God’s Heart to Meet with David..Craig Denison Ministries

 

God’s Heart to Meet with David

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Throughout Scripture we see countless examples of God meeting with man and countless lives being transformed as the result. These examples are in Scripture to stir our faith and fill us with a desire to meet with our Creator. When we read about the life of David, we should be filled with a longing to live as he did, centered around meeting with our heavenly Father. When we read about Gideon or Moses, we should long to know our God as they did. When we read about Jesus coming down to us or his heart for the woman caught in adultery, we should respond by pursuing encounters with our Savior. And when we read of Pentecost and Jesus’ second coming, we should seek out the fullness of God’s presence available to us on this earth in preparation for the age that is to come. May your heart be filled with a wholehearted desire to pursue meeting with God this week.

Scripture:“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.” Psalm 84:1-2

Devotional:

The meetings between God and David shaped human history forever. David knew what it was to be in the presence of God. In fact, being in God’s presence was his fuel, greatest joy, and source of courage. In Psalm 16:11 David writes, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” And in verse 5 he writes, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” David was a man who consistently chose to meet with God over filling his days with the fleeting and unsatisfying things of the world. He centered his life around meeting with God, and it changed the history of not only his nation, but nations to come.

In 1 Samuel 17:34-37, we see a glimpse into the impact of David meeting with God early in his life. Scripture says,

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

Out on the fields, David learned of God’s power and desire for deliverance. He learned what it was to meet with God in the daily work of life. And he carried that knowledge with him into every battle, trial, and failure. We see it in Psalm 16:1-2 where David prays, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’” King David, the greatest king that ever sat on the throne of Israel, claimed, “I have no good apart from you.” David, about whom 1 Chronicles 29:28 says, “Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor,” claimed he had no good apart from the Lord. David knew that God’s presence was the best part of life. He knew that meeting with his heavenly Father was far greater than any victory, possession, status, or honor. And it was for that reason that he lived a life full of the very thing he sought: the presence of the living God.

Your heavenly Father longs to meet with you as he did David. He loves you the same as he loved David. And through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, you have even greater access to the heart of God. You have God, the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Choose today to seek meeting with God above all else. Center your life around the presence of your heavenly Father the way David did. Live for transformational encounters with God and watch as the things of this world fall into proper place,  providing you with transcendent peace, joy, and purpose in the midst of any circumstance.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on David’s longing for the presence of God. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to meet with your heavenly Father as David did.

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” Psalm 16:5

“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

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’” Psalm 16:1-2

2. Allow these other Scriptures to fill you with faith to encounter the presence of God. The Holy Spirit is dwelling within you, ready to lead you into a transformational encounter with your heavenly Father.

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

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

3. Take time to meet with God. Ask him to reveal his nearness to you. Ask him to give you a passion for his presence like David had. Choose to center your life around the goodness of his nearness today.

“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 84:10

How much better would our lives be if we simply chose to center them around meeting with the eternal, living, and active God of love? What would it be like to seek his counsel throughout our days? What would it be like to live wholly loved, liked, set free, and filled with his presence? Through Jesus, more has been made available to us than we know. We’ve been granted access to the fullness of life, love, and freedom. All that is required of us is to make space in our days and seek meeting with God above all else. May we as the bride of Christ choose to love our bridegroom above all else.

Extended Reading: Psalm 16

How to End Well..Dr. Charles Stanley

 How to End Well

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Many people think about the last years of life as an opportunity to just relax. But this does not align with God's purpose for us; He wants us to serve Him all the days of our lives.

Let's look at the apostle Paul's journey and explore what it means to finish well. He spent time pouring into others until the very end of his life. Consider the letters he wrote to Timothy from a prison cell prior to being executed. In every season of life, God calls us to serve others.

And notice how, when writing about his life, the apostle chose words descriptive of a battle. He understood the human struggle against sin as well as the challenges of pain and persecution in the trials we all face--even in doing kingdom work like preaching Christ to a fiercely resistant society.

This godly servant's life was also marked by surrender. His mindset is obvious in these words: "present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Rom. 12:1). He was not afraid of Nero, nor was he struggling to stay alive. Paul trusted God to determine everything about his life, including where he would go, what he would do, and when he would die. Death did not scare him, because he knew he would dwell with Jesus forever.

