Freedom in the Light..Craig Denison Ministries

 Freedom in the Light

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:

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

Devotional:

The imagery of light and darkness is used throughout Scripture as a metaphor for freedom and sin, and God and that which is without God. Jesus consistently refers to himself as the light. In reference to Jesus, Matthew 4:16 says, “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” Scripture also refers to us as the light in Ephesians 5:8 saying, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” And in John 3:19-21, Jesus describes a freedom that comes from bringing ourselves to the light:

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

One of the worst effects of sin is the shame it brings that causes us to hide from God and others. Adam and Eve hid from God because of the shame of the first sin. And still today, even though Christ has paid the price for every sin we could ever commit, we hide ourselves from God.

God longs for us to run to him when we make a mistake. He’s the father in the prodigal son story whose arms are eternally extended to us no matter what we’ve done. He longs to embrace us, restore us, and free us in his eternal embrace. He longs for us to step out of our shame, bring ourselves fully into his light, and be delivered from the destructive effects of our sin.

In Isaiah 42:16 God says, “I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Nothing you could do could cause your God to forsake you. He’s not surprised by your sin. He knows you are dust. But he longs to embrace you in your weakness. He longs to free you from the power of darkness. You don’t have to hide from him. You can come before your God honestly and live as a child of the light (Ephesians 5:8). You can experience true freedom as your sin is forgiven and times of refreshing come (Acts 3:19-20).

Take time as you enter into guided prayer to bring that which has caused you shame into the light. May you find freedom today as God reveals to you the power of his forgiveness and grace.

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on what Scripture says about light and darkness. Allow God’s word to stir up your desire to bring yourself fully to the light.

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

2. What do you need to bring to the light? What is causing you shame?

3. Bring yourself to the light. Ask God how he feels about that which is causing you shame. Take time to receive his forgiveness and grace and rest in his love.

1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” When you commit yourself to walk with God throughout your day, he will guide you to the light. Jesus’ blood is powerful enough to cleanse you from the inside out. There is freedom when your heart is totally and completely his. May you be set free from shame and darkness today as you live openly and honestly before the Lord your God. 

Extended Reading: John 3

When God Hasn’t Given You the Desires of Your Heart..GRACE VALENTINE

 When God Hasn’t Given You the Desires of Your Heart

GRACE VALENTINE

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

God has blessed me with so many good things. A safe place to live, food to eat, people to love and serve … yet if I’m being really honest with you, I always seem to desire more.

I want a relationship with a good man who enjoys sushi as much as me, and I want a pretty house, maybe even one with a pool in the suburbs. I would love two goldendoodles who hopefully don’t have any expensive vet bills … Also, I desire more brunch plans with fun friends, a way to stay healthy while eating fast food every day, and a career I love that pays the bills.

Is that too much to ask for?

The other day, I thought about all the things I desired that weren’t happening, and out of my frustration, I felt a sarcastic laugh bubble up. Ha ha, God, You said You would give me the desires of my heart. But nope, I’m not seeing them. So much for that.

I was frustrated because I thought if I was holding the pen writing my story, my life would be different. I thought if I was “good” … good would come my way.

But here I am. I still juggle a couple jobs while I write on the side. My mornings are early, and my small house has an old, white fridge that could die any day. I sometimes feel left out by my friends, but I know it’s probably more my insecurity than their actions. I struggle with my body image and friendships at times, and I am single.

So in response to my frustration that I didn't have more of my desires, I went back and read the Bible passage where I thought God promised to give me the desires of my heart.

Read it with me, friends:

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:3-6, NIV).

If you also feel like you want more in your life and feel a little disappointed that God hasn't given you some of your wants ... then let's break down these verses together. I noticed when rereading this passage that God calls us to trust, delight and commit. Understanding this changed my perspective and gave me peace in the midst of a season of wanting more.

1. “Trust in the LORD and do good … ” (Psalm 37:3, NIV, emphasis added)

Notice this verse doesn’t say, “Trust in your plans and do good.” We are called to trust in the Lord and let God be sovereign over it all. Even when we don't understand the chapter, we must trust that the Author of our story is good. We should also do good, but not as an exchange for good to come our way. We do good because God is good to us. While we wait on blessings, instead of sitting around wishing for more, we should be a blessing to others.

2. "Take delight in the LORD …” (Psalm 37:4, emphasis added)

Before the verse even mentions the Lord giving us the desires of our hearts, it reminds us to take delight in the Lord. When we delight in God, we care more about what makes His Kingdom grow than what makes our happiness grow, and celebrating Him helps us remember our lives were never meant to be all about ourselves. When we delight in the Lord, we realize we don’t need expensive things, a picture-perfect life, or the fulfillment of all our dreams to find joy. We can find His presence and His joy in big moments, sure … but also in the little moments. Getting coffee with a friend, watching our child get excited when they pass a hard test, enjoying a sunny day in the midst of winter. When we delight in God, our desires become less about us and more about His will and peace.

3. “Commit your way to the LORD … ” (Psalm 37:5, NIV, emphasis added)

When we commit to doing life with God, we have a real relationship with Him. Just like when a husband and wife commit and share vows, our commitment to Christ means our lives are no longer our own. We now have a purpose and meaning that's not about being the main character and life going our way. We trust God because He loves us. As a result, even in the midst of a busy Thursday, while running errands, or during back-to-back meetings, His joy shines bright like the morning sun. He gives us peace in the chaos and unexpected hardships.

So today, it is my prayer that you and I will desire more of Jesus and less from the world. With Jesus, when we trust, delight and commit to the Lord, we can find peace in His plan and be OK even when life isn't going how we dreamt it would.

Lord, help me to trust You, delight in You, and commit to focusing more on You and less on my worldly desires. Remind me that when I grow in a relationship with You, I may still want some things, but my ultimate desire will always be for Your will and for Your glory. When I'm struggling with contentment, remind me You are good at being God, and You are working for my good. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

What Is Your True Purpose..Dr. Charles Stanley

 What Is Your True Purpose

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Samuel 16:6-13

What do you live for each day? A pay raise? Retirement? Then perhaps you've discovered the reality that basing aspirations on getting ahead in this world typically ends in disappointment. People with a misguided sense of direction often wonder why they feel unfulfilled.

Maybe you've already realized a goal of saving for the future or moving up the corporate ladder. You give to charity and volunteer at church, but somehow still feel a sense of insignificance or aimlessness. If so, there is a truth you need to hear: God gives each of us life for a very specific reason: to serve Him. Nobody finds inner peace without reconciling this fact. Our society teaches us that pleasure, prosperity, position, and popularity will make us happy--but living in the service of self always leaves an emptiness no earthly reward can fill.

Besides, worldly philosophy won't stand the test of time. Few of us are going to live even 100 years. So whatever we'll become in this life, we're in the process of becoming that right now. Consider David: he was anointed king long before actually assuming the role (1 Sam. 16:12). He spent many years serving the purpose of God in insignificant places while developing into a great man. As his story shows, discovering God's purpose for your life is the surest path to success.

Our heavenly Father's purpose for our lives comes from His heart of love--which is perfect. None of us can foretell the great things He has in store for us, but we can trust His plan completely. Surrender to Him today and say, "Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done."

Why Growing Hurts .. Ashley Moore

 Why Growing Hurts

By Ashley Moore 

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” - Romans 5:3-5, ESV

 “My legs hurt Mommy”, her little voice piped from the back seat. "It's probably just growing pains, it will pass in a bit," I chimed back to my four-year-old. Isn’t it strange that something God desires us to do is painful? While our flesh certainly does not like the pain of growth, it pleases the Lord to see us grow and mature. And not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and relationally, too. 

Have you ever experienced the discomfort of growth? Maybe in your time with the Lord, you sense Him prompting you to curb your sharp tongue with your spouse and children, but it's just so difficult! Perhaps, you know God wants you to give up an extra fifteen minutes of sleep to dig into His Word before work, but it’s painfully hard to rip your head away from your pillow in the mornings. Or maybe, you sense God wants you to forgive someone for hurting you, but it hurts too much to revisit what they did to you. 

I don’t know that we will ever understand why God uses pain as a pathway to growth, but He often does. Scripture says it like this: we can rejoice in our pain because it is producing endurance, character, and hope (Romans 3:3-5). Or simply stated: pain produces growth. So why is it that we are so resistant to growth?

Growth is Exhausting
Our brains must work overtime when we are learning something new. Anyone who has experienced navigating a learning curve knows this tiredness well. Our brain is forming new neural pathways. It's kind of like making a new trail in the woods. First, you must clear out all the existing trees and then you must go over the trail again and again before you travel this trail with ease. 

It’s the same way with our minds. Learning a new way to live requires we clear old ways for new habits. Growth is possible, and change can happen, but it takes a lot longer than we want it to– which can be exhausting. Because of this, we can often become resistant to the painstaking process of change. 

Growth Causes Pain 
If you have ever worked in a garden or tended to plants, you are probably familiar with pruning. This is where parts of a plant that aren’t producing fruit are cut off, so it will give nutrients to the parts producing fruit. Sometimes perfectly fine parts of plants can be pruned to produce more fruit. A plant can be pruned because it is not producing, or because a gardener just wants to see it produce a more abundant crop. 

God prunes us, too. Sometimes because there are parts of our lives that are not producing good fruit. He may remove a habit that isn’t glorifying Him. Or perhaps there is an area of our lives He wants to see multiply, so in His desire to see growth something/someone is removed. It can leave us feeling exposed and looking a little scant, like plants in early Spring. Because this process is not fun and doesn’t immediately produce tangible results, we can attempt to avoid it altogether. 

Growth hurts, but we can trust it is producing something good and beautiful in us that we wouldn’t experience otherwise. My little girl must endure growing pains to reach the full potential of her physical height. We, too, must endure growing pains to reach the hope produced on the other side of our suffering (2 Corinthians 4:17). 

Intersecting Life and Faith:
Where in your past have you experienced a season of growth? What was painful about it? What did that season produce? Journal your responses and praise God for helping you endure the growth process! 

Further Reading:

• 2 Corinthians 4:17

5 Things the Bible Tells Us about Anger ..Brittany Rust

 5 Things the Bible Tells Us about Anger

By Brittany Rust

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. - Proverbs 15:1

Take it from me: anger is not a lovely emotion to have around. For many years I had a major anger stronghold in my life that acted as a dark cloud hovering over my relationships with family, interactions with friends, and frustrations with strangers. It was something so heavy that I felt like I had no control when it wanted its way.

Having struggled with anger for many years I can speak to its destruction and the flip side of a life away from it. In fact, the Bible has a lot to say as well. Here are five things the Bible tells us about anger.

Words can fuel or diffuse anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

Words have great power and it’s no different when it comes to anger. Proverbs tells us that a gentle word can turn away wrath and that a harsh one can stir it up. The power you have to fuel or diffuse anger in a tense conversation or situation is both heavy and fragile. You can completely change the dynamic of a situation with one word.

When you’re faced with the chance to fuel or diffuse anger, what words will you choose to use?

Stay away from anger. (Psalm 37:8, Ephesians 4:31, Proverbs 29:8)

The best thing you can do is to stay away from anger in the first place. You probably know your trigger points; if you don’t, find out what they are. Then stay out of situations where you know a trigger can be pulled. Or if you sense anger starting to rise up, excuse yourself from the situation. Whatever this looks like for you, try to separate yourself from anger triggers.

Fools allow room for anger. (Ecclesiastes 7:9, Proverbs 19:3, Proverbs 29:11)

Anger is accounted in the Bible as something expressed by a fool many times. It’s because when we give into anger and we lose rational thought, wisdom also goes out the door. We don’t make wise decisions in our anger and in fact, we can make very poor choices. These moments of outburst can be a poor reflection on us and thus, be a reflection of foolishness.

Anger doesn’t just hurt others; it hurts you. (Genesis 49:7, Job 18:4)

If you think anger only hurts another person, you’d be wrong. Anger hurts you just as much as anyone else. You get worked up, worry, and stew on what upset you. It then robs you of healing and forgiveness. Don’t let anger grab hold and steal some good part of you.

Anger can be a good tool if used right. (Nehemiah 5:6-7, >John 2: 13-18, Ephesians 4:26)

Not all anger is bad; there is a righteous anger that has a place. Nehemiah experienced it as well as Jesus. There are times when a righteous anger moves us to action in a healthy way. The key to righteous anger is that we not allow it to move us into sin. It’s when our anger causes us to sin that it becomes a bad thing. Take it from someone who struggled with anger for many years--avoid it, walk away, and/or let it go!

A Prayer to Turn Work into Worship..Ashley Moore

 A Prayer to Turn Work into Worship 

By Ashley Moore 

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” - Romans 12:1, NLT

I overheard another mom with little ones share, "I just can’t catch up. I’m so overwhelmed, and there’s not enough time to get it all done before the next day comes," and it made me ponder the lesson God was teaching me. The endless tasks, like folding laundry, washing dishes, and changing diapers, all matter to God. They are not just tasks, but opportunities to worship God.

I'd been in that worn-down momma's shoes. I had prayed and begged the Lord to help me disciple my children. I asked God to help me teach my kids to love His Word, love His people, and live their lives for Him. Yet, I didn’t feel I had time to lead them well because I was consumed by my to-do list. I hadn't considered the endless tasks of motherhood as opportunities to display the Word of God to my family, I just focused on how overwhelmed and exhausted I was in this current season.

What about you, does your work feel more like a duty than a delight? Does going to the office bring about feelings of dread, rather than feelings of excitement to be salt and light to coworkers and clients? Do you view waiting in the carpool line as an inconvenience, rather than a chance to pray for the students and faculty? Or does serving another family dinner feel like a drudge rather than an offering of worship to God?  

Listen, I get it. Like Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, I am the chief of sinners when it comes to this. I often treat my daily tasks as an interruption rather than a holy opportunity to worship God. But what would it feel like to intentionally remind ourselves before we set about our daily tasks that this is our worship? I wonder what we might notice if we looked for how God may be using our work to teach and talk to others about His love. 

We get overwhelmed and frustrated with work because we live in a fallen world. But let’s not stay there. Let's let our frustration serve as a reminder that our daily lives matter in eternity. Our whole life serves as a reminder to the world of all that God has done for us. 

What if God really does use all things to work together for our good and His purposes–even the dirty dishes piled in the sink (Romans 8:28). Let’s not miss out on this, thinking we would be of better use elsewhere. As we look at another day full of tasks, may we view the duties as opportunities to present ourselves as an acceptable living sacrifice to God, who deserves our worship. 

Let’s pray: 
Dear Lord, 

Thank you for not wasting anything. You really are using all things for our good and your glory. You use our everyday acts as opportunities to build up and edify the body of Christ and point others to you (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We so easily fall prey to the lie that the things that take up our days don’t matter to you. But Lord, they do! We are living sacrifices meant to produce a pleasing aroma to those around us of your triumphal procession (2 Corinthians 2:14). And we get to do that by completing our to-do lists as offerings to you. God, forgive us when we forget. Lord, we will forget. We allow our feelings to lead us to despise these opportunities, which will feel like chores rather than divine opportunities or answers to prayer. Thank you for being patient and forgiving us when we do this, God. Remind us through your Spirit, and through the encouragement and example of others, that what we do matters to you. God, teach us how to live this out in our everyday lives. Let our lives be holy and set apart and acceptable to you Jesus. Amen.