Sanctification..Craig Denison Ministries

 

Sanctification

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Trust is something we are not created to give away lightly. We value trust like we value our own lives, constantly scrutinizing others to see if they're worthy of our trust. But still we are made to do life with help. We are made to place our trust in that which will provide us with more life, joy, and peace. I pray that this week you and I will discover how trustworthy our heavenly Father is. I pray that we will willingly hand over control of our lives to a capable, loving, and near God. And I pray we will experience the abundant life that can only come through placing our trust in a God who gives up everything for relationship with us.

Scripture:“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:5-6

Devotional:

Sanctification and holiness are words that used to strike terror into my heart. As a believer I have always tried to pursue holiness, and I always seem to fail. It seems like no matter what I do I can’t escape sin and can’t get past my own brokenness and mess. Even in seasons where I am experiencing freedom from some sins, there always seems to be something else I need to fix or get better at. I’ve felt like I was on this endless tightrope of spiritual development that I kept falling off of and of which I couldn’t seem to find the end.

While God’s heart is most definitely for our sanctification and holiness, his perspective is far different than what I just described. You see, God knows that sanctification doesn’t come about through our efforts. I can in no way sanctify myself because in and of myself I have no holiness. The truth God has for us today is simply this: sanctification comes about by true relationship with our heavenly Father alone. Holiness is the direct result of openly and continually encountering the nature of a perfect, loving, and available God.

If we are going to experience the fruit of righteousness, we must learn to trust God in his plan for our sanctification. We must learn to trust that in encountering him we will experience freedom from our sin and healing for the wounds that drive us to the things of the world.

Psalm 37:5-6 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” When we trust God to bring about our righteousness by simply committing our way to him and trusting in him, we engage in a process of sanctification founded on encounters with his loving grace.

Sanctification is not meant to be this heady process of turmoil and striving that we so often experience. While it may be difficult, it is designed to be filled with the continually forgiving and loving heart of our good Father. It is designed to be based on experiencing Jesus that we might become more like him.

Spend time today seeking the heart of your heavenly Father. Commit your ways to him and trust in him. Ask him to reveal his heart for your righteousness. Ask him to guide you into a process of sanctification marked by his grace, love, and nearness. Stop seeing the process of sanctification as a never-ending timeline and instead center it wholly around relationship with your heavenly Father. May you experience righteousness and holiness today as you encounter the perfect nature of Jesus. May your day be marked by peace as you commit your spiritual development to the hands of the Potter. And may you be transformed into the image of Jesus as you engage in the process of sanctification based on relationship with a good, near God.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the process of sanctification. Allow God’s heart as described in Scripture to stir up your desire to engage in relationship-based sanctification.

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Psalm 37:5-6

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

2. In what ways have you been striving for your own righteousness and holiness rather than receiving it from God? In what ways have you been looking at sanctification as a timeline or tightrope rather than as a relationship with a good God?

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Galatians 2:21

3. Take time to encounter the holiness of your loving Father. Open your heart and receive his presence. And in his presence commit to him the process of your sanctification. Allow peace and rest to fill your heart as the burden of striving for sanctification falls off in light of God’s glorious grace.

“But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” 1 Peter 1:15

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’” Isaiah 6:1-5

I pray that 2 Peter 1:2-4 will fill you with the courage to have grace and rest in the process of sanctification. May your life be marked by God’s forgiveness and grace.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Extended Reading: 1 Peter 1

Prioritizing What Matters Most..KIA STEPHENS

 Prioritizing What Matters Most

KIA STEPHENS 

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14 (NIV)

“We should play a board game,'' my oldest son said.

It was a carefree summer night with no sports practices to rush off to and no homework to complete for the next day. Immediately, I thought a family board game was a good idea, and the fact that it came from my teenage son was icing on the cake. The fact that he initiated a family activity was a big deal. He was choosing family over everything else in his life.

I had spent the past school year watching him transform from the boy I knew into the teen I barely recognized: His interests were different. His voice was deeper. His features were more mature. He was growing up, and I was learning to embrace the young man he was becoming and let go of the little boy he used to be.

Unfortunately, I missed the magnitude of this moment. As excited as I was to spend time with my kids, my attention was divided when we sat down to play a game of Clue. I needed to send just one more email before I could focus on the game completely uninhibited.

My kids proceeded to place the game pieces on the board and review the directions while I typed away. “I’ll just finish this email and then stop working,” I said to myself.

My youngest son rolled the dice and began to play. I was still typing.

“Close your computer,” they said as I pecked at the keyboard. I was so close to being done. Then my oldest son rolled the dice while I periodically glanced at my computer screen.

