An Unveiled Lifestyle..Craig Denison Ministries

 An Unveiled Lifestyle

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Living an unveiled lifestyle is the way in which we experience the fullness of what’s available to us in our restored relationship with God. It’s a powerful lifestyle of faith, direct encounters with our heavenly Father, and life transformation. It’s when we live our lives in light of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus that we begin to experience all his death was purposed to bring us. God longs for his children to walk in intimacy with him directly connected to his wellspring of love for us. May you experience a more tangible, loving, and powerful connection with your heavenly Father this week.

Scripture:“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” 2 Corinthians 3:16

Devotional:

By the grace of God the veil that represented our sin and shame has been replaced with shameless, limitless, and face-to-face encounters with our heavenly Father. Scripture says,

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:12-18).

God longs for us to live an unveiled lifestyle. He longs for us to behold his glory and be transformed into the same image: a reflection of his glorious Son, Jesus. The idea of looking like Jesus used to seem utterly impossible. How could I ever look anything like Jesus? In my sin and shame, how could I ever resemble the perfect, sinless Son of God? But God has an enjoyable and perfect process by which he transforms us. As we seek out all that God has for us in an unveiled lifestyle, God longs to renew our minds to his plans for our transformation.

2 Corinthians 3:18 makes it clear that in “beholding the glory of the Lord” we are transformed. Just as Moses went into the tent of meeting and came out with his face shining (Exodus 33:7-11), we are to go into our own tent of meeting and come out having met with God with unveiled face. Allow the truth of Scripture to define what spending time with God is meant to look like for you. When we spend time alone with God, the Holy Spirit longs to lead us into direct, tangible, and transformative encounters with the glory of God. Christian spirituality is all about direct connection with our heavenly Father and not about engaging in religious practices just because we feel we should. The death of Christ has made unveiled encounters with God completely available to you whenever, wherever. We enter into our tent of meeting clothed with Christ, washed completely clean of our sin by the power of his blood.

And 2 Corinthians 3:18 also makes it clear that when we see God’s glory we are “transformed into the same image,” the image of Jesus. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God’s intention was always for us to represent him well. When sin entered into humanity that image became grossly distorted. But through the death of Jesus and encounters with our heavenly Father that image is being restored. We can now be reflections of God to a world that is desperately searching for relationship with its Creator. We now bear the image of the one who has saved and redeemed us.

Living an unveiled lifestyle is simply encountering our heavenly Father and living our lives as a response to his love for us. Every encounter with God changes us and makes us more like him. Every taste of his presence fills us with his love and equips us to love others. To live an unveiled lifestyle is to experience the abundant life Jesus came to bring us. May you behold the glory of your heavenly Father and be a reflection of his love to a lost and dying world today. 

Spend time in prayer practicing what 2 Corinthians 3 describes for us: beholding and being transformed by the glory of God.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the availability for you to encounter God face-to-face, unveiled.

“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” >2 Corinthians 3:16

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into the tangible presence of your heavenly Father. Ask God to make his nearness known to you.

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

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” >Exodus 33:14

3. Spend time in God’s presence being transformed by his love. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you more like Jesus. Ask God to reveal himself in a way that would mold and shape you into his likeness.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”>2 Corinthians 3:18

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” >Romans 8:29

How incredible is our God that he would make transformation such an accessible and enjoyable process. Fully letting go of our sin and shame is difficult to be sure, but the depth of grace, love, and relationship he offers us in return makes it all worthwhile. Allow God to continue to heal any areas of your life where you feel brokenness and shame. Open up your heart to him completely today in faith and allow him to create in you a new foundation of his on which you can live freely and healed.

Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 3

How To Lean Into the Unexpected Gift of Feeling Fully..AMY CARROLL

 How To Lean Into the Unexpected Gift of Feeling Fully

AMY CARROLL 

“When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.” Esther 4:1 (NIV)

A cheery cupcake, decorated as a caterpillar, stood in sharp contrast to the grief that gripped me.

My friend Linda was throwing one of the no-holds-barred birthday parties for which she was famous. She was also valiantly facing her last days with cancer. I giggled along with the children partying around me, but I wanted to put my head down and weep.

When I saw Linda heading for the kitchen to grab more food for the ravaged buffet, I followed to plead with her. “You look so tired. Please, please sit down a minute and rest.”

With a gentle gesture, she laid her hand on my arm. “Amy, this may be the last birthday party that I throw for my son. I truly appreciate your concern, but I’m not resting.”

That poignant memory is over 20 years old now, but because Linda died later that year, I’m crying even as I type it. I still miss my friend.

There are some losses that never lose their sting, and there are some hurts that hold on forever. Death ushers in an uncertainty like none other. But these are the griefs that can point us straight to the heart of God, connecting us with Him in a way nothing else does.

In the book of Esther, one of the main characters, Mordecai, grieved deeply and publicly when he heard that his people were about to be annihilated in an evil plot. Instead of hiding or repressing it, Mordecai vented his grief fully.

“When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.” (Esther 4:1)

As our key verse says, Mordecai even tore his clothes, an external, cultural expression of deep, internal grief, exhibited by many in Jewish culture. Joshua tore his clothes after a defeat in battle. (Joshua 7:6) King David rent his clothing after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. (2 Samuel 1:11) After hearing the Torah for the first time, King Josiah ripped his clothes over his own sins and those of the people. (2 Kings 22:11)

That expression of grief may seem strange to us, but it’s an indication these people knew God could handle their strongest emotions. After experiencing God’s faithfulness for generations, the Jews knew the One who would hear their cry. They leaned into their feelings and were connected to the heart of God in the process.

I once heard a Christian counselor give some advice I’ve been trying to live by ever since: “Feel all your feelings,” he said, “and then lay them at the foot of the cross. Give them to Jesus.”

Feelings aren’t selfish. They aren’t a weakness or evidence of a lack of faith. And we need not fear our feelings. We can lean into them, experiencing them all fully — without the dread of wallowing — by bringing them to Jesus, our Savior who understands.

We can feel our grief as fully as Mordecai because we who believe have a Savior who can handle our strong emotions. He felt them, too. (Hebrews 4:15) Our God never changes, and in Jesus, we’re blessed with a gift Mordecai couldn’t have imagined!

Lord, I surrender myself to the goodness of grief, knowing that You’re with me there. Instead of numbing or stuffing my grief, I will trust You to bring comfort and healing as I feel my feelings fully. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Responding to Disappointment..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Responding to Disappointment

Dr. Charles Stanley

Matthew 1:18-25

To find examples of wise, godly reactions to disappointment, you’re more likely to turn to Psalms than to Matthew. But the very first chapter in the New Testament tells the story of an upright man’s reaction to painful and disheartening news.

Joseph—Jesus’ earthly father—was a righteous person. A godly man wants a wife who shares his desire to honor and obey the Lord, and Scripture indicates that Mary was exactly that sort of woman (Luke 1: 45-55). So imagine how stunned Joseph must have been when Mary returned from a long visit with her relative Elizabeth and told him that she was pregnant. Moreover, she was claiming no man had touched her.

Any way Joseph looked at the situation, it appeared grim. And yet Matthew 1:20 says that he “considered”—in other words, he sought a wise, righteous response. God entered Joseph’s life in a dramatic way to confirm Mary’s story and put a stop to his “quiet annulment” plans.

The Lord turned Joseph’s mourning into joy. Mary had told the truth—strange and startling as it was. The couple would bear the intense public censure of an early pregnancy, but Joseph stopped thinking about what others would say. God had blessed work for him: to raise the Messiah alongside a faithful woman. 

Followers of Christ should seek a godly response to disappointments they face. Since the Lord always has a plan, the wisest reaction is to anticipate the good He can do and await His timing. God certainly blessed Joseph for his willingness to “seek first His kingdom” (Matt. 6:33).

