy

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Paul never claimed he was capable of accomplishing all that God called him to do. He simply learned to look beyond his own inadequacy to the sufficiency of Christ. If we'll adopt the same practice, we, too, can discover the blessings hidden in our own experiences of inadequacy.

Our insufficiency drives us to God. When we realize a situation is bigger than we can handle, we're quick to open the Bible and diligently pray for guidance and power.

Inadequacy relieves us of the burden of self-effort and self-reliance. The Lord has us right where He wants us--at the end of our rope with nothing left to give.

Inability motivates reliance on divine power. We'll never be adequate until we draw from the Holy Spirit's inexhaustible strength. He does in and through us what God never intended that we do on our own.

By using weak, inadequate people, God demonstrates what great things He can do. He actually delights in choosing unlikely individuals to carry out His purposes. There's no limit to what He can do through someone willing to give Him full control.

Inadequacy challenges our faith. Paul says, "Our adequacy is from God" (v. 5). Those who focus on the reliability of this promise and step out in obedience will grow in faith.

Why go through all the fear, pressure, and frustration that accompany feelings of inadequacy when there's an alternative? Let the Lord make you adequate: rely upon Him and allow Christ to live in and through you. He will replace your anxiety with a quiet spirit of contentment.

Friendship with the Holy Spirit..... Craig Denison

 Friendship with the Holy Spirit

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

As believers, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, Teacher, Friend, and seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God. His presence, guidance, and wisdom in our lives are our greatest gifts while here on earth. Through him we have access to direct connection with our heavenly Father. Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us. And through him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life. Open your heart and mind to all that the Holy Spirit would give you, show you, and lead you to this week.

Scripture: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14

Devotional:

In friendship with the Holy Spirit we begin to experience a sense of wholeness and joy unattainable through any other relationship or aspect of life. Rapid and wonderful transformation results when you discover the wealth of love that comes with continual, real friendship with the living God. In friendship with God comes peace, security, honesty, healing, and freedom. As you live your life in step with the Spirit, you experience what Adam and Eve experienced as they walked with God himself in the Garden of Eden. You discover the vast reservoir of love, affection, and perfect help that’s available to you in the Holy Spirit. Open your heart today to receive a fresh revelation of God’s desire for friendship with you through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” God longs for friendship with his people. And through the Holy Spirit we have a continual connection with God available to us. The Spirit desires to do life with you. He wants to guide you, speak to you, and love you. He wants to satisfy your longing for relationship and can do so in greater ways than you can imagine.

John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” By God’s grace you have been filled with God himself. You have dwelling with you the same Spirit who authored Scripture, raised Christ from the dead, empowered the disciples, and hovered over the waters at the creation of all things. And Scripture says that he longs to help you! Jesus calls him the “Helper.” How incredible is the grace of our God to offer us relationship with the Holy Spirit! How great is his love that he would send his Son to die that we might have abundant life for all of eternity, including right now!

So, how do we grow in friendship with the Holy Spirit? How do we allow him to satisfy our desire for relationship? Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” And Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Friendship with the Holy Spirit starts like any other true friendship. We must respect, love, and make time for him. We must learn what he likes and dislikes. And we must apologize when we do something that hurts him. The Holy Spirit has feelings like any other person. But he is also full of grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Friendship with him comes about by following his leadership, making time to ask him how he feels about things, and following his guidance away from a lifestyle of sin into the righteousness available to you through Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is waiting right now to guide you into friendship with him. He’s excited about the idea of pouring out his love and affections on you. He longs to lead you away from the sins that hurt you and grieve him. And he longs to guide you toward a life of walking with him in relationship. Spend time in prayer being filled with the Holy Spirit afresh and making room to discover the reality of his presence in your life.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for friendship with you.

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to pour his love out on you. Ask him to make the reality of his nearness known to you. Be filled with desire to live your life in relationship with this real, tangible God who loves you.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit what he likes and doesn’t like. Open your life and let him speak to you about whatever is causing you trouble. Ask him how he feels about relationships, situations, thoughts, and perspectives you have. The Spirit loves to speak to us and help us.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

Often we separate out what we think God cares about and what just seems to be normal, worldly parts of life. But God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be there for us in everything we do. He wants to fill us with grace and joy to do all the things set before us, from taking out the trash to washing dishes to leading thousands of people in prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to come in and work in every area of your life and discover the wealth of knowledge and love your God has to share with you.

Extended Reading: John 14

The Standards That Matter (2 Corinthians 10:12)..... By Meg Bucher

 The Standards That Matter (2 Corinthians 10:12)

By Meg Bucher

“Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” 2 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV)

2 Corinthians 10:12 is aimed at the false teachers of Paul’s day. They thought so highly of themselves that they failed to see that their measure of righteousness was a faulty one. Paul is reminding his readers that the standard above all standards is Jesus. And God’s standards on our lives mean more than anyone else’s … even our own. It’s in our human nature to seek confirmation for a job well-done and a path well-traveled. We look for evidence that we’ve done the best we can do with what we’ve been given, but our measure of righteousness is focused on man, not God.

