The Experience of His Presence.. Craig Denison Ministries

 

The Experience of His Presence

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

To know God is to experience God. Just as we experience aspects of one another as we grow in friendship, we experience the wonders of God as we seek to simply know him. God is calling us to a life of seeking him with all we are. He is calling us to value relationship with him above all else that we would love no other but him. May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship with your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.

Scripture:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Devotional:

Experiencing the presence of God sounds like such a mystery. It sounds like this wonderful but evasive thing that some people get sometimes, but isn’t concrete enough to expect or place your hope in. We associate God’s presence with emotions and music as if it were a breeze so light and momentary you almost couldn’t be sure it happened at all.

But in reality God’s presence is as simple as being in the presence of a friend or spouse. It’s as simple and concrete as being around a person except for one simple truth: God never leaves. And just as you can be in the same room as a friend and not know it, you can live the Christian life apart from experiencing God’s nearness. Just as you can be sitting right across from a friend and be so busy with technology or your own thoughts to even remember they are there, you can go through life focused on the busyness of present circumstances and miss out on the fact that God is closer than your breath.

But we find hope for encountering the presence of God in Psalm 27:4. Scripture says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” This pursuit, this action of seeking the living God, never comes back empty. To seek God is to encounter God. Emotions aside, complexities cast away—God is already with you. He is already closer than he could ever be. His Spirit, his presence in the earth, never leaves you and never forsakes you. And when you turn your attention toward him, just as you can to a friend sitting across a table from you, you can encounter him.

Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” His presence is always available. He’s not a friend who turns away from you or hides his heart. He’s not a small gust of wind that comes and goes as he pleases. He’s a God who would suffer and die that he might tear the veil and make his presence fully, continuously available to all those who would seek him. He’s a God who’s working tirelessly to restore his crown of creation to himself that we might walk with him like in the Garden of Eden, but this time for all of eternity with no possibility of a fall or barrier between us.

Your ability to meet with God is as simple as turning your attention toward him and allowing yourself to be known. May you meet with your heavenly Father in profoundly simple ways today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the availability of God’s presence.

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

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

2. What’s your greatest fear regarding God’s presence. What’s something that would keep you from seeking after him like you would a close friend?

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18

3. Surrender any hesitation you have to him and seek him in faith that he is already with you. Turn your heart toward him and talk to him honestly and openly. Allow him to reveal his nearness to you in any way he wishes.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

The best place to start with God is always honesty. He doesn’t meet you in a place that isn’t real. So if you’re trying to seek him but avoiding something, you are attempting to sew back together the veil he so lovingly tore in two. There’s no need to veil your heart from him. There’s no reason to act as if everything is all right if it isn’t. Whether you’re at church, with friends, or meeting him in the secret place, he only asks for honesty from you. Tell him how you feel. Open up the places of your heart that you are too shameful or scared to let into the light. Allow him to flood your fears with his relentless love and experience the presence that only grace has to offer.

Extended Reading: Psalm 27

The Danger of Making Assumptions..ABBY MCDONALD

 The Danger of Making Assumptions

ABBY MCDONALD

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Job 42:5 (NIV)

God, do You even care about my husband’s health? Why the delay, God?

I didn’t voice the thoughts out loud, but I may as well have. My attitude about the situation my family faced was bleak at best.

For months, we’d prayed for a resolution to my husband’s health issue. Friends around the globe prayed, too, and each time my husband and I spoke with them, we updated them with any progress.

Although the solution was simple, the equipment needed to address the problem was in short supply. A long waitlist of other patients was ahead of my husband, and each day we hoped for a miracle.

Sometimes it’s easy for me to see God working through hardships in others’ lives, but when it comes to my own life or my family members’, I make assumptions about His intentions. If it appears as though He’s not answering on my timeline or not listening, I may question whether or not He wants to help.

Have you ever been there? You pray with persistence, and you believe God will deliver you or a loved one, but when the answer doesn’t come, you wonder whether or not God sees the hurt and the weariness. Or perhaps you think your troubles are somehow part of God’s judgment and you stop coming to Him altogether.

It can be difficult to open up about our heartache when we feel as though God has already made up His mind about the situation. But God warns us, in His Word, against this type of limited thinking.

Recently, I studied the book of Job, and God’s response to Job’s friends captured my attention: “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7, NIV).

In this passage, Job had just lost everything, and his friends assumed his suffering was due to his own sin. But whereas Job spoke directly to God about his heartache and frustrations, his friends merely spoke about God. They thought that Job’s afflictions were a sign of punishment or that God was acting out of judgment.

In our key verse, Job speaks from a place that can only be found when we encounter God personally:

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Even though Job suffered as much as anyone in Scripture, he never made assumptions about God based on his circumstances. He questioned God, but he did not say false things about God’s character. Instead, Job spoke to God in his anguish, with an honest heart, and God answered. Although God didn't give Job a reason for his suffering, Job’s one-on-one conversation with Him helped Job realize God was still there in the midst of it.

What if we decide to do the same thing? What if the next time we encounter a situation where it appears as though God is absent, we come to Him and have an honest conversation?

And what if God answers in ways we never expected?

This is what I finally did in my frustration over my husband’s health issue. And somehow, God helped me see His presence right there in the middle of the weariness and waiting.

When we continue to come to God with our hurts despite the lack of an answer, He shifts our perspective. Our circumstances may not change, but His peace reigns as He shows us who He truly is. Like Job, we can encounter God in a new way. And because of this fresh encounter, our assumptions can be replaced by awe and worship.

God, thank You for Your promise never to leave us nor forsake us. When we go through difficult seasons in life where our prayers seem to go unanswered, help us not to make assumptions about Your character. Help us to see You are still there, and shift our perspective toward Your Truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Our Partnership with God..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Our Partnership with God

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).

God gave one or more spiritual gifts to every single believer to aid in the work for His kingdom. We each need this special "wiring" to carry out our unique role in His plan. He knits that spiritual gift into our personality and inborn talents to create a useful and effective servant. And just to be clear, there is no such thing as a non-gifted believer.

Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities. 

God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).

When It’s Hard to Wait on the Lord.. Anne Peterson

 When It’s Hard to Wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31)

By: Anne Peterson

Today’s Bible Verse: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. - Isaiah 40:31

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who is not tired of going through this pandemic. We wake up tired. And when we sleep, sometimes it’s interrupted sleep. Are you feeling weary today?

In God’s Word, we are promised a renewal of our strength. We will be able to soar like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. But we have to know where to get this renewal.

It’s not found in our own strength, but only when we hope in the Lord. David told us to be strong, let our hearts take courage and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14).

Isaiah tells us God is waiting to be gracious to us. He’s waiting to have compassion on us. And when we wait for Him, we are blessed (Isaiah 30:18).

But waiting on God is not easy. We have a tendency to do things in our own strength. The world tells us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and we try.

Paul tells us we should keep in step with the Spirit, since we live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). But we get impatient, wanting things to happen by our timetables. When I was younger in the Lord, I would try and remind God when things were taking too long.

God showed me His ways and thoughts are much higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God answers our prayers because of His unfailing love. A Father’s love understands his children and always wants what’s best for them.

Waiting and hoping in the Lord is something we grow into. As new Christ-followers, we believed God could do anything. But somewhere along the way we start believing we should have a hand in things.

After walking with God for many years now, I’ve seen numerous answers to prayer. But sometimes those answers are “no,” or “not yet.” We grow through our trials. We learn that God is who he claims to be. And eventually, we learn to trust God’s character more than what he can do for us. That’s what maturity is.

I remember coming across the verse, “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). It was a liberating day for me. God has his reasons for saying “no,” or saying, “wait.” Sometimes God will graciously show me how what I was asking for would not have been good for me. But even without that, I have grown to accept God’s decisions. His ways and thoughts truly are higher than mine.

Waiting on God is not cumbersome, but instead, it’s a privilege. It’s an opportunity to flex our faith muscles. And if you want to really stretch them, I challenge you to praise God even when you receive a “no.” God is not praiseworthy because He answers our prayers; He’s always worthy of praise.

What challenges are you facing right now? Let me encourage you to wait on the Lord. Then when he renews your strength, go ahead and soar!

A Prayer for Truth This Christmas..Meg Bucher

 A Prayer for Truth This Christmas

By Meg Bucher 

“But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscriptive: “The LORD knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.” 2 Timothy 2:19 NLT

The day my daughter discovered the truth about Christmas, I wiped tears from her eyes and assured her every Christmas would still be just as special as all of the others. The Truth about Christmas isn’t rooted in the North Pole but in God’s Word. Paul’s letter to Timothy reminds us, “God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone.” In Paul’s day, as there are now and will continue to be, false teachers twisted the truth about who Jesus was. The enemy is prone to take the truth and use it against us or out of context.

The Truth about Christmas doesn’t fade and fall away as we grow up into adulthood. Truth grows more beautiful over the years as it is watered faithfully. “The LORD knows those who are his,” Paul wrote. It reminds me of the Christmas carol that sings, “He’s making a list, and checking it twice…” God has actually written our names in the book of life, Scripture says. He not only knows our names but every hair on our heads at any given time. He knit us together in our mother’s womb, the Bible says. How thrilling to create a person! We are made in His image, and He has given us a purpose unique to each of us. Our lives are so special to God.

Nothing could ever take away the Truth of Christmas. Jesus is the Truth. He was born on earth as a gift to us. It’s the greatest love story of all time. Let’s pray to fully embrace Him this Christmas. 

Let’s pray:

Father, 
Praise You for Christmas! Even the surrounding commercialism could not dim the Truth cast by the light of the stars the night Jesus was born on earth. This is the day You have made! We will rejoice and be glad in it! This Christmas is as unique as all of the others. Speak to us, and show us who You are this Christmas. Illuminate the Truth at an angle we’ve never stopped to think about before. Help us to notice the nuances of the day Jesus came into the world and embrace the gravity of His arrival on earth. 

Your mercies are new every day, God. Great is Your faithfulness! This Christmas, embolden us to share what we have received with everyone You place in our paths. When we feel alone, remind us You know who we are. We are never alone in Christ. He is with us, always, through the Holy Spirit residing in all who believe in Him. 

Father, let us not forget the latter part of today’s biblical truth: “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.” Father, Christmas can challenge our schedules, patience, and ability to see through all of the commercialism to the real Truth of Christmas. Help us to consistently turn to You daily. Don’t let us embrace the idols of materialism over You. Stay first and foremost in our lives, God. Let us be fully prepared to share the Truth of Christmas.

Father, help us be aware of twisted truths and false teachers. We pray for their exposure, and also their restoration and way back to the actual Truth. Help us to focus on the Truth, Christ Jesus, this Christmas. Let nothing knock our focus off of Him, God. Show us, in new layers, why He came …who He is …and what Your will is for us as we follow Him faithfully as the magi were guided by the light of the star to Him.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

The Power of Miracles..Jessica Van Roekel

 The Power of Miracles

By Jessica Van Roekel

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is like our great God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." Psalm 77:11-14, ESV

The passage of time stretched out like an unending journey. Light had vanished and left me afraid. Prayers went unanswered, and I cried out for the Lord to do something, but every day I faced the same struggles. My heart felt frozen, my mind numb, and I went through the motions of my daily tasks. I doubted God’s presence in my life and accused him of ignoring me.

At times it can feel like we’ve been sidelined. We pray for healing in our bodies or relationships, and things get worse and worse. We wonder when it will be our turn for a miracle. We cry and plead, but God seems silent. The agony of silence gives way to an outburst of anger or disappointment. Psalm 77 helps us express our frustration but also points our hearts toward God’s goodness.

Everyone faces days of trouble because trouble is part of our world. It serves several purposes. It’s an opportunity for our spiritual roots to go deeper as we choose to trust God with the unknowns that lie before us. The thing with troubles is that we don’t have a guaranteed outcome, and we like outcomes we can count on. In the end, victory is ours, but when the beginning seems long ago, the middle can seem unending.

What do we do when the middle seems long and victory far off? Losing seems imminent and retreat the only way forward. We remember that our miracle unfolds day by day and we turn to the past to propel us forward. Sometimes we can’t see God clearly in our own lives, but that’s when we can turn to the Bible for encouragement.

We find encouragement as we trace God’s faithful heart and his miraculous deeds throughout the Old and New Testaments. When we remember how he parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, we can look for how he made a way in our lives too. Our parting of seas might look like the strength to walk into the oncologist’s office. It’s this reliance on God for the very next step that reveals more of the unfolding miracle he does in our day-to-day lives.

Our hearts grow stronger when we remember the woman with the issue of blood in the New Testament. Her journey to healing lasted years and cost her a place in society, and crippled her finances. No one could help her. Her way was darkened with discouragement. Yet Jesus. She wove her way through the crowds, convinced that a single touch of Jesus’ hem would heal her. Her persistence led to her miracle. The woman’s example gives us the courage to persist and helps us see where we stayed the course even though we felt unheard. Our persistence is part of our miracle too.

We may find ourselves in situations that seem as impassable as a wide sea. There’s no way around it, and our enemies grow ever closer. We can surrender, or we can keep searching for a way through, trusting that God will be with us through it. That’s just as much of a miracle as the seas parting and our enemies disappearing. God goes with us. He is our strength and companion for the troubled waters ahead.

God carried me through that time when I felt abandoned by him all those years ago. Like the woman with the issue of blood, I persisted in seeking him. And the miracle was a slow unfolding of grace as he met me, drew me closer to him, and renewed my heart.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

If you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you’re in deep trouble and God seems far off, continue to call on him and remember what he has done. When you couple remembering what he has done with crying out to him, you strengthen your faith so that you can see your miracle unfold as he carries you through. Big splashy miracles are exciting testimonies of God’s power. Quiet miracles that unfold slowly are enduring testimonies of God’s glory revealed in you.

Further Reading:
Psalm 77

The Real Reason for Christmas..Rick Renner

 The Real Reason for Christmas

Rick Renner

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
- Philippians 2:8

Do you plan on taking the time this Christmas to tell your children or friends about the purpose of Christmas? If so, what will you tell them?

Although we usually meditate on the birth of Jesus at this time of the year, His purpose in coming to earth was not to give us the sweet picture of a baby in a Bethlehem manger. That little baby was born to die for you and for me and thus pay for the forgiveness of our sins. He was born to die on the Cross that we might be reconciled to God.

For this reason, I always told our sons when they were young, "Don't just think of a baby in a manger at Christmastime. Christmas is about much more than that. It is about God coming to earth in human flesh so He could die on the Cross to pay for your salvation and destroy all the works of the devil in your lives! That is what Christmas is all about!"

People rarely think of the Cross at Christmastime because it is the time set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth. But in Philippians 2, Paul connects the two thoughts. As Paul writes about God becom­ing a man, he goes on to express the ultimate reason God chose to take this amazing action. Paul says in verse 8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Because today is Christmas Eve, I want to use this Sparkling Gem to discuss the real reason for Christmas, which is contained in the truths found in this verse.

Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus was "…found in fashion as a man…." That word "fashion" is the Greek word schema. This is extremely important, for this was precisely the same word that was used in ancient times to depict a king who exchanged his kingly garments for a brief period of time for the clothing of a beggar.

How wonderful that the Holy Spirit would inspire the apostle Paul to use this exact word! When Jesus came to earth, it really was a moment when God Almighty shed His glorious appear­ance and exchanged it for the clothing of human flesh. Although man is wonderfully made, his earthly frame is temporal dust and cannot be compared to the eternal and glorious appearance of God. However, for the sake of our redemption, God laid aside all of His radiant glory, took upon Himself human flesh, and was manifested in the very likeness of a human being.

This is the true story of a King who traded His kingly garments and took upon Himself the clothing of a servant. But the story doesn't stop there. Jesus - our King who exchanged His royal robes for the clothing of flesh - loved us so much that He "…humbled himself, and became obe­dient unto death, even the death of the cross"!

The word "humbled" is the Greek word tapeinao, and it means to be humble, to be lowly, and to be willing to stoop to any measure that is needed. This describes the attitude God had when He took upon Himself human flesh. Think of how much humility would be required for God to shed His glory and lower Himself to become like a member of His creation. Consider the greatness of God's love that drove Him to divest Himself of all His splendor and become like a man. This is amazing to me, particularly when I think of how often the flesh recoils at the thought of being humble or preferring someone else above itself. Yet Jesus humbled Himself "…and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The word "obedient" tells me that this was not a pleasurable experience that Jesus looked for­ward to in anticipation. To humble Himself to this extent required Jesus' deliberate obedience.

As preexistent God, Jesus came to earth for this purpose. But as man dressed in flesh, He despised the thought of the Cross (Hebrews 12:2) and could only endure its shame because He knew of the results that would follow. For Jesus to be obedient as a man, He had to choose to obey the eternal plan of God.

The word "obedient" that is used to describe Jesus is the Greek word hupakouo, from the word hupo, which means under, and the word akouo, which means I hear. When these two words are com­pounded together, they picture someone who is hupo - under someone else's authority, and akouo - listening to what that superior is speaking to him. After listening and taking these instructions to heart, this person then carries out the orders of his superior.

Thus, the word hupakouo tells us that obedient people are 1) under authority, 2) listening to what their superior is saying, and 3) carrying out the orders that have been given to them. This is what the word "obedient" means in this verse, and this is what obedience means for you and me.

You see, even Jesus had to come to this place of obedience. Although He knew that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, that didn't mean His flesh was excited about dying as the Lamb of God on the Cross. According to this verse in Philippians 2:8, Jesus had to humble Himself and become "obedient" in order to follow God's plan. He wasn't looking forward to the expe­rience of death on a Cross; He made a choice to humble Himself and to go to any measure in order to accomplish the Father's plan.

Part of the Father's plan was for Jesus to humble Himself "…unto death, even the death of the cross." The word "unto" is from the Greek word mechri, which is a Greek word that really means to such an extent. The Greek word mechri is sufficient in itself to dramatize the point, but the verse goes on to say that Jesus humbled Himself unto death, "…even the death of the cross." The word "even" is the Greek word de, which emphatically means EVEN! The Greek carries this idea: "Can you imag­ine it! Jesus humbled Himself to such a lowly position and became so obedient that He even stooped low enough to die the miserable death of a Cross!"

I heartily recommend that you take the time today to read the April 24 Sparkling Gem order to refresh your memory on the full process of crucifixion. It was genuinely the worst death a person could ever endure. For Jesus to humble Himself to the point of death, EVEN the death of the Cross, demonstrates how much He was willing to humble Himself to redeem you and me.

Just think of it - Almighty God, clothed in radiant glory from eternity past, came to this earth formed as a human being in the womb of a human mother for one purpose: so that He could one day die a miserable death on a Cross to purchase our salvation! All of this required humility on a level far beyond anything we could ever comprehend or anything that has ever been requested of any of us. Yet this was the reason Jesus came; therefore, He chose to be obedient to the very end, humbling Himself to the point of dying a humiliating death on a Cross and thereby purchasing our eternal salvation.

So as you celebrate Christmas, be sure to remember the real purpose of Christmas. It isn't just a time to reflect on the baby boy who was born in Bethlehem so long ago.  That baby was God manifest in the flesh. He was born to die for you and for me. Jesus was so will­ing to do whatever was required in order to redeem us from Satan and sin that He humbled Himself even unto death on a Cross! That is what Christmas is all about!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY 

Lord, I thank You for coming to earth so You could redeem me. When I think of the extent to which You were willing to go in order to save me, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally thankful to You for everything You did to save me!

I pray this in Jesus' name!

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY 

I confess that Jesus Christ loves me! He demonstrated His love to me by leaving behind Heaven's glory and taking upon Himself human flesh. And He did it for one purpose: so that one day He could go to the Cross and die for me and thus reconcile me unto God. There is no need for me to ever feel unloved or unwanted, because Jesus went the ultimate distance to prove that He loves me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER 

1. When you compare Jesus' ultimate act of obedience to God with your own will­ingness to obey God in every area of your life, are you satisfied with your level of obedience to Him? Or do you find yourself falling far short of what He requires? 
2. What can you do on this Christmas Eve to more fully "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5)? Are there specific ways you can show humility toward others or prefer someone else above yourself? 
3. Now that you've read today's Sparkling Gem, what will change in the way you talk to your children or your friends about the real purpose of Christmas?