God Desires to be Encountered..Craig Denison Ministries;

 God Desires to be Encountered

Craig Denison Ministries;

Weekly Overview: 

It’s vital to the Christian life that we as sons and daughters of the most high God allow our affections to be stirred by the loving, powerful nature of our heavenly Father. Too often we feel that God is distant or separated from us. Too often we allow misconceptions or lies to place a rift between us and experiencing God. It’s in reminding ourselves of God’s character that lies are broken and a pathway is laid for us to encounter his tangible love. Open your heart and mind and receive fresh revelation of the goodness of God this week. Allow your affections to be stirred and your heart to be filled with desire to seek the face of your heavenly Father.

Scripture:“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Devotional:

There is a misconception in Christianity that we cannot tangibly encounter our heavenly Father. Often we’re taught that we are too broken, dirty, or sinful to experience God. We’re told that experiencing God is only for some people, or only for some nations and cultures. Or maybe as a result of a lack of experiencing God in the past we believe that we are made without something that allows us to encounter God. Maybe we believe that encountering God is for other people, but not for us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We encounter God because he desires to be encountered, not because we possess some special ability. We encounter God because he longs for us to know him, not because we are more holy than someone else. You see, encountering God is entirely based on his grace and love for us.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God promises us, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” All that is required of us to experience God is time and energy set aside to seek him. Let that truth settle into your heart for a moment. Allow your beliefs about encountering God to be renewed by his word. You can undoubtedly experience the living, active, and most high God right now because he desires for you to. He longs for you to experience him. His greatest desire is for his children to walk in the fullness of relationship available to them. He gets excited about the idea of tangibly revealing himself to you. He is filled with joy at the idea that you would experience all the love he has in his heart for you.

says, “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.” Jesus did what no one else could. He made a way for us to tangibly experience our heavenly Father. Nothing can separate us from the love of our heavenly Father because Jesus has restored us completely into the fold of God. The curtain of the holy of holies was torn in two. The manifest presence of God was released by the sacrifice of Jesus for all the children of God to experience.

What do you feel is in the way of you experiencing your heavenly Father today? What past experience or present thoughts are keeping you from seeking God with all your heart. May Hebrews 10:19-22 guide you into a powerful encounter with your loving heavenly Father who desires for you to experience him today:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for you to encounter him.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27

2. Reflect on your own life. What do you believe stands between you and experiencing your heavenly Father? What sin do you believe has separated you from him? What belief has kept you from seeking God? What lie have you believed?

3. Allow Scripture to stir your confidence to seek the face of God. Believe Scripture over past experiences or beliefs. God desires you to seek him!

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” - Hebrews 10:19-22

“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 8:38-39

The enemy’s greatest desire for those of us already saved is to keep us from walking in the fullness of what God intends for his children. Satan can’t keep us from eternal life with God, but he can keep us from experiencing the abundant life available to us here. He knows God’s greatest desire is for relationship with us, so he will stop at nothing to keep God from having his desires satisfied. May your life be one marked by the fullness of what’s available to you in Christ. May you be a child of God who consistently and fully experiences the love of your heavenly Father.

Extended Reading: Acts 17:22-34

The Benefit of Being Connected to the Vine..Clarence L. Haynes Jr.

 The Benefit of Being Connected to the Vine

By Clarence L. Haynes Jr. 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

About a year ago, the heater in our house went out and had to be replaced. As expected, it went out in the fall when the weather got colder. Thankfully, it didn’t happen in the middle of the winter because replacing it took a few weeks. During this time of no heat, our house was cold. For my wife, this was torture because she is from the Caribbean, where 70 degrees is a chilly day. One night during this time was extremely cold. It was so cold our friends invited us to sleep at their house, which we chose not to do. Instead, they gave us extra space heaters to survive this time. After a few weeks of dealing with the cold, we got a brand-new heating unit. We never appreciated heat so much in our lives as when we turned the new unit on.  

One year later, in the middle of winter, we turned up the thermostat to get more heat, and nothing happened. The heat did not come on. We tried everything to get this heater to work but were unsuccessful. Because we could not figure it out, we returned to the space heaters until we could reach the heating company the next day. When we called, he asked if there was a red light switch outside the boiler room, and we said yes. He asked, “Is the switch in the on or off position?” We discovered it was in the off position. Our son, who has autism and a love affair with light switches, fell in love with this one and turned it to the off position. When he did this, he triggered the emergency shutdown, which turned off the power going to the heater. This brand-new powerful heater that could warm our house up in just a few minutes didn’t work because it had lost connection to the power source.

The Life is in the Vine.
In John 15:5, Jesus tells us something similar. He says point blank that without him, you cannot do anything. In this chapter, Jesus describes himself as the vine and you and me as the branches. The vine is the source that gives life to the branch. It is the source of water and nutrients that flow into the branch. If the branch gets separated from the vine, it cannot function on its own. Just like our heater, it won’t work. You are the branch; to do anything for Jesus, you must remain in him. You cannot survive without him and must become totally dependent on him. We live in a world that promotes being your own man or your own woman. That may work in the world, but that won’t work in your Christian life. The only way to live this Christian life successfully is to depend completely on Jesus. We rely on Jesus for salvation and depend on him for everything else.

Jesus designed salvation to require daily walking with and depending on him. He designed it that way because he wants to connect intimately in your life. As the vine, he wants to guide your steps, give instructions, and be with you in every part of your journey. Recognizing this helps you understand that because you are in Christ, you don’t have to do anything in this life without his help. Yet, we often lean away from the vine and try to branch out on our own (pun intended). I still can’t figure out why we do this because when we do, we are pulling away from our source of life and strength. Just as the branch has no hope when disconnected from the vine, we have no hope when attempting to operate in our own strength.

The Challenge in it All.
You would think the challenge of this verse is to bear fruit. That’s actually the easier part. The challenge in this verse is to remain in the vine. Jesus said if you remain in me, you will bear much fruit. If you focus on remaining, the fruit will come because the life of the vine will become present in the branch. Your job, therefore, is to remain in Christ. The remaining is where we engage in fellowship, relationship, and intimacy with Jesus. If you focus on this one thing, your life will be so intertwined with Jesus that you won’t be able to help it and will bear much fruit.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
To bear fruit in this life, you must remain first and do second. So often, we get these mixed up.

Further Reading:

• John 15:1-17

How to Stop Judging By Appearance Alone ..Rachael Adams

 How to Stop Judging By Appearance Alone (1 Samuel 16:7)

By Rachael Adams

Today’s Bible Verse: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

The first time I saw my husband, he had a black eye. My immediate thought was, He sure is cute, but I’ll bet he’s trouble. I better stay away from him. I imagine God getting a good chuckle from this first interaction. He knew what Bryan would mean to me in the future, but I didn’t.

Later, I learned the real reason behind his questionable appearance. He was a college athlete and the black eye was from playing competitively during practice earlier that day. We laugh about it now, but I can’t help thinking: What if I had let my inaccurate assumption about him prevent him from becoming my husband? What a tragedy that would have been to my now-happy family of four.

I wish I could tell you I’ve learned my lesson about judging based on appearance alone, but it’s something with which I still struggle. I wonder if you struggle with this tendency, too? Perhaps, like me, you're tempted to make inaccurate assumptions based on gender, race, age, and even personal style.

It’s so easy to assume that we won’t have anything in common with those who are different from we are, so we don’t make an effort to connect at all. But what kind of beautiful relationship could God be trying to give you if you only opened your heart and mind to it?

One of my favorite biblical teachings on this subject is from 1 Samuel 16. The Lord commanded Samuel to visit Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king. When Samuel arrived, he saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel sent for him, and when David arrived, the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

Samuel made wrong assumptions and even David’s own father made wrong assumptions about who would be king. People made wrong assumptions about Jesus as King too. They thought He would come into the world with pomp and circumstance, but He came as a humble baby in a manger. All the way to the cross, people made the wrong assumptions about the Man who was the Savior of the world. And how heartbreaking to miss Him?

Let us not make the same mistake. We don’t want to be judged or counted out based on our own appearance. Therefore, may we view everyone as a person made in God’s image—each person fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. With this truth in mind, the only safe assumption is that everyone has value and is worthy of love. Let us not focus on the outer appearance and risk missing out on God-given connections. Instead, may we look at the heart and see the beautiful relationships God might have in store.

A Prayer for Reconciliation in Christ..Jessica Van Roekel

 A Prayer for Reconciliation in Christ

By Jessica Van Roekel

"For he himself is our peace, who had made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." - Ephesians 2:14-18, ESV

Do you ever forget important items? I love sticky notes for keeping track of phone calls I need to make, grocery items I need to pick up, and tasks I need to finish. I tend to put things in "safe" places rendering them forgotten, never to be found again. This usually results in a mad dash through drawers and cabinets looking for the "safe" item. As we follow Jesus, it's important to look ahead to our future with him and to remember his faithfulness in our past. I try to live in the moment to soak up the sights and sounds around me. It's the time of year when the birds return from their winter migration, and their pre-dawn songs fill the air. By noon, I'm so entrenched in daily tasks I don't even notice the sound of the birds. I find myself doing the same with God. I see him present with me momentarily, but I forget his faithfulness until I face an unexpected hurdle. I want to connect the past with the present, but they seem at odds.

Looking back can be good or bad, depending on our focus. Fixating on the present doesn't allow the memories of the past to inform us. For example, we may forget the way God made for us through a seemingly impossible situation. We've long forgotten God's faithfulness when we face another unexpected problem this week. We question where God is and how he could allow this to happen. We forget the past, which proves his faithfulness when we face an unexpected hardship in our present

Our memories and our current realities can wage war and seem irreconcilable. These can make it hard to remember our inheritance in Christ. There are three things Christ accomplished for us that can help reconcile our past and present. They will help encourage us in our journeys through the shadowed valleys of life.

Do you ever feel God is hard to reach? I do, especially because of unanswered prayers or unmet expectations. But Jesus brought us near to God. The phrase brought us near, is how the ancient world described the relative physical distance a person lived from Jerusalem. The closer your proximity to Jerusalem, the closer you were to God. Because of Jesus, we don't have to be near Jerusalem to be close to him. He is near to us. Sometimes, we turn our back on him, but he doesn't turn away from us.

Unexpected problems can stand as a barrier to peace. They can interfere with sleep and our ability to focus on our daily tasks because a problem stands in the way. We can wrestle all night long, wake up, and work half-distracted because we mull over the problem. It can get so big that it prevents us from peace. But Jesus, through his death, brought peace. The kind of peace holds us steady when the storm rages. Our sin separated us from him, and he bridged the gap because reconciliation was Jesus' objective. It can sometimes feel like our hardships in life can separate us from God. I know how it feels to wonder if God is still for me because I don't like how he's moving in my life. But Jesus made it possible for us to enjoy God's presence continually, even when life doesn't go our way.

Let's Pray:
Holy God,
It feels like my circumstances are standing in the way of my relationship with you. I can sometimes forget how you showed your faithfulness in my past when faced with unwanted present circumstances that paint an uncertain future. I don't know how to reconcile what I know to be true about you with what I'm thinking and feeling. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to bring me near to you, give me your peace, and reconcile my past with my present. You are faithful through it all, and I am so grateful! In Jesus' name, Amen

Goal Setting The Key to Success..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Goal Setting The Key to Success

Dr. Charles Stanley

Philippians 3:7-14

What three goals would you set for your life if you knew that you could achieve them? Would any of them be spiritual in nature? The apostle Paul was one of the most goal-oriented people in the Bible, yet he understood which pursuits were the most important. His chief ambition was to know Christ, His resurrection power, and the fellowship of His suffering (v. 10).

We'd all do well to adopt these goals, but they sound so broad. How do we put them into practice? First, it's important to comprehend that a goal is a purpose or direction toward which we work. This concept is fairly easy to understand when we're talking about specific objectives like going to bed earlier or losing ten pounds, but what steps would you need to take in order to achieve spiritual goals like Paul's?

Success requires choosing steps that are specific, reasonable, and measurable. For example, if you want to know Christ more intimately, you might commit to spending 30 minutes each day praying and reading His Word. After developing your plan and the steps to accomplish it, put your desire into action. If you don't take the necessary steps, it will simply remain a wish. No one develops intimacy with Christ through good intentions; it takes commitment, diligence, and perseverance.

If you feel as if your faith is lacking vitality, it may be that you've become spiritually lazy. No one intends to slip into complacency. But unless you set some specific goals and work to achieve them, you'll drift through life and miss the greatest accomplishment of all--learning to know Christ intimately.