Our Partnership with God ..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Our Partnership with God

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).

God gave one or more spiritual gifts to every single believer to aid in the work for His kingdom. We each need this special "wiring" to carry out our unique role in His plan. He knits that spiritual gift into our personality and inborn talents to create a useful and effective servant. And just to be clear, there is no such thing as a non-gifted believer.

Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities. 

God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).

The Experience of His Presence..... Craig Denison

 

The Experience of His Presence

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:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Devotional:

Experiencing the presence of God sounds like such a mystery. It sounds like this wonderful but evasive thing that some people get sometimes, but isn’t concrete enough to expect or place your hope in. We associate God’s presence with emotions and music as if it were a breeze so light and momentary you almost couldn’t be sure it happened at all.

But in reality God’s presence is as simple as being in the presence of a friend or spouse. It’s as simple and concrete as being around a person except for one simple truth: God never leaves. And just as you can be in the same room as a friend and not know it, you can live the Christian life apart from experiencing God’s nearness. Just as you can be sitting right across from a friend and be so busy with technology or your own thoughts to even remember they are there, you can go through life focused on the busyness of present circumstances and miss out on the fact that God is closer than your breath.

But we find hope for encountering the presence of God in Psalm 27:4. Scripture says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” This pursuit, this action of seeking the living God, never comes back empty. To seek God is to encounter God. Emotions aside, complexities cast away—God is already with you. He is already closer than he could ever be. His Spirit, his presence in the earth, never leaves you and never forsakes you. And when you turn your attention toward him, just as you can to a friend sitting across a table from you, you can encounter him.

Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” His presence is always available. He’s not a friend who turns away from you or hides his heart. He’s not a small gust of wind that comes and goes as he pleases. He’s a God who would suffer and die that he might tear the veil and make his presence fully, continuously available to all those who would seek him. He’s a God who’s working tirelessly to restore his crown of creation to himself that we might walk with him like in the Garden of Eden, but this time for all of eternity with no possibility of a fall or barrier between us.

Your ability to meet with God is as simple as turning your attention toward him and allowing yourself to be known. May you meet with your heavenly Father in profoundly simple ways today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the availability of God’s presence.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

2. What’s your greatest fear regarding God’s presence. What’s something that would keep you from seeking after him like you would a close friend?

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18

3. Surrender any hesitation you have to him and seek him in faith that he is already with you. Turn your heart toward him and talk to him honestly and openly. Allow him to reveal his nearness to you in any way he wishes.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

The best place to start with God is always honesty. He doesn’t meet you in a place that isn’t real. So if you’re trying to seek him but avoiding something, you are attempting to sew back together the veil he so lovingly tore in two. There’s no need to veil your heart from him. There’s no reason to act as if everything is all right if it isn’t. Whether you’re at church, with friends, or meeting him in the secret place, he only asks for honesty from you. Tell him how you feel. Open up the places of your heart that you are too shameful or scared to let into the light. Allow him to flood your fears with his relentless love and experience the presence that only grace has to offer.

Extended Reading: Psalm 27

When the Holidays Are Hard..... CINDY BULTEMA

 When the Holidays Are Hard

CINDY BULTEMA 

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

Five months before my wedding and two weeks before Christmas, I received a call while I was at my parents’ home. My fiancé, David, had been killed in a freak workplace accident.

Suddenly my life felt like a beautiful snow globe whipped upside down and then dropped — shattered into a million pieces.

My parents’ home quickly filled with friends from church, my pastor, neighbors and grief counselors, each trying to comfort me amid raw, suffocating pain. But in my immense grief, I pushed them away.

“Get out!”

Though every person in my parents' kitchen came just for me, it only took those two words to send them all away.

Alone on my parents' steps with the twinkling Christmas tree in the background, I remember thinking, God, this is not what Christmas is supposed to look like. This is painful; I feel all alone. God, where are You?

I wonder if you’ve ever had a Christmas where things were not as they should have been. Or maybe that describes this holiday season for you.

Perhaps you are:

• Exhausted and overwhelmed by your overfull schedule.
• Financially stretched.
• Buried in bad news.
• Stressed and sleepless because of relationship challenges. You can’t go to another festive dinner and pretend everything is OK when it’s not.

In other words, the holidays are a mess; you’re a mess. Friend, I get it. But skipping over the month of December isn’t an option, and even if it were, we’d only carry our old stresses and messes into a new season.

How do we make it through the “most wonderful time of the year” when we’ve lost our jolliness and we don’t want to “jingle all the way”?

Let’s cling to Truth. And God’s Truth reminds us that, no matter the size of our holiday mess, we are not alone.

From the beginning, Christmas has been messy. If scratch-and-sniff Bibles were a thing, we would smell the stench when we read about the first Christmas in Luke 2. Unlike the beautiful scenes from children’s story Bibles, Jesus’ birthplace was a dirty, stinky manger. Jesus was born in a mess.

Think about it: Jesus Christ, Immanuel, which literally means “God with us,” chose to be born in a mess. And now Jesus promises to be with us always, even in our mess.

One of the verses I clung to during my painful, messy Christmas was Hebrews 10:23, which says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

The Message Bible paraphrases it this way: “Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. [God] always keeps his word.”

I kept a firm grip on God's promise that I was not alone.

For a long time after David's accident, everything in me wanted to keep pushing people away — to hide, isolate, stay in my jammies forever and be all alone.

My dear mentor at the time said, “Cindy, you have a choice. You can let David's death make you better or bitter. You choose.”

That was the day I decided I was choosing better. In the midst of my painful grief, I drew near to God and others.

Will you do the same?

Friend, whatever you do, don’t sit in your loneliness. Ask God for the courage to remember that He’s with you, and then talk to someone. It’ll change everything for you.

Jesus, thank You for being Immanuel — God with us. In the midst of my holiday messes and stresses, help me to draw near to You and to others. I praise You for always being with me. In Your Name, Amen.

What Will Heaven Be Like?..... By Dr. David Jeremiah

 What Will Heaven Be Like?

By Dr. David Jeremiah

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” –Hebrews 12:22a

Many people picture heaven as a never-ending church service in the sky. Or they think we will all become angels who float around on clouds playing harps for the rest of time. Neither of these make eternity seem very appealing. And both are completely inaccurate according to the Bible. In fact, heaven will be glorious and full of grandeur. We will experience fullness of joy as we live in the presence of God and fellowship with each other. There are so many reasons to look forward to heaven, I want to give you a glimpse of three.

For one, our friendships will be richer. One of the most fascinating glimpses we have of heaven is in Hebrews 12:22-23, a passage that provides a list of heaven’s inhabitants.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect. Now, who in that group is boring? We’re going to spend eternity with God, with His angels, with the Old Testament saints, and with Christians through all the ages. Can you imagine being in an environment like that?

There will be no misunderstandings or tiffs or tension among us. Our relationships will be so much healthier in heaven than here. Down here we have problems even with our closest friends. You know what that’s like. Someone says something to you, and you aren’t sure how to interpret it. You react to it— perhaps overact. You say to yourself, “I wonder what he meant by that? I wonder why she said that?”

In heaven there will be none of that. Our relationships will be open, honest, interesting, loving, and uncomplicated by sin or our sinful natures. We will dwell with God, the angels, and one another in perfect compatibility and refreshing intimacy.

We will all be together in heaven. It won’t make any difference when we lived on earth. Imagine being best friends with people whom we’ve only read about in the Bible or in books. I’m eager to meet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Imagine having all the time we wanted to talk to Augustine, George Muller, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale. We’ll be great friends with our missionary heroes—William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, and Eric Liddell, the Olympic champion who left it all to go to China for Christ.

Heaven is going to be such an incredible time of unlimited fellowship with people who have lived in all ages that I can’t begin to comprehend it, but I know it’s true. The Lord Jesus even gave us a glimpse of this on the Mount of Transfiguration when He stood there talking to Moses and Elijah, as the twelve disciples listened to the amazing conversation.

And don’t get me started on the fellowship we’ll enjoy with the angels! In heaven, we’ll be part of it all; and all our mentors, heroes, friends, ancestors, and descendants—all who know Jesus—will be there with us!

Is Satan Spamming You?..... by Ryan Duncan

 Is Satan Spamming You?

by Ryan Duncan

Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship The Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" - Matthew 4:10

"This stock is about to take off!" ... "You won’t believe this Miracle Pill!" ... "Hello, I am a Nigerian Prince" ... These are only a few of the emails that have ended up in my spam folder. We've all received them, those obnoxious messages that try to trick you into sending money or personal information to some unknown source. All spam email follows the same design. First, they open up by preying on a person’s fear, insecurity, or general discontent. After that, they propose a simple solution, an easy win for the reader, which convinces the reader to put their trust in something very untrustworthy.

Thankfully, most computers now come with software to filter out the phony emails. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for everyday life. I’ve found Satan often uses the same tactics as these spam mails whenever he wants to attack a human being. First, he takes advantage of your worry, your self-image, or something else in your life. Then he offers you something that might fix the problem, but in truth, only makes things worse. These temptations will always be present in life, but Jesus offers us a powerful reassurance in Matthew 6 that equips us to defend ourselves.

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” Matthew 6:25-29

Many people have taken this verse to mean that as long as we trust in God, nothing bad will happen. Not so. We live in a fallen world, and bad things are always going to happen. What this verse does promise is that no matter what we face in life, God will always be there. Sometimes in the healing we desperately prayed for, other times in the shoulder we cry on.

Whatever roads our lives take, Christ is there to provide for us. Don't allow Satan to fool you with the offer of an easy fix, don’t let fear and despair dictate your actions. God is there, and he will help you.

Intersecting Faith and Life: As a Christian, you are not alone in your struggles. Find support in a small group or an accountability partner.    

Further Reading
Zephaniah 3:17

A Prayer to Offer Up in the Morning..... By Rebecca Barlow Jordan

 A Prayer to Offer Up in the Morning

By Rebecca Barlow Jordan 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23

Before busy lifestyles try to steal our time and energy, we can spend a few moments with God every day. If He offers us new mercies and compassions with each sunrise, then in an attitude of gratitude and worship, we can offer our lives to Him in prayer every morning. To help you begin your day with joy and purpose, here is a morning offering prayer you can pray to God:

A Morning Offering to Pray Each Day

Lord, I’m coming to you with my personal morning offering prayer. I worship you today and want to give you praise for another day of life. As I begin to think about your amazing grace and for all you have done on my behalf, I am overwhelmed with joy. Your love draws me into your sweet presence the moment my eyes open. Even when sleepiness tries to pull me back under the covers, your tug on my heart awakens me to start the day right with you.

This morning I offer back to you this day and my life as a gift of gratitude. You deserve the best, and I want to give you all that I have and am in a fresh new way. Write on my heart the lessons you want to teach me today. Fill my mouth with your words and thoughts, not mine. I long to live this day for you, with my affections set on things above, not focusing on worries here on earth.

You gave your life for me, an offering of death to pay the penalty of my sin. In return, I long to make your heart happy by offering my life as a living sacrifice to you. Some days I feel like I have so little to offer; yet you know my heart. You created me, and you love me just as I am. You require nothing from me but faith, because your love is a gift with no strings attached. I can’t earn it, and I can’t buy it. But, Lord, out of a deep love for you, I desire to live for you today in such a way that encourages others. I want to bless you as well as those who cross my path. If I give to others with mercy and compassion, you’ve said it’s the same as giving to you.

So accept my morning offering prayer today, Lord. May my life be a sweet fragrance to you, as I seek to follow you, to love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as myself. Use my mouth, my mind, my hands, and my feet— all of me — as instruments of your peace. May I be a light in the darkness for others or simply a pitcher of kindness poured out for you. Here is my life; here are my talents. My gifts are yours to do with as you please. Order my steps today; guard my thoughts; and bathe my actions with thoughtfulness and goodness, so others can see your reflection in me. I trust you; I wait for you, and I listen for your voice. Your strength is all I need. With eagerness, I begin this day and offer my life to live for you, any way you want.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

The Real Reason for Christmas..... Rick Renner

 The Real Reason for Christmas

Rick Renner

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
- Philippians 2:8

Do you plan on taking the time this Christmas to tell your children or friends about the purpose of Christmas? If so, what will you tell them?

Although we usually meditate on the birth of Jesus at this time of the year, His purpose in coming to earth was not to give us the sweet picture of a baby in a Bethlehem manger. That little baby was born to die for you and for me and thus pay for the forgiveness of our sins. He was born to die on the Cross that we might be reconciled to God.

For this reason, I always told our sons when they were young, "Don't just think of a baby in a manger at Christmastime. Christmas is about much more than that. It is about God coming to earth in human flesh so He could die on the Cross to pay for your salvation and destroy all the works of the devil in your lives! That is what Christmas is all about!"

People rarely think of the Cross at Christmastime because it is the time set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth. But in Philippians 2, Paul connects the two thoughts. As Paul writes about God becom­ing a man, he goes on to express the ultimate reason God chose to take this amazing action. Paul says in verse 8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Because today is Christmas Eve, I want to use this Sparkling Gem to discuss the real reason for Christmas, which is contained in the truths found in this verse.

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus was "…found in fashion as a man…." That word "fashion" is the Greek word schema. This is extremely important, for this was precisely the same word that was used in ancient times to depict a king who exchanged his kingly garments for a brief period of time for the clothing of a beggar.

How wonderful that the Holy Spirit would inspire the apostle Paul to use this exact word! When Jesus came to earth, it really was a moment when God Almighty shed His glorious appear­ance and exchanged it for the clothing of human flesh. Although man is wonderfully made, his earthly frame is temporal dust and cannot be compared to the eternal and glorious appearance of God. However, for the sake of our redemption, God laid aside all of His radiant glory, took upon Himself human flesh, and was manifested in the very likeness of a human being.

This is the true story of a King who traded His kingly garments and took upon Himself the clothing of a servant. But the story doesn't stop there. Jesus - our King who exchanged His royal robes for the clothing of flesh - loved us so much that He "…humbled himself, and became obe­dient unto death, even the death of the cross"!

The word "humbled" is the Greek word tapeinao, and it means to be humble, to be lowly, and to be willing to stoop to any measure that is needed. This describes the attitude God had when He took upon Himself human flesh. Think of how much humility would be required for God to shed His glory and lower Himself to become like a member of His creation. Consider the greatness of God's love that drove Him to divest Himself of all His splendor and become like a man. This is amazing to me, particularly when I think of how often the flesh recoils at the thought of being humble or preferring someone else above itself. Yet Jesus humbled Himself "…and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The word "obedient" tells me that this was not a pleasurable experience that Jesus looked for­ward to in anticipation. To humble Himself to this extent required Jesus' deliberate obedience.

As preexistent God, Jesus came to earth for this purpose. But as man dressed in flesh, He despised the thought of the Cross (Hebrews 12:2) and could only endure its shame because He knew of the results that would follow. For Jesus to be obedient as a man, He had to choose to obey the eternal plan of God.

The word "obedient" that is used to describe Jesus is the Greek word hupakouo, from the word hupo, which means under, and the word akouo, which means I hear. When these two words are com­pounded together, they picture someone who is hupo - under someone else's authority, and akouo - listening to what that superior is speaking to him. After listening and taking these instructions to heart, this person then carries out the orders of his superior.

Thus, the word hupakouo tells us that obedient people are 1) under authority, 2) listening to what their superior is saying, and 3) carrying out the orders that have been given to them. This is what the word "obedient" means in this verse, and this is what obedience means for you and me.

You see, even Jesus had to come to this place of obedience. Although He knew that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, that didn't mean His flesh was excited about dying as the Lamb of God on the Cross. According to this verse in Philippians 2:8, Jesus had to humble Himself and become "obedient" in order to follow God's plan. He wasn't looking forward to the expe­rience of death on a Cross; He made a choice to humble Himself and to go to any measure in order to accomplish the Father's plan.

Part of the Father's plan was for Jesus to humble Himself "…unto death, even the death of the cross." The word "unto" is from the Greek word mechri, which is a Greek word that really means to such an extent. The Greek word mechri is sufficient in itself to dramatize the point, but the verse goes on to say that Jesus humbled Himself unto death, "…even the death of the cross." The word "even" is the Greek word de, which emphatically means EVEN! The Greek carries this idea: "Can you imag­ine it! Jesus humbled Himself to such a lowly position and became so obedient that He even stooped low enough to die the miserable death of a Cross!"

I heartily recommend that you take the time today to read the April 24 Sparkling Gem order to refresh your memory on the full process of crucifixion. It was genuinely the worst death a person could ever endure. For Jesus to humble Himself to the point of death, EVEN the death of the Cross, demonstrates how much He was willing to humble Himself to redeem you and me.

Just think of it - Almighty God, clothed in radiant glory from eternity past, came to this earth formed as a human being in the womb of a human mother for one purpose: so that He could one day die a miserable death on a Cross to purchase our salvation! All of this required humility on a level far beyond anything we could ever comprehend or anything that has ever been requested of any of us. Yet this was the reason Jesus came; therefore, He chose to be obedient to the very end, humbling Himself to the point of dying a humiliating death on a Cross and thereby purchasing our eternal salvation.

So as you celebrate Christmas, be sure to remember the real purpose of Christmas. It isn't just a time to reflect on the baby boy who was born in Bethlehem so long ago.  That baby was God manifest in the flesh. He was born to die for you and for me. Jesus was so will­ing to do whatever was required in order to redeem us from Satan and sin that He humbled Himself even unto death on a Cross! That is what Christmas is all about!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY 

Lord, I thank You for coming to earth so You could redeem me. When I think of the extent to which You were willing to go in order to save me, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally thankful to You for everything You did to save me!

I pray this in Jesus' name!

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY 

I confess that Jesus Christ loves me! He demonstrated His love to me by leaving behind Heaven's glory and taking upon Himself human flesh. And He did it for one purpose: so that one day He could go to the Cross and die for me and thus reconcile me unto God. There is no need for me to ever feel unloved or unwanted, because Jesus went the ultimate distance to prove that He loves me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER 

1. When you compare Jesus' ultimate act of obedience to God with your own will­ingness to obey God in every area of your life, are you satisfied with your level of obedience to Him? Or do you find yourself falling far short of what He requires? 
2. What can you do on this Christmas Eve to more fully "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5)? Are there specific ways you can show humility toward others or prefer someone else above yourself? 
3. Now that you've read today's Sparkling Gem, what will change in the way you talk to your children or your friends about the real purpose of Christmas?