God is Good...Craig Denison Ministries

 God is Good

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview: 

It’s vital to the Christian life that we as sons and daughters of the most high God allow our affections to be stirred by the loving, powerful nature of our heavenly Father. Too often we feel that God is distant or separated from us. Too often we allow misconceptions or lies to place a rift between us and experiencing God. It’s in reminding ourselves of God’s character that lies are broken and a pathway is laid for us to encounter his tangible love. Open your heart and mind and receive fresh revelation of the goodness of God this week. Allow your affections to be stirred and your heart to be filled with desire to seek the face of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” - Psalm 27:13

Devotional:

God is good. What emotion does that fact stir in you? I know for some this phrase stirs up unspeakable joy, while others of us seem to be immune to its emotion in our lives. I believe the issue for many of us is that the phrase “God is good” is so frequently said and so infrequently experienced. For many of us we are just told that God is good from a young age, but we are seldom given the chance to experience that goodness. Goodness is something meant to be experienced and then believed, not the other way around.

David said that he would look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He had already seen God's goodness in his life and believed that he would see it again. He knew for a fact that God was good and therefore he sought to experience that goodness. It's that same heart that the Sons of Korah had in the famous Psalm 84, singing, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God . . . For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:1-2,10). That sounds like the worship of a good God, a goodness that had been experienced.

When was the last time you experienced the goodness of God? Psalm 33:5 says, “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” God's goodness is here, just waiting to be experienced. James 1:17 says, “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.” God is always good, and every good and perfect gift you've received is from him! He demonstrates his goodness to us in innumerable ways, all the time. How is it then that we don't recognize it? How is it that we can be surrounded by God's goodness and not experience it?

God has proven in Scripture that he works in our midst demonstrating his goodness, but we have to take time to listen and respond to these demonstrations. In Psalm 27 God says to David, “Seek my face,” and David responds, “My heart says to you, your face, Lord, do I seek.” When God says "seek" he uses a Hebrew word that is meant for more than one person. God calls all of us, his people, to “seek my face.” Then in response we are to say, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Take time today to respond to God's invitation of goodness. Seek to look upon his face and to experience his goodness. He has laid a banquet table before you and is simply asking you to come and dine with him.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take time to quiet yourself and receive God's presence. Meditate on this verse:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

2. Respond to his goodness by telling the Lord:

“My heart says to you, Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8

3. Make David's prayer yours today:

“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

Take time to make that prayer your own throughout your day today. Memorize it. Write it on your heart so that you can experience the goodness of God throughout your day. It only takes a minute to receive his presence and have the joy and peace that can only be found in Christ Jesus.

Extended Reading: Psalm 27

Trusting God for Comfort in Weary Seasons...MELISSA SPOELSTRA

 Trusting God for Comfort in Weary Seasons

MELISSA SPOELSTRA 

“But those who trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

I left the Zoom meeting and raced out of the house, hoping to stop at Target to pick up a gift to bring to my lunch appointment.

As I sped into the store, I got a call from my caseworker. She wanted to discuss some concerns regarding our foster son. I talked with her while quickly getting what I needed and then plugged the restaurant’s address into my phone.

The ETA revealed I was going to be late, and I hate being late. With thoughts of my foster son and my tardiness invading my mind, I found parking and realized the meter required me to download an app on my phone and enter payment information. Whatever happened to good old quarters in a meter?

I hurriedly completed the task, slammed the car door and began walking to the restaurant. Then it hit me — I forgot to grab a face mask. Since this happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and the restaurant had a mask mandate, I couldn’t enter without one.

So I ran back to the car and then searched my pockets for my key. It wasn’t there. I peeked into my vehicle and saw it on the passenger seat.

After my husband brought me a spare key, I finally arrived home later, exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally.

I’ll bet you’ve had days like this, too — maybe even weeks or months of weariness. In these situations, I crave my favorite creature comforts — watching television, eating ice cream, or scrolling through social media to distract myself from fatigue and frustration. None of these things are inherently sinful, but I wonder how my soul is affected when I make a habit of comforting myself with methods of escape that aren’t necessarily healthy.

