Renewal of Purpose..Craig Denison Ministries

 Renewal of Purpose

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

One of the best aspects of spending time alone with God is being renewed daily by his word and presence. When we make space for God in our lives, especially at the beginning of the day, he is faithful to renew and prepare us for all we will face out in the world. Scripture says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Where do you need renewal? How greatly do you need God’s mercies in your life? He has a plan this week to both teach and guide you into an encounter with him that will renew you with his overwhelming goodness and love. Make space for God. Make time to encounter him. And experience the refreshing spring rain he longs to bring to heal the dry and weary places of your heart.

Scripture:“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” John 15:16

Devotional:    

You and I were born with a deep desire to live with purpose. As children, we dream of doing something significant with our lives. We dream of being a person who makes a difference in the world. Inherent in all of us is a longing to make a deep and lasting impact. Our longing for purpose only becomes a problem as we begin seeking out its source. Most of us live our lives in constant pursuit of finding out why we’re here, seeking the answer to the question: “What am I uniquely made for?” And we look for the answers in all the wrong places. We look for our purpose in each other, in the ever-changing whims of society, or internally, in what seems to make us feel good in the moment. But God has a better purpose for our lives than we could ever find in the world. He has a purpose so great, so powerful, and so lasting that when we get a glimpse of it, we will forever be changed. God has a page in his grand narrative written just for you, to use you to make a unique and eternal impact on the earth.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Let us not miss the importance of what God would reveal to us today because we’ve heard something before. Instead, let’s dive in deeper and see what God’s word would reveal to us about that purpose. In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” You are chosen by God. You aren’t secondary to someone else in God’s kingdom. He has formed you and chosen you to “go and bear fruit.” And Jesus desires that our fruit would “abide.” He has chosen you to make a lasting impact on the earth.

So, what lasting fruit does God intend for you here? Answering this question should start with the words of Jesus. Allow God’s commandments to lay the defining foundation of your purpose. In response to the question of what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31). Your purpose here on earth is to love God and love others. God has chosen to use love to bring about salvation. He’s chosen to use love as the catalyst for spiritual awakening. It’s love that is God’s driving force, and it’s love that he longs to instill in us as our highest goal. Understand today that you are formed and called to love above all else.

Scripture also tells us that we have been chosen to be carriers and ministers of the kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” God’s kingdom is here on earth. And Revelation 5:10 says, “You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” We are not purposed to merely suffer and wait for heaven. God’s kingdom is here on earth, and we are his workmanship. We are his priests. Acts 26:16 says, “Rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.” Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Your life here is of eternal value. A life spent simply waiting for heaven is a life wasted. God has placed an eternal purpose on your life, a purpose meant to be pursued and lived out every minute of every day. You don’t have time to waste. And the compelling truth is, you will never be satisfied until you devote your life to ministering this incredible gospel of restoration and love. Until you pursue seeing God’s kingdom come through your job, relationships, and time, you will never experience the joy and passion only God’s purpose can bring you. God doesn’t have a cookie-cutter mold he tries to fit all believers into. He’s formed you for a specific and unique purpose no other believer will be able to accomplish. His plans for you are your own and no other’s. So choose today to live your life for your heavenly Father. Work with him in all that you do. Love him and others with every fiber of your being. And experience the joy of making a deep, eternal impact with all that you do. May God renew your sense of purpose today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire to use you for an incredible purpose.

“And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” John 15:16

2. Reflect on your own life for a moment. In what ways have you been living out of a purpose other than God’s? Confess those sins to your loving heavenly Father. Let his forgiveness transform your heart.

3. Now commit your life to God’s plan and purpose. Choose to love with all you have today. Line up your heart with God’s word, and pursue the life he has in store for you. Give him your job, your family, and finances. Ask him how he would have you use them.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.” Acts 26:16

What will God say about your life when you get finished here? Will your life have been spent in pursuit of him and his kingdom or in building up a small kingdom here that will pass away like the changing of seasons? Will your life be of fleeting or eternal impact? Only you can choose how you will live your life. May you make the choice today and every day to live the only life that truly matters. God has incredible plans and purposes in store for you if you will simply open your heart and your hands to him and say, “Use me.”

Extended Reading: John 10:1-19

Getting Out of My Quiet-Time Rut..LYSA TERKEURST

 Getting Out of My Quiet-Time Rut

LYSA TERKEURST 

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (NIV)  Do you ever find yourself in a rut with reading your Bible? Uninspired, unmotivated … and maybe a little guilty that you feel that way? Even as a Bible teacher, I have days when my quiet time with God just feels more routine than full of revelations. Having quiet time is a good thing. Prayer and Bible reading are spiritual disciplines I want woven into my life every single day. But I’m realizing even good things need to be switched up sometimes. Otherwise, I might start seeing my time with God as less important. It becomes the second or third thing I do. After other things. Seemingly more pressing things. Before I know it, it’s been days since I connected privately and personally with God and His Truth. And then my soul feels off-kilter and sluggish. Like the time in between breakfast and lunch when my stomach has been denied food, and desperation starts creeping over other parts of my body. That happens with soul hunger too. The triggers for stomach hunger are much more apparent. My brain quickly reminds me, You feel awful because it’s lunchtime and you need food! But sometimes my brain isn't as quick to pick up on soul hunger. So I just keep moving forward but wondering, What’s wrong? I think of a list of reasons: I’m tired, I haven’t had enough fun, the weather has been blah, or my hormones are off. And some of those things may be true, but they’re not why my soul is depleted. I need more time with God. And not just more quiet time. I need more listening time. Like the writer of Psalm 63:1 needed when he said, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Recently, as I sat with God with nothing but willingness to listen, some fresh ideas popped into my mind, and I want to share them with you. Here are three ways I'm listening to God: Give my first thoughts to God by giving Him my first five minutes every day. I read Bible verses or my morning devotional before I check anything else on my phone. I ask God to help me apply what I'm reading to my life that day. I worship. I listen. Read something from someone I admire and trust. I pick up a biblically based book written by someone I admire, and I glean from their godly wisdom. Right now, there’s a book I’m reading that is whimsical and grounded all at the same time. It makes me feel like this writer gets me. They get my struggles and offer up advice I know I can trust. I listen. Remember God’s faithfulness by reading past journals, recalling answered prayers, or even pausing for 60 seconds. Rather than trying to predict the future, I can trace God’s faithfulness in my past. He was faithful then. He will be faithful now. I can breathe in His promises for today. Shake off the anxiety. And be filled with deeper assurance of His presence. I listen. Maybe you think all this still sounds like quiet time, but to me it's different. It's listening time. A time to shake things up a bit and get outside my normal routine. A time to listen to God speak. And He does speak — through His book of wisdom, through people I admire and trust, and through His own faithful character. And this morning? My soul felt that thrilling and comforting full feeling. Complete. Satisfied. Deeply nourished. Friends, time spent in God’s Word is indeed never wasted. Dear Lord, my deepest desire is to grow a stronger relationship with You. Help me to break out of any rut I’m in so that I can connect with You and hear You speak. I want my faith to be the most reviving and energizing thing about my life. Cultivate in me a heart that longs for time spent in Your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Enslaved by Debt..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Enslaved by Debt

Dr. Charles Stanley

Proverbs 22:7

Personal debt has skyrocketed in our Western culture. Easy credit, a desire for material goods, and an unwillingness to save and wait have led many people down the path of financial bondage. The Bible doesn’t forbid borrowing, but it clearly warns us of its negative consequences. Our verse today describes the borrower as the lender’s slave.

Every dollar you borrow costs you a measure of freedom. Your paycheck is no longer entirely yours; a part of it must be set aside to repay your creditor. As the interest adds up, the financial burden may necessitate longer working hours. For Christians, the obligation to repay debt oftentimes hinders the ability to give to
the Lord’s work or help people in need. Instead of getting the first part, God gets leftovers or nothing at all. 

The consequences of accumulating debtreach beyond monetary issues. The burden of mounting bills creates emotional and relational stress. In fact, financial problems are one of the leading causes of divorce. Even our relationship with the Lord is affected when we let our appetite for the world’s goods override our obedience to biblical principles. Although God promises to supply our needs, how often do we jump ahead of Him and provide for ourselves with “easy payment plans.”

The next time you are tempted to charge a purchase that you really can’t afford, stop! Go home and ask the Lord if He wants you to have it. If He does, ask Him to provide it. Then wait. True freedom comes to those who rely on the Lord’s promises instead of their credit cards.

How Can I Know If I’m Loving Others Well?..Aaron D’Anthony Brown

 How Can I Know If I’m Loving Others Well?

By Aaron D’Anthony Brown

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.” (John 13:34)

Loving Others Well
Loving others is a concept we often hear about often on Sundays or discuss when we meet up for Bible study. The idea of loving others brings to mind how we serve. Family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and everyone we come across is a receipt of how we serve if we love.

With various people in our lives, there are various ways to love. We put this into practice as we sit at the dinner table with family, watch movies with friends, or woo our romantic interest. To one degree or another, most, maybe even all of us, know how to love others. But how do we know if we’re loving others well?