3 Steps to Exposing Pride in Our Lives..By Lynette Kittle

 3 Steps to Exposing Pride in Our Lives

By Lynette Kittle

“Why do you look at the peck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:3

Have you ever noticed how pride is very recognizable in others, yet so very difficult to distinguish in our own lives? Matthew 7:3 explains how easy it is for us to see wrongdoing in others while completely missing it within us. “Why do you look at the peck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

We are pretty good at accurately recognizing pride in others, while being totally oblivious to it in us. Mostly because we see ourselves differently than how we look at others, rationalizing why we do the things we do and validating our own actions.

“Wife Swap” is a television series where for two weeks, two wives switch places in the platonic role of wife and mother at each other’s home. Producers usually choose wives for each episode who are very opposite from each other in their worldviews. It’s a show quick to illustrate the Scriptural truth of clearly seeing what’s wrong with another, while missing the obvious in our self.

It’s pretty amazing in watching the episodes, how accurate the wives are at stepping into the situation and seeing problems in the other woman’s home, all while not recognizing problems and issues in their own homes. Also, how they believe their way of being a wife and mother is the right way and the other woman’s way is wrong.

At the end of the two weeks when the wives meet for the first time to discuss their experiences at each other’s home, it usually doesn’t go very well. While a few wives welcome the visiting wife’s help and changes brought to her home, overall most women become defensively offended by the other’s observances and changes to her household.

With the visiting wives feeling they have the answers to the other family’s issues, their meeting at the end of the show often results in what Matthew 23:12 describes as those who exalt themselves being humbled.

How to Expose Pride in Our Lives

Because pride is so hard for us to recognize in our own lives, how can we go about exposing it? Below are three steps to help start the process.

1. Pursue reading God’s word because when we do, it will expose pride within us. Hebrews 4:12, explains how it works in our lives. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

2. Ask God to help us in weed out pride in our lives. Often when we are put in a stressful or new type of situation like the wives in “Wife Swap,” hidden issues of our hearts emerge and roar their ugly heads. When they do, we can seek God’s help in ridding ourselves of arrogance. James 4:6, explains how He will give us more grace and show us favor, when we humble ourselves before Him.

3. Consider if actions we see as unacceptable in others are things we rationalize in our own lives. 2 Corinthians 13:5 urges us to examine ourselves and Psalm 139:23 encourages us to ask God to search our hearts. As Lamentations 3:40 urges, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”

A Prayer for Summer..By Emma Danzey

 A Prayer for Summer

By Emma Danzey

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

The warm weather is coming, schools are letting out, and lemonade stands and pools are back in business. Summer is a wonderful time of the year. It is a season of rest, renewal, and bonding with loved ones. It is a season of harvesting many wonderful fruits and vegetables. It is a time of slowing down and reflecting. 

For many people, summer can fly by into the next school year season if not intentionally thought about. We can easily miss precious opportunities for intentionality, creativity, and good health. We can focus so much on vacations, camps, and family fun that we forget about the wonderful spiritual growth that can take place during this time. The Lord gives us rhythms in life and this is a season of rest and joy. Today, we are going to take time to pray over this summer ahead.

Let's Pray:

Our Kind Father,

Thank you for the gift of summertime. Thank you for the opportunity to have a season of celebration, family time, renewal, and adventures. We pray that you would be the center of our thoughts and actions this summer. We ask that wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we will glorify you with it. We pray that we would be dedicated learners of Your Word and give time to grow in understanding the Bible and memorizing Scripture. We pray that we would worship our hearts out to you in song. We pray that we would honor you with our own creativity and talents, whatever that might be. 

Lord, help us not to waste this time away. Help us to have clarity in how we do life each day, in how we love our spouses, and in how we train our children up in You. Show us ways that we can be a blessing and witness to others in our communities. Give us eyes to see those around us who are in need of Your love. As we make plans for travel or family experiences, give us wisdom and discernment on how to be good stewards and where to go for special memories to be made. Help us to represent you whether we stay or go.

God, You says in Genesis 8:22, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” You have set up the seasons so that we could live in them and worship you in each one. As we enter summer, may it remind us of Your great faithfulness and provisions to us. May it give us joy as we see You bring back flowers, design new sunsets, and bring up morning dew again. May the heat remind us of the warmth and goodness of the sun that You have created which sustains life here for us. Help us to know that You are gifting us with this season of summer to enjoy, rejoice, and worship. We celebrate that You are the God of the harvest and that we can see the beauty in Your creation. 

Proverbs 10:5 says, “He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” God help us not to be like the disgraceful son. Help us not to be lazy and careless just because of summer. Help us to be like the prudent son who gathers crops and uses his time wisely. It is so easy to allow a slower season to become a wasted one. Please give us the drive and passion to serve You wholeheartedly and to live our days to glorify You in the work that we are called to in this season. Help us to enjoy this summer to its fullest and to find joy in the purpose in which You call us each day. 

Lord, we praise you for this beautiful, exciting, and restful season. Help us not to let it go by without seeking You in the midst of it. We pray that we would bring you glory with our time, our rest, and our efforts. Amen.

Sing Praise to God..By Emma Danzey

 Sing Praise to God

By Emma Danzey

Psalm 59:16 says, “But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress.”

As For Me, I Shall Sing of Your Strength
Have you ever noticed how young children will sing and hum without a care in the world? It just comes naturally. When they are happy or working on something, they cannot help but sing. Children are not worried about if their voices sound on pitch or if others are even listening, they are in their own world full of glee. Psalm 59:16 starts out saying, “As for me.” Even if the world around us is silent in acknowledging and worshiping the One true God, as for me, I will sing. We can have that child-like faith that leads us to sing and worship our Savior regardless if anyone around us even recognizes that Jesus is Lord. Our attitude of thankfulness and genuine praise will pour out regardless of what others think. We will not people please, we will honor God. We will sing of His strength because He is worthy of our worship and our song.

Yes, I Shall Joyfully Sing of Your Lovingkindness in the Morning
There is something about fresh dew, tweeting birds, and a brand new sunrise that creates a sense of hope for a new day. This Psalm reminds us that we can be joyful in singing about God’s lovingkindness in the morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” The forgiveness and mercies of our Savior give us reason to sing. He gives us hope and the encouragement to keep going and live in His grace each day. We can celebrate His great mercy towards us as we wake up each day and see just as the sun rises again, so His forgiveness remains and we can start afresh.

For You Have Been My Stronghold and a Refuge in the Day of My Distress
Lastly, we sing because God has been there for us in our troubles. He has been our safety and our protection when we have been in difficulties. He has never left our side in our darkest moments. Webster’s Dictionary says that stronghold means, “A place of security or survival.” When we ponder our most challenging days, we remember that we were never isolated in them. Our Stronghold, our Lord was our place of rescue and protection. John 16:33 reminds us that Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He has been our refuge. He has held us in our sorrows and carried us in our weaknesses.

One of the worst things that we can do is forget how the Lord has been faithful with us throughout our lives. Looking back at our trials and how He was there helps us overcome the struggles of today. It is because of His presence in the difficulties that we have reason to sing. If it were not for the cross of Christ, we would not have the victory. If it were not for our sufferings, we would never see breakthroughs. The mountains we face to climb enable us to pour out praise in a meaningful way. He has given us the joy and ability to sing because He has been faithful not only in the good times but in the hard ones.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
How are you singing praises to God today? Have you forgotten to look back on your life and remember how He has worked in amazing ways? Remember that He is faithful and that even on your worst days, He has carried you through. As you wake up each morning reflect on His fresh mercies and joyfully sing Him praises.

Further Reading:

• Psalm 28:7
• Psalm 57:7
• 1 Corinthians 14:15