An Old Testament prophet named Isaiah addressed the need to turn from counterfeit comforts in order to receive God’s genuine comfort. The original audience of Isaiah’s message had tried to bring God down to their level by thinking of Him as weary or forgetful. We can also be in danger of reducing our magnificent God to our human frailties. Many of us can relate to doubting whether God sees or intervenes during our times of weariness — or even in more significant times of distress when we grieve losses, experience betrayal or encounter difficult circumstances.

Isaiah used these questions to remind Israel of God’s character: “Have you never heard? Have you never understood?” (Isaiah 40:28a-b, NLT). In essence, he was saying, “Don’t you know who your God really is?” God is the everlasting Creator of the whole earth. He doesn’t get weary like we do, and the depths of His understanding can’t be measured.

Isaiah ends Chapter 40 with this encouragement: “But those who trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Some Bible translations use the word “wait” while others use “trust” to describe those who will find new strength. If we are trusting, waiting and hoping in the Lord, our counterfeit comforts lose their luster.

Isaiah makes a case that it isn’t duty but delight to experience God’s comfort. I don’t want to swat at my bad habits, willing myself to stop watching television or eating ice cream, but rather enlarge my view of the Lord so it deepens my belief. This is how we move from surface-level behavior modification to heart-level transformation.

When you have a weary day or season, I pray you will trust in the Lord to renew your strength rather than reaching for remotes or refreshments. Our creature comforts may provide temporary distraction, but they will not restore our souls. God knows all about long meetings, unexpected phone calls, keys locked in cars, and the more significant losses and frustrations that lead to your exhaustion. He calls you to trust Him for the power and strength you will never find in counterfeit comforts.

Lord, You are the everlasting God, the Creator of heaven and earth. I’m so glad You never grow tired of my constant need for Your strength. I get frustrated and weary often, and I need You. Help me to remember how big You are — especially in my moments of fatigue when I think temporary distractions are the answer. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Feasting on the Word...Dr. Charles Stanley

 Feasting on the Word

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Peter 2:2-3

Did you ever watch an infant take a feeding? Hungry little ones clutch the bottle, smack their lips, and make soft contented noises. They thoroughly enjoy their nourishment. But there comes a time when milk isn’t enough to satiate baby’s appetite anymore. That’s when a whole world of culinary possibilities opens up.

Comparing new believers to babies, Peter said that they “long for the pure milk of the word” (v. 2). You wouldn’t feed a newborn steak and spinach, would you? Well, baby Christians must sip scriptural truths that they understand. Then, like a growing child, they shoot up as they feast on Bible passages, gradually taking in more and meatier principles and topics.

Believers are not left alone to make sense of Scripture any more than babies and young children are expected to get their own meals. The Holy Spirit, who indwells God’s followers, illuminates the Word. That is, He makes the meaning clear to those who seek to understand. Moreover, according to Ephesians 4:11-16, God has given gifted Christians to the church to act as pastors and teachers. They are charged with equipping the saints for service (v. 12). These leaders instruct, clarify, and motivate people to grow in their personal faith and to fulfill the church’s purpose of reaching the lost.

God’s Word is a feast for our heart, mind, and spirit. This is one banquet table where there is no such thing as taking too much. In fact, the advice many parents give their children at the dinner table applies to the Christian life as well: “Eat up! Scriptural food makes you grow strong."

What Happened When Adam Failed...By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 What Happened When Adam Failed (Genesis 3:12-13)

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” -  Genesis 3:12-13 (ESV)

Genesis 3 reads like one intense game of finger-pointing. God questioned Adam while he was hiding, and Adam blamed Eve. Then God questioned Eve, so Eve blamed the serpent.

Sound familiar? I don’t know about you, but I can be pretty quick to cast blame far away from myself after I sin, too. It’s like I try to toss it up in the air, hoping it sticks to anything at all when it lands and distract the attention away from myself. Guess what? That’s part of our depraved nature. I bet your kids do that too, don’t they? They don’t have to be taught to lie, exaggerate, stretch the truth, or point the finger of blame. It comes to them as a fleshly, sinful survival method. 

The ironic truth is the only true survival method is found in confession and repentance. Adam and Eve figured that out eventually, but not before it was too late for their freedom in the Garden.

After the serpent tempted Eve and she fell into sin, it’s noted in verse six that Adam was right there. (Genesis 3:6 ESV) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Even as Eve took that first bite, Adam failed his husbandly role with her.

That might sound familiar too, huh? A husband not being protective. A husband causing hurt instead of compassion. A husband following instead of leading. Even as far back as the Garden of Eden, man has struggled to fulfill his God-given role. Adam failed Eve. (Eve also failed Adam, but that’s a devotional for a different day!)

You don’t have to look far to find a woman who has been disappointed by a man. When God questioned Adam, he immediately pointed to Eve and said (vs 3:12 ESV) “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.

I can only imagine Eve’s face when Adam said, “the woman you gave me.” Ouch! Instead of blaming Adam back, Eve turned and blamed the serpent. Sure, the serpent was involved in the deception, but at the end of the day, Eve’s sin was her own choice. Adam’s sin to follow her was his own choice. And in those choices, death sprung to life.

The consequences of this exchange between God, Adam and Eve we still experience today. Man was cursed with futile work. Woman was cursed with painful childbearing and with an endless power struggle against her husband. The earth was cursed. The serpent was cursed. Death entered the world.

But what’s beautiful here is that Jesus, through the Gospel, stepped in and more than fulfilled the role that Adam failed.

Romans 5:19 (ESV) For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

There’s no good news without bad news. Adam and Eve are the poster kids for the bad news, but in Geneses 3:15 (ESV) we have the first glimpse of hope. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The first glimpse of Christ.

Adam failed Eve in the Garden by standing there while she was being deceived by the serpent, by not speaking up for God’s Word, and by not taking charge of the situation and leading her away from temptation. But Jesus stepped in to fulfill all of our failures. Because of God’s love for us, and because of His holiness and justness, He made a way to atone for our sin and failures by becoming the perfect sacrificial lamb. By living a sinless life, dying, experiencing the wrath of God poured out, and rising again, Jesus fulfilled it all. He covered Adam’s sin. Eve’s sin. Yours. And mine.

Your husband will fail you. You’ll fail him too. You’ll fail your kids and your friends and your co-workers. And they’ll all fail you. But because of Christ, we can forgive ourselves and others. As believers in Jesus, we can move forward despite our failures because they’re remembered no more at the foot of the cross.

Because Jesus paid it all.

A Prayer for Mothers...By Emma Danzey

 A Prayer for Mothers

By Emma Danzey

Proverbs 31:28-29 says, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’”

That first moment of seeing those two lines on a pregnancy test and a woman’s life is changed. The journey of pregnancy and carrying a child (or children) in the womb leads to the first meeting at birth. The difficulties faced during pregnancy change to new challenges of raising and taking care of a child in this sin-filled world. Motherhood is a blessing, it is a calling, and it is a sanctifying process. Just like Jesus loved and honored his earthly mother Mary, we are to honor our mothers and show gratitude for the love and sacrifice they have made.

Today’s verse reminds us, that God values mothers. He blesses them. He honors them. We acknowledge that many women struggle to have physical children or never marry. However, we are all called to invest as mothers into the next generation. Whether a biological mother or a spiritual mother, all women who are pouring out their lives for the sake of the gospel to children are mothering and we are grateful for their service of love.

Let's Pray:

Lord,

I praise You for the reminder that you value mothers. Thank you that children rise up and call their mothers blessed. Even when moms do mundane and often unseen tasks, help them to remember that they are always recognized and noticed by You. Thank you that even if not in the moments of discipline or the “Nos” that eventually children grow and realize the protection, care, and support from healthy parents.

Thank you for those who recognize us as mother figures in their lives. For those whom we are able to mentor and train up in the ways of God. For the spiritual children You have entrusted to us. Thank you for purpose in raising up the next generation of believers. Thank you for valuing and honoring women who are unable to physically carry babies, but step up in other ways like ministries, adoption, fostering, and mentoring. You are the God over every story and You give us purpose in life.

Thank you for husbands who work alongside mothers to parent and model healthy relationships to kids. For the men who love and honor mothers so beautifully. Who speak highly of their wives and model Your love in the home. Thank you for supporting and being a Husband to the single mother who works so hard to raise her kids and love them well. You value her and walk the journey with her. You care for her every need. 

Lord, we pray over mothers to realize their great worth today. That in moments of chaos, their souls find rest in You. That in the tiredness of parenting, they can be refreshed by Your presence. That in the moments of tears and pain, they can remember that You catch their tears in a bottle. Help them to see that they are valued and have a beautiful calling in this life. Enable their lives to overflow with gratitude and joy. Give them wisdom in boundaries and clarity in decision-making. Help mothers not to stay isolated, but press in to community. Give them Your grace for themselves and their children. 

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13) Lord, thank you for a mother’s comfort. Thank you that You are our Comforter and You will always be there for us. Even mothers themselves need to be held and safe. Please meet moms and show Yourself as their Comforter today.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, ”And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” God, help mothers everywhere to take this command seriously. Help us to diligently teach your gospel and Your Bible to our children. Help us to regularly incorporate Your Word into our everyday lives so that our young ones can learn about the purpose of life and Your salvation.

Thank you for entrusting mothers with the mission of teaching their children about Jesus’ salvation plan and witnessing to the next generation. Amen. 

I Am the Good Shepherd...By Emma Danzey

 I Am the Good Shepherd

By Emma Danzey

John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

What Is a Shepherd’s Role?

Jesus is the Shepherd and we are the sheep. He says that He lays down His life for us. This is not because we deserved it, but out of His great love for us. It can be very easy to try to be independent from God. We so often get into our own mindsets in thinking we are in control and we do not need the Lord. However, this verse makes it clear that we not only need Jesus, we cannot survive without Him. We are called in Christ to be dependent as sheep are on their shepherd.

Our great Savior Jesus calls Himself our Good Shepherd. A shepherd’s main role is to love the sheep, protect them, guide them, and care for their needs. Sheep are completely dependent upon their shepherd. Sheep are helpless without the guidance of a shepherd.

The Love of our Good Shepherd

Jesus loves us each individually. We might be our own persons among many sheep, however, we are specially known and loved by our Good Shepherd. Scripture tells us in Matthew 18:12 that if one sheep wanders from His flock, He goes after that one and leaves the ninety-nine to rescue that particular sheep. This is the love and care that our God has for us. He values each person in His family of faith.

We live in a society where numbers matter and people are often seen as just faces in a crowd or on a social media app. Luke 15:7 says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” When we ponder Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we need to remember that He truly cares about us individually. Just like a Shepherd knows His sheep by name, our God knows us each by name, thinks about us and desires relationship with us. This love is truly amazing.

An Enemy Is After the Flock

Matthew 7:15 says, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

The Bible warns us of wolves that try to disguise themselves as sheep in God’s family, however they are deceivers and false prophets. Our Good Shepherd is aware of our weaknesses and our susceptibility to deceit, so He reminds us constantly that His voice alone is the One we are to ultimately follow. There are many voices in this world, some will direct us to the Lord in Scripture, but others will twist the Word of God just like Satan did when tempting Jesus in the wilderness. It is our responsibility as sheep to always go back to what our Good Shepherd says. We can fully trust in Him and know that He has the best plan for our lives. We can confidently test the teachings of pastors, the health of a church, and the authenticity of a person with the Bible in our hands and hearts.

The Good Shepherd Leads Us Daily 

Our Good Shepherd leads us each day. He meets our needs and walks with us. He shows us the best path. Psalm 23:2-3 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Jesus leads us down the best paths for His glory. This does not say the easy path or the popular path, but it is that path of blessing and the journey of walking closely with our Savior. It can be very challenging to walk the narrow path of faith and not stray from it. However, our Good Shepherd is always there to guide us. When a question comes up or we are seeking direction in life, we can pray with confidence and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in the way that we should go. No, this may not always be the easiest route, but it will always be the best one when our Shepherd is leading.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
How is remembering that you are a sheep helpful when thinking about Jesus as your Good Shepherd? How does this parable teach you about the great love that Jesus has for you? How can you be more careful to listen to the voice of God in your life rather than the world around you? 

Further Reading:

• Matthew 18:12
• Luke 15:7
• Psalm 23:2-3