God Desires to be Encountered...Craig Denison Ministries

 God Desires to be Encountered

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:“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Devotional:

There is a misconception in Christianity that we cannot tangibly encounter our heavenly Father. Often we’re taught that we are too broken, dirty, or sinful to experience God. We’re told that experiencing God is only for some people, or only for some nations and cultures. Or maybe as a result of a lack of experiencing God in the past we believe that we are made without something that allows us to encounter God. Maybe we believe that encountering God is for other people, but not for us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We encounter God because he desires to be encountered, not because we possess some special ability. We encounter God because he longs for us to know him, not because we are more holy than someone else. You see, encountering God is entirely based on his grace and love for us.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God promises us, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” All that is required of us to experience God is time and energy set aside to seek him. Let that truth settle into your heart for a moment. Allow your beliefs about encountering God to be renewed by his word. You can undoubtedly experience the living, active, and most high God right now because he desires for you to. He longs for you to experience him. His greatest desire is for his children to walk in the fullness of relationship available to them. He gets excited about the idea of tangibly revealing himself to you. He is filled with joy at the idea that you would experience all the love he has in his heart for you.

says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus did what no one else could. He made a way for us to tangibly experience our heavenly Father. Nothing can separate us from the love of our heavenly Father because Jesus has restored us completely into the fold of God. The curtain of the holy of holies was torn in two. The manifest presence of God was released by the sacrifice of Jesus for all the children of God to experience.

What do you feel is in the way of you experiencing your heavenly Father today? What past experience or present thoughts are keeping you from seeking God with all your heart. May Hebrews 10:19-22 guide you into a powerful encounter with your loving heavenly Father who desires for you to experience him today:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for you to encounter him.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27

2. Reflect on your own life. What do you believe stands between you and experiencing your heavenly Father? What sin do you believe has separated you from him? What belief has kept you from seeking God? What lie have you believed?

3. Allow Scripture to stir your confidence to seek the face of God. Believe Scripture over past experiences or beliefs. God desires you to seek him!

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” - Hebrews 10:19-22

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39

The enemy’s greatest desire for those of us already saved is to keep us from walking in the fullness of what God intends for his children. Satan can’t keep us from eternal life with God, but he can keep us from experiencing the abundant life available to us here. He knows God’s greatest desire is for relationship with us, so he will stop at nothing to keep God from having his desires satisfied. May your life be one marked by the fullness of what’s available to you in Christ. May you be a child of God who consistently and fully experiences the love of your heavenly Father.

Extended Reading: Acts 17:22-34

Hope When Life Just Doesn’t Make Sense...STACY LOWE

 Hope When Life Just Doesn’t Make Sense

STACY LOWE

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

My life has a lot of moving parts that I’m constantly trying to keep organized. But speaking reminders into my phone is a great way to help.

Instead of voicing well-structured sentences and ideas, though, I tend to speak in a shortened code of sorts. Most of the time, this works out well. Sometimes, though? Not so much.

Not too long ago, I spoke such a direction to my phone. Instead of complying, my phone verbalized that it didn’t understand what I meant. Not that it couldn’t understand the words, but it didn’t understand the meaning behind them.

I tried again with the same results. Frustrated, I spoke at my phone, “You don’t need to understand because I know what it means. Please just do what I’m asking!”

Truthfully, though, I can relate to my phone. Maybe you can, too.

There are days I wonder what in the world God could possibly be up to with my life. Surely, this piece of who and how I am couldn’t possibly be a part of His plan. This piece must be a mistake.

But then there are today’s key verses from Isaiah:

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

If God’s thoughts are nothing like my own, and neither are His ways, it stands to reason there will be times when I don’t understand. There will be situations where nothing makes sense to me. And that can be hard because I want to know how it all fits together. If I could just understand the purpose behind this one thing, it would make it all so much easier to swallow.

Just like my phone, though, I don’t need to know what it all means — because He does.

God sees a far bigger picture than we could ever hope to grasp. He sees how each part of who and how we are fits into the tapestry He’s been weaving since before time began. Even those broken pieces from living in a broken world are made into something beautiful and useful when placed in His hands.

While we may not understand it all in the moment, one day we will. One day, we will see how God lovingly looked after each and every detail of our lives to bring His plans and purposes to fruition. Until then, we can remember God’s incredible love for us and choose to trust Him.

That’s what I’m choosing today. Will you do the same?

Father, life can be hard, and sometimes none of it seems to make sense. There are times I really wish I could see the bigger picture. But You do. And You also love me more than I could ever imagine. Help me to remember that and trust You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Goal Setting The Key to Success...Dr. Charles Stanley

 Goal Setting The Key to Success

Dr. Charles Stanley

Philippians 3:7-14

What three goals would you set for your life if you knew that you could achieve them? Would any of them be spiritual in nature? The apostle Paul was one of the most goal-oriented people in the Bible, yet he understood which pursuits were the most important. His chief ambition was to know Christ, His resurrection power, and the fellowship of His suffering (v. 10).

We'd all do well to adopt these goals, but they sound so broad. How do we put them into practice? First, it's important to comprehend that a goal is a purpose or direction toward which we work. This concept is fairly easy to understand when we're talking about specific objectives like going to bed earlier or losing ten pounds, but what steps would you need to take in order to achieve spiritual goals like Paul's?

Success requires choosing steps that are specific, reasonable, and measurable. For example, if you want to know Christ more intimately, you might commit to spending 30 minutes each day praying and reading His Word. After developing your plan and the steps to accomplish it, put your desire into action. If you don't take the necessary steps, it will simply remain a wish. No one develops intimacy with Christ through good intentions; it takes commitment, diligence, and perseverance.

If you feel as if your faith is lacking vitality, it may be that you've become spiritually lazy. No one intends to slip into complacency. But unless you set some specific goals and work to achieve them, you'll drift through life and miss the greatest accomplishment of all--learning to know Christ intimately.

How to Stop Judging By Appearance Alone...By Rachael Adams

 How to Stop Judging By Appearance Alone (1 Samuel 16:7)

By Rachael Adams

Today’s Bible Verse: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

The first time I saw my husband, he had a black eye. My immediate thought was, He sure is cute, but I’ll bet he’s trouble. I better stay away from him. I imagine God getting a good chuckle from this first interaction. He knew what Bryan would mean to me in the future, but I didn’t.

Later, I learned the real reason behind his questionable appearance. He was a college athlete and the black eye was from playing competitively during practice earlier that day. We laugh about it now, but I can’t help thinking: What if I had let my inaccurate assumption about him prevent him from becoming my husband? What a tragedy that would have been to my now-happy family of four.

I wish I could tell you I’ve learned my lesson about judging based on appearance alone, but it’s something with which I still struggle. I wonder if you struggle with this tendency, too? Perhaps, like me, you're tempted to make inaccurate assumptions based on gender, race, age, and even personal style.

It’s so easy to assume that we won’t have anything in common with those who are different from we are, so we don’t make an effort to connect at all. But what kind of beautiful relationship could God be trying to give you if you only opened your heart and mind to it?

One of my favorite biblical teachings on this subject is from 1 Samuel 16. The Lord commanded Samuel to visit Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king. When Samuel arrived, he saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel sent for him, and when David arrived, the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

Samuel made wrong assumptions and even David’s own father made wrong assumptions about who would be king. People made wrong assumptions about Jesus as King too. They thought He would come into the world with pomp and circumstance, but He came as a humble baby in a manger. All the way to the cross, people made the wrong assumptions about the Man who was the Savior of the world. And how heartbreaking to miss Him?

Let us not make the same mistake. We don’t want to be judged or counted out based on our own appearance. Therefore, may we view everyone as a person made in God’s image—each person fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. With this truth in mind, the only safe assumption is that everyone has value and is worthy of love. Let us not focus on the outer appearance and risk missing out on God-given connections. Instead, may we look at the heart and see the beautiful relationships God might have in store.

A Prayer to Wage War on Distraction...By Chelsey DeMatteis

 A Prayer to Wage War on Distraction

By Chelsey DeMatteis 

“He will be our peace.” - Micah 5:5

Over the last few years, we’ve watched the war waged against us and our children through our inability to shut off technology. Studies have shown us it not only has technology grown anxiety issues, destroyed marriages, squandered true vulnerability, watered down the way we have relationships, and one of the biggest impacts of all, taken childhood from children. It's changed the way parents parent - even Christian parents. It's turned many into less intentional, self-serving, and reliant on “things” of this world people, rather than parents who cling to God’s great commands and design for those who have been given the high calling of training up children. 

I speak this all with conviction. Technology has become a cop-out, the cry of depraved hearts who want to serve themselves. While yes, there are some good things that come from it, the bad I believe far outweighs the good. I find that the most destructive area technology has fallen in has been the God-gifted time He has given us with our children. Many of us have fallen in and out of this vicious cycle, only to find ourselves knee-deep in the broken hearts of seeing we chose our want for quiet over engaging with them. 

One afternoon as I popped my son in the car, we got about 10 minutes into a not-so-long car ride, and I noticed I left the movie player at home. “Shoot,” I said quickly, hoping a tear-filled ride was not to come, I just wanted peace. In the next moment, I had a great awakening, a God awakening. 

It was the kind of awakening that takes place when the Lord has been knocking at the door of my heart while I’ve pridefully been choosing not to listen. Well that afternoon, it all changed. While I was panicking that my peace would be disrupted, my son started talking to me about everything he was seeing out the windows. It was a non-stop flow of what the trees looked like and asking what the signs meant. He was telling me about all the animals, and all the precious things I’d been missing when I chose to create “my peace” over God’s desires for motherhood.

You see, we’ve somehow bought into the lie that we can manufacture peace. That peace somehow looks like giving our children something to keep them quiet. The enemy has fed the lie that peace means no disruptions or distractions. A lie that most homes around the world have bought into. I pray today, that your heart and mine will agree that we cannot do this anymore. We need to learn what God's peace looks like and live from that as we steward our children!

Here are 4 examples I wanted to share. Two straight from the mouth of Jesus and two from the Old Testament.

-“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

-“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” - John 14:27

-“For we are powerless against this great horde coming against us, for we do not know what to do but our eyes are on you.” -  2 Chronicles 20:12

-“He will be our peace.” - Micah 5:5

The bottom line is this, the enemy wants parents distracted, disheveled, and dependent on the world. The enemy wants us gluing our children's eyes to screens, why? Because parents who are bought into the lie of manufactured peace, are too busy to be pointing their children to Jesus. So moms and dads, as we walk boldly in the position of parenthood God has given us, we must rise up to live by the standard of His commands. We must see the cost is too high to leave unattended. We must hold fast to what we know is true and diligently teach it to our children. We must seek our peace from the only source, our Savior. Embrace interruptions celebrated the conversations in the car, and love your little people well.

Let’s pray:

Lord, I’m sorry I have continued to think of peace at such an earthly level. I repent for my desire to put a screen in front of my child so that I can press pause on the high calling of being a mother to a child you created and entrusted to me. Help me seek you in those moments I want to turn on the show, hand over the phone, or grab any device to please my flesh. Remind me that You are my peace (Micah 5:5) and that nothing can steal that promise away from me.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

From a Desolate Pit to a Song of Praise...By Aaron Brown

 From a Desolate Pit to a Song of Praise

By Aaron Brown

“I waited patiently for the Lord, and he turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40: 1-3)

A Desolate Pit

The Bible is marked by many different instances of suffering. The Isralities wandered the wilderness for forty years. Job lost his family and fortune. Jesus was put to death on the cross. The reasons for these tragedies vary, but the outcome is the same. Sorrow. Pain. Tears.

In our own lives we bear witness to different tragedies, some of which we expect, others that come as a surprise. Death. Illness. Conflict.

In the face of hardship, we can easily find ourselves in the same place mentioned in this psalm, the desolate pit. This is a place without hope, without faith, a dark place where we feel stuck.

However, as evidenced in this psalm, along with the Bible’s stories of the Israelities, Job, and Jesus, the desolate pit is not the final destination for those who put their faith in the Lord. 

There is hope, and with hope comes a song of praise.

A Song of Praise

In the aforementioned psalm, David is doing two things - waiting and praying. This allows him to maintain the correct perspective of both his circumstances and his God. Though he laments and cries, David also knows God. He trusts God’s ability to provide and deliver him from tragedy. Thus, he decides to pray.

In his prayer, David possesses such a confidence in the Lord, that he is able to wait on God's answer patiently. This is patience - waiting without complaint. David doesn’t pretend to be happy, he cries. Yet, he also does not delude himself into believing the desolate pit is his home. He has hope.

As he waits and as he prays, God does eventually answer David. Out of the pit he comes and onto rock he stands.

There’s a contrast between the muddy clay and the rock. The former is unstable. The latter is firm and secure, much like God’s sovereignty over David's life, and much like David’s faith in God.

After being restored and delivered, God gives David a new song, that is, a new experience of which to glorify God’s name. With the faith that David already held before, he has now been reaffirmed all the more.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
With enough age and experience, each of us will eventually relate to this psalm. There will be multiple desolate pits we encounter in life, but with them come many opportunities to find new songs as well. What’s difficult about being in the pit is that sometimes we sink so deep that we lose sight of God. Our vision grows dark, pitch black even. And without our sight, our perspective turns bleak. We don’t see God, only the circumstance. 

Instead of hope, we have despair. And there’s seemingly no faith we can muster. We’re even tempted to wonder, how long? We complain and lament the suffering as unfair, unwarranted, and completely devastating. If only God would just help us and prove that He cared. In truth, God’s love hasn’t changed, only our perspective of Him.

Even when we fall, even when we fall deep, there is always hope. We know this because though circumstances vary, though we change over time, God is always the same. The deliverance He offered in one season of life can and will come again. We just have to believe. And if we are having a hard time believing then we must find ways to remind ourselves of this truth. Scripture helps, as does community, notes on the bathroom memory, a Sunday sermon. The truth is that escaping the desolate pit is not a matter of if but when. That’s a great song to be able to sing.

Future Reading (and Listening):

Psalm 13:1-6
Psalm 34:17
Romans 8:28
Hebrews 13:8