Love-based Simplicity.. Craig Denison Ministries

 

Love-based Simplicity

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The greatest of all aspects of the Christian life is love. Love is to be at the foundation of all we do, all we are, and all we hold on to. If we focus on love and allow the Holy Spirit to strip everything else away, what will be left is a life of blessed simplicity rooted in face-to-face relationship with our heavenly Father. As we spend time this week looking at the simplicity of love, I pray that all the weighty, frivolous things of the world that rob you of an abundant life fall away in light of the glorious goodness of God’s unconditional and wholly available love for you.

Scripture:“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14

Devotional:           

God’s command to love affords us a life of simplicity that can only be found in his kingdom come to earth. Colossians 3:14 says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Christianity is a simple religion. Jesus said that all of God’s commandments can be summed up with one word: love. Galatians 5:14 says, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” How is it then that our spirituality often feels so complex and difficult? How is that we have a hard time experiencing the simplicity our faith affords us?

Complexity in Christianity finds its root in the attempt to live for both the world and God. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Loving God and people is simple. There is only one right choice before us in all that we do. Complexity enters into our lives as soon as we try and juggle living for the world and living for God. There is a fence between this world and God’s kingdom too high to straddle. It is impossible to put one foot in God’s kingdom while keeping a foot in the world.

God longs for you and me to make our first action every day to serve and love him alone. He longs to guide us into the incredible, abundant life that comes from seeking his kingdom above all else. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” You cannot have both love for the world and love for your heavenly Father. This world is at enmity with God (James 4:4). It is set against him and his ways. But you and I have been given a choice by the powerful sacrifice of Jesus. We’ve been given a real, available option to serve and love the eternal, Almighty God.

It’s time for the bride of Christ to end its affair with the world. It’s time for us to let God love us and in response live for him alone. It’s time for us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Choose today the simplicity of love. Serve God alone. And discover a life far greater than anything you could experience outside of living for God above all else.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the impossibility of loving God and the world. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to seek God first today in all that you do.

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24

2. How have you been in friendship with the world? In what ways are you trying to serve two masters?

“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.” Romans 12:2

3. Confess any sin of pursuing the world to God and receive his forgiveness and love. God has total grace for us in our sin. All he wants is to guide us to a life more filled with his presence, love, and purpose. Don’t wallow in your sin. Receive God’s gift of forgiveness and choose to live differently.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

It’s incredibly important as believers to acknowledge both our sin and the powerful transformation through God’s love that’s available to us. So often we allow our past sins and present failures to define us. In reality, we’re given an opportunity every day to receive God’s transformation and healing that we might live more like Jesus. Lamentations 3:23 tells us that his mercies are new every morning. If you will receive the mercies available to you today, you can choose to live your life differently. Have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within you to help you. Ask him to show you the root of your sin that you might receive healing and transformation. May you discover today a wonderful life rooted in the simplicity of love.

Extended Reading: James 4

Surrender Found at Rock Bottom..ELIZABETH GROFF

 Surrender Found at Rock Bottom

ELIZABETH GROFF 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (ESV)

Ukraine, my birthplace. This country has seen the day I lost everything, and miraculously, it has seen the day hope entered my life again.

How could God teach me surrender in such circumstances? Who else but God could use a shoebox to show that surrender is exactly where freedom is found?

My father died when I was only 1 year old. Unable to financially support us, my mother decided to move to a small village in the heart of Ukraine with my grandparents. The grief of losing my dad was too much for her, and she soon coped by turning to alcohol.

When my half-sister, Tanya, was born, my mother’s presence in our lives grew scarce, so I had to grow up faster than other children my age. I found myself responsible for doing all the chores, helping with the livestock and raising my little sister.

Tanya was my whole world. Deep in my heart, I knew she deserved a better life than the one we were living. So at 7 years old, I grabbed her hand and we ran away.

We were quickly placed in an orphanage. For a while, we at least had each other. But Tanya’s biological father eventually found us. He decided to take my little sister with him — but I wasn’t his daughter. I was left behind. As her father took Tanya by the hand, her eyes flooded with hope and happiness. I realized the best I could do for her was to let her go. But in that abandonment, my world came crashing down.

That day, the day I lost everything, I was launched into dark devastation. It was hard to believe I could be loved after experiencing so much heartbreak and rejection. For two years, I lived hopeless at rock bottom — and that is where Jesus met me.

I still remember the day when I smiled again. All the orphans gathered in a big room, and here we were told how God loves us, and we were each given a shoebox gift with unique and colorful items inside. No strings attached. Hope entered my life through this unexpected, unconditional love shown to me. God wasn’t leaving me at rock bottom; He met me right where I was, inviting me to become part of His family.

That was the moment when God began transforming me into the person He designed me to be. All I needed to do was trust Him by surrendering everything I was to Him. In that surrender, He nurtured my broken heart to renew it for His glory, replacing my bitterness with His tenderness.

Often in this world, we find ourselves at rock bottom, lacking all hope for goodness and joy. There are people all over the world who find themselves with nothing left to give. But God does not want to leave us there. He can use the simplest things — a prayer, a friend, a shoebox gift — to remind us that He meets us exactly where we are, ready to show us true joy in our surrender to Him.

Today, that shoebox I received still reminds me of God’s calling on my life. He still reminds me that before His power can work through us, we must give up our reliance on the world and human abilities, stepping completely into His presence. Only when we deny ourselves and leave our worldly burdens at Jesus’ feet are we able to live the life Christ has called us to live.

Wherever we are on life’s journey, we can surrender at any time to our gentle Savior. Jesus came that we might “have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus transformed my rock bottom into an abundant life. He did miracles in bringing a family to adopt me, in directing my story toward His glory and in using a simple shoebox gift to bring hope into my life. Through all of this, I have realized that by surrendering my life for His sake, I have truly found life!

Often God uses us as instruments for His hope. May we be surrendered to Him and remind each other that even if we find ourselves at rock bottom, our God brings rivers from deserts, life from death, and turns shoebox gifts into gospel opportunities.

God, You are merciful to meet us where we are and invite us to surrender every aspect of our lives to You. We thank You for the promise of Your transforming love! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Worldly Heart..Dr. Charles Stanley

 A Worldly Heart

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Peter 2:9-18

God warns us against misguided desires, because sinful passions can lead to emptiness, suffering, disappointment, pain, and even death. Wise believers let the Father direct their yearnings--and then make changes if necessary.

Impure desires have been part of the "flesh" nature since the fall of man, and they can be hard to see in ourselves. Instead of obvious things like theft, drugs, or immorality, they often involve more subtle attitudes and behaviors, like hoping for a rival's downfall, despising authority (2 Peter 2:10), obsessing about wealth (1 Tim. 6:9), or even speaking arrogant and vain words. Since worldly passions can cause great damage (2 Peter 2:18), believers are to deny them (Titus 2:11-12). But we can't overcome these desires on our own. Submitting to God's Spirit is the only way to live righteously.

The Lord knows what we really desire--and more importantly, what we need--even when cloudy judgment leads us astray. And He understands honest mistakes. When a believer misinterprets the Spirit's guidance or receives bad advice from a friend, God looks at the heart. He may allow the consequences of a poor choice to play out, but He won't shame His children for an honest mistake. He can turn a bad situation into something good (Rom. 8:28).

God can save us from worldly desires, but we must be willing to commit ourselves to Him and trust that His response is the best thing for us. When we put our lives entirely in the Father's hands, we can claim the wonderful promises He has for us and then rest in His grace.

Today, If You Hear His Voice..Lynette Kittle

 Today, If You Hear His Voice

by Lynette Kittle

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: As has just been said: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." -Hebrews 3:15

Have you ever had God speak to heart about an issue, maybe multiple times, yet you keep thinking you’ll deal with it or make it right later?

If so, did you know every time you ignore His urging, your heart may be hardening towards the Lord? And by delaying to submit to His will, you are risking being able to obey Him in the future concerning the matter?

It’s easy to think you’ll take care of it when it works better in your schedule or you’re ready to turn away from the situation but Scripture says you may not have that opportunity.

As well, do you know that God views your delay in submitting as your testing Him because you aren’t yielding to His leading?

Throughout the Bible, God urges to “not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deuteronomy 6:16).

Scripture describes how the Israelites through their disobedience in the wilderness tested and tried God for 40 years. It explains how the errors in their hearts caused them to go astray and become harden towards Him (Psalm 95:7-10). Doing so cost them missing out on enjoying the good things God had prepared and planned for them.

In the wilderness during Jesus’ 40 day fast, Satan tempted Him to test God but Jesus reminded him of what Scripture states, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7).

Maybe you thought you could try various things labeled off-limits because you could stop anytime you want to end it, thinking you’ll have the strength to make that decision whenever you want.

It’s what the enemy of your soul wants you to believe, that you are strong enough to play around with disobedience and be able to give it up anytime you feel like it. But the truth is sinful deeds have a way of ensnaring individuals and the cords of their sins hold them fast” (Proverbs 5:22).

Psalm 40:12 describes how easily this scenario can happen to an individual, “my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.”

Scripture urges you to not be deceived in these matters because a person reaps what he or she sows, and whoever sows to please their flesh, reaps destruction (Galatians 6:7-8).

So if you find yourself today in this situation, is there any hope? Is it too late, yet?

“As the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’” (Hebrews 3:7-8).

Turn to God, cry out as David did saying, “Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord to help me” (Psalm 40:13).

Know that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love (Psalm 145:8). Find comfort in knowing Jesus is able to empathize with your weaknesses, as He was tempted in every way, like us, yet didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15).

1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Take this opportunity, this very minute, to make things right with God. Don’t risk losing this moment when your heart may be softened to obey Him. Don’t take for granted you’ll have another time to do so.

Recognize your responses to God’s leading matter to Him. Take into prayerful consideration the cost of your decision, how the good things God has planned for your future may be in jeopardy.

A Prayer to Gladly Listen to God..Victoria Riollano

 A Prayer to Gladly Listen to God

By: Victoria Riollano

“Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” - John 8:47

As a mother of seven children, I have learned that listening and listening gladly are two vastly different things. 

Whether I’ve instructed my teens to do the dishes or my five-year-old to go to bed without tears, my children rarely delight in my words. Although they have never said it, I am fully aware that my instructions are a hindrance to their ability to do what they feel is best. As a child, I found myself in the same predicament. I remember how irritated I would be when my mother asked me to do something or told me “no” when I asked to do what “everyone else was doing.” While she did her best to guide me, rebellion remained my natural tendency. There were few times I gladly listened. So, these days, as I deal with my own children who aren’t enthusiastic when I give direction, I am reminded that I, too, struggled with this. And if I’m honest, when it comes to my Father in heaven and his instruction, I don’t always delight in His commands as I should.

I still find myself in this battle of knowing what the Lord is saying but not always wanting to do it. Things like gossip, vanity, jealousy, comparison, and ungodly thoughts creep in, and my actions do not always reflect the God whom I serve. Yet, this battle is not new to Christians. The Apostle Paul says it like this in Romans.

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do” Romans 7:15

The truth is, it would be easy for us to stop there and say, “Well, Paul and other Christians deal with this, so this isn’t a big deal.” Yet, in John 8:47, Jesus speaks to the crowds when He says, “Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly.”

They don’t listen begrudgingly.
They don’t listen only when they feel like it.
They don’t listen to some things but ignore other things.
They listen with eagerness and joy, even when they don’t understand, even when they “feel” like the instruction is difficult.

In other words, as those who follow Christ, we should have a deep longing to listen to God and listen well. Those who belong to the Lord understand that He is a good Father. His instructions are meant to be a guide for good living. Much like the earthly parent who tells their child not to touch the stove or run across the street, God’s instructions are meant to keep us from harm. When He tells us to live a life free from “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these” it is for our benefit (Galatians 5:19-21). 

God is not out to ruin our fun or irritate us like I once thought my mother was trying to do. Instead, His desire is that you live a life that is abundant, wise, and fruitful. Even more so, he knows all these sinful things will lead us to a path of destruction. In His protection, he gives instructions that bring life and keep us from being ensnared by the enemy’s traps. For this reason, rather than seeing God’s Word as a hindrance or an outdated rule book, we can run to His Word with delight. For His commands are ones that will guard us and keep us in all things.

Today, I pray that we can all embrace God’s word gladly and seek to serve Him in all our ways.

Let's pray:

Lord,
I thank for your patience with me. Help me to love your word and your decrees. I gladly receive your instruction as truth and a light to my path. Show me when I am being rebellious and ungrateful. Help me to remember that your words are for my good. I choose to follow you in all things and honor you above my own desires.

You are enough and I trust you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Choice..Michael A. Milton, PhD

 The Choice

By Michael A. Milton, PhD

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." - Deuteronomy 30:15-20, NKJV.

Human beings are not trapped by divinely imposed fatalism. This is one of the regrettable marks of some world religions. Some even confuse the Christian doctrines of election, predestination, the sovereignty of God, and the secret councils of God with fatalism. However, the Bible never advances this dogma of human robots being unable to make a change. Instead, God ordains not only the ends, but he ordains the means. God cannot be God unless He is sovereign. Yet, He is not the Lord revealed in creation and the Bible unless He permits human moral agency. Thus, Moses can say to the people, “Choose on this day whether to know God’s blessing or His displeasure. It is true, as Martin Luther responded to Erasmus, that our wills are in bondage until they are released by God through faith in Jesus Christ. However, when we receive Jesus Christ, our wills are liberated, as Augustine taught, “to sin or not to sin.” Therefore, God calls us to receive God’s gift of the way, the truth, and the life. To deny this invitation to our Creator’s way is to default go sorrow. To choose God's way is to choose human flourishing.

There can be no greater curse one places upon oneself than to disregard this Creator. Therefore, Moses calls the people to the reminder that if they turn away from God and choose the ways of the world so prevalent in the people groups around them, they will be choosing the judgment that comes upon the world. We must be careful to add that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that one is saved. God saved the people from the bondage of Egypt. They could not do it themselves. God gave them a leader, a foreshadowing of a Redeemer, in the person of Moses. God worked miracles to liberate them from bondage and lead them through the wilderness. Yet, God calls them in their redeemed state — redeemed from Egyptian bondage — to a new way of life. So, it is with us. God saves us, and then God calls us to follow him. He calls us to be imitators of Christ and walk in his ways (Ephesians 5). To do so avoids the inevitability of crushing consequences of disobedience and leads to a life of joy.

Moses calls creation to witness this statement. In doing this, Moses demonstrates that divine commands and consequences are deeply embedded within creation. These are universal laws that, if violated, will bring a judicial hardening of the conscience, removing God-given restraints and, at length, causing a free-fall descent into madness, resulting in personal and societal death. Such choices could not be for the people chosen to bring forth the Savior to the world. In verse 19, Moses reflects the Lord's concern for the magnitude of “The Choice.” If the people choose what is right, they will not only bring blessing unto themselves but blessing unto their progeny. Israel’s choice to follow God or not was inexorably linked to the destinies of generations unborn. Our choices always are. The force of the collected truths of Scripture demonstrates our connection across generations. Children not yet born will know Jesus Christ from infancy. Others will not. There are many who are called to the ministry because of the prayers of great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents whom they never met. Moses’ message from God to Israel is God’s Word to us today.

God calls each generation of people who are his to this same “valley of decision. Choose today if you will follow God or if you will follow the world. Your choice unleashes or hinders God’s blessings. While each person is responsible for his moral choices, one might be given the advantage of insight and wisdom—a legacy of faithfulness. Those Pilgrims and Puritan congregations who came to these shores decided to follow the Lord. They not only covenanted with God for themselves but, maintaining the transgenerational vision of this passage, prayed for us as well. The motif of this covenant of life in Deuteronomy 30, with its judgments and blessings, has been repeated throughout history. The covenant of Moses has birthed great nations, including the British Empire and the United States. As nations of families and individuals follow the truths of God’s Word, great benevolent cultures arise, bringing blessings to themselves and others. When the same people reject God, they invariably decline. We speak of nations not as merely political entities but as human families gathered in a place, in unity and bound by joint commitments. Even those individuals and families who deny God receive the public and cultural benefits of the shade offered by a greater collected faith and obedience to God. Human flourishing is the inevitable outcome of obedience—not a transactional health and wealth deal with God, but the ordinary blessings that do certainly attend recognition, submission, and practice of divine truth. Likewise, all human beings experience not only the positive but also the adverse effects of the covenant, the cursing, or the blessing. Christians today in the West must be particularly careful and prayerful. The prevailing winds of our culture are not only anti-Christian but if come to the point of denying reality. The judgments that the Apostle Paul noted in Romans chapter 1 have now fallen upon our people. Many rightly ask if the restraining power mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NKJV is now upon us. There is a tipping point in the stages of great nations in which they go too far from revealed truth (Romans 1:18-32). Like Nineveh, however, which certainly was on that trajectory to destruction, those who repent and believe the gospel are saved. It is never too late for either a person, a family, a local church, or a nation of Christians to repent and choose what is good and right. We are called to not only receive Christ by faith but to walk in faith. Obedience is the fruit of a will liberated from the devil's bondage. Choose what is good that you may live and your children and those after them.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Fatalism is not biblical. The sovereignty of God is exercised through creation and providence. And providence is “moved” by prayer and by petition. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Until death removes the opportunity, a kind and merciful Savior grants you the opportunity to “choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land . . .”