Healed, Transformed, Freed..Craig Denison Ministries

 

Healed, Transformed, Freed

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we have been afforded an opportunity to live an incredibly abundant life here on earth. Our God is nearer, more tangible, and has a greater ability to make his presence known than we’ve yet realized. He longs to make his children more in tune and aware of the depths of his love, guidance, empowerment, and nearness. He longs for our days here on earth to be marked by unveiled communion with him. As we look at what it is to live an abundant life here on earth, I pray that your heart will be awakened to the reality of God’s presence and affection in your life.

Scripture:“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” Psalm 103:2-4

Devotional:

Too often we as believers settle for lives less than what God intends for us. God has the desire and ability to do far greater than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). He longs for us to live healed, transformed, and set free from the bonds of sin and slavery to the world. As we look at God’s plans for healing, transformation, and freedom today, I pray that you will be filled with a hunger for the fullness of life available to you in Christ Jesus.

Jesus spent most of his ministry doing powerful works of physical and emotional healing. And once he ascended to heaven he passed on the ministry of healing to his disciples and empowered them to do even greater works (John 14:12). God has never stopped his pursuit of healing the ailments and hearts of those he loves.

Too often we allow the wounds of this world to settle in our hearts and dictate the way we live our lives. We agree with the lie that the pains of our past are just part of life and that true courage is taking what has hurt us, pulling ourselves up with our own strength, and pressing forward. The heart of our God is for the healing of those wounds. Psalm 147:3 plainly says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” God longs to meet you at the place of your wounds and provide healing today. He longs to reveal to you his heart for your pain, fill you with his loving presence, and walk with you through the process of healing. Choose healing for your wounds today that you might live with more abundant joy and peace instead of heartache and pain.

Our God is a God of transformation. He loves us where we are but cares for us too deeply to let us live with the lies, perspectives, and pursuits that rob us from the abundant life Jesus died to give us. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God longs to renew your mind to the truth of his love, nearness, power, and grace. He longs to transform you into a better reflection of Jesus that you might live to the fullest. He longs to fill you with longings and passions that will guide you to a life of purpose and eternal impact. Say yes to being transformed by God’s Spirit and word that you might experience the abundant life only available in God.

Lastly, God longs for you to live this life freed from the sins and ways of this world. 1 Peter 2:16 says, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Freedom has been bought for you by the blood of the Lamb. You are no longer a slave to this world but a slave to righteousness. In the Holy Spirit you have freedom from every past pursuit and present temptation if you will simply follow his guidance into a lifestyle of righteousness. Choose freedom today. Choose to follow the Spirit away from that which will lead you to sin and toward that which will fill you with a longing for holiness.

Take time in guided prayer to meditate on Scripture and pursue wholeheartedly a lifestyle of healing, transformation, and freedom with the help of your heavenly Father.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance and availability of living healed, transformed, and freed.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“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

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” 1 Peter 2:16

2. Where do you need healing, transformation, and freedom today?

3. Ask the Lord for whatever it is you need. Trust in his goodness and have faith that he will provide for you everything you need when you ask it of him.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” Psalm 103:2-4

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15

May we not be children who settle for anything less than all our heavenly Father has for us. May we listen to and receive all the wealth of truth, love, and grace our God longs to lavish upon us. Pursue with your whole heart the life God intends for you. And live today out of the revelation that your God is leading you to stiller waters and greener pastures than you have yet known.

Extended Reading: Psalm 103

We Can’t Please All the People All the Time..LYSA TERKEURST

 We Can’t Please All the People All the Time

LYSA TERKEURST 

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NIV) 

Hello, my name is Lysa, and I struggle with people-pleasing.

For years I’ve had to face the reality of being a “yes” woman even when I didn’t have the capacity or honestly the desire to do what others were asking of me. And if I’m really honest, it often wasn’t purely out of love for people that I would stretch myself way too thin. It was because I couldn’t figure out how to manage the fear of what disappointing them would cost me.

And this mindset became a very apparent obstacle as I tried to draw healthy boundaries in my relationships.

You see, this people-pleasing struggle made me the perfect candidate to resist boundary-setting and to view any kind of boundaries as unkind. But the problem is that if we live allowing other people’s opinions to define who we are, we will be desperate to try and control people’s perceptions of us. We will spend our lives managing opinions to ensure they're always favorable toward us so we can feel good about ourselves.

But think about the tragic reality of this … Being too concerned with gaining the approval of others can give us a heart divided with God. Ouch.

Our key verse today points out this issue: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

It’s impossible to please all the people all the time. We know this. Until we forget — especially with people whose opinions affect us. So when we disappoint people, think differently than they do, don’t do everything they think we should do, or try to draw boundaries they don’t agree with, then others might think poorly of us. And if they think poorly of us, we fear it will be impossible to feel good about ourselves.

I think this hits at my core fear around setting boundaries. If I set a boundary, someone will no longer see me as I want them to see me. They will no longer know me as I want them to know me. They will no longer believe the best about me, and there’s something inside of me that really wants them to believe the best about me.

But here’s what I’ve failed to realize until now: All people have limits — physically, financially, relationally, emotionally. We are all limited. Only God is limitless. People-pleasing will tell you that drawing boundaries means you’ve failed. But I think drawing boundaries means you’ve had the beautiful, biblical revelation that only God can meet everyone’s needs. (Philippians 4:19)

Do I want to be loved by others? Of course I do.

Do I want to fear another person’s love for me is based on me always making them happy? Absolutely not.

Love should be what draws us together, not what tears us apart. And I’ve seen how much boundaries help with this in my own life.

As you let all these words sit with you, I want to leave you with these simple words I first wrote in my journal years ago: “God’s love isn’t based on me. It’s simply placed on me. And it’s the place from which I should live … loved.”

Live loved today, friend.

Jesus, thank You for being such a safe place for me to return to when I’m struggling with my identity. When I’m tempted to look to others for validation and acceptance, please remind me to look up at You instead. I pray the Holy Spirit will give me eyes to take inventory of my own life and the understandable limitations of my capacity, and I pray for wisdom as I personally consider any potential changes I need to implement. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Our Eternal Rewards..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Our Eternal Rewards

Dr. Charles Stanley

Revelation 4:9-11

Throughout Scripture, we find references to "crowns." Let's take a look at these eternal rewards for a victorious Christian life and a strong relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Crown of Victory. To finish life well, believers need Olympic endurance. Athletes in those ancient games received a perishable circlet of laurel leaves. But when we are effective in our God-given ministry and triumph over sin, we'll be given an imperishable crown (1 Cor. 9:25-27).

The Crown of Exultation. The believers that we had a hand in bringing to Christ will be "our glory and joy" before the Lord (1 Thess. 2:18-20). Just imagine how you will rejoice in heaven upon seeing and talking with the people who recognize your contribution to their spiritual development.

The Crown of Righteousness. The Christian life is not easy, but there is great reward for living righteously when facing temptation or hardship. Believers who pursue godliness are always thinking about the life to come and striving to meet God with a pure conscience (2 Tim. 4:5-8).

The Crown of Life. Heartache and pain are unavoidable in this life, but we can take heart because much spiritual growth happens in adversity. Hang in there to receive the crown of life that the Lord promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

In heaven, what will we do with the crowns we have earned? We will cast them before Jesus' feet (Rev. 4:10), laying them down as a tribute to the One who saved us, gifted us, equipped us, and lived in us. Everything good and right came to us through the Lord, so He deserves our crowns.

How to Serve with Love..Amanda Idleman

 How to Serve with Love (Galatians 5:13)

By: Amanda Idleman

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” - Galatians 5:13

Barnes' Notes on this passage explains to us that Galatians 5 is about people who are struggling to stay committed to their new faith. They are easily being pulled back into old bad habits. The temptation for these new Christians was to abuse Paul’s message of freedom and manipulate it into a free pass to return to their old sinful ways. Paul sternly corrects this erroneous thinking and reminds them of the true reason for the spiritual freedom Christ had died for: sot that they would be free to serve others in love!

Paul teaches the Corinthians a similar message in 1 Corinthians 12. In this text, he explains that they all have gifts given by the Spirit, but these gifts are given to serve the common good. All we have been given through the Spirit of God is not for us to hold onto for our own profit. Just as 1 Corinthians 13:2 tells us if we don’t have love, we have nothing, Paul is reminding the Galatians of the same principle. We are free so that we may love!

What does love-infused service look like in practice?

The struggle many of us face is how to tote the line between servanthood and bitter martyrdom. As a mom of three young kids, and a wife, the line gets blurry for me on a regular basis. I so want to love my family well, but struggle with thoughts that reek of bitterness and discontentment.

It’s a common problem. We have all heard stories of the passionate pastors that become a bitter victim of congregations that work them into the ground. We see people who serve at church jump in with willing hearts and then become the biggest critics of how everything is done. Even eager new employees join their new team only to a year later find themselves unhappy at work once again. In marriage, spouses struggle to serve with love over the long-haul of a lifetime together.

Service without love at the center leads to bitter hearts and broken relationships.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 gives us a pretty exhaustive list of what our love should look like. Love is patient, kind, envy, doesn’t boast, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is slow to anger, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices with truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love does not fail. What a list!

If we spent our days just focused on getting just one of these aspects right in our lives, we could exhaust ourselves pretty quickly. So how do we accomplish this impossible task of letting love drive our service? 1 John 4:10-14 gives us the answer. We only love because God so graciously first loved us. Beyond just loving us he gives us His Spirit to live in us. How do we love? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is up to us to invite the Holy Spirit to give us the strength we need to do the things He has called us to do on a daily basis. It can’t be about us being perfect at everything for those we love or about us having the right answers when problems arise. We only are able to “serve one another in love” when we continuously invite God’s power to work in and through our lives.

A Prayer for Pretenders..Meg Bucher

A Prayer for Pretenders
By Meg Bucher

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” - Romans 12:9 NLT

Oh, here they come. Some people are just draining …we'll say. 

We’re all guilty of it. We cringe and scramble to appear busy, on the move, or in a conversation before we are cornered into a long conversation. There are people we actually avoid. It’s the shocking truth. In a world where we have been set down to serve others, we actually don’t want to or like to, sometimes, depending on the person and what we have going on in our own lives at the moment.

The English Dictionary definition of pretend is “to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so.” Pretending runs right alongside avoidance. I bet it makes Christ cringe, the boundaries we put up around hurting people who border our lives. I’m just as guilty. Some days are such an emotional struggle, I don’t understand where the capacity to reach out and do anything for anyone else is going to come from. Or, classically, I’ll find myself overwhelmed with my schedule and proclaim, “I have too many yes’s in my life!” As if helping too many people is too pressing of an agenda. Oh, how the Lord must absolutely roll His eyes at me.

“Most of us have learned how to be courteous to others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and appear to take an interest in them,” the Life Application Bible notes, “But God has called us to a love that goes far beyond pretense and politeness.” This love looks like inconvenience. It costs us time, money, and effort. It’s more than putting someone on a prayer list. We’re called to care deeply and create disciples. Oof. That takes time. Thankfully, the Author of our minutes has the ability to stretch the capacity to fit an insurmountable amount of love and good.

Let’s pray:

Father,
Stretch our minutes and lengthen our patience, Father. Show us how to genuinely love the people You have placed in our lives, Lord. Let us not be too busy to connect with our neighbors and have lengthy conversations while our ice cream melts in the cart. Father, we do have time for people. Our time is Your time! You are the Author of our days, and You know the number of them! Your plan for our lives includes loving others. There is no greater task or agenda than to really love them. 

Show us what it means, Father, to hold tight to what is good. We know we need boundaries in our lives, and we realize we can’t say “yes” to all the things we want to do or that people want us to do. But the plans You have for us, Lord, You make time for. So, help us to understand what we are adding to our days which is not ordained by You, so we are free to take all the time we need to love the people You put in our paths daily. 

God, You are Love. You love us so much, You gave Your one and only Son, Christ Jesus, so we would not be bound to the limits of this world. In Christ, Your Holy Spirit lives in us, directing us daily to whoever needs us to extend Your love to them each day. 

Heighten our sense of the Holy Spirit and sharpen our immediate obedience to follow His lead on our lives. Bless our lives to shine with the light and love of Jesus, Father. 

In His mighty name, we pray,
Amen. 

Deliver Me from Temptation..Aaron D’Anthony Brown

 Deliver Me from Temptation

By Aaron D’Anthony Brown

“Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The Temptation
Since the Fall of Man in the Book of Genesis, our world has become replete with all kinds of foul and evil deeds. The limits of sin are only the limits of human imagination. And with our propensity to do wrong comes temptation, the temptation to commit new sins or to return to something familiar.

Jesus experienced temptation in the desert when Satan tested Him and even offered Him all the kingdoms of the Earth. Job was tempted by his wife to curse God. And Joseph was tempted by the pharaoh’s wife to commit infidelity. What does temptation offer you?

For some believers, addiction promises a sweet release from the day’s troubles, a fulfilling escape. Others think that entering into a relationship, any relationship, will add to their lives a sense of purpose. Then there are those who are tempted at every turn to put themselves first because they don’t truly see themselves as worthy.

Temptation wears many faces and makes many promises, but they’re all the same. False. Jesus spoke the truth over the deceit Satan offered Him. And Satan fled. Job overcame his trial, as did Joseph. The same can be true for us if we don’t answer when temptation knocks.

The Deliverance
Despite how we often feel in the moment, the temptation is not stronger than us - not with the help of God and other people. The mistake we make is neglecting to ask for help. As Scripture states, nothing has overtaken us that someone somewhere has not also experienced. This means we can learn from the mistakes that others have made. Scripture also says that God will help us bear whatever burden we are experiencing. He provides a way out of the sin if we choose it.

The next time an urge to sin hits, we can find solace in knowing that we are supported and that the urge will pass if we give it enough time. With every temptation, we can experience deliverance, but we have to make the effort to get there. The choice is ours.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
The next time temptation appears before you and starts making false promises consider using one or even all of these strategies. The less of a foothold we give Satan, the less power he will have over our minds and bodies.

Flee
The easiest time to flee temptation is when the thought first enters your head. A seed is easier to move than a mountain. Fleeing can look like physically running, but fleeing can also mean turning off the computer if you struggle with pornography or postponing a conversation if you’re prone to angry outbursts.

Fleeing requires time, effort, and a whole lot of commitment, but rest assured that by fleeing, you’re weakening the temptation. Eventually, the desire to sin will go away. And when temptation reappears, and it will repeat the process. The more we commit to fleeing, the easier the process becomes, and the less we will struggle with any particular sin.

Pray
What can any of us do against sin without the help of God? When we pray to God, we have the opportunity to bring before Him any and every temptation, any and every thought that is not reflective of the kingdom. God knows our situations and struggles. Prayer helps us let Him in in our process of overcoming. He offers deliverance, but we have to seek Him.

Set Boundaries
One way to flee temptation before actually fleeing is to set boundaries. If we live by certain restrictions, we protect ourselves from going astray. Scripture already gives us certain boundaries for avoiding sin. Examples are not being captivated by lust, avoiding lies and deceit. However, sometimes we need to add more boundaries to our lives. 

If you struggle with social media, consider setting a time limit or getting rid of your online profiles together. If you binge television, set a time limit for viewing and make a plan to exercise. With more boundaries, we will struggle less with temptation.

Stay Accountable
No matter how much we plan or don’t, or how much we pray or don’t, there’s only so much we can do on our own as individual flawed, sinful humans. We need accountability from others to call us out when we do wrong or even commend us when we do right. None of us has all the answers. None of us is perfect. Thankfully, there is no need to be when we have the help of God and other people in our lives.

Further Reading:

• Psalm 13
• James 4:7
• 2 Corinthians 10:5
• Proverbs 5