The Power Within..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Power Within

Dr. Charles Stanley

Acts 1:8

God's Spirit works in every believer. He does not limit Himself to pastors and missionaries. If you've received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then residing within you is the same great power that raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11) The Holy Spirit pours His energy into creating godly character in all who follow the Lord.

The fruit of the Spirit is so named because it is the character and conduct that the Holy Spirit produces in believers. These are qualities that we can't generate consistently on our own. The most powerful message we can give isn't a testimony or sermon; it is the life we live when the pressure is on, temptation is tremendous, or we are buried under an avalanche of problems.

What the world most needs to see in this modern culture is godly families loving one another, business people working with integrity and frugality, and young men and women who choose moral purity. In a word, the world needs to be exposed to believers who are obedient.

By showing peace instead of anxiety or practicing patience rather than speaking a sharp word, a Christian bears witness to the beauty of the gospel. We attract unbelievers to Christ through our words and deeds. They may turn down a doctrine, but they cannot ignore a righteous life.

The strongest gospel message does not come from a pulpit. The most powerful witness for Jesus Christ where you work, where you live, and where you relax is you. Submit to the Holy Spirit's work, and He will produce a great harvest of spiritual fruit in your life.

The Experience of His Freedom..... Craig Denison

 

The Experience of His Freedom

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

To know God is to experience God. Just as we experience aspects of one another as we grow in friendship, we experience the wonders of God as we seek to simply know him. God is calling us to a life of seeking him with all we are. He is calling us to value relationship with him above all else that we would love no other but him. May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship with your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.

Scripture:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:1-4

Devotional:

The Christian experience of freedom was not established by the power and endurance of mankind, but by the sacrifice and love of our God. The freedom we experience is not our own, but his. Apart from the redemption bought for us, we have no strength to resist sin. And apart from continually renewing our minds to the truth of this redemption, we’ll continue to act as if chains that were broken long ago still tie us down to the world from which we’ve been successfully ransomed. Paul says in Romans 6:1-4,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

To experience freedom here on earth is to continuously acknowledge that our old ways—our former self—was buried with Christ the day we accepted him as Lord. To sin is to live outside of the reality that we’ve been given a new resurrected identity in Christ, our resurrected King.

How do you see yourself in regard to your sin today? How do you believe you experience freedom? In what areas of your life are you still trying in your own strength to fight for something Jesus already bought with his blood? What sin have you not yet brought to the glorious light of God’s powerful resurrection that you might see it for what it truly is?

There is freedom for you today in Christ that’s available apart from any past failures, present downfalls, or future concerns. You can “walk in newness of life” as you live in the reality of the inner working of the Holy Spirit and follow his leadership away from your old identity. Your mistakes don’t change the reality of God’s grace. Your sin is powerless to bind you. Your freedom is just as sure as the limitless love of your Savior.

Take time today to renew your mind to who you are in Christ. Take time to bring your sin to the light and confess it that God might take it from you as far as the east is from the west. May you experience the freedom of your risen King today as you live in light of his powerful grace.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on what the Bible says about freedom from sin. Align your understanding of your sin with the truth of God’s word.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” Romans 6:22

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3-4

“And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39

2. What sin do you need to bring to God today in confession? What feels too dark and too powerful to gain freedom from? Bring it to him that you might see it in light of his power and sacrifice.

3. Ask God to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to reveal your new identity in him. Ask him how you can experience freedom from that which doesn’t align with your new identity.

Renewing our minds to our new identity takes time. Often, while we are gaining a correct understanding of our freedom, we need to set up boundaries to gain separation from darkness. Take time to identify things that continuously lead you into temptation. It could be friends, media, or actions that seem beneficial, like lifting weights or going shopping. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you establish boundaries that will guard your heart from the outside as he does a powerful work in you on the inside. May you experience the freedom purchased for you by the blood of Jesus as you “walk in newness of life” with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Extended Reading: Romans 6

We Always Have More To Learn..... NICKI KOZIARZ

 We Always Have More To Learn

NICKI KOZIARZ 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness …” 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

The past few months I’ve been trying to learn something new.

My husband and I own a small farm just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Not long ago, a rescued horse found his forever home with us.

I knew a little bit about horses but not enough to train and work with him on my own. I asked around and came across a woman who has spent her entire life with horses. She’s essentially the horse whisperer, and everyone around our little area knows her, even the horses.

