Receiving God’s Word through Action..Craig Denison Ministries

 Receiving God’s Word through Action

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

You and I have been given the invaluable gift of communication with God. Last week we learned about the process of making the soil of our hearts soft and receptive to God. This week we’ll learn some different ways to receive the seed of his word. May your communion with God flourish as you engage in continual conversation with your loving, present heavenly Father.

Scripture:“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:23-25

Devotional:   

Faith and action go together. Understanding and works are tethered—joined together at salvation through the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. James 2:14-17 asks us,

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

The poor, orphaned, widowed, and lost don’t just need a word from God. They need us to act on our beliefs and love and serve selflessly with the help of the Holy Spirit. Gathering together as believers to worship is just a part of what God intends for us as his children. If we are to receive all that God has for us, if we are to walk in the abundant life God intends, we must resolve to be doers of the word.

James 1:23-25 gives us a window into the life of a believer who never puts action to his faith. Scripture says,

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Your identity as a disciple of Christ undoubtedly comes from relationship with God, but it is meant to be lived out in your deeds. God longs for you to live a life of good works in response to the unconditional love you’ve been given. He longs for you to live in selfless humility sharing with others what he’s done in you.

We’ve separated Christianity from the world. We’ve separated Sunday from Monday, the sacred and secular. Jesus lived in line with God’s love every minute he was here. He broke the rules in healing on the Sabbath. He ministered almost completely outside of the walls of the synagogue. He brought the good news of God’s grace to all who would believe everywhere he went. His life was in no way segregated. Jesus’s turning the water into wine at a party was just as holy and spiritual as his reading of Isaiah in the temple, proclaiming his fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the Messiah. His love was put into perfect action through every word, miracle, step, glance, and prayer.

With Jesus as our perfect example, let’s live in accordance with God’s will. Let’s blur the line of faith and works until the two become one. Let’s regard meals, conversations, rest, family time, and parties as important and holy as worshipping inside the walls of our churches. Let’s live as Jesus did and make love an action instead of just an idea we talk about on Sunday.          

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for your faith to produce good works.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”James 2:14-17

2. Ask God where he would have you put faith into action. It could be buying flowers for your wife, finding a new way to honor your husband, taking your children on a special trip, or offering encouragement to someone around you at work or school. Ask the Spirit to give you specific ways in which he desires you live out the love you have received.

3. Ask God for the strength and courage to live out his word. Follow the leadership of the Spirit into the good works he has prepared for you today.

The Spirit has an incredible ability and power to guide a willing heart into action for God. Receiving the knowledge of God’s love for the people around you will open up doors in your own life to better know the fullness of God’s heart. You will be more deeply blessed by serving others than you could ever be blessed in being served. God pours his love and grace out on those who minister in line with the leading of the Spirit. It’s truly an honor to be used by God to further the advance of his kingdom in the earth. You were made to live out the truth of the gospel. So choose today to act upon the leading of the Spirit. Choose to be a doer of the word.

Extended Reading: James 1

Our Heavenly Father's Unconditional Love..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Our Heavenly Father's Unconditional Love

Dr. Charles Stanley

Romans 5:6-11

Scripture tells us that love is the very essence of who God is (1 John 4:7). So if you don't believe that He loves you unconditionally, you'll never really know Him or have genuine peace about your relationship with Him.

How do you define "love"? It is Jesus unselfishly reaching out to mankind, giving Himself to us and bringing good into our life regardless of whether or not we accept Him. Romans 5:8 tells us that His care and concern are so immeasurable that He laid down His life for us while we were still His enemies. In fact, the Bible says that He first began to express His love toward us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-5). That means your actions had absolutely nothing to do with His love for you!

God's commitment to us has absolutely no conditions or restrictions and isn't based on whether we love Him back. Nor does He have more love for "good" people who may strike us as more worthy. He loves us even in our sin, even when we don't repent. Does that give us license to disobey? No. It gives us power to live holy lives, walk obediently with Him, and learn to love Him the way He deserves. To follow Him is to receive the love He has been offering all along.

Every single moment, whether awake or asleep, we all live under the canopy of the Lord's wondrous, absolute love for us. But to fully experience that love, you must receive it. Say yes to this amazing gift that God wants to pour out on you. Bask in it, and let it overflow to those around you.

Does Love Really Cover a Multitude of Sins?..Lynette Kittle

 Does Love Really Cover a Multitude of Sins?

By Lynette Kittle

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” - 1 Peter 4:8

God tells us to love each other deeply, but what does that mean? How do we accomplish this in our lives? And how is love strong enough to cover a multitude of sins? Through Jesus coming to earth, death, and resurrection, we can experience how His love covers a multitude of sins. Through His life and sacrifice, our multitude of sins is covered and wiped away.  And God doesn’t just overlook sin or put it on the back burner to remind us later but removes it completely from our lives and our identity. As Psalm 102:12 explains, “As the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Who Is Covering Whom?
So how does loving each other cover a multitude of sins? Often in reading this verse, we tend to think it’s talking about our love covering another person’s multitude of sins. But what if it’s referring to what happens to our own sin when we love others?

What if loving others isn’t about covering those we’re loving sins but rather more about covering our own sins? Perhaps in choosing to love each other, our own sins are being covered and washed away by the love of God. Revelations 1:5 describes, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.”

Because He is love when we live in love, we are moving in Him. As 1 John 4:16 explains, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” Likewise, Acts 17:28 describes, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

The Difference Between Unbelievers and Believers
Without God’s love within hearts, loving others isn’t really possible. There is no other source of love, and because there isn’t, is why the earth is experiencing such loveless conditions because “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

2 Timothy 3:2-5 describes what is happening in our world today. “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

Because a lack of love marks an unbeliever’s life, Christians often don’t realize the importance of loving each other. God’s love marks us in the world as believers in Jesus Christ. “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Let Love Be Our Witness
Even unbelievers in their unbelief recognize a lack of love when they see Christians attacking one another, fighting amongst themselves, maligning and expressing all kinds of unloving attitudes towards each other. Loving one another is what we’re commanded to do, setting us apart from the world and drawing those who are unsaved to desire God’s love in their lives, too. If we aren’t living it out, then we want to repent of our lack of love and ask God to fill us with His love so that we can love each other and be His witnesses in the world. Romans 5:5 explains how God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. He has already placed His love within us to love others.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

How is your love life? Are you finding it easy to love others? If not, ask God to fill your heart with His love and help you to extend godly love to those around you.

5 Ways to Spend Time with God When Life Gets Busy..Courtnaye Richard

 5 Ways to Spend Time with God When Life Gets Busy

By Courtnaye Richard

“And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap, if we faint not.” -  Galatians 6:9

Life gets busy! Trust me. I know it. Some of us have kids, housework, errands to run, dinner to cook, extracurricular activities to drive our kids to, ministry responsibilities, and tasks that need our immediate attention. For some, there may be school work that needs to get done (college or online courses for seminary) or deadlines from work that need to be met on time. Nevertheless, in the midst of all of our busyness, we have got to make time to spend with our heavenly Father. He longs for us to spend time with Him…no matter how busy life gets!

Are you busy today? Meaning, do you have a lot to do? Is your To-Do-List full to capacity? Let me ask you two more questions. Do you sense that God is calling you to a deeper walk with Him? Or are things great with you? If you’ve already created balance in this area, that’s great! But if not, or if you wouldn’t mind grabbing a few extra tips, here is a helpful list of 5 Ways to Spend Time with God When Life Gets Busy…

Create a place in your home that is nice and peaceful, where you can sit down with a hot cup of coffee or tea to pray, talk to God, journal your thoughts or fresh insight from the Lord. Make sure to have your Bible, pen, and notebook ready to gain new revelation and encouragement from His word.

Change scenes by visiting a local coffee shop or bookstore. Bring your Bible, books, a journal, and do your devotion there! Be open to share what you’re reading with someone who may just happen to walk up to you to ask what you’re studying or reading (this is a great way to be a light in the place, too).

Simply be still in His presence. This can take place when you first sit up in bed in the morning or at some point in your day. It’s a moment when you purposefully stop what you’re doing and take a moment to just be still in His presence. It can even happen in your parked car, before rushing out of it to start the work day or errands. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” He owns everything…including time. So spend it with Him. Take time to breathe and sit in His presence.