“You can’t play the game and be on your computer too,” he said. He was right.

I'm not very proud to say it took a third request from my children before I finally closed the lid of my laptop and allowed myself to be fully present, but I’m glad I did. This was more than a game of Clue. This was an opportunity to engage with my children — an opportunity I almost missed. This was a chance to choose what matters most rather than what appears urgent.

In the book of James, we are reminded of the brevity of life. James 4:14 says, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

In this passage, James was speaking to people who placed their confidence in themselves and what they could do rather than depending on God. These people boasted about tomorrow, believing they were the masters of their own fates.

I was just as guilty. In the moment, on the night of the Clue game, I was depending on myself and my ability to send an email. I was prioritizing the completion of a task over spending time with my kids. I assumed I had all the time in the world to play a board game with them.

We all have formed these kinds of assumptions. Maybe we've believed there is ample time to say “I love you” to a loved one. Maybe we’ve reasoned we can push that date night with our husband back one more week. Maybe we’ve ignored the requests for quality time from our children.

For all of us tempted to prioritize the seemingly urgent over the important, James is reminding us that life is not promised to anyone. It is as fleeting as a vapor that will soon vanish. James is admonishing us to spend our time doing the will of God.

In that moment, God’s will was for me to play a game of Clue with my kids. He was giving me a much-needed opportunity to spend time with my boys, who are growing and changing every day. He was encouraging me to prioritize my kids over my work because their lives, just like mine, are like a vapor.

God’s will always prioritizes people over productivity.

Dear God, thank You for reminding me life is short. Help me to know what Your will is for my life so I consistently prioritize what matters most. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Gratitude in Affliction..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Gratitude in Affliction

Dr. Charles Stanley

Psalms 119:65-72

At Thanksgiving, we typically express gratitude for God's blessings. But did you ever consider thanking Him for something that doesn't seem like a blessing—such as a trying circumstance you want Him to remove or change? A grateful heart is most precious to God when, humanly speaking, our situations don't warrant giving thanks. By making four foundational decisions, we can begin to see the value of our adversities and respond with appreciation.    

Believe and trust the Lord. Only by viewing life from a scriptural perspective can we understand His purposes in our trials and trust His wisdom in allowing them.

Accept the situation as coming from God—either directly sent or permissively allowed. If we truly believe He's working for our good (Rom 8:28-29), we can choose to receive each difficulty as coming from His loving hand. Then we can say "Thank You."

Submit to God in the circumstance. Although we may not like the situation, knowing that God "[is] good and does good" (v. 68) allows us to confidently place our lives under His authority.

Draw from Him the strength to endure. No one has the ability within himself to endure hardships with gratefulness. Only by relying on the Lord can believers go through adversity with an appreciative heart.

Now, think about that circumstance you would like changed, and with a new mindset, offer this prayer to God: "Lord, I accept this situation as coming from You. In faith and trust, I place myself under Your loving authority, and draw from You the strength I need to endure with gratitude."

Finding God in Creation.. Betsy St. Amant Haddox

Finding God in Creation 
By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

Romans 1:19-20 (ESV) For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Autumn is my favorite time of year. The crisp leaves exchanging shades of green for shades of amber and crimson and gold. The cool mornings and evenings that demand your favorite hoodie and cozy socks. The big Harvest moons that rise at night and silently hovers over the horizon. For me, Fall is one season that consistently brings God glory.

Without a doubt, God speaks to us through His creation. There are allegories and metaphors under almost every rock! We see how lovely it is to let dead things go in the way the trees release their leaves with a final burst of color. We see the promise of resurrection in the way the leaves grow back in the Spring, along with flowering blooms and fragrant blossoms. We see the consistency of God’s unchanging nature in the steady rising and setting of the sun every morning and evening. And we see the guarantee of His Word in the rainbows that grace the sky in colorful arcs after a rain shower.

I think these are just a few of the things Paul might be referring to when he wrote this chapter in Romans 1. One only needs to look around this earth to see the beauty of the Lord, to receive testimony of His glory, and to prove not only His existence, but His care and provision over all living things.

Matthew 6:25-26 (ESV) Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

God didn’t just create it, He manages it. He sees and cares for all living things, including nature.

The carefully ordained structure and order of the Earth all point back to God. Every leaf, every sea creature, every changing season, and every bird of the air brings God glory. The way the human body heals and repairs itself, the way animals’ instincts keep them safe during a natural disaster, the way seeds are planted and grow to provide a bounty, the laws of gravity…we as frail humans can’t accomplish any of these wonders on our own. We can only see and marvel at the Lord for creating them, as He did us.

Paul points out in Romans 1 that no one can claim an excuse for not seeing what God has obviously put on Earth in so many wonderful, various ways—the glory of His majesty.

A Prayer to Love Our Enemies..Lynette Kittle

 A Prayer to Love Our Enemies

By Lynette Kittle

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” - Matthew 5:44

Have you ever been hated? If so, you’re in good company because Jesus was perfect, yet He had those who hated Him to the extent of wanting Him dead. More concern should be if the world loves us because it’s a sign we most likely aren’t living our lives for God. As John 15:19 explains, it’s better to be hated by the world than loved. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Most often enemies come not by our choice and usually there isn’t anything we can do to change their attitude towards us. It’s birthed within their hearts and has to be extracted from the inside out. Sadly, it’s sometimes come from within our own families who hate us because of our faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:36).

In these situations, how do we forgive those who hate us, much less love them? Often we say we forgive yet we don’t feel it and we certainly don’t feel love for them. So what do we do in these circumstances? How do we get past unforgiving and loveless feelings?

It seems the call to love our enemies is misunderstood because the secular world has reduced love down to a feeling. But real love goes much deeper and often isn’t a warm, fuzzy feeling. Real love is expressed through actions, which really are louder than words. Genuine love bypasses emotions and chooses to pray, do good, give, and even sacrifice for those who hate us. So if void of forgiving and loving feelings, how do we love our enemies with actions? Following are four ways to begin.

1. Pray for our enemies. As Matthew 5:44 urges, loving our enemies begins with prayer.

2. Do good for our enemies. Good may just start by not talking badly about them to others, along with making no effort to harm them in return. Like Luke 6:27 encourages, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” 

3. Give to our enemies. Although they may not want us to give to them, even so, our responsibility is only to give. If they refuse or discard what we offer, we’ve have fulfilled our part. Proverbs 25:21 urges, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

4. Sacrifice for our enemies. Being kind and generous to someone who hates us is living sacrificially, it’s risky knowing if we receive anything in return it most likely will be more rejection and disdain from them.

Yet Luke 6:35, encourages, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

Let’s pray:

Dear Father,
Help me to love my enemies. Forgive me for any and all bad feelings and thoughts I may have had towards them. “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). Although my heart doesn’t feel like offering forgiveness or extending love I want to follow Your leading and calling in my life to do so, and to go beyond my own feelings and emotions in this situation. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

Send Your Spirit, Father to move upon my heart and motivate me to show loving kindness towards those who hate me. Like Jesus said on the cross, help me to say, too, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Thank you, Father, for the comfort of knowing blessing comes through being hated, insulted, and rejected by others for Your name sake (Luke 6:22). Also, for the promise that those who are hated for your name’s sake and stand firm in Your love will be saved in the end (Matthew 10:22).

Help me to follow Your example in praying, doing good, giving, and sacrificing for my enemies.
In Jesus’ name, Amen

Lonely, But Not Alone..Aaron D’Anthony Brown

 Lonely, But Not Alone

By Aaron D’Anthony Brown

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.” (Psalm 27:10)

What Is Loneliness?
Patterns look good when quilted into a blanket or when decorating a plaid shirt. We even enjoy the patterns of routine, bumping into the same faces on our way to work, or sitting down yet again to enjoy our favorite meal. However, seldom do we enjoy patterns that are undesired, challenging, those that leave us feeling crummy inside. Such is the case with loneliness, a feeling we experience as children, and one that inevitably follows us into adulthood, forever.

Loneliness set in when our mother first dropped us off at daycare, then again when our spouse headed out of town for work. Our reasons for being lonely vary, but we all know the feeling. And we should all know that loneliness is a pattern, one we will experience time and time again. Maybe not in the next hour or the next day, but eventually.

What is loneliness? Loneliness describes the disconnect we experience when the reality of our relationships does not match our expectations. In other words, we want something we do not have. We experience this when sitting by ourselves at home on the couch with a box of pizza, or when hanging out with a group of people at a crowded restaurant. The situations vary, but the experience is the same.

We want something we do not have. Loneliness carries with it a familiar anguish, a longing that goes unquenched. Sometimes the sensation lasts so long, we doubt whether or not we will ever see change. But loneliness is a pattern, and every pattern has to end before starting again.

Thus, no matter how much we may lament loneliness, much like any other form of suffering, God can and will use our pain for good (Romans 8:28). We just have to let Him. The next time you’re at the crossroads of loneliness, consider these five things you can do to make the most of the experience.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

Connect with God
When you’re feeling lonely, remember, you always have God. In fact, we would do well to remember God is always with us, in the presence of crowded markets and in the privacy of our homes. Too often, when loneliness creeps in, our doubts about God build. We wonder where He has gone and why He has left us in the first place. He hasn’t.

Instead, the lonely feeling is an indicator that there is distance between us, distance we have created. Fill the void by seeking Him earnestly and openly. Tell Him how you feel, why, and ask for a change. Or even better, to use loneliness to develop you.

Connect with Others
Loneliness can also prove to be motivational for going out and connecting with people. Whether you’re looking to date or make new friends, or just have a good conversation, sometimes you have to go out and search for what you want instead of just waiting. There’s no doubt that God answers our prayers, but we are instructed to add action to our prayers. Maybe then we’ll see the results we want.

Reassess Ourselves
Loneliness may feel unfair, unjust, and cumbersome, and all of those things may be true, but sometimes we find ourselves in lonely seasons because of decisions that we ourselves have made. Single parents who could have worked things out now feel emptiness after ending their marriages. The dishonest friend feels the sting of loneliness after committing yet another betrayal. The solution then is to confess your sins, repent, and where possible, pursue reconciliation.

Plan for the Future
One way to look at the lonely season is a time of preparation for what is to come. You don’t have what you want right now, but one day you could. If that happens, how can you better serve God during the time that you have today? Does the Lord want you to grow in any particular way? If so, embracing how He wants to grow you today will only make you better for what happens tomorrow.

Change your Perspective
Loneliness doesn’t feel great, but loneliness will feel worse without the right perspective. We don’t have to enjoy what we’re going through to make the most of the experience. Most of us don’t enjoy break ups, but most will attest to growing from the experience. Struggles have the potential to make and break us. The deciding factor is perspective.

And one way to ensure you have the right perspective is to remember, you may be lonely, but you are not alone. You are never alone.

Further Reading (and Listening):

• 1 Peter 5:7
• Genesis 2:18
• Psalm 147:3

WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?..Jeff Schreve

 WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?

Jeff Schreve

"And Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?'"  Luke 17:17-18

In Luke 17, we read the story of the ten lepers. These ten guys had the dreaded, disfiguring disease that made a person unclean, unfit for society, and virtually subhuman. The tremendous physical toll inflicted by this incurable disease was only surpassed by the great emotional toll of feeling worthless, vile, and unlovable.

When these men saw Jesus, they cried out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (Luke 17:13).  Jesus responded with compassion and a challenge, telling them to show themselves to the priests, an obvious reference to Leviticus 14 about the cleansing of a leper.  Luke 17:15 says, "As they were going, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14).  Do you see that?  "AS THEY WERE GOING, they were cleansed." That's always the way it works with faith.  You have to believe God's Word enough to obey it.  When you take a step of faith, then you see God do miracles.

EXHILARATION

Can you imagine the overwhelming exhilaration these guys must have felt? Their leprosy was cleansed! The vile disease that had taken virtually everything from them was now gone! They could return to their families! They could return to society! They could really live again!

Nine of them scurried away to enjoy their great blessing.  But one turned back ... and he was a hated Samaritan.  This guy was also overcome with exhilaration at his cleansing, and he wanted to give thanks and praise to the One who made it possible. He couldn't dream of taking another step without glorifying God and expressing his sincere gratitude. And the Lord responded to his thanksgiving by bestowing on him a far greater gift, the gift of salvation.

Interestingly, Jesus was wondering aloud about the other guys. Where were they? Why was this "foreigner" alone in his thanks?

The question for our day is clear: why do so many experience the goodness of God and so few return with grateful thanksgiving?

THIS THANKSGIVING

Let me challenge you as I challenge myself to emulate the Samaritan in this story and give thanks, first and foremost. To be sure, thanksgiving can be a sacrifice.  Life can be cruel and hard. Circumstances can knock us down and leave us devastated. If we are not careful, we can easily become disillusioned, depressed, critical, cynical, and bitter.

This is the key to rising above the circumstances: focus on what you do have, not what you don't have. Rejoice in the Lord! Give thanks for the cross and the empty tomb! Give thanks for His unfailing love! I truly believe the greatest witnesses for Christ are those who have experienced the worst of life and yet have the best of attitudes, continuing to praise God no matter what.

Make this Thanksgiving a Thanksgiving to remember as you set aside time to glorify the King. He will be honored, and you will be blessed.

Love,

Pastor Jeff Schreve,