God Our Great Deliverer..Craig Denison Ministries;

 God Our Great Deliverer

Craig Denison Ministries;

Weekly Overview:

Our heavenly Father is the giver of every good gift. His mercies are vast, powerful, and real. His love has the ability to completely overwhelm and satisfy every one of our needs. Everything he gives us satisfies, transforms, and leads us to abundant life. As we spend this week stirring up our affections toward God, allow your heart to become soft and open. Allow his loving character to draw you close and provide life to every dry and weary place in your soul.

Scripture:“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” - Psalm 32:7

Devotional: 

Our God, who delivered Daniel from the clutches of ferocious lions, David from countless pursuers, Israel from the entire nation of Egypt, and Lazarus from three days of death, promises to deliver us from whatever schemes the world has set against us. 2 Samuel 22:2-4 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

When we call upon the Lord our God, he works in mighty, mysterious, and perfect ways. God is perfectly able to do any and every work it takes to deliver us. Whether you need deliverance from sin, affliction, lies, or sickness, God has the power and desire to deliver you. He is both mighty and loving. He is both mysterious and real. He is both servant and King. And he sees your need and longs to meet you exactly where you are.

What enemy comes against you today? What stress, circumstance, sickness, or sin seems to have entangled you? The Lord says to you, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16). Hold fast to the hand of your heavenly Father. Don’t just put your head down and muscle through whatever circumstance is before you. Instead, call on your Great Deliverer, place your hand in his, and allow him to guide you, equip you, and empower you for whatever stands in your way.

God loves to take the very circumstance that seemed insurmountable and use it to reveal to you the reality of his power and love. He loves to take the walls of Jericho that seem to stand between you and your dreams and cast down the enemy that you couldn’t defeat on your own.

Psalm 32:7 says, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” God is surrounding you with his shouts today. The question is, will you have the patience and faith to pause, open your ears, listen, and follow wherever he leads you?

Spend time in prayer allowing God to deliver you, protect you, comfort you, guide you, and give you peace.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire and ability to deliver you from whatever lies before you today.

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”Psalm 34:7

“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”Psalm 32:7

2. Reflect on your own life. Where do you need deliverance today? Ask the Spirit to give you revelation about an area from which he wants to deliver you.

3. Spend time in God’s presence opening your ears to hear all that he would speak to you. Ask God to deliver you. Pray boldly that your heavenly Father would come through for you in mighty and miraculous ways.

Keep your eyes open today to take notice of all the different ways God answers your prayer. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” God will deliver you because he loves you, and his nature does not change. If he delivered Lazarus, the Israelites, David, and Daniel, he will deliver you. Have confidence in the love and power of your heavenly Father today.

Extended Reading: Psalm 34

Strength in Waiting..Dr. Charles Stanley

Strength in Waiting

Dr. Charles Stanley

Isaiah 40:28-31

God has a purpose and plan for your life, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes He answers our prayers with "yes" or "no." But at other times, He says "not now"--when that is the case, we can avail ourselves of the rich rewards that come when we wait.

One very practical blessing is that God strengthens us as we lean on Him during delays. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that "those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength." We are given the metaphor of an eagle with wind beneath his wings. It is interesting to note that the words "wind" and "spirit" come from the same Greek word--pneuma. The spirit of God lifts us up, and His energy and strength sustain us as we abide in Him.

When we are facing a difficult decision, the real key is learning to wait. There is no verse of Scripture that tells us to take control and fight our own battles. God is the one who fights them on our behalf (2 Chron. 20:15). We are to be patient and trust in Him.

When David faced his greatest battles, he waited upon the Lord. God delivered him from destruction and set his feet on solid ground. (Ps. 40:1-3) He will do the same for you. When you abide in Him, He gives supernatural energy to accomplish the things He requires of you--His Spirit does for you what you cannot do for yourself.

In reading through the Scriptures, we see that every time one of God's saints gains a victory, he or she is waiting and trusting in the Lord. You can likewise experience triumph in your life. When you have the omnipotent Creator of the universe acting on your behalf, you can't lose.

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What the Book of Judges Can Teach the Church Today..Chara Donahue

 What the Book of Judges Can Teach the Church Today

By Chara Donahue

Today's Bible Verse: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10

It is a frightening thing to know that churches can grow and find success not because they are close to the heart of God, but because they have learned through tradition and good business how to build an enterprise. The time of the judges was full of rising and falling, disaster and success, but there is a constant refrain of people forsaking the one true God for a false idol, which knowledge, business, and best practices can become. The church and its leaders can never forget where true life comes from. They must remember the prayer Jesus prayed for his church: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

One of the most striking and beautiful characteristics of the church is her diversity. She reaches across the world and makes disciples of all nations. While the global church may be made up of every race, sex, and ability, many local churches struggle with homogeneity. Another problem is when churches welcome others who are different, hoping that they will assimilate and adhere to their church’s customs, which may be outside of what Jesus asks of his people.

When building teams or choosing leadership, churches must remember that a body is composed of many parts, and each has their particular function.

In Judges 3 it was Ehud’s differing characteristic that enabled him to be Israel’s deliverer from Eglon, the king of Moab. Ehud was a left-handed strategist who was born into a right-handed society. While this difference is slight, it was vital to his success as a judge. Ehud was underestimated because he was different, and we lose strength as the church when we demand that people think, act, and look the same. We should all stand firm on the Word of God by following his commandments as the Spirit enables, seeking unity amidst diversity. We are at our best in glorifying God when the different parts of the church body function as a whole.

If you have never read the book of Judges, today is a good day to start. Far beyond the paltry dramas you find on Netflix or Twitter; not only will you find the full stories to the lessons mentioned here, you will also read of Samson, the rash vow of Japheth, a tragically slain concubine, and many more. Judges reveals the brokenness of humanity apart from the Spirit interceding. These stories clearly show that what the church needs most is Jesus’ rule and reign.

A Prayer to Remain Present..Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer to Remain Present

By Emily Rose Massey

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” - Psalm 39:4 NIV 

It seems the average attention span of even adults is getting shorter and shorter thanks to smartphones and the plethora of apps that entertain and steal much of our time. We live in the age of rapid technological advancements, but sadly, technology also causes us to be extremely distracted. As we live in the great information age, we are bombarded with opportunities to fill our time and minds with so many things that can easily replace our time of fellowship with the Lord and fellowship with others. 

The information available to us, literally at our fingertips, at all times, is a wonderful gift. Still, that mobile device we carry around in our purses and pockets can also be a distraction that follows us everywhere we go. If we are not careful, we will miss creating memories with loved ones the Lord has placed around us. 

Although our cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc., are not evil, I believe we need to be cautious about how much time we devote to them. We need to be aware of where we are directing our focus. We need to be attentive to what is capturing our attention and pulling us away from the life happening all around us. How many times have you grabbed your phone to record what was going on in front of you to quickly post it on social media and miss being present at the moment with friends and family? I’m guilty of this many times, and I’m sure my children would rather have my full attention than give it to my phone. How often do you mindlessly scroll compared to reading your Bible and praying? Time is a currency we don’t get back, and how we spend it matters greatly to the Lord. The reality is that our time here on Earth is fleeting. James 4 says that “life is a vapor.” We cannot afford to live distracted or wasting our precious time. David asks the Lord to help him see how precious this time is in Psalm 39:

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” - Psalm 39:4, NIV

This mindset keeps us rooted in the present and focused on how much of a gift time is, knowing that ultimately, God holds our life in His hand and has set the number of days we have here on earth. May we be intentional with how we spend our time and fight to stay in the moment the best we can instead of allowing temporal things such as possessions and entertainment to have our gaze. The distractions are endless throughout the day, and it’s so easy for our eyes and minds to become focused on lesser things. We should remember to stay connected to the Vine (John 15), abiding in Him, knowing that we must remain dependent upon Him for all things, and to be thankful and content for His new mercies available to us every day. We can be thankful for the benefits of the tools and global connections that technology brings us, but we shouldn’t allow technology to rob us of our connection to Jesus and others. Let’s un-connect for a while, refocus, and ask the Lord to help us live in the moment and not take any of it for granted.

Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
Sometimes I find myself distracted by temporal things that steal my focus away from things that truly matter. My heart grows dull and distant from You and others when I become consumed with entertainment and worldly pursuits. I need Your help to keep my eyes fixed on the here and now, knowing that each moment You have given me is a gift. I long to use my time wisely and for Your glory. Help me to cultivate meaningful relationships with those You have placed around me. I do not want to take this life for granted. Teach me to number my days and make them count not just for myself but to serve You and advance Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.