Friendship with the Holy Spirit...Craig Denison Ministries

 Friendship with the Holy Spirit

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

As believers, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, Teacher, Friend, and seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God. His presence, guidance, and wisdom in our lives are our greatest gifts while here on earth. Through him we have access to direct connection with our heavenly Father. Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us. And through him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life. Open your heart and mind to all that the Holy Spirit would give you, show you, and lead you to this week.

Scripture: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14

Devotional:

In friendship with the Holy Spirit we begin to experience a sense of wholeness and joy unattainable through any other relationship or aspect of life. Rapid and wonderful transformation results when you discover the wealth of love that comes with continual, real friendship with the living God. In friendship with God comes peace, security, honesty, healing, and freedom. As you live your life in step with the Spirit, you experience what Adam and Eve experienced as they walked with God himself in the Garden of Eden. You discover the vast reservoir of love, affection, and perfect help that’s available to you in the Holy Spirit. Open your heart today to receive a fresh revelation of God’s desire for friendship with you through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” God longs for friendship with his people. And through the Holy Spirit we have a continual connection with God available to us. The Spirit desires to do life with you. He wants to guide you, speak to you, and love you. He wants to satisfy your longing for relationship and can do so in greater ways than you can imagine.

John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” By God’s grace you have been filled with God himself. You have dwelling with you the same Spirit who authored Scripture, raised Christ from the dead, empowered the disciples, and hovered over the waters at the creation of all things. And Scripture says that he longs to help you! Jesus calls him the “Helper.” How incredible is the grace of our God to offer us relationship with the Holy Spirit! How great is his love that he would send his Son to die that we might have abundant life for all of eternity, including right now!

So, how do we grow in friendship with the Holy Spirit? How do we allow him to satisfy our desire for relationship? Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” And Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Friendship with the Holy Spirit starts like any other true friendship. We must respect, love, and make time for him. We must learn what he likes and dislikes. And we must apologize when we do something that hurts him. The Holy Spirit has feelings like any other person. But he is also full of grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Friendship with him comes about by following his leadership, making time to ask him how he feels about things, and following his guidance away from a lifestyle of sin into the righteousness available to you through Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is waiting right now to guide you into friendship with him. He’s excited about the idea of pouring out his love and affections on you. He longs to lead you away from the sins that hurt you and grieve him. And he longs to guide you toward a life of walking with him in relationship. Spend time in prayer being filled with the Holy Spirit afresh and making room to discover the reality of his presence in your life.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for friendship with you.

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to pour his love out on you. Ask him to make the reality of his nearness known to you. Be filled with desire to live your life in relationship with this real, tangible God who loves you.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit what he likes and doesn’t like. Open your life and let him speak to you about whatever is causing you trouble. Ask him how he feels about relationships, situations, thoughts, and perspectives you have. The Spirit loves to speak to us and help us.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

Often we separate out what we think God cares about and what just seems to be normal, worldly parts of life. But God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be there for us in everything we do. He wants to fill us with grace and joy to do all the things set before us, from taking out the trash to washing dishes to leading thousands of people in prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to come in and work in every area of your life and discover the wealth of knowledge and love your God has to share with you.

Extended Reading: John 14

The Standards That Matter...By Meg Bucher

 The Standards That Matter (2 Corinthians 10:12)

By Meg Bucher

“Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” 2 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV)

2 Corinthians 10:12 is aimed at the false teachers of Paul’s day. They thought so highly of themselves that they failed to see that their measure of righteousness was a faulty one. Paul is reminding his readers that the standard above all standards is Jesus. And God’s standards on our lives mean more than anyone else’s … even our own. It’s in our human nature to seek confirmation for a job well-done and a path well-traveled. We look for evidence that we’ve done the best we can do with what we’ve been given, but our measure of righteousness is focused on man, not God.

No human standard that will ever fulfill us. Only Christ’s approval will provide the peace we are seeking in this life. The world’s standards will tell us that we need to achieve certain benchmarks to be happy. One after another we will reach, pass, and move on to the next one… never feeling fully satisfied.

There’s only one way for each life to attain true peace. That’s why comparison is so dangerous. We chase someone else’s benchmark, and all the while miss our own. Jesus died so that we could stop chasing aimlessly.

Live according to God’s standards, which you can find in His living and active Word. The more time we spend with Him, the further anchored we will become in His purpose for our lives. All other standards will become foolish when we are rooted in Christ.

Let's pray now that our measure of righteousness would be fixed in Christ and no other worldly standard:

Father, we praise you for your protection and your guidance. Thank you for your Living Word, which guides our lives perfectly, and your son Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, which grants us the grace to interpret it. Forgive us for forging our own way, the world’s way. Bless our lives to seek your way. For we know your way is always bigger and better than anything we could ever ask for or imagine.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

A Prayer to Keep Pressing Forward...By: Alisha Headley

 A Prayer to Keep Pressing Forward

By: Alisha Headley

“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Have you ever wondered how the Apostle Paul wrote such profound words in today’s Scripture verse? Nothing but Spirit-breathed confidence in Christ could cause a man with such a past as Paul’s to pen such beautiful words of forward-looking redemption.

Before he went by the name Paul, he was referred to as the imprisoned Saul. Paul was a murderer before he wrote almost half of the New Testament book. Not only was he a murderer, but he was a murderer of Christians. This was a man who murdered those that served the Christ that he would one day spend the rest of his days following and committed to. His name change matched his soul change after his conversion.

I can’t help but wonder if this is where today’s verse derives from. Paul had a choice: he could live in guilt and condemnation in his old identity, or, he could choose to accept his new identity in Christ. He chose to take off the label from his past and partner with God in His Kingdom work. And what a glorious work he did helping build out the church and spreading the gospel.

Although he ended up playing an impacting role in preaching the good news, I imagined he wrestled with these memories from the past and wished a million times he didn’t do these things of which he was guilty. And therefore, he wrote a Scripture verse that can be true to us today; for those of us that are holding onto labels from our past, from our past mistakes and failures. The verse emphasizes to “forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead.” Paul chose to own his past and turn his mess of a past into some of the greatest messages in the Bible. God never erased his story; He authored it for a purpose, an unbelievable purpose! He can do the same with our story too.

Let’s take this as a reminder to choose to remember that God is bigger than any labels from our past. Paul’s story, like ours, is a representation of the Gospel. Through the same love and forgiveness, we can use our stories for a beautiful redemptive purpose too. 

Let’s pray.

Dear Lord,

We thank you that you are a God of not just second chances, but never-ending chances. That you are a God of love and forgiveness. That you don’t want us to live in our past forever. Your Word says in Romans 8:8 that we know “that all things work together for good to those that are called according to your purpose.” Lord, we ask that you turn all our past to our purpose for your Kingdom.

We choose to be obedient to you and partner with you. As you invest your Heavenly purpose in us, may we be your earthly vessels and used by you just as Paul was. Thank you, Lord, for the example of Paul in the Bible. For someone who chose to rid himself of his former identity and walk in his new identity in you. For we are a “new creation in you; the old things have passed away, and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Thank you, Father, that you are the author of our lives and you can turn our past into our purpose. We worship you and praise you for you look at us and all you have overcome in us, and still see the beauty you created. Use us Lord, just like Paul, as instruments in your hand for whatever purpose you’ve chosen for us to be and to become. We love you and choose to follow you this day.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

Cling to God...By Anne Peterson

 Cling to God

By Anne Peterson

“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast (cling) to him.” - Deuteronomy 13:4

I was there again. Feeling raw, as tears rolled down my face. Why did life have to be so hard? And yet, I knew what I had to do. I needed to cling to God. Maybe things happen in your life that you don’t understand either.

If only God would whisk us away to heaven right after we accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us. But that’s not the case. If God did that, heaven would be filled with baby Christians with undeveloped faith muscles. Instead, God wants us to walk with Him while we’re here on earth as He teaches us who He is. 

When I think back to times I had to cling to God, they were not easy times. We wouldn’t need to be encouraged to cling to God when things are going well. At those times we’re more apt to sing praises and feel close to Him. There seems to be a pattern in this verse, one worth looking at.

It is the Lord God you must follow.
First, we make a conscious decision to follow God. When Jesus chose His disciples, he repeated the same two words over and over: “Follow me.” Would they? Would they leave everything they knew and follow this person they just met?

And Him you must revere.
After deciding to follow Jesus, they needed to make another decision. The decision to revere Him. Revere means: to feel deep respect or admiration. That makes sense that they would need to revere the one they chose to follow. Otherwise, some might turn away, change their minds, and forsake him. One did, after all. As a little girl, when I heard about Jesus I wanted to know more. The Jesus I learned about was kind and loving and liked children. That drew me to Him.

Keep His commands and obey Him.
The disciples obeyed because they trusted Jesus, I obeyed my father out of fear, there’s a big difference. Followers of Jesus obey even when they don’t understand. When the disciples tried to keep the little children from Jesus, Jesus rebuked them, using the experience to teach them about the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14). We are instructed to follow the Lord, to revere Him, to keep His commands, and to obey. What else does the verse mention?

Serve him.
When we get to the place where we understand who God is, and we learn about His character, we decide God is worthy of not only our trust and reverence but also worthy of our service. We make our decisions based on what God wants instead of what we want. We eventually learn that we cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:16). Hindsight is 20/20. Every time the Lord asked something of His disciples, they didn’t understand why immediately, but afterward it made more sense. The same is true for us, but there are also times we won’t understand. Will we still trust Him?

Hold fast (cling) to Him.
I believe the times we don’t understand, we are to hold fast to God. We are to trust in God’s character when things don’t make sense to us. Like when we stand before the grave of a baby or lose a parent when we’re still a child. Or maybe when we hear the prognosis of a loved one. But how can we cling to the one who could have done something about it? Isn’t that asking us to do the impossible? Yes. But we’ll find even that answer in God’s Word. He tells us: the things that are impossible with men are possible with God (Luke 18:27). We learn to trust God, little by little. 

When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He poured out His heart to His Father. At first, Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet, not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Which circumstances in your life caused you to cling to God? To hold tight with all your might? God is faithful. Just as the Psalmist wrote, we can call upon God as long as we live (Psalm 116:2). There will be times we need to cling to God, but when we do, God will hold us up with His right hand (Psalm 63:8). He said so.

Our Father’s Hand

A child holds his father’s hand
without a single care.
The journey doesn’t matter
for he knows his father’s there.

When trials overwhelm us,
may we be like a child,
and simply take our Father’s hand
and walk with him awhile. 
- Anne Peterson © 2020

Lord, I pray that you continue to draw us close to You. Help those who are going through difficult trials. Remind them of Your presence, Lord. Draw them close to You, Father. Let them know that You are right there beside them so they cling to You with both hands. I pray this in Your Son’s precious and Holy name.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.