Our Needs..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Our Needs

Dr. Charles Stanley

Philippians 4:19

Jim saved for a long time to take an Alaskan cruise. At last he was on board with two carefully packed suitcases. The first evening, when he heard "Dinner is served" announced over the loudspeaker, he took peanut butter crackers from his suitcase and sat at the table in his small cabin. Every day at mealtime, he repeated the ritual. It wasn't that Jim didn't like the ship's tasty banquets. He simply didn't know that his meals were included in the price of the ticket. For two weeks he enjoyed beautiful scenery off the decks but ate dry, stale food in his cabin.

This sad story is a metaphor for how some believers live the Christian life. God has promised to meet every need of His children—His riches are included in the price Christ paid for their salvation (Eph. 1:18). Yet many folks are trying to live out of their own resources. They don't know that the wealth of God's love, power, and provision is on their menu.

A believer's relationship with the Lord is one of complete unity. Jesus is our life. His Spirit lives through us. Therefore, everything that is available to Him is also available to the brothers and sisters in Christ—all power, strength, and endurance, as well as whatever is required to fulfill physical and emotional needs.

Jim didn't know he had the right to satisfy his hunger in an extravagant way. Learn from this exaggerated example. Read your Bible to learn what riches you are entitled to through faith. God offers believers everything required for living well and wisely. Trust Him for all your needs.

A Lifetime of Love ..... Craig Denison

 A Lifetime of Love

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

As children of God, we have been given a new home and a new hope. May your heart be set aflame by the joy and purpose of living out God’s command to live for heaven this week: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” >Colossians 3:1-4

Scripture:“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9

Devotional:

We belong to a kingdom built not by the blood, sweat, and tears of servants but by the wounds and scars of a loving and sacrificial King. As disciples of Jesus we have been granted access into a lifetime of giving and receiving unconditional love. Our Savior willingly laid down his life that we might know the love of our heavenly Father throughout this life and all eternity. John 15:9-13 says,

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

To live for heaven is to abide in a lifetime of constant and tangible love from the Father so that we might live healed and able to pour out genuine love to others. This life is all about love. Jesus boiled down all the commandments into loving God and loving people. If we truly desire to live in obedience to God’s commands, we must live with a heavenly perspective. 1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” To live for the world is to maintain an attitude of selfishness and pursue fleeting and insincere affections. To live for heaven is to daily say yes to being born of God and to pursue knowing the Father. To know our Creator is to know love itself. And when we experience the love of our Father, we will be transformed into instruments of his love for all those around us.

God longs to give us a heavenly perspective today that we might receive the fullness of his love and in return love him and others. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” Living for heaven starts with letting God love us. It starts with carving out space in our daily routine to rest in the knowledge of our Father’s love and allow it to transform, redeem, and heal us. We all carry wounds that need to be touched by the love of our Father.

It’s only after being loved by God that we can truly love others. Without encounters with the heart of the Father, we are incapable of living selflessly. Pride is the natural state of all those who aren’t consistently encountering the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. But through God’s grace and receiving a heavenly perspective, we can step outside ourselves and the fleshly desires of this world and truly love others with the heart of God.

Take time in guided prayer to let your heavenly Father love you today. Let go of any roots of pride that are keeping you from loving him and others. And ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into a lifestyle of loving others with the love you’ve been shown in Christ Jesus.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take time to receive the love of your heavenly Father. Meditate on Scripture that will fill you with the knowledge of his love. Ask him to reveal his nearness and wait on his calming and peaceful presence.

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you anything that is keeping you from living a lifestyle of being loved and loving others.

3. How would the Holy Spirit guide you into a lifestyle of loving others today? In what ways have you been loved so that you can turn around and love others? Who needs grace and forgiveness today? Who needs a loving friend or a kind stranger? Who needs to hear the message of reconciliation and hope that you’ve found in Jesus?

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:20-21

“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

“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

For the majority of my relationship with God up to this point, I didn’t know what it meant to truly experience God’s love. I didn’t know that God could tangibly affect my emotions, mood, purpose, and perspective with his presence. It was only once I began to consistently make time and space to let God love me that my life began to be transformed and healed and I began to walk in freedom. It was only once I began to consistently encounter God’s heart that I was filled with a longing to love others. There is nothing more important or foundational to this life than experiencing the love of your heavenly Father. May you discover the wealth of affections your Father has for you as you carve out space to encounter him throughout your day today.