No human standard that will ever fulfill us. Only Christ’s approval will provide the peace we are seeking in this life. The world’s standards will tell us that we need to achieve certain benchmarks to be happy. One after another we will reach, pass, and move on to the next one… never feeling fully satisfied.

There’s only one way for each life to attain true peace. That’s why comparison is so dangerous. We chase someone else’s benchmark, and all the while miss our own. Jesus died so that we could stop chasing aimlessly.

Live according to God’s standards, which you can find in His living and active Word. The more time we spend with Him, the further anchored we will become in His purpose for our lives. All other standards will will become foolish when we are rooted in Christ.

Let's pray now that our measure of righteousness would be fixed in Christ and no other worldly standard:

Father, we praise you for your protection and your guidance. Thank you for your Living Word, which guides our lives perfectly, and your son Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, which grants us the grace to interpret it. Forgive us for forging our own way, the world’s way. Bless our lives to seek your way. For we know your way is always bigger and better than anything we could ever ask for or imagine.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Bravery..... by Ryan Duncan

 Bravery

by Ryan Duncan

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? – Psalms 56:3-4

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be brave. The Bible certainly doesn’t lack for courageous leaders like Moses or fearless warriors like David, but what about those people who showed simple bravery? Esther never led anyone into battle, and as a woman in the ancient world her ability to lead was limited, but when you take the time to study her life you realize how much inner strength she must have had. As a young woman she was taken from her home and thrust into an unfamiliar environment. Later, she was forced to intercede in a murder plot at the risk of her life and the life of her cousin.

Her greatest challenge, however, was when the King’s advisor Haman sought to massacre the Jewish people. Their only hope of survival lay with Esther’s ability to confront the King, an action that could easily get her killed. After all, this was a man who had deposed his old wife on a whim, what would he do to a woman who openly challenged his authority? Reading the verses in chapter 4, I can only imagin how shaken Esther must have been.

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." – Esther 4:15-16

We all know how the story ends, the King receives Esther and the Jews are saved from death, but the story of Esther’s courage has remained relevant after all these years. I believe God calls Christians to simple acts of bravery every day of our lives. Whether it’s standing up for someone else, or having the courage to speak out for what we believe, these simple acts have the power to change the world. Don’t be afraid, and don’t be downcast, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but one of courage.

Intersecting Faith and Life: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality." – C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Further Reading:
2 Timothy 1:7

A Prayer to Keep Pressing Forward..... By: Alisha Headley

 A Prayer to Keep Pressing Forward

By: Alisha Headley

“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Have you ever wondered how the Apostle Paul wrote such profound words in today’s Scripture verse? Nothing but Spirit-breathed confidence in Christ could cause a man with such a past as Paul’s to pen such beautiful words of forward-looking redemption.

Before he went by the name Paul, he was referred to as the imprisoned Saul. Paul was a murderer before he wrote almost half of the New Testament book. Not only was he a murderer, but he was a murderer of Christians. This was a man who murdered those that served the Christ that he would one day spend the rest of his days following and committed to. His name change matched his soul change after his conversion.

I can’t help but wonder if this is where today’s verse derives from. Paul had a choice: he could live in guilt and condemnation in his old identity, or, he could choose to accept his new identity in Christ. He chose to take off the label from his past and partner with God in His Kingdom work. And what a glorious work he did helping build out the church and spreading the gospel.

Although he ended up playing an impacting role in preaching the good news, I imagined he wrestled with these memories from the past and wished a million times he didn’t do these things of which he was guilty. And therefore, he wrote a Scripture verse that can be true to us today; for those of us that are holding onto labels from our past, from our past mistakes and failures. The verse emphasizes to “forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead.” Paul chose to own his past and turn his mess of a past into some of the greatest messages in the Bible. God never erased his story; He authored it for a purpose, an unbelievable purpose! He can do the same with our story too.

Let’s take this as a reminder to choose to remember that God is bigger than any labels from our past. Paul’s story, like ours, is a representation of the Gospel. Through the same love and forgiveness, we can use our stories for a beautiful redemptive purpose too. Let’s pray.

Dear Lord,

We thank you that you are a God of not just second chances, but never-ending chances. That you are a God of love and forgiveness. That you don’t want us to live in our past forever. Your Word says in Romans 8:8 that we know “that all things work together for good to those that are called according to your purpose.” Lord, we ask that you turn all our past to our purpose for your Kingdom.

We choose to be obedient to you and partner with you. As you invest your Heavenly purpose in us, may we be your earthly vessels and used by you just as Paul was. Thank you, Lord, for the example of Paul in the Bible. For someone who chose to rid himself of his former identity and walk in his new identity in you. For we are a “new creation in you; the old things have passed away, and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Thank you, Father, that you are the author of our lives and you can turn our past into our purpose. We worship you and praise you for you look at us and all you have overcome in us, and still see the beauty you created. Use us Lord, just like Paul, as instruments in your hand for whatever purpose you’ve chosen for us to be and to become. We love you and choose to follow you this day.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen