Casting Off Negativity..Craig Denison Ministries

 Casting Off Negativity

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Our heavenly Father has made incredible promises to us, his children. And while our God is completely faithful to deliver on his promises, he does not force them on us. He’s promised his nearness, his affections, and an eternal life spent with him. But we have the power to choose our own way. He doesn’t force himself where there’s no space. God’s word won’t have power in our lives if we don’t read it. We won’t hear God effectively if we’re not listening. And we can’t experience his nearness if we constantly fill our lives with other things. So, this week we’re going to talk about different ways we can experience the promises of God so that they might come to full fruition in our lives. May you encounter God powerfully as you grow in fully experiencing the incredible promises of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21

Devotional:    

Negativity is like a weed that robs us of the vitality available in thankfulness, in right thinking, and in saying only that which builds up. Negativity never serves to edify, produce life, or lead to anything positive. It can serve only the purpose of destruction. Let’s spend time today looking at what the Bible says about negativity, learning how we can stop its destruction, and ask the Holy Spirit to be our Helper in ridding it from our lives. Scripture speaks very harshly of the power of an unbridled tongue. James 3:2-6 says:

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 

The tongue is the rudder that leads to a life of “unrighteousness” or a life lived in honor and obedience to God. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Speaking negatively produces the fruit of unrighteousness while speaking words of thankfulness and grace produces life. Proverbs 26:20 says,“For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.” We’ve all experienced the harmful effects of slander. If we will choose to cut out negativity, we can put out the destructive fire slander causes. Finally, Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

Have you experienced the power of negativity in your own life? How does speaking negatively about a person affect your feelings toward them? How does speaking negatively of a situation affect your perspective for the day? Now think about the opposite. What does it do for your emotions and perspectives to speak positively? How do you feel when you express thankfulness about your life instead of negativity? As we learned in Proverbs 15:4, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life.” When you speak gently of others you will find life produced not only in yourself but in them as well. When you co-labor with God’s heart in sharing his message of love, grace, and peace, the result is a wellspring of life.

Negativity is not the same as correcting those around you face-to-face. The Bible speaks highly of correction motivated by love. And we need people around us that have the courage and love to correct us when we’re wrong. However, there is no place for negativity in the lives of believers. You don’t need it! You don’t have to speak negatively about people and situations. You can always choose to speak thankfulness, grace, and love. Think for a minute about what your life would look like without negativity. How would your attitudes, emotions, and perspective be different? Would you enjoy your life more? Would others enjoy you more?

The Holy Spirit is here to help you express thankfulness instead of negativity. He is always looking for opportunities to lead you into a life more full of the abundance and enjoyment of God’s righteousness. He is faithful to guide you into a fruitful life lived in obedience to him. God will never give you a command he won’t help you obey. He is not a God who sits back firing rules at his people from afar. He is a God who comes down off his throne to die in order to make a way for you to live a better life full of restored relationship with him. Choose thankfulness today over negativity and rid yourself of that which robs you of experiencing God’s promise of abundant life. Spend time with him today in his presence, let his love and grace stir up thankfulness within you, and receive the help that comes from the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your life.

Guided Prayer:     

1. Meditate on what God says about the power of your speech. 

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21

“It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Matthew 15:11

2. Now reflect on people and situations that seem to constantly produce negativity in your life. Where do you most often feel anger, frustration, and negativity? Who consistently leads you to speak negatively about people or situations?

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you speak life and thankfulness today instead of negativity. Think back on those people and circumstances. Focus on what you can be thankful for today. Thank God for what he is doing in those people and circumstances that seem to consistently produce negativity in you.

When you begin to notice yourself speaking negatively today, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into an attitude of thankfulness. Hold captive your thoughts today. Catch them before you speak them. Choose to speak life into people around you. Spread God’s love today. And watch as your day is transformed into being more joyful, peaceful, and full of life.

Extended Reading: James 3

God Wants You To Open the Gift..ABBY MCDONALD

 God Wants You To Open the Gift

ABBY MCDONALD

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (ESV)

For months, the box sat in our basement, unopened and collecting dust. At the time, it was just something else to organize.

Until my son discovered it.

“Mama, guess what I found?” he said. He led me downstairs and showed me the numerous photos and pieces of memorabilia from my childhood — which my parents had brought during their last visit to my house.

As I studied my son's smile, I realized that to him, this box was a treasure. Together, we combed through the contents, countless memories coming back to me in an instant.

At first, I had seen the box as an inconvenience. But the more time I spent looking through it, the more I realized this collection was a gift. I remembered moments I might have forgotten otherwise. The box's contents reminded me of the difficult seasons God strengthened me through and how He empowered me at times when I was afraid to respond to His prompting in faith.

It also reminded me of the way I treat some of the gifts God gives me. He gives me the gift of His Spirit, but do I really believe He can do what Scripture says?

Sometimes I read accounts of miracles the disciples performed and think, Yeah, but they had just seen Jesus. They had the benefit of firsthand interaction. And God gently reminds me, But you have the same Spirit in you.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, I sense the urgency in Paul’s words as he told Timothy about the gift God gives each believer:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

The beauty of these words is that they’re not simply for a believer who lived thousands of years ago; they're for each of us today. They’re truth to help us get out of our own way.

In other words, wipe the dust off the box, and open the gift.

But what does opening this gift look like in everyday life? For the mom who has young children or someone who works a nine-to-five job, how do we live like we believe this passage?

As I dig into God’s Word, He is teaching me:

• When we receive prompting from God and it lines up with His Word, we can act in faith without repeated confirmation. (James 2:14)
• The power of the Spirit in me is activated when I step out in faith before I know what the outcome will be, not after. (Hebrews 11:1)
• God’s power is displayed in me and through me even when my acts of faith bring different results than I envisioned. (Ephesians 3:20)

After I looked through the contents of the long-forgotten box, God prompted me to take a step of faith.

I made a doctor’s appointment I’d been putting off for months, hoping the chronic pain I was experiencing would go away. Although I feared an unwelcome diagnosis, those fresh memories helped me recall all the struggles God had walked through with me in the past. God didn’t abandon me then, and I knew He was with me as I scheduled the appointment. My friend, He is with you too.

God, thank You for giving us the gift of Your Spirit, even though we sometimes attempt to live without the Spirit’s help. When we’re prone to forget the power residing within us, help us instead to live like the sons and daughters we are … so that others may see who You are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The God to Whom We Pray..Dr. Charles Stanley

 The God to Whom We Pray

Dr. Charles Stanley

Nehemiah 1

What’s your view of the Lord? Do you see Him as the One who can handle all the challenges you bring before Him? Nehemiah knew God in this way. Upon hearing about Jerusalem’s destruction, he mourned, fasted, and prayed for intervention. His supplication (Neh. 1:5-11) offers a glimpse of how he viewed the Almighty.

First, the Hebrew term Yahweh refers to One who is absolute in faithfulness. Next, the title Elohim indicates infinite power and sovereignty over the universe. Finally, Adonai means “ruler over all.” Nehemiah was bringing his request before the throne with full confidence in God.

And the Lord answered his prayer in a powerful, dramatic way. As cupbearer in the palace, Nehemiah tasted food and drink first to protect King Artaxerxes from possible poisoning. For a servant in this position, to look sad was very risky (Nehemiah 2:1), yet the terrible news disheartened him.

So the Lord worked a miracle: when the king asked what was troubling his cupbearer, Nehemiah expressed concern for the Jewish people. Instead of punishing him, Artaxerxes let him go to rebuild what had been destroyed, and even supplied the materials! God handled what seemed like an overwhelming, impossible burden for Nehemiah, and He can do the same for us.

Having the right view of the Lord will allow us to approach Him with absolute confidence. And we know that He will hear and answer our prayers (Ps. 86:7). Remember that He is absolute in faithfulness and infinite in power. Our heavenly Father is the ruler over all.

You Have No Choice But to Forgive..Clarence L. Haynes Jr.

 You Have No Choice But to Forgive

By Clarence L. Haynes Jr.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13

When you think about the marks of a Christian, there is one mark that should be present, which sometimes we can too easily gloss over. That mark is forgiveness. When we need forgiveness, it is amazing how we seek after it. Yet when we must give forgiveness, sometimes we can be a little slow on the draw. Have you ever wondered why that is? One reason is we forget how much we have been forgiven, and when that happens, we can treat the act of forgiving someone else as if we are doing them a favor instead of extending grace that we ourselves have received. I want to remind you if you are going to be a true follower of Christ, then you must exercise forgiveness. You really have no choice if you truly want to follow Christ.

Why Must You Forgive?
There really is one good reason why you must forgive. Because God has forgiven you. That alone should be enough to motivate you to forgive others, and yet, many times, it is not. I want you to look back on your life for a moment and think about all the sins you have committed against God and against other people. (I would ask you to start writing them down, but you will soon discover that list is going to get very long.) Regardless of how long that list is when you came to Christ, that entire list was wiped clean. God forgave all your sins because of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for you. You don’t need any other reason to forgive someone because this one reason is enough.

A Terrible Example of Forgiveness
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the story of the unmerciful servant. Allow me to sum up the story for you. A man owed the king a debt of ten thousand bags of gold. Just for perspective, one bag of gold was the equivalent of twenty years of a day laborer's salary. This servant owed ten thousand bags. It would have taken him two hundred thousand years to repay the debt, which means the debt was never going to be repaid. Not by him, not by his family, nor by any generations of people that came after him. However, even though he owed the king this much debt, the king chose to show him mercy and forgive his debt. This same servant then went out and found a man who owed him a hundred silver coins which was the equivalent of a day’s pay. This man could have easily repaid this debt, possibly in as little as one day. However, this servant had the man thrown in jail because he could not repay him. When the king heard this, he rebuked him and had him thrown in jail because he failed to show mercy and forgiveness for a small debt after he had received it for his big debt.

May I ask you to guess who we are in the story? By comparison, we are the man who owed a debt we would never be able to repay, and yet God, in his mercy, forgave us. After having received so much mercy, why then do we harbor unforgiveness toward those who have hurt us? Unfortunately, saying “but you don’t know what they did to me” is not good enough. If you should ever feel this way, all you have to do is remember how big your sin list was and how many times you violated God’s commands and yet today, you stand forgiven. Let me say this. There is no reason to justify not wanting to forgive someone. It does not matter what they have done. To think otherwise is to behave like this unmerciful servant forgetting how big a sin debt you really owed. Let’s not be that person.

A Practical Exercise
As you look inward today, ask the Lord to show you if there is anyone you have not forgiven, and then forgive that person. Forgiveness does not mean you forget; it means you no longer hold it against that person. When you can do that, you are operating in the grace and forgiveness you have received. I promise you will be thankful that you did.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Forgiveness is not just for the other person. Forgiveness releases you from the grip the other person’s actions have over your life.

Further Reading:

Matthew 6:12-15

Keys to Living A Worry-Free Life..Lynette Kittle

 Keys to Living A Worry-Free Life

By Lynette Kittle

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? – Matthew 6:27

Worry and anxiety seem to be at an all-time high.

Like many, you may feel overwhelmed with social media’s constant updates on changing world events. This continual source creates an atmosphere of uncertainty, wondering what will happen next, causing millions to live on the edge of the possibilities.

Still, God urges, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

In this type of cultural climate, you may ask, “How is this possible to even live worry-free in the present-day atmosphere?”

Scripture explains the key to living anxiety-free is to instead of focusing on turbulent times, to turn your thoughts to prayer, petition, and thankfulness to God(Philippians 4:6).

Psalm 91:2 encourages you to look to the Lord as your refuge and fortress, trusting in Him rather than what is happening in the world.

As Isaiah 41:10 urges, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

By choosing to trust God and follow His strategy for living rather than depending on an ever-changing, unpredictable, shaky humanity, you’ll begin to see your anxiety and worry level disappear.

Psalm 50:15 instructs to “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver, and you will honor me.”

Likewise, Psalm 55:22 states, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Maybe though you’re not even sure why you feel so anxious? If so, Psalm 139:23 encourages you to ask, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

Or maybe you’re not focused on world events but consumed with worry about just meeting your daily needs. If so, Matthew 6:8 describes how your Father in Heaven knows what you need even before you ask Him.

Take comfort in realizing God already sees what you need before you ask. Like Isaiah 65:24 describes, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”

If you feel it’s all up to you to survive, choose rather to believe what Psalm 54:4 assures that, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”

No matter how unstable the world becomes, Psalm 23:6 describes God’s faithfulness to you stating, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

A Prayer to Accept Others..Laura Bailey

 A Prayer to Accept Others 

By Laura Bailey

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” - Romans 15: 7 NIV

I could tell by how my daughter bounced to the car; she had some news she was ready to share. As her car door opened, so did her mouth, “Mom! We have a new kid; he’s so different!” My mind did that mom thing, you know, where you try to go through all the ways you could respond. I decided on a quick acknowledgment. “Oh, how fun your class has a new student!” Then asked her, "What exactly do you mean by different?"

My daughter described the new student in detail; she raved about her colorfully dyed hair and unique style. For many, a child with purple-streaked locks, who willingly choose not to eat meat, and doesn’t mind expressing themselves in bold prints, is probably normal. But, for better or worse, in my small southern town, most kids stick to clothing choices, hairstyles, and diets that don't deviate too far from what the other kids are doing.

This new student wasn’t that different, but their differences stood out to my daughter in a class where most everyone looked and acted the same. I could sense there was a question bubbling underneath my daughter's afterschool news.“How should I treat this new person?”

In Rome, the church was experiencing a similar situation when they asked Paul, “what should we do about differences among believers?” Most of the Roman church were new believers and Jewish converts, so they didn’t have a firm grasp on their freedoms as Christians. Paul, in Romans 15:1-7,  encouraged believers of all levels of faith to humbly work to get along and accept one another, even if their beliefs on personal freedoms differ.

Yes, we must accept the message of the gospel that there is the only way to Heaven through a personal relationship with Christ. However, there are many things in which the Bible allows us to lean into our personal conscious and convictions. In Paul’s time, arguments were over eating meat or attending specific festivals. Today, Christians disagree over political parties or worship styles. What might be right for one should be avoided for another, but either way, we should learn to live in harmony. 

In the Roman church and today, we’ve missed the point if we can’t look past our differences, choosing to love and welcome others just as Christ did for us. As believers, one of the ways we show Christ, bringing God glory, is by accepting His people. We don’t discriminate based on what they look like, the food they choose to eat, or other personal preferences. 

In the conversation with my daughter, I asked her if she knew if the new student had found a church. “Why does that matter, mom?” I gently responded, “ Because having a personal relationship with Christ is the only thing that does matter.” I am grateful the Lord allowed me to share the unifying Gospel message, but I also felt a firm conviction from the Holy Spirit. How often had I failed to accept others whose preferences and beliefs differed from mine? May we embrace the words of Paul and invite others into a relationship with Christ just as Christ did for us.

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you for adopting us into your family. Remind us that the gospel is for every tribe and every nation; it doesn’t discriminate based on gender, race, economic status, or background. Lord, I ask that you help me to see people as you see them, looking past the physical and into their hearts. Let me welcome people with open arms, minds, and hearts with people who look differently from me. Give me discernment as I seek to honor you in everything I say. Forgive us when we fall short. We love you; thank you for your patience as we navigate life in a fallen world.
Amen.

An Easter Prayer of Celebration: He Is Risen!..Debbie McDaniel

 An Easter Prayer of Celebration: He Is Risen!

By Debbie McDaniel

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said…” Matthew 28:6

Such incredible, miraculous, life-changing words. “He is not here, for he has risen…”

His power could not be contained in a grave. His love could not be conquered by death. His truth could never be buried and forgotten.

Jesus Christ rose again, He is Victorious!

And He makes all things new.

The very purpose of this Easter weekend reminds us, that no matter what we’ve been through in the past, what we might be facing today, or what uncertainties tomorrow may hold, Christ alone is our Hope. He conquered death, He rose from the grave, He is all Powerful.

He breathes new life, so that we can live…free.

We have so much to celebrate today, for He has risen!

He has risen indeed!

Dear God,

Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you for the Victory and Power in your Name. Thank you that you hold the keys over death, and that by your might, Christ was raised from the grave, paving the way for us to live free. Thank you that you had plan, thank you that you made a way. 

We praise you for your great strength, we praise you for your lavish love. We praise you for you are Conqueror, Victor, Redeemer, and Friend. We praise you that you alone are our Deliverer, you are Worthy, you are our everlasting Father, our great and awesome God.

We confess our need for you. We ask that you would renew our hearts, minds, and lives, for the days ahead. We pray for your spirit of refreshing to fill us again.

Keep your words of truth planted firmly within us, help us to keep focused on what is pure and right, give us the power to be obedient to your word. And when the enemy reminds us of where we have been, whispering his lies and hurling attacks our way, may he be reminded again of his future. For we have a future and a hope in you. We’ve been set free, redeemed, the old has lost its grip, the new has come.

Shine your light in us, through us, over us. May we make a difference in this world, for your glory and purposes. Set you way before us. May all your plans succeed. We may reflect your peace and hope to a world that so desperately needs your presence and healing.

Thanks be to you God, for your indescribable gift!

To you be glory and honor, on this Resurrection Day, and forever.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.