Before answering that question, we should probably start with another. How important is loving others? Jesus was asked about the most important commandments, and while loving God was number one, loving others was number two. Here’s what He said:

“He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.’” (Matthew 22:37-40)

So, how important is loving others? Very. With that in mind, we should not strive to love anyone with halfhearted effort or do things for the sake of doing and pretend that is love. To love is to will the good of another. Therefore, loving others well means considering what’s best for them, not us; what puts them ahead, not ourselves. And we do so all for the glory of God.

Now, like any conversation about love, talking about the general concept is one thing, putting the concept into practice is totally different. We can turn this abstract concept into something more practical by determining if we love others well.

Intersecting Faith and Life:

If you’re trying to figure out whether or not you love others well, then take time asking yourself the following questions.

What are the fruits of my love?
Sometimes how we perceive ourselves is not in alignment with reality. For example, we may think of ourselves as a great communicator, helper, and spouse, when we’re actually not. Figuring out the truth requires introspection on our part and being honest about what we discover. And we shouldn’t just ask ourselves, but other people also, and take into account their feedback.

Am I doing this to serve God or serve someone else, or is this for me?
Intentions matter. If you do things for others with the plan of exacting compensation later, then you’re not serving others from a godly place you’re looking out for yourself. As God has called us to serve, He wants us to do so with Him in mind. Again, love means putting others before ourselves.

How often do I die to my own desires?
Putting ourselves before others is easy, even innate to some degree. However, choosing to die to our own desires over and over again is the mark of a devout Christian.

When I converse, do I focus on myself or the other person?
Many people today carry on conversations that are about one topic only - themselves. And if the conversation moves in any other direction, they pounce on the next chance they get to make themselves the focal point again. If this describes you, practice greater mindfulness when you converse. Talking solely about yourself communicates to the other person not only that you’re more important but that you are not interested or invested in their life.

Do I forgive others just as I hope to be forgiven?
Forgiveness can be a tricky thing. Sometimes we conflate forgiveness with forgetting, and sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking we have forgiven when really we have not. One thing’s for sure, Scripture is clear that if we want forgiveness, we must also forgive.

Who is the first love of my life?
There’s one correct answer to this question, and when that answer becomes your answer, everything else in life tends to fall into place. Not immediately, but eventually. Not in your timing or with everything you want, but eventually and those things that God decides to give you.

With God as the first love of our lives, we not only know how to love, but we know why. And we not only know why, but we know how to love very well.

These questions are but a few of the ones we should ask ourselves periodically, practicing the mindfulness that ensures we are becoming more like Christ daily.

Further Reading:

• Matthew 6:14-15
• John 3:16
• Mark 10:45
• 1 Peter 4:10
• Matthew 6:21
• Matthew 23:11
• 1 Peter 4:8

God’s Incredible Plans for You..Mark Altrogge

 God’s Incredible Plans for You

By Mark Altrogge

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)

This quote was part of a letter God had Jeremiah write to the Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar had been taken captive to Babylon from Jerusalem. They had been ripped from their homeland, taken to a land where they were aliens and strangers. I can’t imagine how hopeless they felt.

But God told them what to do there. He told them to build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce. To get married and have children, then give their children in marriage to have more children. And incredibly, God told them to seek the welfare of Babylon where ultimately he had sent them into exile. God even told them to pray for Babylon’s welfare.

Then God promised that after 70 years he would bring them back to Jerusalem. He told them he had plans for them, plans for their good, plans for their future, plans to give them hope.

This is a good reminder for us. We need to regularly remember that this world is not our home.

As Peter tells us:

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (1 Pet. 2:11)

Just as Babylon was not the Jews’ final home, neither is this our final home. Our home is heaven. But like the Jews, we are to build our lives here for now. We’re to seek the good of our nation, our churches, our friends and neighbors. We’re to settle in – temporarily. But we mustn’t forget that after “70 years” – sooner or later – God will take us to our ultimate home – heaven.

Those are God’s plans for us. But he has plans for us now too.

Do you feel hopeless at times? Don’t know what to do? Face an uncertain future? Remember, God has plans for you. Both for the next life and for this life.

Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! (Ps. 31:19)

God has abundant goodness stored up for us who fear him and take refuge in him. Not just a little bit of goodness, but abundant, overflowing goodness.

God has specific plans for you

He isn’t vague or uncertain. He has every second of every day planned for us. He has an exact day and hour for our trials to end, just like had an exact 70 years planned for Israel. He has the exact time for you to meet your future husband. An exact day for you to land that job you can’t imagine. A day for you to get relief from that sickness. Our times are in his hands.

God knows his plans for you

“For I know the plans I have for you…” We don’t know God’s plans. But since he does, we can trust him. He knows his plans and how to fulfill them. Nothing can stop him from fulfilling them. He causes all things to work together to fulfill his plans.

God’s plans are for your good

He is a good Father. He loves to give good gifts to his children. Everything God does is good and righteous. Even when he takes us through things that feel hard, eventually we will see they were for our good and our joy and gladness in him.

God’s ultimate plan for us is make us like Christ, and bring us to himself, where we will gaze upon the face of Christ and experience never ending joy in his presence.

God has plans for us, but we must patiently wait for him to fulfill them, just as Israel had to wait for God to fulfill his plans for them:

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
 wait for the LORD! (Ps. 27:13-14)

First of all, we must trust God – we must continue to fight the good fight of faith – “I BELIEVE that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord.” We must regularly remind ourselves that God has promised he has plans for us, and that God will keep his word. He does not change his mind, or lie. (Num. 23:19)

And we must wait for God to fulfill his word in his timing. God tells us “be strong, and let your heart take courage” as we wait for him. We do this by calling to mind God’s many promises, and reminding ourselves of who God is.

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
 great is your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:21-23)

Israel had to wait 70 years for God to fulfill his plan to bring them back to Jerusalem. But he surely did it.

We must trust God and wait for him in faith to fulfill his plans

God has wonderful, unimaginable plans for us. So wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Trust in him. You will look upon the goodness of the Lord, in this life and especially in the next. Of all the people on earth, we who have believed in Jesus have this incredible hope. Those who don’t believe in him have no hope.

Praise God that he is so good and loving and faithful to us. Ask him for grace to trust him and wait for him. Ask him to fill you with joy and help you serve others as you wait for him to fulfill his plans for you.

A Prayer to Ease Worry..Alicia Searl

A Prayer to Ease Worry
 By Alicia Searl

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” - John 14:27

Worrying and fretting about “stuff” is a constant inner battle for me. I will easily go down a “rabbit hole,” only to be flooded with anxiety within minutes. While I know this about myself, I still tend to do it. I crave to understand and make sense of the information at hand. However, that being said, anxiety will creep in at the oddest of times, catching me off guard.

The other day while at the grocery store, worry came on rather strong, as in a full-blown panic mode, right in the middle of the produce aisle. I remembered the food blog I had been following and their advice (or rather warning) against various dies and chemicals that are being injected into our food, and - I froze. Anxiety began to choke out any clarity as the grocery store begin to spin, and all these dreadful thoughts began to plague my mind. Fortunately, I managed to make it quickly out of the store in order to catch my breath. But I still grew worrisome about how I was going to provide healthy meals to my family on a budget no less!

Honestly, it's easy to worry these days, especially with the news at our fingertips and a steady constant stream of information at our disposal. While there are wonderful benefits to being online, like having the luxury of ordering something just to have it delivered within hours (or minutes sometimes), or the ability to track our children, or connect with others, there are also many hidden dangers. Dangers that can lead our hearts and minds astray, all while encouraging our worry and fear to manifest.

Friend, if worry is gripping your heart, and it is leading you down a dark path, may I remind you that we aren’t meant to carry the weight of this world. Our minds, hearts, and physical bodies will literally collapse under such weight. That’s because we were never meant to withstand the constant knowledge we are submerged in daily (Ecclesiastes 1:18). While we are to seek wisdom, we must control what we ingest by guarding our hearts and minds.

The truth of the matter is that our hearts will be troubled in this life. We will encounter trials of all sorts; we can be certain of that (1 Peter 4:12-14). But, we have hope as believers that tucked within our worry is a pathway to peace. We are called to stand firm in that Truth!

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father,
You are a God of peace. We are so thankful that You give us the ability to come to You with our troubles, worries, and concerns, and You lovingly grant us a peace that goes beyond our own understanding.

While we know we will come into places that bring on fear and worry, we ask that You stay with us and draw us close. Remind us that You will see us through. Be our safety net in times that bring on confusion and lead our hearts back to the promises found throughout Your Word. We invite You to help us see areas in our lives in which we need to create safeguards for our hearts and minds. Guide and urge us to focus on what is pure, wholesome, and righteous.

Lord, please give us a calm spirit as well when we receive troublesome news. Help us find resourceful ways to heal our anxious hearts. Give us the will to seek Your wisdom in these times and pour Your unfailing love upon us.  When our hearts want to wander off the pathway to fear and worry wants to consume us, give us the courage to seek You and give us discernment. Help us trust You alone and remember that You have a special plan and purpose for our lives. We know we were created for such a time as this and want to glorify You! So, we ask that You be with us during these rather strange times and plant a sense of peace that will carry us through.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.