Abiding in God’s Friendship..Craig Denison Ministries

Abiding in God’s Friendship

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview: 

The absolute, most important single act of the children of God is making space to encounter our heavenly Father in the secret place. Abiding in God is the foundation on which every other aspect of the Christian life finds success. It establishes roots that enable us to receive all that we need to bear the fruit of the Spirit. It guides us to constant refreshment and revival in God’s presence, thereby supplying and sustaining the abundant life God intends for us. My prayer is that you would be marked by wonderful, satisfying, and fulfilling encounters with the presence of God as we look at John 15:1-17 this week. Make room in your heart and mind to rest in the love of your heavenly Father as we look at the different ways we are to abide in true vine of God.

Scripture:“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:14-15

Devotional:    

Do you know that God calls you his friend? John 15:14-15 says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” As a believer you have gained friendship with a God who exemplifies perfect, unconditional love. You have gained relationship with your Creator whose greatest desire is simply to spend time with you. Allow the love of your heavenly Father to sink in for a minute. Allow the Spirit to reveal to you God’s motives today as we look at what it means for us to abide in the friendship of God.

John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus committed the greatest act of love this world has ever known in laying down his life. And he did so willingly out of his desire for relationship with us. God desired friendship with you to the level that he would send his only Son to die in order to restore what sin had destroyed.

The questions before you today are: are you experiencing the fruits of friendship with Jesus? Are you receiving the satisfaction that comes from abiding in relationship with God? The Holy Spirit’s desire today is to lead you into a greater depth of friendship with your Creator, the one who laid down his own life for your sake. What he asks of you today is to make time to invest in your friendship with him as you would any other relationship. He asks that you would value relationship with him to the level that you would commit time and energy to it. Just as marriage cannot be fruitful or enjoyable without investment from both parties, we must invest in our friendship with God to receive all that relationship with him is designed to bring us.

John 15:14 makes it clear that true friendship with God is following his commands. Jesus has revealed the pathway to abundant life. And he’s led us to that path by laying down his own life that we might have the Holy Spirit working within us. To be friends with Jesus is to choose to lay down our own lives in response to his loving sacrifice. To walk in friendship with God is to choose humility over pride and follow the path set before us in Jesus. We are no longer servants unaware of the plans and will of our master, but friends who have heard, seen, and experienced the truth.

Will you choose friendship with God over the world today? Will you choose to follow the will of the God who laid down his life for yours? Will you walk down the pathway of life today, or will you choose to go your own way? True friendship with God is fully available to you today if you will follow the life-giving commandments of Jesus and make space and time to invest in your relationship with him. Nothing will bring you greater satisfaction than living out of the abundance of friendship with Jesus. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Open the door of your heart to the God of love today and spend time fellowshipping with him.           

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on your status as a friend of God. Allow Scripture to change your perspective on how God views you and how you should view God.

“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:14-15

2. Reflect on your own life. What relationships do you invest in over your relationship with God? Who have you made the highest priority? In what ways are you not following the commands of Jesus?

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23

3. Repent of any way in which you have valued other relationships over God. Confess any ways in which you have not been following the commands of Jesus and receive the forgiveness of God. Spend time investing in your friendship now. Open the door of your heart and let God come in. Talk with him. Listen to him. Tell him how you feel. Spend time with him as you would another friend. Nothing could be more important than experiencing the abundance of friendship with God available to you in Christ.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9

“I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” Hosea 11:4

The only day we are promised is today. Don’t wait to invest in your relationship with God. Don’t set it aside while you take care of what seems to be more pressing. Loving God is always first priority. Spending time with him is always the most important thing. Choose to be a follower of Jesus who values his commands over any other. Choose his way over your own or the world’s. Walk today with the fruit of friendship with God as your source and guide. If you do, you will experience favor and grace on even the most mundane tasks set before you. You will experience a foundation of love on which you have the grace to follow God wholeheartedly and love others purely and fully. Value friendship with God above all else and experience the abundant life available to you.

Extended Reading: 1 John 1-2

God Planned for Salvation Before Creation..Emma Danzey

 God Planned for Salvation Before Creation 

By Emma Danzey

"But with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." - 1 Peter 1:19-21

Whatever you are going through today, however, you are being challenged or pressed by the hardships of life, He is good, He has a plan, and He cares for you.

But with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 
I don't know about you, but I have never heard anyone use the term precious to describe my blood at a doctor's appointment. The concept of preciousness indicates purity, innocence, and even beauty. Jesus' blood was precious because He was sinless. He was and always will be perfect. It was a generous gift of life for all who believe in Him. Just as the Jewish people had to sacrifice lambs without blemish or defect, Jesus had to be perfect to save us. An animal could not save us eternally; we could not save ourselves. It had to be Jesus. Life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). If there is no blood, there is no life. Jesus gave us His life for us to live.

He was chosen before the creation of the world but, was revealed in these last times for your sake.
When we sit back and realize how amazing our God is to have had a salvation plan before creation even began, I do not know that we can fully express our gratitude in words. He loved us so much that He, Jesus, our God, came to die on our behalf and reconcile us to Himself so that we could be with Him forever. There is no greater love story. Titus 1:2 says,

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began."

When a married couple plans to have a child together, that couple is aware their child will be a challenging, disobedient sinner. Out of great love, the couple decides to create life and commit to being the parents of this baby. They give the child their last name and are forever a family. However, it is not until the actual difficult moments parents realize the fullness of sacrifice and love it takes to raise and care for a child. In a greater way, God our Father gives this to us since He knew all the ways we would hurt and disappoint Him; He knew the price it would cost and the pain He would endure on the cross, yet He chose us anyway. This is the greatest love. He knew all along, yet it was revealed to us in the last times for our sake. Jesus is Lord.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
The Bible is clear; the gospel's message is that Jesus is the hope of salvation to all who believe in Him. God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him. This is something we should reflect on and live for every day. Jesus is alive, and we are made alive in Him. We have hope and confidence in our eternal life because of Him.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
As you ponder the great love Jesus has for you, how does that make you feel that He gave His precious blood for you? What does it mean to know God already had a plan for salvation before He created you, even though He knew you would sin and rebel? How can you live out of this place of hope and joy today?

Further Reading:

• Leviticus 17:11
• Romans 15:13
• Titus 1:2

What Does God’s Omniscience Mean for Me?..Debbie W. Wilson

 What Does God’s Omniscience Mean for Me? (Psalm 139:1)

By Debbie W. Wilson

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me” ( Psalm 139:1NLT).

God is omniscient. That means that He knows everything. He knows the future, the past, and everything that is going on in this moment. He knows calculus, microbiology, and English. He understands physics and engineering. He knows the pressures of providing for a family and running a business. But more personally, He knows everything about me.

Let’s look at some of what God’s omniscience means for us personally.

Because God is omniscient I can be real. God’s omniscience means we don’t have to pretend with Him. We don’t have to clean up our thoughts and emotions before we approach Him. He already knows everything.

God understands why we're upset. He knows the root of our insecurities, disappointments, and our needs. He can handle our doubts, fears, and critical thoughts. He’s the perfect One to guide us to peace, health, and healing.

David demonstrated the practical value of God’s omniscience at the end of Psalm 139 when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (verses 23-24 NLT).

David knew the hate he had blurted out in previous verses needed God’s attention. Instead of hiding behind pious platitudes or saying, “Just kidding; I didn’t mean it,” David invited God into His ugly thoughts and emotions.

Because God is omniscient we don’t have to explain our situation or confusion to Him. We simply ask Him for help. He knows just what we need.

Let’s look at some of what God’s omniscience means for us personally.

Because God is omniscient I can be real. God’s omniscience means we don’t have to pretend with Him. We don’t have to clean up our thoughts and emotions before we approach Him. He already knows everything.

God understands why we're upset. He knows the root of our insecurities, disappointments, and our needs. He can handle our doubts, fears, and critical thoughts. He’s the perfect One to guide us to peace, health, and healing.

David demonstrated the practical value of God’s omniscience at the end of Psalm 139 when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (verses 23-24 NLT).

David knew the hate he had blurted out in previous verses needed God’s attention. Instead of hiding behind pious platitudes or saying, “Just kidding; I didn’t mean it,” David invited God into His ugly thoughts and emotions.

Because God is omniscient we don’t have to explain our situation or confusion to Him. We simply ask Him for help. He knows just what we need.

A Prayer for the One Seeking Acceptance..Alicia Searl

 A Prayer for the One Seeking Acceptance

By Alicia Searl

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:26-28

We all have a deep need to belong and fit in. We have an inner desire to feel accepted, flaws and all. But what does it really mean to “be accepted?” The word accepted, by definition, means to be highly favored, to be given approval, or to show recognition of being correct. Here within lies a slippery slope. When we seek acceptance, we merely seek approval for “our view,” not God’s. Let me clarify. What is acceptable if I think something is okay or even good, but you think it is not okay or even terrible? In this case, acceptance becomes a personal tool to cast judgments and labels.

This played out in the Old Testament when the Israelites were held in captivity in Babylon. This resulted from their disobedience, turning away from God while hardening their hearts. They had become selfish and stricken by the ways of their flesh, worshiping false gods, living out sinful lifestyles, and priding themselves on accepting their own truths. This sounds a little similar to the current climate of our society today. While we all crave acceptance, it often derives from our own sinful nature and view of acceptance. But our God, full of compassion, showed His mercy and grace upon the people of Israel by targeting their hearts. He softens their hearts by leading them back to the truth of His acceptance. God’s acceptance is covered in His unfailing love. And friend, our God can do the same for us!

The truth is when we put faith in Jesus, our stone-cold heart that seeks after our own desires and acceptance is redesigned by our good and gracious Father. God softens our hearts, promising never to cast us out of His family. While we will still bend to the ways of our flesh, with God, we can be fully known, fully accepted, and deeply loved. However, as His children, that doesn’t mean He accepts our sins. He loves us too much to be confined by those unbearable chains. In our transformation from our old self to our new self, God plants within us a heart that desires to seek His will and His way. As our Creator, He is continually pursuing our hearts and chiseling away at our rough edges to make us more in the image of Christ. So, rather than seeking acceptance from others, which will bend towards our sinful nature, we need to seek God’s acceptance through His unconditional love, which will cover a magnitude of sin.

Let’s pray:
Gracious God,
We are so thankful and abundantly blessed to be called Your beloved children. Please help us seek Your acceptance and walk in a way that honors You, Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness and compassion for Your chosen people of Israel. It can give us the reassurance we need to know that even when we may fail and fall into sinful patterns, Your mercy is greater, and You still pursue our hearts, calling us back to Your acceptance.This world currently seems to be giving way to seeking their own personal form of acceptance, so with humble hearts, we ask that You please shed light in the darkness. Reveal that Your acceptance is filled with goodness, mercy, grace, and unconditional love. We lift our hurting nation to You, O God. We are in a very similar place to the people of Israel. We need to change course and need You to awaken people by softening hearts. Recreate a love for Your Word and Truth. Place bold convictions within the walls of our congregations and lead us back to the path of righteousness. O Lord, we want to desire Your acceptance and seek Your will and way for our lives. It is in Your Holy and Precious name I pray. Amen.

When a Nation Turns Its Back on God..Dr. Charles Stanley

 When a Nation Turns Its Back on God

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Chronicles 33

Hezekiah was a god-fearing king who brought about reformation among the Israelites. His son Manasseh, however, was an evil ruler. He had watched his father walk with God and live according to Scripture. Yet he chose to ignore the Lord.

Manasseh worshipped false gods, even to the point of sacrificing his sons by fire in order to praise Molech. He practiced much evil—including witchcraft and sorcery— and led Israel astray, thereby provoking God to anger. The king, along with the people, paid a high price for his rebellion.

This story illustrates the Lord’s intolerance of a nation’s disregard toward Him. Now consider our country. We, too, are a nation that pushes God aside—one that has turned away from the only true God and embraced idols. Perhaps these aren’t statues of stone, but we worship money, sports ability, fame, and reputation, to name a few.

The United States of America was founded on biblical principles with the intent to guarantee freedom of worship. But over time, we have removed the Lord from many aspects of public life. Prayer in schools, for instance, was deemed unconstitutional. What was once a “nation under God” has turned into a country that tolerates a growing number of sins and yet belittles absolute truth.

If a nation turns its back on the Lord, His judgment is inevitable unless the people repent and make Him Lord once again. As believers, our responsibility is to pray that God would draw the heart of our country back to Himself—and to help the gospel and truth spread through our land.