Seasons with God..... Craig Denison

 

Seasons with God

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

As this year comes to a close, it’s vital that we take time to both reflect on what God has done and allow him to prepare us for what’s to come. A new year marks a fresh opportunity to center our lives around the goodness of God. I pray that as you begin looking toward what is to come you will make space to gain God’s perspective, ground your hopes and pursuits on his grace, and celebrate all that God has done and is doing. May your time with God this week be filled with the loving presence of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Devotional:

The seasons of the year created by the powerful hands of our heavenly Father speak of the need to slow down, stop, and reflect. Times of reflection create space for God’s Spirit to speak, helping us remember what he has done, making us aware of what he is doing, and stirring our hearts for what he wants to do next. God loves to use a change in season to remind us to center our lives around his pervasive works. Whether it be a change in jobs, weather, moving, or the approaching of a new year, it’s crucial that we make space for God to speak to us and prepare us for the wonderful things he has planned.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 illustrates this principle in saying,

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.

The best place to begin reflection is in remembering. I don’t know whether this year was one filled with heartache or laughter for you. I don’t know whether you experienced loss or new beginnings. I don’t know whether you cried tears of joy or sadness. But your heavenly Father does. And it’s in quiet remembrance that he wants to comfort you, rejoice with you, and wrap you in his arms. It’s in remembrance that he wants to bring about healing, grace, love, and perspective. Take time today to remember.

Next, take time to ask the Holy Spirit for revelation on the present. Just as seasons help us to remember the past, they beg of us to live in the present. God is doing a mighty work in and around you right now. This is a time for faith and deep encounters with the transforming love of God. This is a time to savor the beauty of the current and to rest in the goodness of the immediate. God is present to meet with you, love you, and fill you. He has strength, grace, comfort, and joy for you if you will make space to receive the fullness of what he wants to give. Take time today to savor.

Lastly, God longs to fill you with hope and expectancy for his future plans. The new year, filled with its possibilities and new beginnings, is quickly approaching. Your heavenly Father, who dwells in all of eternity, longs to prepare you for what is to come. He longs to lay a foundation for your year with a fresh revelation of his love, faithfulness, and presence. He longs to fill you with hope and desires that he will see through to fruition. Take time today to allow him to prepare you for all next year holds.

May your time in guided prayer be marked by clarity and revelation in the Holy Spirit as you engage in these three practices.

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on this past year. What were your triumphs? What were your failures? How did God meet you in both? Allow him to comfort you in any pain and rejoice with you in any victory.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

2. What is God doing right now? What is he teaching and instilling in you? What is he calling you to savor?

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:31-34

3. Ask God to plant hopes and dreams for next year in your heart. What do you want to see happen personally next year? What do you hope God does in and through you? What works has he prepared for you?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

May Galatians 6:7-10 stir within you a commitment to fully engage in the season in which God has you:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Extended Reading: Psalm 1

5 Truths About God’s Blessing Over You..... By Lisa Apello

 5 Truths About God’s Blessing Over You 

By Lisa Apello

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

The people of Israel had been camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai for almost a year after leaving Egypt. They had received God’s 10 commandments and his full law and built the tabernacle according to God’s precise instructions.

Now, on the cusp of moving toward the promised land and going into battle, God commanded the high priest Aaron to pronounce this blessing over the people. Because we hear these words recited so often, we can lose the awe that God would bless so extravagantly. Let’s dig out 5 truths in God’s blessing over you. 

1.God is the source of all blessing. Although often referred to as the priestly or Aaronic blessing, these words weren’t written by men. They are God’s words spoken through his priests to his people. God is a God who blesses. In fact, when God created Adam and Eve, the first thing He did was to bless them. {Gen 1:28} And the last thing Jesus did? He blessed his apostles. As Jesus was taken into heaven, he was blessing his apostles. {Luke 24:50-51}

While these words are often spoken as a prayer or petition, there is no “will you” or “may you” found here. God has proclaimed this blessing and has commanded that it be spoken over His people.

2. God blesses us personally. Six times, these verses repeat “you” and each time it is in the singular form. Rather than blessing Israel corporately in these verses, God of the universe blesses each one personally. In a crowd of more than 2 million, God saw each one. God sees you. God knows you intimately, cares for you individually and blesses you personally.

3. God bends down to benefit us. The Hebrew word for bless means to kneel down. Used metaphorically here, it shows that God bends down to give us Himself and with that, all of His benefits – His faithfulness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, love, comfort, joy, hope, guidance, redemption, adoption, acceptance and more. Ephesians 1:3 tells us we have every spiritual blessing through Jesus. Because God is infinite, we can never reach the end of His blessing.

4. God blesses as a father to his child. How can God lift His countenance upon us if He is in heaven and we are on earth? Doesn’t he look down upon us? These words are a picture of a father lifting his child in his arms above him. Just as that father lifts up his beaming face to that child, God shines His full pleasure, His full goodwill, and His full joy over you as His child.

5. God’s blessing brings peace. Who doesn’t want peace? But God’s peace is more than the absence of strife. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, stems from the word which means restoration back to the original state. God’s peace means not just harmony, but completeness and wholeness, rest and welfare, soundness and safety.

Take heart today. In a world that is often hard and chaotic, God has bent down to bless you personally. God of infinite benefits gives them to you. And though the world may frown, God’s beaming countenance is upon you. Today, child, walk in the fullness of Your Father’s extravagant blessing.

 

A Prayer for Those Mourning A Loss this Winter..... By Meg Bucher

 A Prayer for Those Mourning A Loss this Winter

By Meg Bucher

It takes a strength that we don’t humanly possess to move through a season of sadness and despair. The Winter months can carry a blue perspective, especially when the snap of gray winter skies extends beyond our ability to cope without sun-light. God’s Spirit rests upon the frigid air, to comfort those saying earthly good-byes and facing the impossible return to life as usual without someone they held dear.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Refuge is a shelter or protection from danger, trouble. (dictionary.com) The original Hebrew root-word means to seek or flee for protection; to put confidence and trust in God. (Strongs 2620)

God’s character assures us that though our lives bend and twist, He is the same. When we wander in grief, He is strong. Jesus promised never to leave us, and His presence restores peace to our souls. “God is our shelter and our strength,” the VOICE paraphrase sings, “When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help. So why run and hide?”

Instead of hiding our grief and attempting to walk through it numbly, we serve a God who wants us to break down to Him. We can crumble at His feet, and He will pick us up. His love is perfect. Christ came down to earth out of compassion for us, and He watches after every one of His sheep. When one is lame or hurting, He knows! And He rushes to our side.

Father,

Praise You for Your omnipotent hand of protection over our lives. Even though we come to You with downcast hearts, we know in full confidence that You are able to lift us out of our grief. You are our Healer. You know our hearts, from our aching hurts to our feelings of despair. As the frigid winter air freezes the ground, our hurting hearts tend to harden. Mourning isn’t easy, and we’d often rather go it alone, or avoid it altogether. When we wish to close everyone off and isolate our hearts, empower us to bring the broken pieces of our hearts to You.

Death is difficult, but we are promised to be reunited with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven. For those of us that mourn the loss of a fellow believer, we know that our pain is temporary, and that theirs has now passed away to eternal peace with Christ in heaven. Though it’s difficult to say good-bye, we know that Your presence is more than enough to restore our peace and fuel our continued perseverance of Your purpose for our lives on this earth.

Forgive us for wallowing in times of despair and hopelessness. Holy Spirit, translate the groaning of our heart to the Father that sits above all in sovereignty. Relieve feelings of anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and all other maladies of the heart and soul the coincide with grief and mourning. Help us to adjust to life without the one we mourn.

Thank You for the time we were granted with their sweet soul while their time on earth ran its course. For the ways they helped us grow closer to You, and challenged us to follow the course You set out for our lives. For those of us saying goodbye to mentors and teachers, seeds of doubt that we can walk as courageously without them will temp us to falter. But the remnants of their love for You will carry on in our lives in ways that we may never comprehend. Help us to retain their memory, Father. May our memories be swift, and our grief be short.

We know that every life is numbered perfectly by You, and we trust You first with our lives, and the lives of the ones we love on this earth. Help us to let go, knowing every life belongs to You, first. Bless us with an appreciation of the mark they left in Your honor on this earth, Father. May they rest in the peace of Your arms, until we see them again.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

NEVER THE SAME AGAIN..... Pastor Jeff Schreve

 NEVER THE SAME AGAIN

Pastor Jeff Schreve

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way.
Matthew 2:12

When I was 17 years old, I heard the true message of Christmas. It finally made sense to me, and God showed me that I needed His Son - not just to know facts about Him in my head, but to really know Him personally in my heart. You see, Jesus was born in Bethlehem so that you and I could be born again.

On a Monday night in January of 1980, I got down on my knees and asked Jesus to save me. I gave all I knew of me to all I knew of Him. And do you know what? He saved me. He forgave all my sins and came to live in my heart... and my life has never been the same since.

A CHANGE OF COURSE

The wise men from the east traveled a great distance (as much as 1000 miles) to worship Jesus, the new born King of the Jews. They brought expensive gifts and fell down in worship before the Christ child. When they went home, they did not go back through Jerusalem for fear of Herod. They returned "by another way." They changed course. Did you catch the spiritual significance of that phrase?

It is impossible to truly meet Jesus and not go "another way." It is impossible to receive the King of Glory into your life and not be changed as a result. Many times people will struggle with and agonize over the issue of assurance. They will ask themselves, "Am I really a Christian?" The acid test to know if you are truly His is this: have you been changed? Has something happened inside of you, calling you to go in a new direction? It is inconceivable to think that the Almighty, Most Holy God of the Universe would come to live inside of a person and that person not know it... and that person not be changed.

My life changed greatly after I received Christ. My friends and family noticed a difference in the way I acted and reacted. Although far from perfect, there was a change, a noticeable change. I had gone "by another way." I had a desire for God that I never had before... and I had a sorrow in sin that I never had before. As Adrian Rogers used to say, "The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is this: A non-Christian leaps into sin and he loves it. A Christian lapses into sin and he loathes it." That has been true of me from the day I surrendered my life to Jesus.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you really met Jesus? Has there been a genuine change? Is your life going His way now... or are you still going your way?

Christmas is a great time to rejoice... and to reflect: what change of course does He want to make in you? What adjustments are needed so that you can be all He wants you to be in your family... in your career... in your priorities?

I hope you have a great Christmas. May the King of the universe truly be King in you as you do like those wise men and bow your life before Him!

Resolutions and Redemption... by Anna Kuta

 Resolutions and Redemption

by Anna Kuta

“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It’s that time of year again! I’m talking about New Year’s resolutions, of course. It’s still December as I’m writing, but I guarantee that by the time you read this, I’ll already be asking myself what possessed me to come up with such grand, unattainable plans the new year. (It seemed like a good idea at the time). Every year I tell myself it’ll finally be the year I keep all my resolutions. I mean, come on – how hard can it possibly be to finally set aside an hour for exercise each day, to stop consuming so much chocolate and coffee, and to never sleep for less than eight hours again?

Why are New Year’s resolutions so hard to keep? I don’t know, but it’s a lot like another area of life. Let me explain.

Before I became a Christian at the age of 17, I approached my life the same way I often approach New Year’s resolutions. I would try so hard to do the right things but I always ended up falling flat. I convinced myself that as long as I was the “good girl,” I’d be fine, so I tried really hard to live up to certain standards to please everyone, and hopefully God too. The problem, though, is that there’s nothing anyone can do in his or her own power to “earn” God’s favor.

As Ephesians 2:8 says, it’s by God’s grace that we are saved, not because of anything we could ever hope to attain or accomplish. God’s gift of His son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins through His death and resurrection is just that – a gift. Doing all the good, noble things in the world will never earn salvation, and like verse 9 says, nobody could ever think of boasting about such an undeserved gift.

Of course, the desire to do the right things is one result of making Jesus the Lord of your life, but we all continue to mess up because, after all, we are just sinners saved by grace. I still lose sight of it all sometimes and get caught up in the cycle of trying to “out-good” myself and others. This new year, however, in light of any New Year’s resolutions you may have made (or already broken), join me in remembering the assurance of one thing we never have to work to attain: God’s grace.

Intersecting Faith & Life: It’s hard to live up to New Year’s resolutions, but it’s impossible to earn God’s favor through good works or noble aspirations. This year, realize and thank God anew for the gift of His grace and salvation through Jesus.

Further Reading

Titus 3:4-7
2 Timothy 1:8-10