The Riches of God's Grace..... Dr. Charles Stanley

The Riches of God's Grace

Dr. Charles Stanley

Ephesians 1:1-14

Do you think of yourself as rich? No matter how much money you have, if you're a believer in Jesus, you're extremely wealthy because God has lavished the riches of His grace upon you. At the moment of salvation, He deposited into your account "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (v. 3). Why, then, do so many believers live in spiritual poverty?

1. Ignorance. Some Christians don't know about this unlimited spiritual "bank account," and, therefore, they never draw upon it.

2. Confusion. Too many believers just don't know how to access the treasures of God's grace. As a result, they worry and complain about their needs and problems or in desperation come to the Lord begging and pleading for help, never realizing His abundant supply has already been deposited into their account.

3. Competing Interests. Distraction by things of this world may be the most common reason. Christians in this category focus on possessions, pressing responsibilities, and advancement but lack interest in God's spiritual blessings.

The riches of God's grace supersede any earthly wealth. They give the peace and contentment that money can never buy, and their benefits reach all the way into eternity.

The only way to access God's spiritual riches is by faith. We don't have to beg or persuade the Lord to give what He has already made available to us. Instead, we simply choose to believe that we are who He says we are and can do what He has called us to accomplish.

Passionate Pursuit..... Craig Denison

 Passionate Pursuit

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we have been afforded an opportunity to live an incredibly abundant life here on earth. Our God is nearer, more tangible, and has a greater ability to make his presence known than we’ve yet realized. He longs to make his children more in tune and aware of the depths of his love, guidance, empowerment, and nearness. He longs for our days here on earth to be marked by unveiled communion with him. As we look at what it is to live an abundant life here on earth, I pray that your heart will be awakened to the reality of God’s presence and affection in your life.

Scripture:“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’” Psalm 27:8

Devotional:

The key to abundant life here on earth is the passionate pursuit of Jesus. I doubt there will be a single believer who ever reads these words that will doubt that statement. But I also know that we often fail to truly believe that statement in our hearts. If we truly believed that the key to abundant life was passionately pursuing Jesus, most of our lives would look drastically different. My life would look drastically different.

If we truly believed that passionately pursuing Jesus would bring us abundant life, the way we spend our time would drastically change. We would choose pursuing the presence of God over entertainment more often. We would structure most of our worship services differently. We would cease working for the opinion of man and start living for the good pleasure of our Creator. And our lives would look simpler, more joyful, more peaceful, and more like the life of Jesus.

The good news for you and me is that there is grace for us today. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” It’s time for the people of God to wake up to the true purpose for our lives. It’s time that we stop seeking the things of the world and give our lives to the total and wholehearted pursuit of Jesus. And there is grace from on high that God longs to give us today to do so.

The Lord is saying to you and me,“Seek my face” (Psalm 27:8). And we need to reply as David by saying,“My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek’” (Psalm 27:8). All that stands between you and a radical life transformation is turning away from the cares and pursuits of the world and giving your heart to your heavenly Father. We have a daily opportunity to live in total communion with our Creator, receiving and giving love in everything we do. Jesus paid the ultimate price for you and me to live with the tangible knowledge of God’s love for us. We also have the opportunity every day to live marginal lives where we experience and commune with God part of the time and live for the fleeting and unsatisfying ways of the world the other. The choice is yours today. Will you passionately pursue relationship with Jesus, or will you allow the ways of this world to crowd out parts of your life like weeds blocking you from the refreshing, life-giving presence of the living God?

Take time in guided prayer to listen to your Father, meditate on his promise of abundant life, and chase after wholehearted relationship with Jesus at all costs. May you experience to new levels today the abundant life Jesus died to give you.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of passionately pursuing relationship with Jesus above all else. Allow Scripture to fill you with the will to choose God over the things of the world today.

“The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” >Jeremiah 29:12-14

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” >Matthew 6:33

2. What have you been pursuing above relationship with Jesus? What has been holding you back from seeking wholehearted relationship with God above all else?

3. Ask the Lord to help you live for him alone today. Take time to receive his presence and receive his incredible, grace-filled love for you. Enjoy his presence and allow it to lay a foundation on which you seek the Lord wholeheartedly.

“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’” Psalm 27:8

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” >1 Chronicles 16:11

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1

Extended Reading: Psalm 84

When God Speaks Through Cabbage..... GLORIA HSU

 When God Speaks Through Cabbage

GLORIA HSU

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (NIV)

I don’t remember all the circumstances surrounding that day. But all I really need to remember is that I had a newborn recently diagnosed with Down syndrome, was raising four boys under the age of 8 and was too tired to go buy the cabbage needed to make the dumpling soup I was suddenly craving.

I would have to let go of my simple longing for soup that day. But somehow it didn’t feel simple.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and to my surprise, a woman I had met only once was standing there smiling, holding a head of cabbage in her hands. “We were hiking when I saw a man selling cabbage, and I thought of you,” she said, offering me the leafy vegetable. Stunned tears filled my eyes.

If you’re like me, you sometimes feel exhausted from desperately trying to learn the sound of God’s voice. Some days, it’s difficult to believe that He cares enough to show up in our seemingly little things. And when we have the strength to pray, it can be easier to look for Him in our spoken prayers rather than the unspoken longings of our heart.

John 10:27 had become my feeble heart’s cry in those years: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

There were times I had almost given up hope that I would ever understand what His voice really sounded like. It was difficult for me to comprehend and believe that He would actually speak in such detailed and caring ways specifically for me. I wouldn’t have known to look for Him there, among my prayers unspoken or my longings buried deep. I had somehow missed three very important words in the middle of this beautiful verse: “… I know them …”

While we are learning to recognize God’s voice and follow Him, He is already fully knowing us.

While I was looking for His voice in barely audible whispers or earth-quaking signs, He was showing me that His voice was right there in the gift of a cabbage, in the gift of being known.

Remembering this moment, I can hear God’s words underneath my friend’s words: “This cabbage is from Me. See how well I know you? I delight to bring you good gifts, to comfort you in your confusion, to give you rest in your weariness and to meet you in your longings. Can you hear Me? This is My voice. I don’t want you to miss Me in the small things, in your everyday. I am here, speaking now.”

We can learn to know His voice because He knows us first. Isaiah 65:24 tells us, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (NIV). While we are searching for Him, He is finding us. While we are waiting and longing, He is speaking and answering. Sometimes, He even comes right up to our door and rings the bell.

Dear heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your promises, that we can know Your voice and that You know us first. We desperately long for these truths to take deep root in our hearts. May Your love for us break through our fears and our unbelief. Show us today that You are near, that You know us and love us, and that we can grow in our knowing of You and Your voice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

5 Ways to Lead Your Kids to Jesus..... By Lynette Kittle

 5 Ways to Lead Your Kids to Jesus 

By Lynette Kittle

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” - Deuteronomy 11:19

What heartache some of my friends are experiencing with their kids who have turned their backs on God. As Christian parents, it’s heartbreaking for them to know their kids aren’t walking with God.

Because there are so many parents who don’t know what to do, below are five ways to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to help lead your children to faith in Jesus Christ.

1. Take a good look at your own heart. As a parent, ask God to spotlight areas in your life or behavior that may be stumbling blocks to your children coming to Salvation. Psalm 26:2 urges, “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and mind.”

As a believing parent it can be challenging to know how to address unbiblical or ungodly behaviors and attitudes in your kids. In not knowing what to do, it’s easy to either come on too strong or not strong enough in addressing them.

Be open to the Holy Spirit bringing things to your attention that may need to be changed, like behaviors, speech, and even apologizing to your kids for areas where you may have failed. More than likely your kids will respond in positive ways to true spiritual maturing in your life.

2. Pray for your kids. Don’t let the enemy discourage you from praying for the Salvation of your children, even if you’ve already been praying for years or decades.

Let your house be a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13) by continually praying for God to turn your kids’ hearts towards Him (1Thessalonians 5:17).

3. Get on the fast track for your kids. Fasting is a powerful resource in the life of a believer, so much so, Jesus taught how some things in life only come through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).

Make time to fast on a regular basis for your children to accept Jesus as their Savior. It can be as easy as fasting over one lunch or dinner hour.

4. Live faithfully with your children. Let your children see you living a loving, biblical, spirit-led lifestyle, submitting to God’s word in how you interact with them, and walking out your faith in genuine, practical ways.

As Romans 2:4 urges, reach out in kindness to your kids, especially when they are responding poorly to you or ignoring your words. Allow God to daily reach out through you with His kindness, to touch and soften their hearts towards Him.

5. Expose your children to Truth. Whatever you do, don’t leave your kids on their own to search for God. Instead lead them. Proverbs 22:6, advises, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Take them to youth group, church events, Christian concerts and festivals, and more. Many kids have been saved through their parents making them go to events they didn’t want to attend. Take them angry if it’s the only way they’ll go, even if they go kicking and screaming, don’t give in to letting them stay at home.

If parents don’t show their kids the way to God, they are left vulnerable to be led astray by others to false and destructive beliefs and ways.

Walking the Floodwall..... By Ryan Duncan

 Walking the Floodwall

By Ryan Duncan

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” – Luke 2:52 

I have a confession to make; last Sunday I skipped church. I actually had a very good excuse: I wanted to spend more time with God. I know that sounds pretty strange, and I’m certainly not saying Christians should start ditching on Sundays, but that morning as I was getting ready to leave I couldn’t help feeling (much to my surprise) that the Holy Spirit didn’t want me to go to Church that day.

So instead, I stayed home and started reading the Bible. I’d only planned on reading two chapters that morning, but I ended up reading eight. Occasionally I’d re-read passages to let the words sink in or underline verses that stood out to me. After I’d finished, I went outside and started walking. There’s a floodwall near my apartment that acts as a kind of jogging trail, and as I made my way across it, I talked with God.

I just started praying, telling God about the things going on in my life. My worries, my hopes, what I was grateful for, I let it all pour out as I made my way to the end of the trail. To be honest, it was the closest I’d been to God in a long time. Looking back on it now, I can see God has a sense of humor. Not only did I spend three hours meditating with God, (an hour and a half longer than my usual Church service) but the first chapter I read that morning was Luke 2, which contains one of Jesus own experiences with our Heavenly Father.

“After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.” – Luke 2: 43-50

Sometimes, Church can become a ritual. We go, we sing the songs, we sit through the sermon, and then forget everything once we’ve left. We allow our Sunday services to become our faith, and our time with God starts looking more like something out of a self-help seminar. But God doesn’t just want our attendance on Sundays, he wants us. I think this story in Luke to shows us what our time with God should really be like.

For Jesus, his Father’s house was a place of safety, a place where he could grow and mature, a place to listen and at the same time be heard. So the next time you go to Church, don’t go out of habit, but apply the lessons to your life, and when you sing, sing for Christ.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Take a day and spend some personal time with God. Pray and meditate on his words.

Further Reading: Luke 2

A Prayer for Overflowing Love..... By: Lindsay Tedder

 A Prayer for Overflowing Love

By: Lindsay Tedder

“And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just was we do for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 3:12

What do you pray for?

My hope is that I attempt to stay in a constant state of prayer. I pray that my life is basically one big walking prayer to the Lord. How can our lives look like one big walking prayer, you ask?

Prayer is personal. The way I pray will look far different from the way you pray, yet our Father hears them both with love.

For me, constant prayer is turning my heart towards gratitude. Yes, even when someone cuts me off and then flips me the bird in rush hour traffic. After my very human expression of frustration and a good, “what the heck?” I usually try to say, “thank you, Lord."

I try to assume there is some accident waiting for me, had I not been slowed down by this friendly traffic accusation. I typically try to say “thank you” whenever I want to express frustration. Trust me…I’m not perfect and this is not an easy task. It is just what I have learned to draw myself closer to God and allow Him room to work in my life.

You know the scripture, “Anyone who does not love, does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) I read this hand-in-hand with our scripture for today in 1 Thessalonians. Paul knew that God is love. Paul knew that in order to live a Christlike example, we must all demonstrate love. He goes one step further and prays that the  Lord would cause an increase and overflow of love for one another and everyone. Everyone. Did you catch that? May we increase and overflow with love for everyone, not just the people who look like us or think like us or act like us.

I don’t make it a habit to drive recklessly. I don’t cut off people in traffic and I don’t flip them the bird whilst doing so… but that doesn’t mean that I am not called to love someone who does. The only way we can truly be demonstrative in our faith is to love everyone. Yes, even those who don’t think or act like we wish they would.

It is not an accident that Paul prays for an overflow of love. If God is love and Paul is praying that we experience an overflow of love, imagine how many people would be able to find Jesus as a result of our overflow! Our lives are a testament to Whom we serve. Loving everyone is the easiest thing we can do to demonstrate how we have been called. Love is the reason people smile. Love is the reason tears can be dried up. Love is the reason that broken relationships can be mended. Love is the reason we heal from past hurts.

No wonder Paul was praying for an overflow. If the church in Thessalonica needed an overflow of love for everyone in order to demonstrate the ultimate love and sacrifice, we too are in need of such a prayer. Imagine who we could reach if we loved like God.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father,

Search my heart. Reveal in me the people and places in my life that need love. Reveal to me the faces that I need to love, even when I don’t want to. I pray, Father, that you send a blatant overflow of your unparalleled love.

I pray that you use me as an instrument of your love. Lord, soften my heart where it has grown hard, push me out of my comfort zone, and allow me to show love far past the circle that surrounds me. When I am frustrated with someone, let love be my first thought. When I am disappointed with someone, let love be the first reaction.

When I am hurting, broken, defeated, belittled, let your love overflow from the depths of my soul. Please let me love as much like you as humanly possible. Equip me for this emotion and prepare my soul for the overflow.

You are a good Father who wants to lavish your love upon me. Thank you for being the ultimate example of love by sending your Son to die in my place; may I use the time I have left on this earth to never take for granted the love you demonstrated in that moment.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.