Restoration of Identity.. Craig Denison Ministries

 

Restoration of Identity

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

The story of the prodigal son moves my heart to delve into the depths of God’s limitless grace. I find myself in every facet of Jesus’ words. I identify with both the son’s rebellion and the power of the father’s love. As children of God we are in constant need of reminders about God’s mercy toward us. When the world rejects us, God calls us in. When the world writes us off, God clothes us with righteousness and honor. May this transformative story of the prodigal son guide you to a deeper and more intimate relationship with your loving heavenly Father.

Scripture:“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Devotional:

The restoration of identity to the rebellious and wayward son in the story of the prodigal son is perhaps the greatest example of God’s heart to restore you and me as his children. In the story, the rebellious son returns to the Father hoping solely to be allowed to serve his father as one of the slaves. But as the son approached his home, the father ran out to meet him and immediately brought restoration to his identity as a good and pleasing son in his eyes.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we have been transformed from a rebellious and sinful people into reflections of our Savior. God ran out to meet us at our point of greatest weakness and clothed us with a new nature that we might no longer sin against him but live with him in glorious, powerful communion.

Isaiah 43:1 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Our Father saved us from a life of wandering and searching for who we are and has called us his holy and redeemed children. Our name is no longer associated with a sinful nature but rather with the bloodline of Christ Jesus. By no power of our own, we have been transformed, set free, redeemed, and made to be like our heavenly Father in both our nature and our deeds.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We have an identity that reaches far beyond simply getting through this life happily and successfully. Our identity now is to proclaim the unimaginable excellencies of our heavenly Father. We’re called to declare to the world the incredible power of our God, that he could take our weak and helpless lives, give us new names, place his Spirit within us, and ignite a passion so deep no circumstance could ever change it. This world is not your home. The nation in which you live is no longer your highest allegiance. You are the child of the Creator, the one true God, and he has made you new, whole, and purposed for works of eternal significance.

Allow your Father to declare to you your identity in Christ. Take time today to listen and receive a fresh revelation of who you are. Allow the Spirit to fill you afresh and empower you to live a life worthy of the one who has saved you. There is no greater joy than living in light of the incredible gift of a restored identity we’ve been given by the grace of our heavenly Father.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the restoration of the son’s identity in the story of the prodigal son. Allow Scripture to give you perspective on your own identity in Christ.

“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:21-24

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh today. Take time to rest in God’s presence and allow him to reveal his love for you anew.

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

3. Ask the Father to show you the good works he has set before you today. Ask him to lead you into a lifestyle of proclaiming his excellencies. Ask him to empower you to live out your new identity in Christ.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

May Colossians 3:1-4 serve as a foundation on which we pursue the fullness of life afforded to us by the love and grace of our heavenly Father:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Extended Reading: Colossians 3

 

Building Muscles of Faith..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Building Muscles of Faith

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Kings 18:22-36

"I wish I had great faith." These are words that almost every Christian has said at one time or another. But faith is like a muscle, which must be exercised in order to become strong; just wishing cannot make it happen.

Christians are to believe God, not only for salvation but for everything. Rather than a spiritual "plateau," faith is actually a process that involves increasing degrees of trust throughout life. Little faith hopes that God will do what He says; strong faith knows that He will; and great faith believes that He has already done it.

Elijah was a man of great faith. He saw increased challenges as opportunities for God to do His work—and the prophet believed Him for the supernatural. So can you. The Lord may not do every miraculous thing you ask of Him, but He does some extraordinary work in and through each person who is obedient and willing to trust in Him.

You may be thinking, I am not good enough for the Father to use me. The Scriptures are filled with examples of weak and flawed people whom the Lord used to achieve His purposes. He is looking, not for perfection, but for individuals willing to believe Him. He not only works through people of faith; He transforms them.

Start by reading God's Word to learn what He wants you to do. Each day's situations and needs are opportunities to trust Him. Ask the Lord to bring to mind verses that apply to your circumstances. Trust Him and do what He says—your faith "muscles" will grow, and He will be glorified.

Finding Love in Christ..Abiding Above Ministries

 Finding Love in Christ

By Abiding Above Ministries

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16

Heavenly Father, neither heights north depths, nor any power in this world or the next can separate us from your love. In this truth we can rest peacefully.  

Because of the effects of sin in our life, we sometimes find it hard to believe that God really loves us. Our enemy, Satan, likes to confuse us and make us doubt God's love. He puts thoughts like these into our mind: "God doesn't love you anymore. You are such a failure. God could never love anyone like you."

The truth is, God knew all about us when He saved us. He has seen us at our very worst, and yet, He loved us enough to give His Son Jesus for us. The Bible says in Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If God loved us, sought us out, and brought us to Himself when we were rebellious and at enmity with Him, surely, He will not stop loving us now that we belong to Him.

What each person must understand is this: God's love and acceptance is not dependent on me—what I am and what I do. I am loved and accepted IN CHRIST. The Bible tells us that absolutely nothing in this world or the next can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ. Why God chose us out of all the millions of people in the world and why He set His love upon us, we do not know. But God's Word tells us that He chose us IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world. We are one with Christ.