The first time she pulled up to our white barn to meet me and my horse, Tennessee, I asked her how many lessons it would take for me to really get a grasp on working with him. I thought maybe three or four.

She laughed — not to mock me but to dispel my overachiever, naïve sense of this learning process.

That was about 20 lessons ago, and I still have a long way to go to learn what I need to learn.

I think you’d agree that learning to do new things is challenging. As children, we enter into new things with that unstoppable sense of belief that we can do anything! But then, after some years of failure and frustration in our lives, taking the chance on learning something new is hard.

And so we think, Why bother?

Sometimes studying the Bible feels this way. There is so much to learn and understand, and often, we just don’t think we’re smart enough to study the Bible on our own.

We can lose our motivation to study because things get complicated in our minds.

Second Timothy 3:16 definitely gives us a good dose of motivation to stay in a posture of wanting to learn new things about the Bible: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

When Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, his mentee, Paul was explaining that it is a blessing to understand the Word of God. In fact, the three things he mentions in this one verse are powerful reminders to stay motivated to keep learning:

1. Learning more about Scripture helps us learn more about God because, as Paul reminds us, these are God’s breath-inspired words.
2. Learning more about Scripture changes us because it allows us to see what needs to be changed in our lives. Here Paul is referring to the part of Bible study where the Lord reveals to us our sin.
3. Learning more about Scripture teaches us how to persevere in life. For every hard and trying situation we will face, there’s someone in the Bible we can learn from through their process with God.

Learning to ride a horse and learning to study the Bible aren’t exactly the same. But both require a commitment to the process and a plan to press on, even when we feel frustrated or don’t understand everything.

I had to find someone to teach me to work with Tennessee. And guess what? We have a teacher, the Holy Spirit, ready to help us understand God’s Word. Inviting Him into our study and learning process is powerful. Today, we can start with this posture in our hearts and simply ask the Holy Spirit to show us something new about the Bible.

We don’t always need a pastor, a Bible teacher or anyone else we consider a “Bible expert” to read our Bibles with us. Those people are great to help spur us on in our study process, but you can do this. Pray. Open your Bible. Read. Study. And look for what Paul reminds us only God can do through His Word.

God, help us today to listen to the Holy Spirit as we read our Bibles. Teach us what we need to learn, and help us grow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How to Recognize Spiritual Weeds in Your Life..... By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

 How to Recognize Spiritual Weeds in Your Life

By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. – Matthew 7:18

Reaching my hand into the dark soil, I could feel that the roots had gotten deep. I had to put my weight into the pull to unearth something I had spent weeks tending. I felt a little discouraged; I’d invested my time and attention into something that had proved to be working against the growth I was seeking the whole time. I also felt a little frustrated that I’d been so easily deceived.

You see, for weeks I had been painstakingly watering and weeding a little plot of dirt along the side of my home. The year before it had been a vibrant little garden filled with strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

The strawberries come back every year, but the other plants weren’t ones that I expected to see come back. However, three hearty sprouts had pushed up through the dormant soil. I didn’t recognize the new growth and assumed it was something returning from the previous year. I’m a novice gardener at best, so I devotedly gave these budding starts priority. They thrived and quickly grew tall and strong.

When Spiritual Weeds Take Root in Our Lives

Pulling out that weed and the others like it caused a slew of thoughts to start circulating around my mind. As Christians, how many weeds have taken root in our lives? How many things have we poured our time and attention into that are choking out the Spiritual fruit we are trying to grow? How can we tell the difference between a weed and fruit when it is so easy to mistake one for the other? Am I watering weeds?

How to Recognize a Spiritual Weed vs. Fruit

Galatians 5:22-25 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let is also keep in step with the Spirit.”

These verses set the standard. If what we are investing our time and energy into isn’t growing those types of fruit, we need to look closely to be sure it isn’t a weed. If it is a weed, we have to be willing to reach down into the dirt and uproot it before it grows and starts choking out the fruit we are working so hard to grow.

Can you see examples of that going on in your own life? I hate to admit it, but I know that I can see it in my life without having to look very hard at all.

For me, it’s social media. Being engaged in social media is a part of my job, but I can easily spend way too much time and energy engrossed in my news feed. That is time and energy that would be much better spent doing the work that God has given me to do or loving and serving the people he has placed in my life.

