Love is Present..... Denison Ministries

 Love is Present

Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

James 2:26 tells us, “Faith apart from works is dead.” If we are going to experience the fullness of life offered to us through our faith we must be those who put our words into action. We must not profess to love God on Sundays and live as if he isn’t present, real, or good on Monday. May your faith come alive this week as you seek to be a doer of the word.

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

Devotional:

One of the most comforting aspects of God’s character is that he is present. Jesus made clear God’s desire to be present when he left his throne and took on humanity. God has never desired distance with his children. He fights to have close relationship with us every day. This week we’re looking at how we can not only receive God’s word, but experience more of God through being doers of his word. So, today let’s explore how we can follow the example of Jesus and be present for those around us.

Being present in people’s lives always requires sacrifice. It requires stepping outside of what will solely benefit you in order to live for the benefit of others. Philippians 2:3 teaches us,“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Jesus counted you and me as more significant than his own life. He died so that we might live, and he calls us to do the same. Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” John 12:24 makes it clear that in order to bear fruit in this life we must die to ourselves: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Choose today to be a doer of the word, and die to yourself that you might better love others.

You see, before people need your advice they need your presence. Before our need to be fixed we simply need to know we are loved and cared for. It’s in the giving and receiving of love that healing takes place. Being present creates space for them to thrive, heal and be transformed.

Who in your life needs you to be present for them today? In what ways has God been present in your own life? In what ways has he demonstrated his nearness to you? And in what ways could you be his reflection today? I promise you there is someone around you that just needs you to be present in their life. There is someone who simply needs to know that somebody would love them enough to think about them—to be near to them. Take time today to let someone know you are there for them. Listen, love, and watch as God works through you simply being present in the lives of others.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take a moment to reflect on God’s nearness to you. Receive his presence. Encounter his closeness.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”Psalm 139:7-12

2. Now ask the Spirit to show you someone who needs you to be present for them today. Spend some time thinking about and praying for that person.

3. Ask God how he would have you be present in their life. How can you be a reflection of God’s love to them today?

Have the courage to humble yourself before people around you. Count them as more significant than yourself. You being present isn’t about what they can give you in return or even how they appear to receive your love. Love selflessly today the way Jesus did, and experience the joy and peace that comes from serving rather than seeking to be served.

Extended Reading: Philippians 2

A Prayer to Stand Firm in Spiritual Battle..... By Debbie McDaniel

 A Prayer to Stand Firm in Spiritual Battle

By Debbie McDaniel

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12

We face an enemy here in this life. It's more than what we can see before us. It's more than another person who we think has wronged us. It's more than our own struggles and weaknesses we deal with or the negative self-talk we sometimes battle.

This enemy is real and fierce, and will stop at nothing to try to bring you defeat and destruction. Maybe you've noticed too. Because if you're a believer who is living like salt and light in a dark world, you won't go for long without encountering obstacles and attacks he'll hurl your direction. God's words are true, this battle is real, and intense.

If you're facing this today, please know you're not alone, neither are you left to fight alone. Many of us are in the battle with you, and God is the One who fights on behalf of His own, constantly shielding, protecting, strengthening, even when we're unaware. We never fight alone. He's with us. Always.

He's given us His words that are true and powerful, so that we'll have the wisdom to stand against the enemy. The reality of this powerful chapter is that Paul wrote these words while in chains, in prison. Yet the truth is - the enemy, no matter how vicious his schemes, can never chain our spirits that have been set free by Christ. Paul was not silenced by the cruel attacks from dark forces. Neither should we be.

We do not have to walk in fear. For when we belong to Christ, the enemy never has the final word.  We are secure in God's hands and He tells us to "stand firm." Whether in life, or in death, we may always be found standing firm for the cause of Christ.

Focusing here today, staying alert, and praying, that God will equip believers everywhere to "stand strong."

Press on – courageous and free – never held back by fear or defeat.

For God has the final victory over our lives...

Dear God,

We thank you that you hold the victory over sin and death in this world. We thank you for the redemptive work you’ve done in our lives.  We thank you for the freedom and the hope you bring.