Extended Reading: John 15

When You Aren’t Sure if You Can See Good Again..... LISA WHITTLE

 When You Aren’t Sure if You Can See Good Again

LISA WHITTLE

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you …” Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

Over coffee the other day, I listened to a tearful young woman talk to me about some of her hurtful church experiences.

Twenty years ago, our stories were so similar I could have been her.

I know what it’s like to love something so much it holds the power to break your heart. I, too, have believed in something that disappointed me to the point I once felt betrayed and jaded. In the heart of this pastor’s kid, only time, counseling, and mostly Jesus have healed the hurt places and restored a new and different, yet deeper, love for the Church.

For some of us, our pain’s history comes from a different place: grief from the death of someone we love … a painful relationship betrayal … a wearying, ongoing internal battle. None of us are immune to life’s hard things.

And then there has been this global pandemic, which has brought with it a level of weariness, doubt, disillusionment and despair a lot of us have never before known. It has us longing to believe again, hope again, and see good in our lives and this world again.

But can I suggest something that has helped me through the years and different hard circumstances?

If you are feeling powerless to change your circumstances and struggle to have a hopeful perspective, ask God to help you move from “what if” to “what is”… and from “what was” to “what now.”

These shifts in focus are not only change agents in our heart and mind, but they are also life-altering biblical ideas.

“What if” is a place we are often stuck in — a defeating, repeating pattern of questions without good answers that hinders our ability to move forward in life.

“What is” becomes a focal shift to the realities at hand; the possibilities that still exist; the hope we are afforded as believers; and the promise of heaven, the ultimate, evergreen prize.

“What was” is a place we often revert to and dwell in unnecessarily, rehashing painful things in our history, living in regret and resentment.

“What now” becomes our powerful new perspective for each and every day, which brings a new level of positivity, hope and peace.

Friend, what happened to you wasn’t necessarily fair. It wasn’t right. It certainly wasn’t what you wanted.

But what can God do with your life now? Where can you find joy? What remains that can be used for eternal purposes?

Do you, in fact, believe that God has the power to enlighten the eyes of your heart to give you hope again, as Paul prays in our key verse?

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you …” (Ephesians 1:18, emphasis added)

Is it possible that the One powerful enough to create you and love you through this hardship could also be powerful enough to help you see good again in its aftermath?

Yes.

I know you’ve been hurt. And oh, how this world is imperfect and hurtful. Yet, even with that being true, I hold tight to the promises that God still has good for us. Even in the hurt. Even despite the hurt. Even today.

For me and for you.

Dear Jesus, give us eyes to see the good again. Help us to see good in our life and in people. Most of all, help us see and know of Your goodness that we might long to serve You more and more. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Jesus’ Word to the Wrongly Accused..... By Lynette Kittle

 Jesus’ Word to the Wrongly Accused

By Lynette Kittle

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips - Psalm 141:3

Have you ever been wrongly accused? Or had lies spoken or written about you, ones causing you to feel angry, ready to respond by verbally exploding and tearing apart the untrue words?

Social media is all about speaking our minds. It encourages us to “tell it like it is,” to “speak our minds,” to defend ourselves by “setting the record straight.”

However, Scripture gives us a better way of addressing insults and lies, urging us to, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

God's Word tells us Jesus' reaction to being wrongly accused: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” - 1 Peter 2:23

When we are wrongly accused, we’re encouraged to ask God to, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Whereas the world tells us to “let it all out,” Scripture directs us to use self-control before speaking. Unlike quick, snappy comebacks, Proverbs 10:11 explains how the mouths of the righteous are to be a fountain of life, meaning: rather than putting people in place, our words are to speak life to those around us.

Practicing self-control doesn’t mean we won’t ever confront or address what was said about us. But implementing self-control gives us an opportunity to calm down, weigh possible long-term outcomes from our words, and decide on the most effective way to address a situation.

Self-control also offers us the option of saying nothing in response. Even though today’s culture pushes us to respond quickly, Jesus modeled another way to react. He chose to say nothing in response, and leave the situation in God’s hands. As Matthew 27:12 describes, “When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer.”

Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

So, where do we find self-control for our words? Galatians 5:22,23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

Galatians 5:25, assures us if we live by the Spirit, we’ll be able to keep in step with the Spirit. So like Christ displayed self-control with His words, we can apply it to our speech, too.

2 Peter 1:4 explains that we can become partakers of God’s divine nature by choosing self-control to be at work in our lives, helping to guide our responses (2 Peter 1:6)

Have you been wrongly accused? Do you feel the urge to offer a scathing comeback or set the record straight? Take time today to think through a godly response to your pain, and before you respond, pray for the one who hurt you.

Toys into Tools..... by Shawn McEvoy

 Toys into Tools

by Shawn McEvoy

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.Luke 12:48

With the start of football season this month, I've heard the phrase, "to whom much is given, much is required" used a lot... and that's a good thing. A great thing. Athletes, profiled on sports shows, have been given chances to explain how they are using their celebrity and money to help mankind, or even spread the gospel.

One prominent football player was interviewed about wanting to use what he's been given as a platform to further the Kingdom of God. His goals were reminiscent of the parable Jesus told about the difference between faithful and unfaithful servants, stewards of the kingdom. Faithful servants are to be about their master's will, not doing their own thing, not squandering what they've been given. They realize how much they've been granted, and understand there are punishments awaiting those who knowingly disobey (and even for those - albeit less severely - who unknowingly disobey. Seem harsh?).

I enjoy verses like our main verse today, where a concept is repeated synonymously for effect. The Bible's wisdom literature is ripe with this structure, and Jesus makes use of it here. The phrase "Everyone who has been given much" is echoed by "the one who has been entrusted with much," and "much will be demanded" becomes synonymous with "much more will be asked." It drives the point home.

We often hear the first part of this verse quoted, and it works fine by itself: "To whom much is given, much is required." That concept even works well in the secular world, so much so that non-Christians quote it, perhaps without even knowing it's biblical in origin, and superhero movies use it as a thematic element.

But this week, after seeing and reading those profiles of Christian athletes, I re-read the verse in its entirety, and it opened up a new level of meaning for me.

Generally, when I think of things I've been "given," or "gifts," I tend to think of presents, possessions... toys, even. Things that are mine. Things I can hoard, break, forget about, get tired of, use for personal gain, waste, sell, or lose. Some things we are "given" include salvation, spiritual gifts, genetic gifts, talents, financial blessing, testimonies, family, forgiveness, love, and more.

Now, does your perspective shift at all if you think of those things not merely as "things given," but as "things you are entrusted with"?

For me, the ante gets upped. There's a new level of seriousness. The steward who has faith must, by definition, be faithful.

My toys, as I grow up, must become my tools - the things the Master has given that He expects will be used to build and further His Kingdom.

Intersecting Faith & Life: What gift have you been entrusted with that you are still just playing with? Or hiding? Or wasting? Knowing the Master's will, decide what you would say if He returned today to find you not busy at Kingdom work. Then decide one way you can use what you have been entrusted with to edify others this week. You may not have the platform of a professional athlete, but you've been given all the requirements necessary to do the job assigned to you.

Further Reading

James 2:14-18
1 Corinthians 4:2

A Prayer for God to Heal a Broken Friendship..... By Anne Dahlhauser

 A Prayer for God to Heal a Broken Friendship

By Anne Dahlhauser

“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.” - Psalm 55:12-14

Conflicts are fertile ground in which relationships can grow deeper.

Recently, I had the gift - yes, the gift - of a season of awkward dancing and miscommunicating with a friend. We needed to focus on completing a task together, but we came to the work table hunched over with the weights of baggage, insecurities, fears, and distrust. As we worked, sensitive nerves were pressed and tensions rose to the point of nearly abandoning the task completely. Nearly.

But neither of us took the exit ramp, praise God. We stayed in it and willed our feet to stay pointed toward the benefit of the doubt.

Friends, what if unconditional, Jesus-love - the kind that secures the insecure, that heals the distrust, that covers shame, bandages hurts, and lifts off years of baggage - what if that kind of love is birthed from conflict-induced pain, not despite it?

So, raise the white flag. Choose grace. Ignore the exit ramp, and stay standing on that fertile, hopeful ground of loving relationships in God’s family. No good works, embellished with stick figures and I-love-Jesus-hearts, can distract a heavenly Father from the reality of His children leaving conflict unresolved. For the sake of His kingdom come and His will be done, let’s choose grace - uncomfortable, self-sacrificing, pride-swallowing, thorn-bearing Grace.

Lord, today I come to you hurting. This wound from a friend is almost more than I can bear. I feel broken hearted, and I want justice. Lord, I know that justice is not mine to give, so I come to you open-handed. Here is the friendship that has wounded me so much, Lord- take this hurt from me, help me feel your peace and your love toward me now.

I don’t want to extend grace. But I know you have been so gracious toward me- all my life you have lavished grace on me as I’ve sinned against you. Help me be humble. Help me see my part to play. Help me give grace and love toward my friend.

Soften my friend’s heart toward me now- let them return grace to me too.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.