Whatever You Water Will Grow

Just like the weeds that I meticulously watered began to choke out the fruit in my garden, the weeds we care for can begin to choke out the fruit that we want to grow in our lives. I had let some weeds grow in my garden and in my life that needed to be effectively dealt with.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have some weeding and watering that I need to do. Would you like to join me?

Keep My Running Shoes On..... By Nichole Huggins

 Keep My Running Shoes On

By Nichole Huggins

I love to walk around my house barefoot. I like the feeling of soft carpet on my toes and feel more “at home” without the restriction of wearing shoes. But more and more it seems that I forgo this comfort for the functionality of keeping my running shoes on.

You see, our home is different than many people’s homes. Because our son has autism, our home is louder; he is always singing, making noises, or quoting movies (in the world of autism it’s called “scripting”). Our house is in interesting order; you will find trains lined up on the kitchen table and strategically placed books open to strategically chosen pages. Currently our back door is always open. Our son loves to run outside and play, but it is also his current belief that the back door should remain open at all times—even if he is playing in a different part of the house. Living in this world of autism has caused our home to be a sometimes chaotic, but always beautiful haven for our family. And for now, living in the world of autism has caused me to keep my running shoes on.

For many, running and autism go hand in hand. People who are “on the spectrum” are often runners. Our kiddo is no exception to this pattern. Although he frequently overcomes his urge to run, our son’s current impulsivity requires me to jump up and move quickly at any moment. I have to be ready, so I keep my running shoes on.

I love how the Lord uses my son’s autism to gently sharpen me in my personal relationship with Him. The Lord has recently reminded me that just as I have to keep my running shoes on, the same applies in my walk with the Lord. I need to keep my spiritual running shoes on.

In 1 Peter 3:15, the Bible reminds us to sanctify our hearts and “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…” We need to keep our spiritual running shoes on! It is easy for us to slip our shoes off and run our toes through the carpet of comfortability in life, but that is not the calling of Christians. Life was never meant to be about our comfort, but rather exalting our Creator.

It’s my prayer that people around me will be able to see that my hope is in Christ. May I be quick to help and show love to others. May I be a reflection of Christ in all that I say and do. I pray that I am sharp and “ready to run” this great race called life. Sometimes it’s easy to let our spiritual shoelaces come untied. We become comfortable Christians, and it’s easy for us to get tripped up. I am thankful the Lord can use my precious son to remind me that I need to lace up my spiritual running shoes and be prepared for this sometimes chaotic, but always beautiful life. So, what condition are your running shoes in?

1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)— “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…”

Intersecting Faith & Life: As you think of needing to be ready to respond at any moment, whether to a crisis or an opportunity to share your faith, that means being prepared spiritually, spending time with God so that reflecting His love comes naturally. Whether it’s explaining to the guy in the grocery line behind you why you helped cover the cost of the single mom’s bill in front of you, or showing patience and love to that same single mom when you are in a hurry yourself, these things don’t come naturally. Share with God the areas where you find it hard be ready and ask Him to equip you. Then rest in His constant presence, knowing that His Spirit living in you is always at the ready.

Further reading:

2 Timothy 4:2
1 Peter 5:8
1 Corinthians 9:24
Hebrews 12:1
Ezekiel 38:7

A Prayer to Put Jesus First this Christmas Season..... By Debbie McDaniel

 A Prayer to Put Jesus First this Christmas Season

By Debbie McDaniel

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” - Luke 2:7

No room for them. No vacancy. No place. Words that still seem to hang close, even today.

In a world that seeks to crowd Jesus out, where busyness abounds, and hearts are stirred to focus on other things, it can be hard sometimes to choose to keep Him first. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the whole hurried dash of the holidays, and to give our attention to what seems more urgent. Our focus gets blurred; and the most important gets pushed aside.

It takes an active and daily choice to put Christ first, especially in a culture that says you’re too busy to focus there. Or that life is too full. And there’s no more room.

May God help us to choose wisely, what voices we listen to, and where we give our attention today.

He is the One who brings true meaning to Christmas.

He is the One who brings real peace in this all-too-often hectic season.

He is the only One worthy of our time and attention as we slow down the maddening rush around our lives.

We can know all of this in our heads, but may He help us to really believe it in our hearts... and choose to live it out this season.

Renewed.

Refreshed.

Making room for Him, first.