Your word says to “stand our ground,” and that’s what we will do, in the power of your Name. The enemy has no control over us, and we bring your word of Truth as a weapon against his schemes. We know that we do not fight alone, for you are constantly at work on behalf of your children, shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

 We ask that you would give us wisdom and discernment to recognize the schemes of the enemy in our lives and to stand strong against his work.

We ask that you would remind us to pray, constantly, for all believers.

We ask that you would help us to stay alert in a dark world that tries hard to make things look “not so bad.”

We ask that you would equip us to be salt and light, that we would be loving and gracious, yet unyielding to sin.

We ask that you help us to remember to put on your armor daily, for you give us all that we need to stand firm in this day.

We thank you that though you remind us in your word that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one, you are still far greater and we have overcome, because you have set us free.

We thank you for your truth, “no weapon formed that is formed against you will prosper,” and that you tell us this is our “heritage” in you, our inherited blessing, place of possession, and gift straight from your hand.

We love you Lord. We need you.  We stand together in your great and powerful Name.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Who Cares about Leviticus?..... by Katherine Britton

 Who Cares about Leviticus?

by Katherine Britton

“You are to be holy to me, because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” – Leviticus 20:26

Like most evangelicals, I haven’t devoted much time to parsing Leviticus. After all, we live under the new covenant ushered in by Christ’s death and resurrection, and we’re Gentiles to boot. Leviticus was written for a particular people at a particular time, and vast sections of the book have been demoted to historical curiosities at this point. The fledgling kingdom of Israel – really, a collection of tribes that had more in common with their pagan neighbors than today’s Christian enclave – were on the other side of history’s turning point. For this emerging nation the Lord dictated incredibly detailed ceremonial law that has since passed away, as we have a new and perfect high priest.

Still, the apostle Paul insists that “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching” (2 Timothy 3:15). Remember, this is Paul speaking, the same apostle who vilified the Judaizers for insisting the law must be upheld in its minutae to achieve salvation, and who wrote that “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.” The resolution of the paradox might be a bit more apparent through the example of Park Street Church in Boston.

Pastor Daniel Harrell convinced 19 members of his congregation to join him in an experiment in “living Levitically,” despite the drastic changes they had to make in their daily living. The group grew out their beards, kept kosher, cleaned their homes meticulously, observed the Sabbath, and even stopped wearing clothes made from blended materials. One of the few exceptions to the experiment was animal sacrifice, as the group intended not to break any U.S. laws while observing the ceremonial ones.

The group found it absolutely impossible to obey every tenet. But the Park Street Church says that wasn’t the point. Seeing firsthand that they couldn’t perfectly fulfill the law, they realized the need for grace in a whole new way. As Romans 5:20 explains it, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

Could it be that, in ignoring Leviticus as a whole, we forget how awesome grace is? True, not every ceremonial law (washing your feet? Wearing blended materials?) is also a moral law. But God still told the Israelites to keep it as his law. Reading about the church’s example reminded me of a couple things:

First, God’s people are supposed to be set apart. The Israelites were supposed to look different, act different, worship different, and spend their time in different ways than the nations around them. It was an integral part of their calling as God’s people. The manifestations aren’t quite the same, but Christians have the same calling today.

Second, we aren’t set apart enough. As Park Street Church rediscovered, the law points out our insufficiencies. Even if the law were just a set of external rules, we still couldn’t keep them perfectly. We just can’t measure up to following the law or Christ’s example.

Third, only in Christ can we find rest from the law and a new identity that really sets us apart. The writer of Hebrews notes that the law is “only a shadow of the good things that are coming.” And yes, the law is a good thing – it makes us realize how much Christ had to atone for on our behalf. Not only that, God has adopted us as sons and daughters through Christ to really set us apart. And then he gives us the grace to live it. Sure, we’ll still fall, and that will remind us to run to grace. But the power of the law is gone through Christ.

Intersecting Faith & Life: This week, take time to read Hebrews 10  Notice how beautifully Christ not only supersedes the law, but fulfills all of its demands. That ought to inspire the worship that God desires more than the Israelites’ burnt offerings.