Fully Loved..Craig Denison Ministries

 Fully Loved

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Honesty is more than the words we say. It’s a posture of the heart. We weren’t made to try and be something we’re not. God never asks us to keep up appearances. He longs for us to have the courage to be vulnerable. He longs for us to be so founded in his unconditional love that we live honestly. May you experience new levels of peace and joy this week as we discover God’s heart for honesty.

Scripture:

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.” Isaiah 54:10

Devotional:   

The ultimate result of honesty—the reason for being fully known—is that we might be fully loved. You weren’t made to live without a continuous, total revelation of God’s love for you. His love is the foundation. It’s the reason for being. Without his love we have nothing. And without honesty we’ll never fully experience his vast wealth of affection for us.

Isaiah 54:10 is God’s promise for you and me today. He says to us, “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.” The question today is not whether God loves us. And the question is not whether we have the ability to experience his love. Scripture commands us in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” The question is whether we’re receiving the love already made available to us.

You see, unless we come before God fully honest we only present part of ourselves for him to love. Unless we let him in to every area of our lives, we’ll live with a separated notion of God’s love. Most of us know that he loves us when we worship. We know he loves us when we serve. We’ve experienced his love when we engage in community, read Scripture, and pray. But do we know he loves us when we fail? Do we know he loves us when we say the wrong thing, doubt him, miss an opportunity to share the gospel, or run away from him?

God doesn’t just love us part of the time. He doesn’t just love us when we succeed. His love is complete and transcendent of us. He is love. He loves all the time. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God has loved you at your worst. If he loved you enough to die for you while you were without one ounce of good, he will love you now.

If you want to experience the full depth of God’s love for you, you must come to him fully. You must let him in to every part of your day. You must let him in to your past, your present, and your future. You must live out of a revelation of his unconditional love for you rather than living a works-based relationship with him.

May you encounter the fullness of God’s love for you today as you enter into guided prayer. And may his love for you draw you deeper into the unhindered communion that’s already available to you. 

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the unconditional nature of God’s love. Allow Scripture to paint the picture of who God is rather than our limited, worldly perspective.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

2. Come before God and be fully known. Open every part of your heart to him. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how God wants to love you today. Journal his response.

“But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:3

3. Take some time to simply receive and rest in God’s love. Experience the unconditional nature of his love. Let his love lead you to a life founded on grace rather than works.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

To live by grace is to choose to believe God at his word. It’s choosing to live based on Scripture over everything we’ve known from the world. Grace isn’t found here. It’s a product of heaven alone. But God has ransomed us from a life based on the ways of the world. We belong to heaven now. And we have so much more available to us than the world offers. We are totally and fully loved regardless of our weaknesses and failures. May you live out of a revelation of grace and receive God’s love in every part of your day.

Extended Reading: Romans 8

God Sees, God Knows, God Cares..LYSA TERKEURST

 God Sees, God Knows, God Cares

LYSA TERKEURST 

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)

Trying to control your own life is exhausting.

Ask me how I know.

With my mouth, I say I trust God, but in reality, I get overwhelmed by trying to fix and control things myself. “I trust God” becomes nothing but a statement I feel I should say rather than what I’m actually living out.

Distrust settles in. Self-reliance becomes my go-to. And then I wonder why I feel more and more exhausted.

If you can relate to these confessions, there are specific passages of Scripture I want us to look at together today.

Second Chronicles 16 is the last of three chapters detailing the story of Asa, king of Judah. Sadly, though, this chapter stands in sharp contrast to the two just before it. In 2 Chronicles 14-15, we learn that God had given Asa “rest on every side” because of his dependence on the Lord (2 Chronicles 14:7; 2 Chronicles 15:15, NIV). God even gave Asa victory in the face of a massive army. Yet in Chapter 16, when King Asa found himself in a border conflict with King Baasha of Israel, Asa had a sudden and surprising shift in behavior. Instead of crying out to God as he had before, Asa immediately turned to his own means of addressing the situation — misusing the treasures of the temple and placing his hope in an unwise military alliance.

The ultimate result? Unrest for Asa and his people. This king, whose faith meant victory in the past, invited battles into his future because he refused to trust God in the present.

I find his story convicting, sobering and so very important to pay attention to. Just like Asa's, our past declarations of faith are no guarantee that we will rely on God in the future. Faith is a present, ongoing choice for every believer.

That’s why I want us to look at two truths from 2 Chronicles 16 that will help us keep choosing to trust God, not just with our words but also with our actions:

1) God is not blind to our circumstances or our choices to trust Him. When life gets hard, we can sometimes wonder if God is blind to all we’re facing. But there’s a beautiful reminder tucked into the words the prophet Hanani spoke to Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:9a: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.”

We serve a God who sees. He is an all-knowing, ever-present God who is continually aware of every detail of our lives. And not only is God aware, but He’s also looking to strengthen individuals who are willing to wholeheartedly place their trust in Him.

2) God has been faithful before, and He will be faithful again.
I wonder how differently Asa’s future would have turned out if he had stopped to remember God’s faithfulness to him in the past.

Fear makes us forgetful. This is why we must purposefully look back and trace God’s hand of faithfulness in our lives. God’s faithfulness before assures us He will be faithful again. (Hebrews 10:35-36) We see this truth not only as we look back at our own lives but also as we read the story of God’s faithfulness woven throughout all of Scripture.

Oh, friend. Let’s take inventory of any areas where we’re inviting not only exhaustion but possibly destruction into our lives because we’re refusing to rely on God. Do our frantic and controlling actions fail to match our faith-filled declarations? Let’s not just declare we have faith. Let’s live out loud that we believe God is good, faithful and trustworthy.

Let’s stop running to fix things our way — because then we can fix our eyes on God. (Isaiah 26:3) He sees. He knows. He cares. We can rest assured.

Father God, I confess that sometimes I forget to remember Your faithfulness from the past, especially when I am overwhelmed with unpredictable things today. Keep reminding me that not only do You see me, but You love me. I don’t know exactly what tomorrow will look like, but I do know who I’ll be looking to — You, Lord. Your love is unfailing, and in Your hand is the safest place to put my hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Value of Seeking the Lord..Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Value of Seeking the Lord

Dr. Charles Stanley

Psalms 119:1-8

We all have ambitions and desires. And while these are not necessarily wrong, we should analyze our priorities: Where do I invest my time and energy? What or who occupies my thoughts? As important as our earthly pursuits, responsibilities, and relationships may be, they cannot compare to the value of a life spent seeking the Lord.

First of all, consider what it means to seek something. The word connotes a strong desire and an energetic quest to achieve it.Suppose you discovered a very productive vein of gold on your property. You wouldn’t just stroll out and look at it occasionally. No, you would gather some equipment and diligently go out each day to chip away at the rocks and collect the precious metal.

In the same way, seeking the Lord is not a quick and occasional encounter, but a wholehearted effort to know Him more intimately and follow Him more closely. Those who unreservedly pursue this kind of fellowship with God are determined to spend time with Him; they also want to forsake anything that could hinder growth in their relationship with the Lord. God’s committed followers boldly claim His promises and trust Him to fulfill His Word. Their experiences with the Lord bring amazing satisfaction yet cause them to hunger for more of Him.

The Christian life is meant to be a pursuit of God. To walk through the door of salvation and stand still, never drawing any closer to Him, is to miss the treasures that are available in Christ. Those who seek Him soon discover that knowing Him is the greatest reward of all.

God’s Birth Plan..Emma Danzey

 God’s Birth Plan

By Emma Danzey

“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’” - John 3:3

Jesus Had a Plan
As I prepared to give birth a few months out, I created what women today call, “A birth plan.” The funny thing is that these should really be called the “My dream delivery plan” or “My ideal delivery that probably will never happen plan.” Don’t get me wrong, it is super helpful to have goals and know what you would like ahead of time, but the only birth plan that is 100% accurate is God’s birth plan. 

In John 3:3, John shares that Jesus laid out a perfect birth plan for people to encounter. Jesus Himself says, “Truly, truly.” This is like saying today, “I am absolutely sure” or “I am 100% confident when I tell you…” Jesus, Himself, told of this plan for new birth. He knew He was the one to come and reconcile the people of the world to God. 

We have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. We are all in need of forgiveness. We can only offer filthy rags, but Jesus came and lived the life we could not. He was wholly God and fully man. He never sinned, always did the right thing, had pure thoughts, and never had a flaw in His heart. However, God loved us so much that He sent His only Son (God in the flesh), Jesus, to come and give us a second chance at life. Birth brings forth new life. To have a second birth is to be given a second chance at life. Jesus gives us a second opportunity at life with the Creator, Father. We have been given this gift of grace and mercy. 

We Must Be Born Again
Just like a baby needs to be delivered into this world, Jesus spiritually delivered us to new life and a relationship with God. When a baby is born into the world, they are given a birth certificate that identifies them with the last name of their father. He is his son. When we accept Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, our names are written in the Book of life, and we become children of God. Not everyone is a child of God in the world. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Jesus gives us the right to become children of God. He makes a way. He gives us new life. His birth plan is perfect. When we were still sinners, He came for us. When we chose our own sinful ways instead of obeying God, He did not leave us without hope. He always had a plan, one that would never fail. He knew He was going to redeem the lost. He knew the moment Adam and Eve sinned He was going to make a way. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To receive this new life and become a new creation, we must believe in Jesus. He brings us to the Father. Now, we have forgiveness and new life, the confidence of heaven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit within us. We no longer have the life out of our sinful nature but can now live each day Spirit-filled and in the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit. 

Maybe my plan or other women’s birth plans did not pan out the way in which we thought. The unpredictable moments can cause a vast number of anxieties. However, we can be fully confident that He who promised is faithful. When we place our faith in Jesus, we are born again.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Have you placed your faith in Jesus as your Savior? If so, how does Jesus’ plan of redemption give you hope and confidence today despite your sins? How are you being made new? If not, what stops you from accepting His sacrifice on your behalf today? He has set us free indeed.

Further Reading:

• Romans 10:9
• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• 1 Peter 1:3

When You Worry, Look to the Birds..Betsy St. Amant Haddox

 When You Worry, Look to the Birds

By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” - Matthew 6:25-26 (ESV)

A few weeks ago, I quite randomly decided to walk through a local museum’s beautiful botanical gardens while killing time before school carpool line. I was roaming up the back path to return to my car when I heard a flutter of wings. I noticed a tiny bird inside the tall feeder posted on the side of the path. I paused to consider his plight, and the longer I looked, the quicker I realized he couldn’t get out.

I snapped a picture on my phone and took my cell inside the museum to find him some help. The whole staff was puzzled as to how the little guy got in there in the first place, and immediately went on a staff-wide texting craze to find the gardener to go get him out. They thanked me profusely for taking the time to tell them and sprang into action. But all I could think about was how God cares for the sparrows—and the Gardener comes to set us free.

I left the museum in tears. Perhaps someone would have seen the little bird later and done the same thing I did—but God used me to notice, because you know what? I really needed that reminder.

The Bible is full of the command not to worry, not to be anxious…and I fail at that regularly. I’m an author, so my imagination churns 24/7 and can conjure up some great plots that are perfect for fiction, but somewhat terrifying to apply to real life! It’s a battle to control the “what-if’s” and the “if-not’s” and the “now-what’s” of my heart and mind. But this command not to worry from the Lord isn’t harsh, it’s assuring. It’s comforting. He’s reminding us that worry is pointless—not because we’re all doomed and can’t do anything about it, because He’s in charge. Because He watches over the birds and provides for them, and He will do the same for us.

Provision doesn’t always come in the form we expect. I’m pretty certain that little bird didn’t expect a brunette in her 30’s with a cell phone to save him. If anything, I’d imagine he expected to be able to work his own way back out. But he couldn’t. Only the Gardener held the key to freedom.

The same is true in our life. We can’t work and strive our way out of worry and anxiety. Frantically flapping our wings (or our mouths!) won’t free us. Neither will denial or insisting that we’re fine, we’re not trapped.

Only the Gardener can set us free.

If you’re worrying today, about the plight of our nation or the amount in your bank account or the state of your child’s heart or the condition of your marriage, please remember—do not be anxious. Turn your worry into prayers and wait for the Gardener! It might be a little uncomfortable in the meantime, and the rescue might not look exactly like you anticipated, but He’ll come. He always comes.

Worry? It’s for the birds.