Love is Present..Craig Denison Ministries

 Love is Present

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

James 2:26 tells us, “Faith apart from works is dead.” If we are going to experience the fullness of life offered to us through our faith we must be those who put our words into action. We must not profess to love God on Sundays and live as if he isn’t present, real, or good on Monday. May your faith come alive this week as you seek to be a doer of the word.

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

Devotional:

One of the most comforting aspects of God’s character is that he is present. Jesus made clear God’s desire to be present when he left his throne and took on humanity. God has never desired distance with his children. He fights to have close relationship with us every day. This week we’re looking at how we can not only receive God’s word, but experience more of God through being doers of his word. So, today let’s explore how we can follow the example of Jesus and be present for those around us.

Being present in people’s lives always requires sacrifice. It requires stepping outside of what will solely benefit you in order to live for the benefit of others. Philippians 2:3 teaches us,“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Jesus counted you and me as more significant than his own life. He died so that we might live, and he calls us to do the same. Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” John 12:24 makes it clear that in order to bear fruit in this life we must die to ourselves: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Choose today to be a doer of the word, and die to yourself that you might better love others.

You see, before people need your advice they need your presence. Before our need to be fixed we simply need to know we are loved and cared for. It’s in the giving and receiving of love that healing takes place. Being present creates space for them to thrive, heal and be transformed.

Who in your life needs you to be present for them today? In what ways has God been present in your own life? In what ways has he demonstrated his nearness to you? And in what ways could you be his reflection today? I promise you there is someone around you that just needs you to be present in their life. There is someone who simply needs to know that somebody would love them enough to think about them—to be near to them. Take time today to let someone know you are there for them. Listen, love, and watch as God works through you simply being present in the lives of others.

Guided Prayer:

1. Take a moment to reflect on God’s nearness to you. Receive his presence. Encounter his closeness.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”Psalm 139:7-12

2. Now ask the Spirit to show you someone who needs you to be present for them today. Spend some time thinking about and praying for that person.

3. Ask God how he would have you be present in their life. How can you be a reflection of God’s love to them today?

Have the courage to humble yourself before people around you. Count them as more significant than yourself. You being present isn’t about what they can give you in return or even how they appear to receive your love. Love selflessly today the way Jesus did, and experience the joy and peace that comes from serving rather than seeking to be served.

Extended Reading: Philippians 2

When You Feel Insecure or Uncertain..MEGHAN RYAN

 When You Feel Insecure or Uncertain

MEGHAN RYAN

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 (NIV)

It had only been a week since I moved to a different city where I didn’t know anyone. A new co-worker had invited me to her friend’s house for a party. I was thankful for the invitation but simultaneously felt nervous.

The bubbles in my stomach got progressively worse the entire way there as I followed my GPS and silently questioned my choice of outfit. When I arrived at the unfamiliar house and timidly walked through the front door, my mind filled with questions:

Would these become the people I called my friends? Would they like me? 

Walking into a party full of people I didn’t know is a small example of a bigger fear lying underneath, in the deeper places in my heart that were full of unknowns, unanswered prayers, uncertain outcomes and unending time of waiting.

Will God be faithful to me in this new season?

Moving scared me, and leaving behind a life I loved for one I knew nothing about made me feel vulnerable. Vulnerability exposes how we are hiding, but it also exposes us to hard things we’ve been hiding from. In this case, it showed what I really put my trust in … and it wasn’t always God.

Maybe you’re in a place that has made you question God’s faithfulness toward you. Whether in a specific circumstance we are facing or across years of wondering where God is and what He is doing, it can be easy to cling to whatever is around us to make us feel safe and steady. When those things are no longer there, where do we turn?

This is why I admire Ruth so much. When she spoke the words of today’s key verse to her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth chose to leave behind her entire life and everything familiar to her:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).

Ruth left her people and home to follow Naomi and a God she barely knew. And the place she moved to did not typically welcome Moabites like her, as they were considered enemies of God’s people.

But she trusted God’s faithfulness without knowing what the outcome would be. How did she do it?

1. She committed to go and stay where God called her. Regardless of whether or not she would be accepted, she decided to believe God would be with her. She didn’t wait for Him to show up in a huge way; she simply followed where she thought He was leading.
2. She chose to cling to God as her God. When it would have been easier to follow after the false gods and life she knew in Moab, she placed her identity in God. Regardless of what was ahead of her, she trusted Him.

Like Ruth, we have a choice: to cling to what is comfortable and familiar for our security or to trust God. We can look to His Word and His character, which have proven He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. Not just for Ruth but for you and me too.

When we feel insecure, God’s promises are sure. When we feel uncertain, God’s faithfulness remains.

When you look back at your life, where do you see glimpses of God’s faithfulness? They may not be big, extravagant instances, but if you are alive and reading this today, it’s proof God has been faithful in His pursuit of you.

The ultimate proof of God’s faithfulness is in Jesus. The same Jesus who was born through the lineage of Ruth’s family is going to make all things new in this world. (Revelation 21:5)

When you find yourself insecure and uncertain, remember: God is faithful, and we can cling to Him.

Father, on the days I feel insecure and uncertain about the future, remind me of Your faithfulness. You have gone before me. You are striding ahead of me. You are right here with me. You will not leave me. You won’t let me down. You will not forsake me. I won’t be intimidated. I won’t be discouraged or dismayed. I will choose not to worry because I can put my trust in You. Thank You for Your faithfulness and lovingkindness not to leave me empty. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Accepting God's Gift of Love..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Accepting God's Gift of Love

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 John 4:7-12

Many people simply can't believe that the Lord loves them. Others believe that He loves them, but only when they are pleasing Him in some way. Why is it so hard for us to accept His unconditional love?

One reason is that we have a hard time loving others without condition. We might say the words "I love you" to our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, or fellow believers but all too often are calculating in our mind whether or not they've lived up to our standard. We sometimes excuse ourselves from loving certain people because their behavior upsets or annoys us. The fact that we place restrictions on extending favor causes us to wrongly assume that the Lord does likewise.

Another reason is poor self-image. Considering ourselves unworthy, we refuse to accept God's love. You know what? None of us are worthy of the heavenly Father's goodness and mercy—so you can let go of that excuse once and for all. We're not coming to Him based on our worth. Rather, we're coming to Him based on His grace, and our position is secure in Christ. To put yourself down as "beneath His grace" is to trample on His loving, generous gift. God arranged an awesome divine way for us to be reconciled to Him, and His greatest desire is for relationship with each of us.

If you feel unloved or struggle to accept yourself, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of our heavenly Father's love for you—and to sink it deep into your heart. Receive the truth that He reveals. It will be a completely different story about your value as an individual.

How Do You Define Love?..Lynette Kittle

 How Do You Define Love?

By Lynette Kittle

“Do everything in love” - 1 Corinthians 16:14

What does it mean to do everything in love? Is that even possible? If so, what does that look like, and how do we live it out in our lives? Because God is love (1 John 4:8), the devil works overtime to distort the meaning of love by twisting it, confusing it, mixing it up, and dwindling it down to a sporadic feeling that comes and goes with a whim.

Love’s Definition
God is love, so the only way to really define and understand what love is, and how to do everything in love, requires looking at how God defines it. The following are seven ways.

1. Love reaches out first. As God demonstrated to us, love doesn’t wait to be invited before it steps out first. “We love because He first loved us”(1 John 4:19).

2. Love is a decision. Love is not an uncontrollable feeling that overwhelms us to where we can’t resist. The saying “You don’t choose who you love” is just not true.

We absolutely choose whom to love. Real love is a purposeful choice we make. As John 3:16 explains, God chose to love us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

3. Love sacrifices. Most people are looking for easy love where nothing is required of them but to be loved. But real love sacrifices for the benefit of the ones we love.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1,2).

4. Love gives. As God has shown us by giving us Jesus, loves gives and keeps giving, as 1 John 4:9 explains, “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”

As well, Ephesians 1:3 describes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” 

5. Love covers sin. Most of us don’t truly understand how love works so powerfully in our lives. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”(1 Peter 4:8).

6. Love forgives. Evidence of real love is forgiveness. Absence or lack of forgiveness reveals an unloving heart. Luke 7:47 explains, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Being willing to forgive reveals how much of God’s forgiveness we have received ourselves. A lack of it indicates a heart that most likely has not received the fullness of His forgiveness in our own lives.

Like Ephesians 4:32 reminds us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” As well, Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Many miss that forgiving others is connected to our receiving God’s forgiveness. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

7. Love never fails. As 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 explains, in every situation, love doesn’t ever fail. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Intersecting Faith and Life:
How does your definition of love line up with God’s description? If it doesn’t seem to match up, ask God to help you realign your view and understanding with His word.

How to Prepare for Heaven ..Lynette Kittle

 How to Prepare for Heaven (1 Timothy 6:19)

By Lynette Kittle

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life—1 Timothy 6:19

Later in her life, my Mom began asking us what items of hers we would like to have when she went to be with Jesus. Of course, this wasn’t something we wanted to discuss or even think about at the time, so we tried to dodge her questions and change the subject.

But she was excited and looking forward to being with Jesus. Just as many plan for their future on earth, Mom was preparing for her future in Heaven by distributing her earthly possessions.

Because Jesus tells us He is preparing a place for us (John 14:3), there wasn’t anything wrong with her looking ahead and preparing in practical ways for her new life with Him. She was looking up, as the song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" encourages:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light o His glory and grace.”