God doesn't require our lives to be perfect in order to finish strong. We can live life fully and be ready to meet our Maker by surrendering, walking victoriously with Christ, and serving others. If Jesus called you home today, would you--like Paul--be confident that you lived well until the end?

10 Signs of a Flourishing Church..From the New King James Version Unapologetic Study Bible

 10 Signs of a Flourishing Church

From the New King James Version Unapologetic Study Bible

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.­­­­ - 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

Christian periodicals often run stories of praiseworthy churches, congregations which are notable for their zeal, holiness, creativity, or fruitfulness. These publications follow the biblical example, for God also honored churches in the pages of Scripture. First-century Macedonia provides one inspiring and convicting instance.

The Apostle Paul had been collecting funds for the impoverished members of the “mother church” in Jerusalem, whose members saw their material prospects collapse at their conversion (Acts 24:17). The Christians in Macedonia outdid themselves in response to his appeal, and Paul brought their performance to the attention of the Corinthian Christians, who needed to contribute their fair share. His description captures elements of the Church at her best. Here then are those features:

1. Supernatural. Their heroism was the result of God’s grace (v. 1), not their own fleshly effort.
2. Tempered. They had been refined in the fires of persecution. Theirs was no fair-weather Christianity, but a faith strengthened by severe trial (v. 2).
3. Joyful. Happiness depends upon material or social circumstances—happenstance; joy (v. 2) does not. The latter is grounded in the sense that the Lord is doing great things and that the Church is a part of it.
4. Sacrificial. Many are willing to give out of their plenty. These people gave out of their extreme poverty (v. 2).
5. Generous. Given their poverty, a small offering would have been understandable. Contrary to expectations, these Macedonians were famous for their rich generosity (v. 2).
6. “Foolish.” Though their actions answered to a higher wisdom, in giving beyond their ability (v. 3), they seemed foolish.
7. Natural. Their generosity welled up naturally from regenerate hearts. Paul was, no doubt, wearied by his repeated appeals to the churches for funds. When he came upon a church whose members pressed support on him entirely on their own (v. 3), he was thrilled.
8. Insistent. From the text, it seems likely that Paul at first declined their support, reminding them of their own poverty. But they would have none of that; they urgently pleaded (v. 4) with him to take the money.
9. Worshipful. To the Macedonians, this was no prideful competition with the other churches for honor. Their giving was first to the Lord (v. 5), an act of consecration, and it was from Him that they took their cues.
10. Apostolic. Churches can channel their money to all sorts of secondary things, so Paul made special note of their devotion to us (v. 5), namely to the apostles’ godly priorities.

Few claim that all features of the early Church continue today. For instance, church leaders no longer write Scripture. However, all can see that the Macedonian example is replicable—even normative—for the 21st century Church. And just as sacrificial generosity is within the reach of believers through the ages, so too is the joy that accompanies it.

A Prayer to Change the Way You Think..Meg Bucher

 A Prayer to Change the Way You Think

By Meg Bucher

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV

Our thoughts can and will go rogue if we allow them to. One of my daughters shared with me how sometimes, when she sits at her desk at school, she zones out. We can all relate and high-five a “Hallelujah.” But she went on to say the longer she allowed herself to zone out, the more negative her thoughts got. It made her feel anxious, and tears would start to fill her eyes! Our thoughts, themselves, are just thoughts. But the attention we give to them is powerful. 

Paul wrote to the Romans to tell them to change the way they were thinking. The patterns of this world are negative, if not in obvious ways …in ways which have negative effects on our hearts and minds. “We are to consider every part of our existence as an opportunity to serve God,” Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament explains, “True worship of God must always flow from minds that have grasped and been impressed by the truth of God.”  The world is bent to “self,” but we are called to be selfless. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living in every single one of us who believes in Christ Jesus as our Savior, we have infinite power to transform and renew our minds. God wouldn’t have put in Scripture for us to digest if it was impossible. And look at the reward for our discipline and obedience to transform and renew our minds …because it takes work!

“Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

Let us pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to reign over our minds in a fresh way today! 

Father,
Praise You for the power of Your Word! The Truth You provide us to live by is life to our bones and refreshment to our souls daily. How faithful You are to us, Father, encouraging us around every corner. Let us rejoice and be glad in the day You have made today! 

God, we want Your good and perfect and pleasing will to come true in our daily lives! Help us to take our thoughts captive and hold them accountable to Your truth. When we are dazing out, Father, provide the power we need to refocus. Help us to sift through our daily thoughts and kick out anything negative which threatens to steal our joy. 

We confess our selfishness, Father. We know there are times when our natural bent to self takes over, and we confess and ask You to search our hearts! Renew a right spirit in us, God, and cleanse us from our hidden sin. Bring any destructive thought patterns and habits into the light, God! Let the love and light of our Lord Jesus Christ shine through our minds and hearts, motivating the way we navigate our daily lives. 

Thank You for this day. Thank You for Your knowledge and wisdom. Your faithfulness is unmatched, God, and Your love is unending.  Let us persevere and endure the work it takes to transform and renew our minds. Lord, we pray for those who are far from You and who do not know You. Let Your Word reach into the far corners of the world, God, and into every doorway of our neighborhoods. Let us be people who don’t remain in our thought lives but are empowered by the wisdom and love of the One True God, going out into our daily lives to bring glory and honor to You.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

You Have No Choice But to Forgive..Clarence L. Haynes Jr.

 You Have No Choice But to Forgive

By Clarence L. Haynes Jr.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

When you think about the marks of a Christian, there is one mark that should be present, which sometimes we can too easily gloss over. That mark is forgiveness. When we need forgiveness, it is amazing how we seek after it. Yet when we must give forgiveness, sometimes we can be a little slow on the draw. Have you ever wondered why that is? One reason is we forget how much we have been forgiven, and when that happens, we can treat the act of forgiving someone else as if we are doing them a favor instead of extending grace that we ourselves have received. I want to remind you if you are going to be a true follower of Christ, then you must exercise forgiveness. You really have no choice if you truly want to follow Christ.

Why Must You Forgive?
There really is one good reason why you must forgive. Because God has forgiven you. That alone should be enough to motivate you to forgive others, and yet, many times, it is not. I want you to look back on your life for a moment and think about all the sins you have committed against God and against other people. (I would ask you to start writing them down, but you will soon discover that list is going to get very long.) Regardless of how long that list is when you came to Christ, that entire list was wiped clean. God forgave all your sins because of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for you. You don’t need any other reason to forgive someone because this one reason is enough.

A Terrible Example of Forgiveness
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the story of the unmerciful servant. Allow me to sum up the story for you. A man owed the king a debt of ten thousand bags of gold. Just for perspective, one bag of gold was the equivalent of twenty years of a day laborer's salary. This servant owed ten thousand bags. It would have taken him two hundred thousand years to repay the debt, which means the debt was never going to be repaid. Not by him, not by his family, nor by any generations of people that came after him. However, even though he owed the king this much debt, the king chose to show him mercy and forgive his debt. This same servant then went out and found a man who owed him a hundred silver coins which was the equivalent of a day’s pay. This man could have easily repaid this debt, possibly in as little as one day. However, this servant had the man thrown in jail because he could not repay him. When the king heard this, he rebuked him and had him thrown in jail because he failed to show mercy and forgiveness for a small debt after he had received it for his big debt.

May I ask you to guess who we are in the story? By comparison, we are the man who owed a debt we would never be able to repay, and yet God, in his mercy, forgave us. After having received so much mercy, why then do we harbor unforgiveness toward those who have hurt us? Unfortunately, saying “but you don’t know what they did to me” is not good enough. If you should ever feel this way, all you have to do is remember how big your sin list was and how many times you violated God’s commands and yet today, you stand forgiven. Let me say this. There is no reason to justify not wanting to forgive someone. It does not matter what they have done. To think otherwise is to behave like this unmerciful servant forgetting how big a sin debt you really owed. Let’s not be that person.

A Practical Exercise
As you look inward today, ask the Lord to show you if there is anyone you have not forgiven, and then forgive that person. Forgiveness does not mean you forget; it means you no longer hold it against that person. When you can do that, you are operating in the grace and forgiveness you have received. I promise you will be thankful that you did.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Forgiveness is not just for the other person. Forgiveness releases you from the grip the other person’s actions have over your life.