A Lifestyle of Obedience..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 A Lifestyle of Obedience

Dr. Charles Stanley

John 14:15-21

According to John 14:21, we express love for Jesus by obeying His commands. To love Him wholeheartedly, we must develop a lifestyle of obedience. Let's look at four aspects of such a lifestyle.

1. Our trust in the Father grows. This confidence comes from believing that the Lord is who Scripture says He is. And God's Word tells us that He is good—as well as faithful to keep His promises (2 Cor. 1:20). Psalm 86:15 calls Him merciful, gracious, loving, and slow to anger. His character remains unchanged by difficult or hard-to-understand circumstances (Heb. 13:8).

2. We develop a deepening ability to wait on the Lord. Delays can be hard in our I-want-it-now culture. But we must resist temptation and wait on Him instead of running ahead.

3. We commit to obey God. Without such a resolve, we'll vacillate at decision time or allow fear to prevent us from choosing His way.

4. Our study of Scripture becomes consistent. The Bible reveals God's priorities, commands, and warnings. It acts as a light, illuminating His chosen path for us while revealing obstacles and dangers along the way (Ps.119:105). Without it, we are like a person who walks in the woods at night without a flashlight.

Becoming a Christian doesn't mean that obedience to the Lord is automatic. It's a lifelong process of growing in our trust and patiently waiting on Him before we act. This requires a steadfast commitment to obey so that we can say no to ungodly choices and yes to God.

The Just King..... Craig Denison

 

The Just King

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

What a gift we have in the Christmas season. God himself took on flesh and dwelt among us that we might find eternal relationship in him. His coming serves as a continual reminder of his grace and pursuit of us who are lost without him. As we look to Jesus this week to celebrate who he is and what he’s done, may you find life-giving hope and foundational joy.

Scripture:

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18

Devotional:

Often the word “justice” is taken as synonymous with punishment. Our societies have justice systems. We demand justice for the oppressed by punishing the wrongdoer. We see justice as the necessary counter to our world’s inherent depravity.

To be sure, justice is an incredibly important component to life. But we serve a King who, while entirely just, is also completely merciful. We serve a God who doesn’t shy away from consequence and conviction but looks for every opportunity to give good gifts to his children.

Isaiah 30:18 illustrates this heavenly tension in saying, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah spoke this word to an incredibly idolatrous people. Israel was not a nation we would judge as worthy of blessing. But God, through his heart of mercy and justice, constantly led his people back into his fold by whatever means necessary that he might reward them with good and pleasing gifts.

Even in moments of weakness your heavenly Father loves you. Even in moments where you would condemn yourself your Father delights in showing mercy. And even though we don’t deserve one good thing from a perfect God, because of his merciful justice he lavishly rewards even the smallest of good within us.

James 1:17 teaches us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” All that is good in your life was supplied by the hand of your heavenly Father. Every dollar you’ve made and possession you’ve received was God’s good pleasure to give you. Every friendship you’ve developed and family member added to your number was graciously provided to you because you serve a just and merciful King.

In this Christmas season may we celebrate the just heart of Jesus. May we find peace and comfort in the fact that God sees the world rightly but looks upon us with compassion. And may our hearts be filled with worship as we look to Jesus, our just King.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the just heart of Jesus. Allow the truth of God’s character to open up places in your heart to receive him.

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18

2. Where do you see the merciful justice of God in your life? Where do you see him bestowing gifts upon you?

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17

3. Take time to worship Jesus in response to everything he’s given you. Offer up prayers of thanksgiving to him for all his goodness.

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.” Isaiah 12:5

Part of the mystery of the Christian life is embracing paradoxes. We serve a God of mercy and justice. We who deserve nothing have been given everything. Life with God is filled with glorious paradox. May we celebrate who God is this season and offer him our hearts in response to his great love. May we elevate the King of justice who in his loving-kindness took on flesh that he might get the punishment we deserved. All glory to Jesus, our just King.

Extended Reading: Isaiah 30

Scaling Walls in God’s Strength..... SARAH GERINGER

 Scaling Walls in God’s Strength

SARAH GERINGER

“In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.” 2 Samuel 22:30 (NLT)

In the summer, I often see brightly colored lizards dashing under my flowerpots. If my dog, Memphis, spots them, he chases them into the garage.

When Memphis sniffs their trails, the electric-blue lizards flash straight upward; they scurry up the garage walls without second thoughts to their ability or their safety.

I marvel at these little lizards because I’m paralyzed by heights. Only three rungs up a ladder and I break out in a full-body sweat. Forget the dizzying heights of a roller coaster — I’m a proud land-dweller. Security is my daily pursuit.

Yet in my emotional and spiritual life, I’ve run up against many walls. Chased by armies of fear, doubt and insecurity, I didn’t think I could go any further. My job prospects seemed like a dead end. My marriage problems felt too difficult to overcome. Even my faith felt like it had gone downhill.

However, every single time I cry out to God for help when I bump up against a wall, He empowers me to scale it just like the bright lizards do. God wants us to move up our walls, not go around them or stay stuck at their bases. When we move up our walls, we move closer to God and give Him greater glory.

David was a mighty warrior in the Bible. Surely, during his years of running from King Saul and defeating enemy armies, he must have experienced the ancient equivalent of today’s basic military training. He was certainly strong and capable. Yet at a point of celebration of victory over his foes, David praised God:

“In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall” (2 Samuel 22:30).

How difficult it must have been for David to climb walls without sophisticated equipment. The task would have required enormous physical and mental strength. Yet David did not take credit for any of his natural or acquired abilities. He operated in God’s strength and invited God’s presence into his struggles.

David wrote these metaphors not only for military victories. He experienced many emotional and spiritual struggles, as we see so often in the psalms he penned. God helped him climb upward over his walls, just like He can help us overcome our struggles. David’s close, upward-moving relationship with God still inspires us today.

How do we, with God’s help, move up our walls? From Matthew 7:7-8, here are three ways you can climb:

1. Keep asking. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.” (Matthew 7:7a, NLT) When you feel like you’re at a dead end, reach out to God in prayer. Pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) asking God to show you how to move upward in His strength.
2. Keep seeking. “Keep on seeking, and you will find.” (Matthew 7:7b, NLT) Learn all you can about your problem and ask God to reveal a solution. The Holy Spirit can use a Bible study, Christian book, devotion, sermon, podcast or song as a key to breakthrough.
3. Keep knocking. “Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7c, NLT) Our plans succeed with good counsel from others. (Proverbs 20:18) Don’t hesitate to knock on the door of a trusted Christian friend, pastor or counselor when you need help.

“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8, NLT)

You and I may never climb literal walls or be as sure-footed as real lizards. But with God’s help, we can move up each one of our hidden “walls” in His mighty strength.

Father God, thank You for promising to help me climb every wall I face. In Your strength, I can move upward instead of staying stuck in fear and doubt. Give me insight as I ask, seek and knock for Your help. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What Does it Mean to Offer God a “Sacrifice of Praise”?..... By Debbie McDaniel

 What Does it Mean to Offer God a “Sacrifice of Praise”? (Hebrews 13:15)

By Debbie McDaniel

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. – Hebrews 13:15

We have so much to praise God for every day, there's great power in giving honor to Him. The Bible is filled with examples of praise and worship when we see His power released, life-changing miracles, dramatic stories of the enemy being halted or defeated, hearts being changed and drawn closer to Him.

Yet the reality is that way too often, daily struggles or constant life demands can crowd out our praise and worship to God. We might check the “go to worship” box at church and somehow think we’re good for the week. And yet, all the while, with souls distant and cold, we sing words, we listen to music and words, and then we go home. Unchanged.

Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise. We may not feel like it. We’re struggling. We're weary. Or maybe, we feel like God has let us down. He may seem distant to us, like He doesn't really care about what we’re struggling through or worrying about. Painful life blows and losses may have recently sent us spiraling. We’re still trying to get our feet on the ground and put broken pieces back together again.

Here’s what can make a lasting difference. When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him praise, no matter what's staring us straight in the face, we suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles can have over us.

We have a choice every day in this life. We can choose to live absorbed in worry and stress, on the fast track of busy, focused only on what surrounds us, and tuned into the roar of the world.

Or we can ask God to help us take our eyes off all that may be swirling around, our problems and mess, and the voices of others. We can look up to Him, the One who holds it all together, and who holds us in His hands.

God desires our whole heart. He waits for us to return if we’ve drifted away. He longs for us to know the power of His presence in and through our lives. He desires to bless us more than we could ever imagine. His Spirit urges us onward, calling us closer.

May He help us to look up again today, to remember His goodness and power in our lives, and to offer Him worship and praise.

It's Delightful..... By Shawn McEvoy

 It's Delightful

By Shawn McEvoy

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.- Psalms 37:4

Today's verse is one of the first I ever learned as a Christian. You probably know it by heart, too. Seems like everyone quotes it. When I learned it as a kid, I couldn't help but thinking it sounded really good, with overtones of blessings and whatever my heart desired, which in later years came to be symbolized in my own mind as a Corvette... even though I would always be one of the first to tell people that's not what it meant.

But it wasn't until the last few years that I came to understand it on another level. Fatherhood will do that to a guy in a lot of ways. When my kids were infants and dependent upon me and my wife for absolutely everything, I saw our own dependence upon God in a whole new light. Now that the kids are four and two, I'm getting a new take on what it is to "delight" in the Lord.

I'd of course recognized there should be joy in following God, and that He was in all ways wonderful. But never did I come into His presence like my children now regularly come into mine, especially when I come home from work. The screaming, the jumping up and down, the laughing. The rush to tell me everything about their days, both the triumphs and the things they got in trouble for. The hugs, the requests to be tossed in the air or chased, the search in my briefcase to see if any treasures have found their way home with me, it all comes with a priceless gleam in their eyes as they search me to know themselves better.

That's delight.

And, the Bible says that's what causes God to give us the desires of our heart? Honestly, that kind of delight, that kind of amazing high, is kind of a euphoric state of its own. I mean, what more does one need but to feel like that about God? Most days, I'd give anything to feel that kind of rush it seems my kids must feel.

It's almost like that's my heart's desire.

And it's like this verse is saying that desire is right here for the very taking, that all I have to do is act on it. I'm a child of the King, and He's never away at work. I don't even have to wait for him to come home. I'm welcome to come boldly into the throne room and praise the wow out of Him. To marvel, wonder, and laugh giddily at His creative handiwork and what He's done for me. To rush to tell him everything about my day, both the triumphs and the spots where I got myself into trouble.

Admittedly, though, we do have other desires, such as physical needs being met, love, etc., and I don't mean to suggest that they're unimportant. Just that here on the cusp of another new year, I'm thinking about what the desires of my heart have actually been, and almost unilaterally, they've been about freedom. At various times in my life, I desired to be free... from depression, from sinfulness of all kinds, from lack of understanding, from loneliness, from fear. And looking back at how God set me free in each circumstance, I honestly see that I never even had to enter in to those places of searching to be filled or delighted in the first place. He was all I needed, I just wasn't seeing Him as one to delight over.

This year is going to pose more challenges for me and my family, but also more growth, more freedom, and more delight. It's like they are all interwoven and dependent upon each other, just like the two parts of this verse.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Today, consider what your own definition of "delight" involves, and meditate on how that meshes with the truest, deepest, most meaningful desires of your heart.

Further Reading

Isaiah 58:10-14

A Prayer of Hope for Our Heartbreaks..... By: Kristine Brown

 A Prayer of Hope for Our Heartbreaks

By: Kristine Brown

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” - Psalm 126:5 

So many of us have experienced loss in recent days. Heartbreak seems to wait around every corner. All it takes is a quick scroll through my newsfeed to see yet another friend dealing with devastating loss. A sense of shock overcomes us as we try to process the unexpected pain. We grieve for our families, our neighbors, and our communities.

When terrible loss occurs, we carry this tightness in our chests— a pain so intense it feels as though our hearts are breaking. We refer to it as heartbreak, because there’s no other way to describe it. When we experience this heartbreak, there is only one thing that will offer relief. A hope that one day our tears will be replaced with joy.

Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” What an amazing promise for us to cling to when we walk through the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Psalm 30:5 also proclaims this hope with the words, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

As I look at all the heartbreak happening around me, I can’t help but draw closer to God, thankful for the hope I have through Jesus. Because of Him, loss is not forever. Tears will one day cease. Joy will be restored. Let’s pray this prayer of hope for our broken hearts.

Dear Heavenly Father,

My heart is breaking. Devastating loss is sweeping across our world, leaving us with shock, sadness, and pain. Heal our hearts, Lord. There is no one who can comfort us like you. Hear our cries for help, and restore hope in the midst of our heartbreak.

Your Word promises us that although we “sow in tears,” we will “reap with shouts of joy.” Thank you for that good news! It brings me hope today as I cry for loved ones who’ve died. I know they are with Jesus, but I miss them so much. Knowing we have eternal hope through our Savior calms my heart and helps me face the day with renewed joy.

Thank you God that whatever pain we feel on this earth, it is only temporary. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Fill our hearts with your joy and peace today. You are the God of hope.

In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

What Christmas Can't Do..... Pastor Greg Laurie

 What Christmas Can't Do

Pastor Greg Laurie

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 nkjv).

As the Christmas season descends, we’re seeing countless commercials of things we’re supposed to buy.

The implied promise is that if you give this, or if you receive that, then you’ll be happy. Certainly, there’s a rush of excitement in receiving a very special gift. But for the most part, you probably can’t remember what you got for Christmas last year, even though it seemed so important then.

It reminds me of the husband and wife who went Christmas shopping at the mall. The husband wandered off, so his wife called him and asked where he was.

“Remember that jewelry store we went to 10 years ago?” the husband asked. “You saw that beautiful diamond necklace, and I said that I couldn’t afford it then, but one day when I had a little more money, I would buy it for you.”

“Yes, I remember,” his wife said, trying to catch her breath.

“Well, I’m at the donut store next door to it.”

Christmas, commercially at least, cannot live up to the promise, to the standards we’ve set in our minds. At best, Christmas is a promise of greater things to come. However, it’s not Christmas that will give us life; it’s Christ.

Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 nkjv).

I have found that the greatest moments of Christmas are not the ones we get psyched about. Rather, it’s those in-between moments. Like the moments we spend with family—not only our actual flesh-and-blood families but also the family of God.

So slow down this season. Enjoy it and take it in. Jesus was born in Bethlehem to bring life in all its fullness.