If we think about it, life on earth really is all about preparing for our future. It’s about accepting God’s gift of Salvation, recruiting others to go with us, and storing up treasures in Heaven.

It’s true what Matthews 6:21 explains, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Even the happiest place on earth doesn't compare to the ultimate place of peace, joy, love, and more waiting for all of us who receive God’s gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

How to Prepare for Heaven While on Earth:

Because Heaven is our future destination, how can we prepare on earth for living there?

1. Receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. As John 3:16 explains, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

What could be more wonderful than to receive eternal life and live with Jesus?

2. Leave fear behind. Hebrews 2:9, explains how Jesus suffered death so that He might taste death for everyone. Because He died for our sins, we don’t have to fear death.

As 1 Corinthians 15:54 describes, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ’Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”

3. Recruit as many people as possible to go there, too. We truly can’t take any earthly possessions with us when we leave but we certainly can recruit loved ones and others to come with us.

Jesus encourages us to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15), and when we do tell, others will receive eternal life with Him and never perish (John 10:28).

4. Store up treasures in heaven rather than earth.  Isaiah 51:6, describes how the earth is set to wear out like a garment. So rather than spending our time, energy, and resources storing up earthly treasures, Jesus urges,  “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).

Unlike things we collect in the world, God’s treasures are made to last an eternity. 1 Timothy 6:18 encourages us to store up this kind of treasure by doing good, being rich in good deeds, and being generous and willing to share.

As 1 Timothy 6:19, assures, “In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Whereas treasures in this life are temporary, treasures in Heaven build a strong foundation for our lives to come.

A Prayer for When You Feel Forgotten..Jessica Van Roekel

 A Prayer for When You Feel Forgotten

By Jessica Van Roekel

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” (Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV)

We had a fierce winter storm blow through that filled our country roads with drifts as high as a car door. The snow fell in big flakes, but the wind tossed it around and piled it into hard chunks. My rural area is divided into one-mile squares with roads running east and west and north and south every mile. I took the westerly route that I knew was open to the hard surface roads, but I was curious about the north/south road. So, instead of turning back into my driveway, I drove right on past it and turned south.

This decision proved to be regrettable. I made it to the half-mile mark, bouncing through a few drifts, and thought that wasn’t so bad, but as I came to a small rise in the road, I gulped. I couldn’t slow down because if I did, I would be trapped with no way to walk home because I wasn’t dressed for it. I had to press on. I accelerated and prayed I would make it through the next half mile, which was one continuous drift.

The car bounced to the left and then to the right, sliding closer to the ditch. I fishtailed my way to the stop sign, relieved I made it. But I still needed to make it home. I couldn’t go back the way I had come, so it was around two sections and a semi-manageable drift before I powered my way up my driveway. Car covered in snow, brakes filled with ice, I slid to a stop in my garage. I sighed with thanksgiving, aware of the gift it was that I made it home.

Have you ever felt trapped, with no way forward and no way to go backward? Maybe it was a choice you made, like my not-so-smart choice to challenge the wind and snow. Or maybe it was thrust on you by unwanted circumstances. Either way, your feet are on an unwanted path, and there’s no way that you can undo it.

In this chapter of Isaiah, the Israelites believed Lord had forsaken them. They believed their troubles were a sign that God had forgotten them. There are times when our troubles whisper to us that we, too, are forgotten. It appears other people don’t have the same struggles as we do, and we feel it's unfair. We wrongly believe we got the short end of the stick, and we stand accusing God that he forgot us. We have been lost, and so we lose faith in God.

Yet God assured the Israelites that he was with them. That he saw them and that they were important to him. In these words, he reminds us that his love is greater than a mother toward her child. He doesn’t forget us in our times of despair and grief. He makes certain that he looks out for us. His compassion compels him to act on our behalf, whether he relieves our circumstances or brings relief to our anxious hearts.

The evidence of his love for us can be found in the scars on Jesus’ hands. We are engraved on God’s palm. He cannot forget us. Those scars serve as a reminder to us of his sacrificial love that he showed to us and of his unending desire to do what is best for us.

Do you feel as though you have been left far, far behind? It seems like other people have moved on, and you’re left to flounder forward, lonely and feeling lost. Remember that God sees you. When you feel invisible, remember that his heart is tender toward you. He walks with you, guiding you, bringing you comfort and rest.

Let’s pray:

Holy God,
I feel so invisible right now. I feel lost and alone. Everyone else has moved on, and I am stuck in this wretched cycle of the same struggles. But you see me, you know me, and you have engraved me in the palm of your hand. Let me find my comfort and rest in you. You are my everything, and I praise you. I know that because of you, I can make it through. I know that even though I feel forgotten, I am not because you are with me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen