Made for Relationship..Craig Denison Ministries

Made for Relationship

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

So often we view God as an enforcer of religious rules. We see the commands of Scripture as a list of to-dos rather than a path leading to abundant life. But those perceptions aren’t the truth of Scripture. Those beliefs are founded on misguided notions of God’s character. God is after the heart. More than he wants us to do right, he wants us to see him rightly. He wants going to church, reading the Bible, worshipping, serving the poor, and living righteously to come from a heart filled with a true revelation of his loving-kindness. May your heart be wholly God’s this week.

Scripture:

“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7

Devotional:    

We were made for relationship with our heavenly Father. We were made to know and be known by him. That one fact is meant to define both our identity and our actions. It’s meant to lay the foundation on which we live, think, feel, and do. And it’s only in living with relationship with God as our chief and central pursuit that our lives reflect his unceasing love and devotion.

For a long time I’ve lived with wrong things at the center of my life. I’ve allowed earthly success, admiration of others, identity in my works, and an image of perfection to be the things that drove me moment by moment. And in those pursuits I only found disappointment, exhaustion, and unfulfilled longings. Even within the context of Christianity there is temptation to be led by that which is worldly, that which will never satisfy.

But in God there is another way. In the love of a grace-filled heavenly Father we can cease striving and start enjoying life founded on relationship with our Creator. Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Within each of us is a longing to ground ourselves in our identity as the people of God. We are created to live out of the powerful knowledge that our God is real, knowable, loves us unconditionally, and has made his nearness wholly available to us.

You were made to live with the knowledge of God’s love in every season. You were made to taste and see that your heavenly Father is good. You were made to live in constant communion with your Creator, that every moment would be filled with the abundance of his presence. God has life for you. He has love for you. And he won’t rest until the entirety of your heart is his. God’s love is entirely jealous while at the same time wholly sacrificial.

Give God your heart today. Center your life around relationship with him. Root and ground yourself in his unceasing love and faithfulness. May your life be forever changed as you set your eyes on the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the truth that you were made for relationship with God. Allow Scripture to stir up a desire to center your life around God’s unconditional love.

“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3

2. What are you valuing above relationship with your heavenly Father? What are you spending all your energy on? What’s truly your greatest desire?

3. Tell God anything that you have valued above relationship with him. Know that his heart is not to condemn, but to set free and give abundant life. He longs to fill you with vision for the way in which you can most enjoy him and the life he’s given you.

Oftentimes we look to the world to tell us what we should value over the Creator of the world. But in reality the world is a place filled with dissatisfaction and unrest. It’s a place where even the rich, successful, and most loved must strive and work constantly to fulfill a longing only God can satisfy. Look to the Creator of heaven and earth for truth. Look to Scripture to decide what to pursue and value. And place your hope in God’s promise of eternal, tangible satisfaction if you will center your life around relationship with him. May your heart find peace and rest in the always open arms of your loving Father.

Extended Reading: John 15

The Necessity of the Cross..Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Necessity of the Cross

Dr. Charles Stanley

Colossians 2:13-15

What does the cross mean to you? Many people in the world today view it as a symbol of Christianity, but stop and think about what it represented in Christ's day. Nobody wore a miniature cross around the neck or displayed one in a place of worship. The cross was a torturous means of execution, and the mere thought of it was repulsive.

Yet believers throughout the ages have chosen this as the sign of their faith. In fact, to remove the cross from our teaching and theology would leave nothing but an empty, powerless religion. The subjects of death, blood, and sacrifice have become unpopular in many churches because they're unpleasant and uncomfortable topics. We'd prefer to hear about the love of God, not the suffering of Jesus.

But let me ask you this: How could anyone be saved if Christ had not been crucified? Some people think all you have to do to receive God's forgiveness is ask Him for it. But a sinner's request can never be the basis for His forgiveness. He would cease to be holy and just if no penalty was imposed for sin. According to Scripture, there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). Christ had to bear the punishment for our sin in order for God to grant us forgiveness.

Every time you see a cross, remember what it really was--an instrument of execution. Then thank Jesus that He was willing to be crucified so the Father could forgive you of sin. Though the scene of your redemption was horrendous, Christ turned the cross into a place of great triumph.

Trusting God When We Don't Understand..Becky Harling

 Trusting God When We Don't Understand

By Becky Harling

“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” - John 13:7

There have been moments in my life when I’ve been blindsided by different trials. Things like cancer, unexpected job loss, or a host of other situations where I felt caught off guard by what I believed to be true about God. Ever been there? 

Recently, I was reading the Gospel of John, Chapter 13. The disciples and Jesus met in the upper room to celebrate the Passover. We call this the last supper. As the disciples gathered in the room there was no servant to wash their feet. This would have been unheard of in Middle Eastern culture, where everyone’s feet would get dirty and dusty. There must have been tension in the room, as the disciples anxiously looked at each other wondering who would take the place of a servant to wash feet. Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and began washing their feet. Peter was appalled! Maybe he even felt a bit guilty for not being willing to be the one who would serve the others.

In any case, he questioned the Lord: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” We could paraphrase that, “Lord are You really going to be the one to wash our feet?” In Peter’s mind, this didn’t make any sense. How could the Lord of the universe stoop so low?  Then Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Ah those words are so profound! 

Often in our lives, we believe God is moving in one direction only to discover the plan is completely different. Perhaps, we felt we’d heard from the Holy Spirit about a job opportunity, a good diagnosis, finding a godly mate, delivering a healthy baby or finally getting to adopt a child. Then we were blindsided by a lost job opportunity, cancer diagnosis, loneliness, miscarriage, or failed adoption. The list could go on endlessly. When things don’t turn out as we anticipated, we feel disappointed with God and wonder, “Did I really hear from Him?” 

The bigger question is, “How do I trust a God I don’t understand?” To trust God when we don’t understand, we have to get brutally honest with our feelings. We can’t deny or numb feelings of disappointment, hoping they’ll go away. Instead, we must authentically dump them at the feet of Jesus. Remember the story of Lazarus dying in John, Chapter 11. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters, felt devastated and disappointed Jesus hadn’t shown up in time. Both women said to Him, “If only you had been here.” They were honest about their feelings. Jesus felt deep empathy for and wept with them. No judgment. Just entering into their sorrow, even though moments later He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. 

When we feel disappointed with God’s response, we must cling to what we know about His character. Returning to what we know to be true will help settle our souls.  If we always understood God, He wouldn’t be God. He would be our equal. Instead, He is vastly beyond our imagination. Yet, according to His Word, He is good. He loves us. He is faithful and He will do what’s best for us.

The truth is. our trust muscles are strengthened as we go through life’s disappointments. If we continue to authentically bring our feelings before God and cling to what we know to be true about His character, our faith will grow stronger even in suffering. As we lean into Jesus, He will whisper reassurance to our broken hearts, “You don’t understand right now, but you will someday. Trust me.” 

Intersecting Faith and Life
As you reflect on your life so far, what situations have arisen to made it difficult for you to trust God? What do you feel God is inviting You to do in this season to bolster your faith?

Finding Our Significance in Jesus..Abiding Above

 Finding Our Significance in Jesus

By Abiding Above

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:2

Heavenly Father, you created our innermost being and know the number of hairs on our head. Nothing else in this world compares to your love. 

According to the Bible, man's biggest problem is his separation from God. This problem is solved when we repent of our sins and receive Christ as our Savior. This brings us into right relationship with God, but we soon discover that we have other problems. We have inner problems, such as anger, jealousy, resentment, worry, feelings of worthlessness, and other similar problems. The reason we have these problems is that we have deep needs which have not been met. So, what is MAN’S DEEPEST INNER NEED?

The deepest inner need of every person is to regard himself as a worthwhile human being. Man tries many things in his effort to meet his need for significance. Some people work hard to accumulate money because they feel that money gives them a sense of importance. But money cannot satisfy our deep inner needs.

My friend, God's way of meeting our need for significance is this:

He puts us IN CHRIST. He makes every believer a vital member of Christ's body. God gives believers spiritual gifts and opportunities to use those gifts. In this way every believer is significant because he becomes part of God's great eternal plan. He placed me in Christ and He put His Holy Spirit in me.  That’s our significance. That is our eternal satisfaction that we can never lose.

Heavenly Lord, instead of chasing worldly praise, help us to find our significance in you. Amen.

  

A Prayer for Lenten Boldness..Meg Bucher

 A Prayer for Lenten Boldness

By Meg Bucher

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT

“Did I blow it?” It’s a question I’ve asked several times in my life. On the cusp of something great when the bottom falls out. Allowing fear to take over. Letting anger get in my way. Interrupting instead of listening. We’ve all been stuck enough to ask the question, “did I blow it?”

Missed chances and mess-ups are a part of life. The worst thing we can do is ruminate. God is in control, and He’s well aware of our imperfections. If we were capable of walking out His will for our lives, He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to make way for us. The author of Hebrews advised us to come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, not arrogantly. Arrogance is an offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride. Boldness is a lack of hesitation or fear in the face of risk or danger; courage. It’s a refusal to be held back by the opinion or judgement of others. (dictionary.com) Boldness realizes who we are in the light of who Christ is.

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15 NLT

This Lenten Season, let us cling to Christ, realizing we are free to enjoy the fullness of life through His sacrifice. 

Let’s pray:
Father,
Thank you for these encouraging verses today. You are faithful to lift us up when we are stuck in doubt, and discouraged by our mistakes and imperfections. When our sinful nature trips us up, God, thank You for reminding us You are still in control. Thankfully, we are not! We cling to Christ today, God, holding firmly to our belief in Him. We know He understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same temptations and tests we do daily …yet, He did not sin. Father, thank You for sending Jesus to save us. Thank You for giving us a Friend who empathizes with us, truly, knows how we feel, and meets us with overwhelming compassion. It is through Christ Jesus we come boldly to Your throne, God. We need Your grace. It is through the Holy Spirit alive and active in us we are able to be bold enough to come to You! Realizing our need for grace, forgiveness, power, and strength to walk in Your will! We come to You, today, God of grace and mercy because we need You. We need grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and strength. On our own, we are incapable of walking in Your will. As the author of Hebrews wrote, we come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive Your mercy and find grace to help us when we need it most. 

Father, thank You for knowing when we need Your mercy the most. Thank You for watching over us so particularly and compassionately. You love us for who we are …right now …and we are so grateful for Your grace and kindness. Lead us to Your will for this day, and our lives, Father. Help us to understand the depth of Your mercy and grace as we prepare to reflect on Jesus’ crucifixion …and resurrection. Bring Your Light into focus in our lives, and Your Truth to the top of our minds. when we are struggling, and when we are experiencing victories in this life. Father, we look forward to joining You for eternity, when we will no longer be bound by sin or experience sadness and pain. But until then, we rely on You fully. We cling to Christ Jesus, our great High Priest, Your Son, holding firmly to what we believe. Jesus, You are our friend. We are thankful You meet us in our weaknesses and relate to the testings we endure daily. We come boldly to Your Father’s throne through You. Thank You for Your sacrifice, faithfulness, compassion, love, life, light, truth …and faithful friendship. 
We pray in Name of our Great High Priest, Amen. 

 

New Blood, New Covenant..Skip Heitzig

 New Blood, New Covenant

By Skip Heitzig

Several years ago, I got a birthday card that had a little speaker attached to it, and when I opened it, it chirped out a song. It was sweet, but I eventually threw it away. Get this, though: when I did that, I threw away more computer power than what existed on earth before the year 1950. Isn't that amazing? Technology is great, but it moves so quickly. You're never quite there.

If you look at the Scriptures of the Old Testament, you have an incomplete system. Yes, God could be accessed through the shedding of blood, but it was never quite enough, because sin was just covered over temporarily. It was like old spiritual technology. In Jeremiah 31, God said, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…. I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" (vv. 31, 33). He anticipated that the old covenant would pass away and something new would come, because it was needed.

With this being the period leading up to Easter, I want to take a look at the days, hours, and moments before the crucifixion of Christ—specifically, the Passover. The Jews already saw this night as a special night, but this time, the lamb that the Old Testament anticipated would be a Lamb that would once for all take away the sins of the world, and that would be Christ.

Jesus and His disciples gathered together for the Passover supper, and Matthew 26 tells us, "As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'" (vv. 26-28).

In the Passover supper, also known as the seder, there is an order to the service of the meal. It basically revolves around four glasses of wine that are raised for commemoration purposes, all speaking of the Jews' history.

The first is the cup of blessing: the host welcomes his guests and offers the blessing in Hebrew: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe who gives us the fruit of the vine." Then the cup is taken among all of them.

Second is the cup of judgment. The host tells the history of the exodus and the judgment of God upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Then the host breaks bread and dips it in bitter herbs, speaking of the bitter bondage of the past, and in a paste that speaks of the mortar made by the slaves. Then the second cup is taken.

After the meal is eaten, the cup of redemption is raised. And it was this third cup that Jesus raised and said, "This is the cup of My blood, a new covenant that I'm making." At the very end of the meal is the fourth cup, the cup of praise, and a hymn is sung (see v. 30). The Jewish people have done this all throughout their history, at every Passover meal around the world, for thousands of years.

But now Jesus Christ was transforming an ancient meal to have a different meaning. No longer did the Passover speak of the temporary, physical bondage of Egypt being broken, but the permanent spiritual deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ's blood and broken body.

This Easter, I want you to remember that you and I were once marked for death. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But because of the blood of Christ, because of the cross, God has passed over your life, over the execution of judgment, because all that judgment was taken by Jesus Himself. What a marvelous, marvelous truth! Rejoice in that today.