Grab a Christian film from Wal-Mart, your local Christian bookstore, the Redbox, Netflix (they have a Faith and Spirituality movie section), from your video collection at home or go to your local theater and take a load off. Get some popcorn and just relax to a great wholesome film that will pour life into you. It’s a great way to escape your world of busyness and grow in your faith at the same time.

Take a long ride. Get away for a little while. Get away from the housework, kids, hubby, fiancé, school work, assignments, To-Do-List, and take a ride. It’s a great way to talk to God, have a good cry, and/or a moment to just break away from the normal routine and regroup. Personally, I do all of the above!

And don’t forget to rest. The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap, if we faint not.” But it also tells us that Jesus is right there willing and ready to give us a time of rest in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” So yes, we have work to do, and we do need to do what needs to be done. Quite naturally, life does get busy. BUT Jesus comforts us by reminding and nudging us that He will give us rest. Yesssssssssssss!

There is nothing like His supernatural rest. It just feels so good. But He also gives us wisdom to know when we need to slow down enough to spend time with our heavenly Father. Think about it. Even in all the work that Jesus did when He was here on earth, He still found time to rest and spend time with His Father in prayer. He knew that He could do nothing without being connected to Him. What a great example for us. We need to spend time with our Lord, even when life gets busy.

A Prayer for Tranquility..Jessica Van Roekel

 A Prayer for Tranquility

By Jessica Van Roekel

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 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. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices." Psalm 37:3-7 ESV

Have you ever met someone who seems tranquil all the time? Nothing seems to ruffle them; they sail through rough waters with grace, and they face difficulties with strength. I wish I could be like them. But, alas, I am not. I turn my worries over and over, passing them through one scenario after the other. I tell myself I’m praying, but I don’t feel any better when I say “amen.” I’m discovering that tranquility looks like practicing trust, delight, commitment, and stillness throughout my day.

Trust is not a static response. It doesn’t mean we stop wringing our hands and letting them hang limply at our sides. It is active. Trust is relying on the integrity, strength, and ability of God. It’s placing our worries in his capable hands and then doing good. It’s choosing to walk in his ways, believing that his heart is good toward us. Even when we can’t see it because our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be. Trust leads to tranquility.

Delighting in the Lord means to lean toward him. When we enjoy someone’s company, we lean. God leans toward us. He delights in us, and in the words of Zechariah 3:17, he sings songs of delight over us. We are his workmanship, created on purpose for a purpose. Our challenges in life can cause us to withdraw from an intimate relationship with him because our disappointment in the way things turn out stabs our hearts. But God tells us to delight in him, and when we do, we fix our eyes on his goodness and experience tranquility.

Committing your way to the Lord means surrendering to his leadership. The writer of Proverbs knew the power of making plans and then committing our way to the Lord. We determine our plans, but God directs our steps. Planning is right and good, but holding too tight to the plans steals our tranquility when they flip upside down and inside out. When we sit and decide on the plans for our day, but interruptions come, and our plans fall apart, we can follow God right into the chaos, maintaining a tranquil heart.

Being still before the Lord brings peace to our hearts. Physical stillness is good for our bodies to experience rejuvenation. Mental and emotional stillness reaches into our hearts to replace worry with a peace that transcends our understanding. When we can stop our fussing over how we don’t like our current situation and are determined to still our racing thoughts, we can turn them to remembering. We remember the Lord’s faithfulness and tranquility seeps into us.

There is much in this life that threatens to rob us of tranquility: our child gets sick, we miss a deadline, or a traffic accident happens to derail our life. However, when we cultivate these four qualities, we can restore our tranquility and shift to dealing with the current bumps in the road with peace flowing through our thoughts, words, and actions.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father,
I’m worried about so much. My kids aren’t living as they should. My spouse is dealing with anger. I’m struggling at work. The world seems like it’s on fire with one emergency after another. Peace seems foreign, but I long for tranquility to fill my heart. Help me to trust you and make choices that honor you. I want to delight in you, so I choose to praise your name: you are good, mighty to save, strong, and my refuge. I lean toward you when my heartache whispers to turn away. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know you are there, so I commit my day, weeks, months, and years to you. Help me to still my racing thoughts so that I can remember your faithfulness. Fill me with your peace and tranquility as I trust in you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen