God Wants to be Known..Craig Denison Ministries

 God Wants to be Known

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

To know God is to experience God. Just as we experience aspects of one another as we grow in friendship, we experience the wonders of God as we seek to simply know him. God is calling us to a life of seeking him with all we are. He is calling us to value relationship with him above all else that we would love no other but him. May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship with your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.

Scripture:“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

Devotional:

The single greatest privilege in life is to know God. The God who formed you, provides for you and sent his Son to die for you longs to have real relationship with you. He longs to be known by you. And through the powerful sacrifice of Jesus, we truly can know him like any other person. And in fact, in some respects he is infinitely more knowable than any other person. Jeremiah 31:33-34 says,

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

“From the least of them to the greatest,” says the living God. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, you can know the God of love. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those individually appointed as his leaders. Knowing God is no longer reserved for those like David, Isaiah, Peter, or the clergy. All of us have equal access to the living God.

And from the place of knowing God, we are granted the ability to experience his incredible attributes and be blessed by a greater awareness of our union with him. When we seek to know God, the Bible is clear that we begin to experience his love (Romans 5:5), hear his voice (John 10:27), and feel his peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16). We can partner in his purposes (1 Peter 2:9), experience his freedom (Romans 6:4), and rest in his presence (Psalm 16:11).

When we center our lives around knowing God, we gain experience with him like we do any other person. I don’t seek to hear my wife’s voice, rather I seek to know her and have conversation with her as a byproduct of that. I don’t seek just the emotion of love from my wife; rather, in getting to know her and walking in relationship with her, I experience her affections for me. So it is with God. When we simply seek to know him we gain experience in return.

I pray that as we look at the individual aspects of experiencing God this week your heart is stirred to simply seek deeper relationship with your heavenly Father, whatever may come as the result. Your Father loves you enough to pay the ultimate price to have relationship with you. Seek him and discover the wealth of his affections for you.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the availability of knowing the living God. Allow Scripture to stir up your desire to seek him with all your heart.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’” Psalm 27:8

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34

2. Is your life centered around the pursuit of knowing God? Check the posture of your heart today. Look at the way you spend your time, your emotions, your thoughts, and your actions. What seems to be your greatest pursuit?

3. Spend some time centering your heart around true relationship with a knowable God. Ask him to help guide your heart through your day toward this pursuit. Ask him to give you a check in your heart when something takes his place as the greatest desire in your life. Live today with him as your highest priority.

“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says,

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.

May we be those who boast solely in our relationship with God. May his love and nearness be our highest joy. And may it be said of us at the end of our days that we sought the Lord above all else.

Extended Reading: Psalm 46

The Gospel Transforms Lives through Faith, Hope, and Love..Jessica Van Roekel

 The Gospel Transforms Lives through Faith, Hope, and Love

By Jessica Van Roekel

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.” - Colossians 1:4-6 ESV

Good news is satisfying but sometimes hard to find. The phone rings late at night, and our heart stops. The morning headlines paint the world as a dark place. The evening news fills our dreams with dread as we hope for a good night’s sleep. But there’s nothing more satisfying in difficult circumstances than good news. A cheerful report about the people we care about shines bright on an otherwise dreary day. Such was the case for Paul, the Apostle. While imprisoned in Rome, he received news of a congregation in Colossae that caused him to rejoice. This church resulted from Epaphras’ conversion to Christianity when Paul preached to the Ephesians. The Colossian's response to the gospel changed lives as people came to faith in Christ Jesus.

There’s nothing more encouraging for someone in ministry to witness or hear about a person who encounters the Gospel of Jesus Christ and whose life changes. The world is hard, with many barriers to growing up in Christ. Distractions abound, and the pull of the old way of living is strong. We can learn from the believers in the Colossians church and their emphasis on faith, hope, and love. Biblical faith involves a commitment to God and an expression of trust in him. Faith goes beyond what we know and understand. It is, as Hebrews 11:1 states, the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. Faith is a loyalty to God that withstands the brunt of any bad news we may face. It takes God at his word, which means if God says he will not forsake us, we can trust him to keep his word. Faith in God finds its hope in spiritual realities, not the circumstances we see.

Love for other believers in Christ is a central Christian virtue. 1 Corinthians 13 guides us in the type of love God wants to develop in us. It’s the kind of love that doesn’t keep records of wrongdoing, it doesn’t harbor envy, and it doesn’t insist on its way. One of the ways the gospel transforms us is through this kind of love. It is non-negotiable evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Patience, kindness, and deference to each other in the name of Jesus reveal how much God has changed our lives.

Hope is foundational to faith and love. It is more than a wish. It is a confident expectation rooted in God’s character, provision, and promise. We are guaranteed eternity in his presence. This kind of hope helps us look beyond our discouraging situations to the hope we have in him. In Romans 8:18, Paul writes, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” As we hold fast to hope, faith, and love, we allow God’s glory to be revealed through us. And as his glory shines bright, we are transformed, and the world can see the difference the gospel makes.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
Our Sunday services encourage us to live a life that honors God. We receive insight and encouragement to keep walking in faith, growing in love, and clinging to hope. If your circumstances overwhelm you and you feel your faith shaking, remember that loyalty to God is an expression of faith. God does not turn his back on you. When you keep your commitment toward him to develop hope, faith, and love, he will carry you through and transform your life.

Further Reading:

• Colossians 1

When We Lose Heart..Susie Larson

 When We Lose Heart

By Susie Larson

“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.” - Luke 7:22-23

When John the Baptist sat in prison, most likely knowing that his execution was imminent, he battled a dark season of discouragement and doubt. According to Jesus, John was one of the greatest men who ever lived, and yet his heart and soul were weary and in need assurance that Jesus was who He said He was. John sent word to Jesus’s disciples, asking if He indeed was the Messiah, or if they should keep looking for someone else. Jesus answered this way:

“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.” Luke 7:22-23

When, like John, we are going through a painful season of waiting for God’s provision or deliverance, it’s common for us to be so focused on the angst in our heart and on the unmet desires in our lives that we forget that God has never failed us in the past. And that He has always come through at just the right time.

If you find yourself weary in the wait, step away from your current situation and recount again some of the ways that God has come through for you. Declare right now that, though you can’t see it, God is at work in your midst. He moves when you pray and He absolutely cherishes your faith. Believe it. Embrace it. Because it’s true.

And if you’re tempted to blame God for your current hardship, I encourage you to consider this a dead-end attitude, one that will derail your faith and perspective. Why blame the very One who can do something about your circumstances?

Nobody loves you like God. Nobody keeps promises like God does. And nobody has the wisdom to intervene at just the right time like God does, and God will. Jesus says that we’re blessed when we resist the impulse to blame Him or be offended by what He allows us to endure. As a matter of fact, we should look to Jesus as our example. He suffered torture, persecution, and rejection, yet Jesus never got offended with His Father. How’s that possible?

It’s possible when you believe that the heart of your Father is always good, and that anything He allows you to endure will serve you and glorify Him in the end. Trust your good God’s promises and His process. He knows what He’s doing with your life.

A Prayer to Contend for the Faith..Laura Bailey

 A Prayer to Contend for the Faith

By Laura Bailey

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” - Jude 1:3 NIV

The book of Jude is a small but powerful letter to believers. Tucked right before Revelation, this one-chapter book is easily overlooked. But one would be remiss if they didn’t study Jude and soak in its powerful message of perseverance in the faith and gospel reminders of our eternal hope. Jude understood the spiritual war that wages in our minds and acknowledged the daily battle that wears on our souls. He wrote to a group of believers under immense spiritual attack and being fed false teachings. I can relate to these early saints because while my heart is fully committed to serving the Lord, the battle between my ears is a constant drum of doubt, half-truths, and full-on lies that I must surrender to our Heavenly Father daily. Jude loved the Church and desperately wanted to remind them of their salvation and strengthen them as they resigned to follow Christ. And how does one contend for their faith, to stand firm against spiritual attacks, seen and unseen?

We turn away from evil and meditate on God’s word.
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. ( Psalm 1:1-2).

We renew our minds daily to conform to God’s will.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ( Romans 12:2).”

We fellowship with other believers.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. ( Proverbs 27:17)”
Staying committed to our faith among life’s trials, spiritual attacks, and difficult circumstances takes work. But, as children of God, we can be encouraged and driven by our salvation in Christ to keep contending for the faith ( 2 Timothy 4:7).

Let’s Pray: 
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of salvation. We are so undeserving of Your grace and mercy, yet, while we were still sinners, You sent Your son to die so that we could have eternal life. In immeasurable love for Your Children, before the beginning of time, You created a way for us to be redeemed and restored; thank You. This life offers many distractions, illusions of happiness, and false promises of peace and joy- we ask for strength to pursue the eternal over the temporal. Let us not waver in our faith like shifting sand but instead firmly plant ourselves on the solid rock of Christ. Lead us as we seek to be the salt and light of this world, guide our paths, and direct our words and actions, bringing You glory and honor.

Lord, if anyone in our lives doesn’t know You as a savior, we ask that You send Your Spirit to draw them to the Father. We are vessels, use us for Your service, grant us the words to say, the courage to boldly proclaim the Gospel, and grace and mercy for those who mock or persecute us. Give us discernment to distinguish Your Truth from those who engage in lies. May we easily recognize those sent to deceive and cause doubt and confusion among the people. Forgive us when we fall short, help us to be more like You today, show love to all, and extend grace and mercy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Responding to Accusation..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Responding to Accusation

Dr. Charles Stanley

Luke 12:11-12

When conflict occurs, the natural reaction is to blame someone else and defend yourself. But believers must respond differently. Once, I was publicly chastised for a wrong I had not committed. Thankfully, the Lord enabled me to remain calm rather than react angrily. Praying first is always the best response in a crisis. When we do, God supernaturally provides that which we can't muster up ourselves.

• Spiritual discernment. The Lord, who perfectly understands the source of every problem, can give us insight beyond our limited perspective. Perhaps there's been a communication breakdown, a feeling of jealousy on the other person's part, or a mistake we unknowingly made. The Holy Spirit can show us how to approach our accuser and see beyond hurtful words or actions.
• A quiet spirit. Our human nature wants to react quickly so that we can defend ourselves. That's why we must first deliberately focus our attention on the Lord and experience the inward peace He alone makes available to us (John 14:27).
• Wisdom. Jesus told His disciples the Holy Spirit would give them wise words to say when they faced hostile authorities. He'll do the same for you. Ask Him to put a seal on your lips until He shows you what to say and when (Ps. 141:3).

We don't have to react to criticism with anger and self-protection the way the world does. Instead, we are called to represent Christ in every situation by depending on Him. In responding as He directs, we bring Him glory and cause unbelievers to want to know the source of our strength.