Acknowledging Our Need..... Craig Denison

 

Acknowledging Our Need

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

God’s goodness over our lives far exceeds anything we’ve experienced. We’ve only yet splashed around in the shallows of God’s deep love and mercy. In order to dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us, we must learn how to posture our hearts. May your relationship with God be enriched this week as you position yourself to receive all your loving heavenly Father has to give.

Scripture:“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

Devotional:           

The greatest place for our hearts to be is in constant acknowledgment of our need for God. Our God never forces his help on us. He never forces us to follow his perfect, pleasing will. And he never forces us into the encounters with him we were created for. But, as soon as we acknowledge our need of him, his love comes rushing in, satisfying every dry and weary place of our heart.

In Luke 10:38-42, we find one of the most important lessons in all of Scripture. The Bible says,

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus’ words here draw me to a higher calling. I long for the “good portion” that won’t be taken away. I see here a truth I so often don’t pursue. The absolute best thing I could “do for God” is to sit at his feet. The thing he most desires of me is to simply open my heart and let him love me, teach me, heal me, and be with me. Mary acknowledged her need of God and sat at the feet of Love. Mary looked to Jesus as her source, not the opinion of her sister, and got the affirmation of God himself.

How often do we allow the temporal, fleeting parts of this life to be enough? How often do we settle for so much less than what’s available to us? How often do we allow the fickle affirmations of man to be enough when we can know the thoughts of our heavenly Father toward us (Psalm 139:17-18)?

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Let’s pursue that which is lasting and truly satisfying. Let’s set aside the ways of this world and spend our days living for the presence of God. Let’s center our lives around Jesus. Let’s acknowledge our need of God that we might receive all the love, help, healing, and transformation he longs to provide today.

Take time in guided prayer to choose the good portion and spend time at the feet of your loving Savior.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of acknowledging your need of God.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

2. Where have you been self-sufficient? Where have you been allowing the things of the world to be enough?

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

3. Cast aside the things of the world, its worries, stresses, and fears, and take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Ask Jesus to make you aware of his nearness. Ask him to fill you with his presence. Take time to rest in his goodness.

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

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

May Matthew 11:25-30 guide you to the rest available to you anywhere, anytime. May you experience peace that surpasses all understanding:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Extended Reading: John 15

A True Reflection of His Father..... by Lynette Kittle

A True Reflection of His Father

by Lynette Kittle

 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: “The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent Me.” - John 12:25

As God created man and woman in His own image (Genesis 1:27), so children also reflect their parents’ image.

Have you ever seen a little girl or boy who looks so much like their parents that it’s easy to see whose family they belong to and absolutely no doubt from whom they came?

Growing up in a small town in Ohio, this kind of recognition happens all the time. It’s a common occurrence for someone in the community to say, “You look familiar. Who are your parents?”

Often a parent’s image is so undeniably evident in a child it’s not unusual for him or her to be referred to as a “Mini-Me” or a “striking resemblance” of the parent.

What Does God Look Like?

Have you ever wondered what God looks like? If so, have you been bold enough to ask God to show you His face?

Moses did. He asked God to see His face. When Moses inquired God responded with, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see My face and live” (Exodus 33:20).

Although God’s reply may sound harsh, He knows His glory is too great for any human to bear face-to-face.

Still God had a plan to reveal Himself to mankind in a close-up and personal manner, a way to really see Him and live to tell about it.

The Apostle Philip also asked Jesus to see the Father. When He asked, Jesus answered,
”If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him (John 14:7).

Jesus made it clear that seeing Him is seeing God, saying, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:7-9).

Reflecting His Image

Scripture supports Jesus’ claim. Hebrews 1:3 that states, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”

As well, Colossians 1:15 describes how “the Son is the image of the invisible God.”

John 1:18 states. “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.”

What’s more, 2 Corinthians 4:6 explains how the light of the knowledge of God’s glory is displayed in the face of Christ.

As God is reflected in the face of Jesus, so you can reflect Him, too. Scripture explains how seeking after God has a transforming result, changing those who do into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Like Romans 13:14 encourages, “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” As you do, you’ll reflect His image to those around you.

Mixed Metaphors..... by John UpChurch

 Mixed Metaphors

by John UpChurch

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” - Colossians 2:6-7

If you grew up in America, you probably heard somewhere along the line that sentences should never end with prepositions, infinitives should never be split, passive voice is taboo, and metaphors should never be mixed. We have those rules, for the most part, to preserve clarity as writers learn the craft. But sometimes grammar rules need to be broken, just as Paul does here by cramming metaphors right up against each other—and for good reason.

So walk in Him: It all begins with a walk. Jesus put splinters in His back to stumble up a hill, and He expects no less of us (Matthew 16:24). We sometimes struggle over the rocky ground, and obstacles define the journey as much as the path itself (Psalm 37:24). But God laid out the lines (Psalm 16:11), emblazoned the roadway with clear markers (Psalm 119:35), and provided a Helper to go alongside us (John 16:13). To get to the goal, we have to shake off the things that wrap around our legs and hold us back (Hebrews 12:1).

Rooted [in Him]: All the while, we’re connected to the True Vine (John 15:1). He sends the sustenance we need to not only survive, but thrive in a barren world (John 10:10). God wants us to be fruitful—to the point that He actually prepared fruit beforehand for us (Ephesians 2:10). Sometimes He has to prune us a bit but that’s only so we’ll break forth in more fruit later (John 15:2).

Built-up in Him and established in faith: But we need structure to make all this happen, a steady trellis. Christians—walking, fruitful Christians—rely on a sure foundation (Isaiah 33:6), a rock-solid Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), and the living walls of fellow believers (1 Peter 2:5). Apart, we’re just a piece of drywall, but, together, we’re an impressive, if imperfect, house (Hebrews 3:6).

So, in one sentence, Paul makes us out to be walkers on a journey, plants with deep roots, and a living building. He would never have passed a modern writing course, but he gets the point across just the same: We move and grow and have our being in Christ (see Acts 17:28).

Intersecting Faith & Life: Word pictures in the Bible are imperfect physical descriptions of spiritual realities. Sometimes, you just need a bunch of them to get to the deeper truth—many broad strokes of the brush to nail down what’s meant (see what I did there?). When you come to them, stop and try to imagine the picture being painted. You’ll be amazed how much God can teach us through mixed metaphors.

For Further Reading

Colossians 2

A Prayer for a Miracle..... By: Nicole Unice

 A Prayer for a Miracle

By: Nicole Unice

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. - Psalm 77:12-14

“You are the God who performs miracles!”

It feels good to declare it, but I wonder if you believe it—not just as a far-off, once-in-a-while phenomenon but as a personal, powerful, regular experience in your life with God. If I’m honest, I might intellectually agree that miracles are possible— “only God” moments of provision, protection and blessing that mark other people’s lives—but maybe you, like me, secretly doubt God would show up that way in my own life, and it would be better to think a little smaller—and expect a little less.

Yet the psalmist tells us that God is a God who performs miracles, not a God who performed miracles. This is a present-tense promise, not a past-tense remembrance. And if the definition of a miracle is a supernatural occurrence that defies human convention, emotion, or reason, then perhaps our own miracles are closer than we think.

We know the Bible is full of mighty miracles. God parts the seas, he feeds the hungry, he heals the sick, he delivers the oppressed. But what if mighty miracles aren’t just the ones that show up in the physical realm of signs and wonders? What if miracles also occur in the vast world inside of us, the place where our emotions and thoughts shape our actions?

Earlier in Psalm 77, we get a glimpse into the mindset of the psalmist, clearly in a time of personal distress. We hear the honest reflection of a discouraged heart—longing for God but not experiencing him, desiring comfort but not finding it. Yet within it, we read about two ways that the psalmist finds his hope again.

In verse six, he states, “my heart meditated and my spirit asked.” The psalmist pours out his requests—a request for all of the things God has wired us for. Acceptance. Purpose. Connection. He uses his heart and his faith to request of God even when it feels like God is distant. And then in v. 10, he uses his mind.

“[T]hen I thought, ‘to this I will appeal..’” And on what does he appeal? On the fact that God does miracles. In the midst of our deep distress, we can meditate on the truth of God, ask God for what we need, and fix our mind on this truth: the God of mighty miracles can do a miracle in you.

The same God who can set the earth to tremble and the oceans to quake can also calm your anxious thoughts and give you a spirit of forgiveness. The same God who parted the sea and made a way can fill you with peace and give you your next step. And as God transforms your stubborn heart, refreshes your weary soul, and redirects your anxious mind—that is supernatural. That is a miracle.

Let’s Pray:

God of miracles, 

We confess that our feeble faith makes us think smaller and expect less from you. We confess that the discouragement and worries of today often distract us from fixing our eyes on you and from coming to you with every petition and request.

Help us today, Father, to see you as not a far-off entity but a personal, close reality. Allow us to meditate our hearts on your promises, draw from your love in faith, and appeal to your character as we walk into today expectant of our own miracle moments.

In the precious name of Jesus, who has made a way for each of us, we pray,

Amen.