Need for Light.....By: Jennifer Waddle

 Need for Light (Revelation 22:5)

By: Jennifer Waddle

Today's Bible Verse: “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.” - Revelation 22:5 NKJV

As I get older, I find I don’t see as well in the dark. Searching for matching socks without turning on the light means I’ll likely end up with two different colors. And if I’m trying to read without adequate light, I automatically reach for the lamp.

That’s why I’ve always marveled at how Scripture reminds us that there will be no need for lamps or the light of the sun in Heaven. The Lord Himself will be our light. In fact, Revelation 21:23 describes the heavenly city of Jerusalem this way: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”

No need for the sun or moon…such a strange concept for us. Yet, it’s also a beautiful reminder of Jesus, the True Light, who gives light to everyone (John 1:9).

Today, it seems like more and more people are groping about aimlessly in the dark, their backs turned to the only Source of light they’ll ever need. The enemy has deceived them by making the darkness into a false light of freedom. However, the temporary feelings of liberty offered by the darkness will eventually be met with the light of truth.

1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

There will be a day when our faltering eyes will see Jesus as He is. Face to face, we will gaze into the eyes of the Lamb—the True Light who illuminates our hearts and exposes all things. Until that day, we must remain in Him. Through the dark days ahead, as the culture sinks deeper into the false light of the adversary, we must keep our lamps burning until the Bridegroom comes.

Be encouraged today. No matter how dim your circumstances seem, you can walk in the light as He is in the light. As 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

We have need of the light, need of the One who purifies us from all sin and keeps us until the day of His return. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking your eyesight is fine without Jesus. All the things of this earth will grow dim in the light of His glory. So even if your physical sight fades, and you end up with mismatched socks, you can rest assured the True Light is coming—the only light you’ll need for all eternity.

God Transforms Us Into New Creations.....Denison Ministries

 God Transforms Us Into New Creations

Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to heal you, deliver you, and set you free. May your life be forever changed as we spend time discovering God’s heart for transformation.

Scripture:“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Devotional:    

One of the greatest lies told to those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus relates to our old and new natures. So many believers live under the oppression of the lie that God in his grace may see us as clean, but at our core we're truly not. We live as if redemption in Jesus is like clean clothes covering up the dirt and filth that will always remain, and as if redemption is our get-to-heaven-free card. We hold fast to a belief that salvation was more of an illusion of redemption than an actual transformation. And those lies act like weights dragging us back to the ways and sins of our former selves.

Scripture could not speak more clearly of the opposite. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If you are in Christ today—if you are saved—then you are a new creation. The old hasn’t stuck around until you die; “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You see, the fact that you have been transformed into a new creation doesn’t have anything to do with your sins, failures, and beliefs. Transformation in Jesus is based on his power, not yours. Truth is based on his sacrifice, not your actions. You are a new creation totally and completely by the grace of God, apart from any of your works—as righteous or sinful as they may be. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Don’t live today with your experience as your truth. Don’t see yourself based on your works but rather on the truth of what Scripture says about you. If you will begin to believe that God truly has already transformed you into a new creation and reconciled you to himself simply by grace, then you will live and act on a foundation that births freedom and righteousness. But, if you set your mind on the things of the flesh, which is in opposition to the reality of transformation already worked in you at the cross, then you will live chained to the ways of your former self (Romans 8:6).

Take time today to reflect on your new nature in Jesus. Allow Scripture and the Holy Spirit to help you see yourself as one transformed and set free by grace. Commit yourself to live with grace as your source rather than your own strength. And experience freedom today that comes from living with a renewed mind.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on your new nature in Christ. Allow Scripture to be your foundation for truth, not your experience.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

2. Where does your life not line up with the truth that you are a new creation? What is entangling you to the things of the world? Where are you not experiencing the life of the Spirit?

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4

3. Confess any sin to God and ask for his help in living by the Spirit. Ask the Spirit for a revelation of what it looks like to live with him as your source rather than your own strength. Ask him for a heart-level revelation of your new nature.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Foundational to living a life that lines up with truth of who God says you are is living by grace. In our own strength we can accomplish nothing. We have no power over sin in and of ourselves. We have no power to live free from the ways of the world when we try to live based on our works. That’s why Romans 8:3 says, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.” He fulfilled the requirement of the law that we might live by grace. He set us free from living in our own strength by filling us with the Holy Spirit, our great Helper. Stop living in your own strength and learn to live by grace. Learn to feel, think, and act on the foundation of grace. Your heavenly Father who loves you has given you all you need to live as a new creation. He has done it all. So take hold of who you are in Jesus and experience a life transformed by the reality of God’s power and love. 

Extended Reading: Romans 8

Show Me The Money.....by Ryan Duncan

 Show Me The Money

by Ryan Duncan

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. - Malachi 3:10

Like many younger Christians, I have never been very good at tithing. Sure, I try to be generous, but I am never very consistent in my giving. Once in a while I’ll write a check for a good cause, support the occasional mission trip, but when it comes to the genuine, 10-percent of my labors tithes; I usually just give whatever happens to be in my wallet. There are a lot of excuses for my miserly behavior, but in all honesty, I think the real reason I didn’t tithe was because I just didn’t believe it was that important. Then I learned about Todd Stiefel.

Todd Stiefel is one of the major forces behind the modern atheist movement. His organization, the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, is behind the majority of atheist campaigns like flashy billboards, high-profile rallies, and other news-making efforts. According to CNN, Stiefel has poured over 3.5 million dollars of his own fortune into these projects. When asked why he would give so much to help fund these endeavors, Stiefel responded,

“I wanted to try to help the world. I wanted to give back and this seemed like the most productive way to help humanity.”

I can remember feeling very cold when I read that. Here was a man who did not believe in God. Here was a man who believed, fervently, that best way to help humanity was through the erosion of my faith. Worst of all, here was a man better at freely giving to what he believed in than I had ever been in all my years as a Christian. God had commanded me to give cheerfully, and my generosity was being upstaged by an atheist.

All dramatics aside, I think it’s important for us Christians to understand that tithing is a vital part of our faith. It teaches us not to put our faith in financial gain, it helps the Church support its leaders, and I think the act of giving helps us remain humble before God. He did not instruct tithing to rob us of our wealth; he commanded it so that the Church could provide for one another in times of need. Remember the words of Proverbs 11:24,

“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”

Intersecting Faith and Life: Take a moment to review your spending habits. Are you giving the Lord what is already his?

Further Reading

Acts 20:35

A Prayer for Clarity When Life Is Dark.....By: Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer for Clarity When Life Is Dark

By: Emily Rose Massey

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. - (1 John 1:5, NKJV).

It has been a tough few months for me, I won’t lie. Stress levels have been high. Nap times are fleeting and becoming very few and far between with my two (almost three) year old. We started homeschooling our Kindergartener. And in September, our family grew as we added another sweet prince to our bunch. I’m officially a momma to three boys now. To top it all off, we are experiencing colic for the first time with our newest (fussy) bundle of joy. Needless to say, the days (and nights) have been very long.

When I need a break, I have to try to sneak away before the sun or stay up late once everyone has finally fallen asleep. But my body is just tired and needs rest.

My soul is longing to release creative expression, but to be completely honest, I don’t have very much mental clarity to sit down and let the writing flow right now. I have felt so utterly distracted by my present circumstances.

Complaining and whining is such a temptation. And I will be the first to admit that I have had my moments.

But I know God wants me to find contentment regardless of my circumstances. He is pleased when I am grateful, even when my eyes cannot see past the junk and funk.

The question that has been on my heart lately is: Where is my focus? It is so easy to get caught up in my present situation and become distracted by the chaos around me that seems to completely overwhelm, but I know where my eyes need to be centered upon- the Lord, my ever-present help. The other night as I reflected upon all of this, I decided to Google the word “focus.”

The verb form’s definition of “focus” stirred me:

“Adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.”

Wow.

Prevailing level of light.

As a Christian, I know Who the “prevailing level of light” is because we find the answer in 1 John: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5, NKJV). If we adapt our eyes or focus our eyes on Jesus Christ, the Light, we are able to see clearly.

How easy it is for us to focus on what is right in front of our noses! How easy it is to get caught up in the chaos of life, begin to sink, and lose our hope!

But looking to the Lord shines a light on the reality of the circumstances and brings clarity once again! Suddenly, the Lord helps give us an eternal perspective and suddenly our problems begin to fade and seem so small standing next to Him.

So today, I am choosing to readjust my focus on the Light and trusting that I will be able to experience God’s peace and clarity no matter what my eyes see as He shines His light upon what truly matters and what truly brings rest in the midst of stress and the chaos.

Father,

I thank You for giving me Your Light when everything in my life seems so dark, dim, and dreary. Even though my circumstances may not change, may Your light shine in my life and give me clarity and a renewed vision so that I may see my life through the lens of eternity and what truly matters in this life. I pray for strength and fully trust that You will use my present circumstances to show me Your purpose in it as you conform me into the image of Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Come as You Are This Easter.....Rick Warren

 

Come as You Are This Easter

Rick Warren

“He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love” (Psalm 57:3a TLB).

There’s a myth that says you’ve got to clean up your act before you can come to God: “I’ve got to get it all together. There are a few things I’ve got to get right in my life first, and then I’ll come to God.”

It’s like brushing your teeth before going to the dentist to have your teeth cleaned or washing the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher or picking up the house before the maid gets there! Why do we do this?

The truth is, God doesn’t expect us to clean up our act before we approach him. The death and Resurrection of Jesus is God’s statement on that. Jesus spread out his arms and said, “I love you this much. Now, just come as you are.”

In Psalm 57:3, the Bible says, “He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love” (TLB). That’s what Jesus did on Easter. And that’s why we can bring our messes and failures to God.

There are people you know who think God will never love them because they’ve made such a mess of their lives. But you know God wants them to come as they are. Help them hear the Good News from Jesus. Invite them to come to church with you this Easter. It’s such a simple thing to do, but it can make a difference that will last for eternity.