The Promises of God..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Promises of God

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

The Christian life rests on a foundation of God's promises for today and for the future. We can trust everything that our heavenly Father has said because His Word shows Him to be...

Truthful. The Lord knows what is true and speaks honestly in all matters. We can be assured of this because He is holy; there is no sin in Him. He is also omniscient and understands everything (Heb. 4:12-13). His promises are based on His infinite knowledge and truthfulness.

Faithful. Scripture compares the Lord to a shepherd who "gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart" (Isa. 40:11 niv). What He has planned for us, He will bring to fruition (Rom. 8:28). Our heavenly Father does not waver in His intentions or will.

Loving. God's love for us was demonstrated at the cross. He sent His Son Jesus to die by crucifixion and thereby take the punishment for our sins. The Savior experienced God's wrath against iniquity so we might know only His love. This is the ultimate proof of His devotion to us.

All-powerful. Divine power created the world and raised the Savior back to life, so we know God has the ability to carry out all His plans. Our omnipotent Father can keep every one of His promises.

A promise is valuable only if the one making it has trustworthy character and the ability to carry through. Our heavenly Father is truthful, faithful, loving, and all-powerful. We can base our entire life on His promises, secure in the knowledge that He will do just as He has said.

God Longs for Us to Know His Love..... Craig Denison

 

God Longs for Us to Know His Love

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

One of the most scandalous truths of the gospel is that our Creator longs to be encountered by his creation. God longs to meet with us. His greatest desire is for relationship with us. I can’t fathom why God in all his holiness and goodness makes himself available to us, but it is the powerful truth of Scripture. God is pursuing each of us with his relentless love, seeking out those who might respond to his open invitation by opening the door of their hearts to him. My prayer is that in response to God’s desire to meet with his people we would be those who say yes to centering our lives around his nearness. May your week be marked by the reality of God’s presence and love.

Scripture:“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

Devotional:           

I’ve spent so much of my life striving to be loved. The overwhelming need to be loved by somebody, anybody, is at the heart of most every decision, thought, perspective, and action I make. We are created with a longing to be loved. God formed us with an insatiable need for love because he desires to satisfy that longing. You see, we no longer have to go through life wondering if we’re loved. Our God doesn’t hide his heart from us. He never holds back his love.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God demonstrated his love for us on the cross. But the cross also serves as a reminder that God will, now and forever, continually pour out his love. Not only did he commit a powerful act of love then, but he also makes his love available to us now.

Psalm 26:3 says, “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” And Psalm 36:5 says, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” The love of God is continually available to us. His steadfast love is here, ready to be experienced. God longs to so satisfy our great need for love that we stop seeking it from the world. He longs to so fill us up with his unconditional affections that we would no longer strive to be loved, but simply find rest in him.

Romans 8:37-39 says,

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is nothing we could ever do to separate ourselves from the love of God. As soon as we feel the need to be loved we can always turn our hearts toward our heavenly Father and simply receive a fresh awareness of his powerful, unconditional love. Stop working to be loved. Stop striving for that which is already yours. What are the affections of man in comparison to the love of your Creator? What is the fleeting, fickle praise of man in comparison to the all-consuming, powerful, and truthful love of God? May your life be marked by a peace that comes from resting in the love of your heavenly Father alone.

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on your need for love. In what ways do you strive to be loved every day? Who have you been seeking out love from to fill a need in your life? Where have you been striving for the opinion of man?

2. Meditate on the unconditional nature of God’s love. Meditate on the availability of his presence.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you encounter to love of God today. Ask God how he feels about you and wait for a sense of his love. Rest in the truth of Scripture and receive the love of your heavenly Father.

“For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.” Psalm 26:3

“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” Psalm 36:5

One of the most powerful truths about God’s love can be found in 1 John 4:18. Scripture says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” God’s love makes us fearless. Who or what is there to fear when the God of the universe truly loves us? What cause is there for fear when God would send his only Son to die that we might simply have relationship with him? Rest in the love of God today and allow the truth of his affections for you to cast out any fear you have. There is no reason to fear. God has you and loves you. May you find peace and joy today in response to the steadfast love of your heavenly Father.

Extended Reading: 1 John 4

Believing God Is Pleased with Us...... By Lynette Kittle

 Believing God Is Pleased with Us 

By Lynette Kittle

“And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” - Luke 3:22

Floating around the pool on a 100+ degree summer day, it was a sweet, unexpected moment when a white dove and his companion landed in the waterfall fountain for a drink. After taking several drinks and splashing around in the water, the pair flew over me as they left the water.

It was such a lovely moment, one that turned my thoughts to Luke 3:22. “And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

Often when we read passages like this, it’s easy to think, “Well of course, it was Jesus, God was talking about, so how could He not be well pleased with Him?”

Yet, we usually don’t believe God feels the same way about us. We tend to think He is looking at us in a critical way, seeing our weaknesses and failings rather than believing how Scripture says He sees us.

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, everything God sees in Him, He now sees in us, too. Colossians 3:3, explains, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Likewise, Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When we accept God’s gift of Salvation, we, too, become His loved sons and daughters. Like Ephesians 4:24 describes, we put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. In Christ, we become God’s beloved children in whom He is well pleased.

Still, it’s a hard concept for many of us to grasp, for us to believe God sees us this way, so sometimes He helps us to understand in ways it’s easier for us to comprehend.

For example, my daughters and I have fun playing a karaoke video game called “Sing It.” In it, each player creates a virtual character, chooses a song and virtual venue, and sings to a virtual crowd. Singing into a microphone, performance scores add up. As a player excels, they are rewarded onscreen with a radiant glow surrounding their character, along with music notes flowing from the microphone.

One night in a dream, I was on the “Sing It” stage, surrounded by a soft glowing light with music notes flowing from my microphone.

In waking up, I sensed God assuring me of His pleasure in me in a way I understood, turning my thoughts to 1 John 3:1. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

The "Whys" of Life..... by Kelly Givens

 The "Whys" of Life

by Kelly Givens

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Towards the end of work some weeks ago, our office was informed that a few cars in our parking deck had been broken into. The vandalism and robberies had been contained to Level 2—the level I had parked my car. Thankfully, my car had been left untouched. The SUV directly across from me, however, hadn’t fared so well- the shattered glass on the ground evidenced the vandals’ quick and effective work. As I began my drive home I prayed God would give the owners of the busted-up cars a measure of his peace, mercy and patience.

Nearing my exit, I noticed cars slowing down, and around the bend in the road, I saw why. A cop was getting out of his car; he had been called for a minor fender bender and traffic was slowing to accommodate. I inched past, glancing at the guy in the truck that had been hit. He had his head in his hand and was looking up at the sky in exasperation. You could tell he was thinking, “I can’t believe this happened. Why me?! What did I do to deserve this?!” I thought back to the owners of the cars in the parking deck, knowing they would be asking those same questions when they discovered their vehicles had been broken into.

The “whys” of life point us to a story larger than our own. When we ask why bad things happen, we’re acknowledging that the way life is right now is not how it ought to be. Why is that significant? It’s significant because, in a world that wants us to believe we were created at random and have lived on through survival of the fittest or just good luck, our souls actually cry out against randomness and unjust advantage. We crave order, justice, and mercy, and we feel angry and sad when a seemingly arbitrary, awful thing in life happens. There’s a disconnect between what we believe should happen and what really does happen.  I find it interesting that my friends who believe in a random, chance creation still feel indignant when apparently random, chance events work against their lives. Their heads may believe one thing, but their hearts believe something else. As Christians, our heads and hearts are more aligned.

At the beginning of Creation, we’re told “God saw all he had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). You were created to live in a perfect world, where the question of why bad things happen was never supposed to exist. But then man sinned and the world was corrupted (Gen. 3:6-7). Adam and Eve immediately recognized sin for what it was, and in their guilt hid from God (Gen. 3:10). In the same way, we recognize evil as evil because it goes against the very nature of our intended existence. We cry out against suffering because we were never meant to suffer. We are distraught over death because no one was ever supposed to die.  As believers, we can take encouragement from this gut reaction to pain and suffering. It reminds us we were created for a world absent of these things, and we can look forward to the day when Jesus comes back and takes away our tears and frustrations. We will never utter “Why me?” again. Everything good that can be, will be. Everything evil will be undone. That is such good news; it fills me with joy and hope to think on it.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you experiencing seemingly random suffering and sorrow in your life? Cling to the comforting truth of your faith - all suffering is temporary, it is not random, and Jesus is coming soon to restore this world and everything in it - including you - to perfection.

Further Reading:
Isaiah 25:6-9
Romans 8:18-39

A Prayer When You’re Struggling to Make It Through the Day..... By Betsy de Cruz

 A Prayer When You’re Struggling to Make It Through the Day

By Betsy de Cruz

“Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.” – Psalm 52:1

Ever have days when you wonder how you’re going to make it through the next 24 hours?  Sometimes, your strength runs out, and you still have more hours to go before bedtime. Or maybe your hope wears thin, and you still have challenges to face. 

When David felt desperate, He cried out to God. He reminded himself of God’s faithfulness and love. David’s prayers from the book of Psalms have helped people get through hard days for almost 3 thousand years.

When we wonder how we’re going to make it through until bedtime, we can hold on to this truth: “The steadfast love of God endures all the day.” 

Friend, no matter what obstacles you face, God’s love will see you through. No matter how tired you feel, His love will sustain you. No matter how great your fears, His unfailing love surrounds you. And no matter how far you wander from your faith, God’s love will be there when you get back.

David faced an actual, physical enemy when he penned this verse. You probably don’t have someone trying to hunt you down, but maybe you face challenges that threaten to undo you. Stress that wears you down. Worries that leave you frazzled. Whatever problems you’re navigating today, you can rest assured: The steadfast love of God will outlast them all.  

God’s devotion to His people is written all over the pages of the Bible. Psalm 13:6 gives us words to declare in our challenges: “I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Romans 8:37-39 reminds us that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Whether life is smooth sailing or choppy waters, we need constant reminding of God’s affection for us. Let’s ask God to pour His love into our hearts. Let’s meditate on it and intentionally receive it.

Today, if you feel tired, anxious, or irritated, how about whispering to yourself: “The steadfast love of God endures all the day”? God stands at your side, ready to sustain and guide you through any challenge.

Let’s pray: 

Lord Jesus, quiet my mind and heart as I draw near to you for a few minutes and meditate on your great love. Thank you for demonstrating your love for me on the cross. I thank you for dying to give me life, and I praise you for your victory over sin and death. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who never leaves me and constantly reminds me of your caring presence. 

Your love is deeper than oceans and higher than the clouds. It surrounds me and goes before me. Pour out more of your love into my heart that I might be filled to overflowing and reflect you to those around me.

Remind me of your presence, your faithfulness, and your power to strengthen and sustain me through difficult days. Help me remember my problems and trials will disappear, but your love will remain forever.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.