Dear God,

Help us to keep our focus first on Christ this season. Please forgive us for giving too much time and attention on other things. Help us to reflect again, on what Christmas is really all about. Thank you that you came to give new life, peace, hope, and joy. Thank you that your power is made perfect in our weakness. Help us to remember that the gift of Christ, Immanuel, is our greatest treasure, not just at Christmas, but for the whole year through. Fill us with your joy and the peace of your Spirit. Direct our hearts and minds towards you. Thank you for your reminder that both in seasons of celebration and in seasons of brokenness, you’re still with us. For you never leave us. Thank you for your daily powerful Presence in our lives, that we can be assured your heart is towards us, your eyes are over us, and your ears are open to our prayers. Thank you that you surround us with favor as with a shield, and we are safe in your care. We choose to press in close to you today… and keep you first in our hearts and lives.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

The Thrill of Hope..... by Shawn McEvoy

 The Thrill of Hope

by Shawn McEvoy

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 

"A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." ~~ O Holy Night

Does Christmas thrill you? 

Children get excited at the coming of the season, and often we might feel a bit of a charge through experiencing their amazement, but the chores we go through to provide that for them are often the very things that rob us from knowing the wonder for ourselves. Plan the party, trim the tree, max out the MasterCard, wrap, ship, take a trip. And that's assuming we aren't one of the multitudes who find themselves with a case of the Holiday Blues. 

So if Christ's coming into this world offers hope, and hope, as the song says, provides a thrill, how do we locate that experience amid the distraction and disillusionment of December? 

Well that's the cool thing about Hope. Just as total darkness can't hold back the light of a tiny flame, so does even the smallest increment of Hope provide joy and purpose. 

Here are a few scriptures I've been mulling over on the subject:

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Notice the parallel between "things hoped for" and "things not seen." Talk about a paradox; try applying "assurance" to something your five senses can't detect. It's a challenge. The plus side is that hope, through Christ, is available to you no matter what you see, hear, or feel. It's above your circumstances.

"We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance [brings about]proven character; and proven character [brings about] hope; and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).

Do you ever hear people say, "I don't want to get my hopes up" because they're afraid of being disappointed? What would you make of Paul's claim that "hope does not disappoint"? Might the disconnect have something to do with what we're hoping for or expecting? Max Lucado thinks so: 

"Hope is not what you'd expect; it is what you would never dream. It is a wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending… Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction."[1]

"Love… hopes all things…but now abide faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:7,13).

Ever wonder why faith, hope, and love are the greatest virtues, and apparently in that order? 

Maybe hope isn't actually something we do, but something we receive, like grace. If it's true that "without faith it is impossible for us to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6), perhaps it's conversely true that without Hope it would be impossible for Him to please us. The same verse says that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Is hope that reward? 

I mean, if faith is what we give to God, and hope is what He gives to us, then we have the dynamic of a relationship. With that in place, we can love. So love is built on hope, which is built on faith. 

For hope to exist, unfortunately it looks like there has to be hopelessness first. A perfect world wouldn't have any need of hope. Deliverance arrives undeservedly and perhaps unexpectedly, just as in the unlikely way God came to earth to provide a once-and-for-all substitute for the sins of all men on the first Christmas. That's why things can look bleak, but that's where hope lives. 

The good news is: you simply can't hope big enough, which goes back to the idea of our minds and senses being inadequate to judge God's design and methods, and hope being more a function of God's involvement than our desires. I readily acknowledge I could not have conceived of the plan of salvation or the virgin birth. I couldn't have imagined the plan for the walls of Jericho to crumble, for hungry lions to turn into Daniel's pet kittens, or the Red Sea to part and offer up dry land. So neither do I know how my problems will be solved, or what miracles I'll be blessed to see this Christmas. 

Isaiah 9:6-7 concerns the hope of the prophecy being fulfilled that brought us a "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace." The last sentence of verse seven says it's "the zeal of the Lord" that will accomplish this. God is excited! He's zealous (enthusiastic, passionate, obsessive even) to bring us this hope! 

Romans 15:13 is my Christmas prayer: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

Why is there hope? Because Jesus was born. O holy night. What a thrill. God is at work.  

[1] From God Came Near, page 89 

Intersecting Faith & Life: What does hope out of despair look like? There are lots of examples in any Christian's life, but in terms of contemporary cinema, I know of no better example than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Go back and watch those movies again over the holidays, keeping an eye out for allusions to hope and hopelessness.  

Further Reading

Isaiah 9:6-7
The Promises of God