The Call to Take Up Your Cross..Emily Rose Masse

The Call to Take Up Your Cross 

By Emily Rose Massey

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”- Matthew 16:24 ESV

The late British Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill once said regarding evangelism in America, “We take people to the cross, but we don't put them on the cross.” This powerful statement can evoke a range of emotions regarding the state of Christianity in Western nations- from offense to righteous anger. For me, personally, it evokes the latter. When my husband and I met fifteen years ago, I was exposed to the worldly teachings found in the health and wealth gospel, which exalts man over God, using the cross of Christ as a means of forgiveness of sins plus worldly possessions. Sadly, because I didn’t have a solid theological or biblical footing, I was tossed to and fro by these false doctrines and embraced it all as gospel truth. 

I want to lovingly warn that just because someone quotes from the Bible and uses the name of Jesus in their speech, it doesn’t mean that we get to check our discernment at the door. In fact, those who claim to preach Christ are the ones we need to make sure what they are saying lines up with scripture contextually and historically. Brother Ravenhill’s quote hits home because we see how this distorted gospel of forgiveness of sins without forsaking the world has infiltrated so much of Christianity today. When we look at the cross, do we see a life of ease and comfort ahead of us or an instrument of death (not only to Christ but to ourselves)? The gospel is good news, but first, it is a call to die so that you can truly find life eternal. We see Christ’s call to die to self in the gospel of Matthew:

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” - Matthew 16:24, ESV

It’s important to remember that to a person in the first century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
 Jesus’ command to “take up your cross and follow Me” is a call to self-denial and self-sacrifice. One must be willing to die in order to follow Jesus. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God- forsaking your old, sinful ways and trusting in God’s ways. After Jesus commanded cross-bearing, He said, 

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” - Matthew 16:25–26 

Although the temptations are strong, the world has nothing for us as followers of Jesus. An eternal reward (one rust nor moth can destroy) awaits us when we lose our life for Christ’s sake. 

Are you ready to take up your cross and follow Jesus no matter the cost? Following Christ means you may lose your closest friends. Following Christ means you may be alienated from your family. Following Christ may mean you could lose your job or even your life. Although martyrdom may seem extreme, in some parts of the world, this is a serious reality. To be sure, disciples of Christ must be willing to suffer loss. If faced with a choice—Jesus or the comforts of this life—which one do you choose? Commitment to Christ means taking up your cross daily, giving up your hopes, dreams, possessions, and even your very life if need be for the cause of Christ- the very opposite of what the popular prosperity gospel promotes, which is no good news at all. Only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple (Luke 14:27). The reward is worth the cost. May we, as disciples of Christ, be willing to follow in His sacrificial footsteps and lose our life. We are promised that is when we will find it. In Christ, we not only find forgiveness of our sins, but we find life eternal, life abundant. 

Further Reading:

• Luke 9:23-27
• 1 Peter 4:1-2
• Hebrews 11:24-26

A Prayer for When You're Overwhelmed and Stressed..Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer for When You're Overwhelmed and Stressed

By Emily Rose Massey

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV).

I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for many years in high school and college. Stress and worry were just a part of my life, and I allowed them to move into my mind and become my permanent mental roommates. From money problems to relationship issues, if it became too much, you would find me curled up in a ball in the fetal position on the floor, hyperventilating until parts of my body went numb and crying until there were no more tears left.

After I graduated college, the Lord regenerated and redeemed me, and I began to walk close with the Him and study His Word like I never had before in my life. My mind was being renewed and over time, I began to trust the Lord more with issues that would have normally caused me to worry. I slowly learned to cast my cares upon Him like 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to do:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV).

But every now and then, I still become a victim of worry and anxiety and began to experience sudden panic about my circumstances that out of my control, even though I know the Bible is clear that we should always trust the Lord at all times. So if we aren’t supposed to be anxious as believers, why do so many Christians still struggle with anxiety? Aside from chemical imbalances that can occur in one’s body, which are very real and very valid, I believe much of what causes anxiety begins in our minds. The more we dwell on a negative or fearful thought of a circumstance beyond our control, the more stress and worry begins to plague us. Somewhere along the lines in our overwhelm, we forget the One who holds our future. The One who is sovereign. The One who cares for His children so deeply, the Lord God Almighty. We learn more about Him in the Bible, where our faith and abiding trust in Him is strengthened.

The other night when I experienced the panic attack, there was a brief moment where I was given the opportunity to resist the negative thoughts and take them captive and begin to talk to God like I had learned to do so many times before, but this time, I chose to let my mind run in circles. I was so familiar with the experience of a panic attack that I could literally feel it try to overtake me right before it happened. If I would have set my mind upon scripture in that moment (such as Philippians 4:6-7 and even 1 Peter 5:7), I would have realized that God offered me a solution for my anxious thoughts. A simple conversation with the Lord would have helped me focus my thoughts and would have brought immediate peace to the whirlwind in my mind. The Word of God is so powerful and the more we study and meditate upon it, our foundation will be strong in Christ, and we will continually know how to look to Him any time stress and anxiety tries to overtake us. Let us always be quick to ask the Lord for His sustaining grace and help in our time of need, looking to Him always because He cares for us. 

Let’s Pray:

Father God, thank You that You want us to cast our cares upon You. Thank You that there is nowhere I can go that you are not there with me. Thank You for having a hold of my life, even as I feel like everything is crumbling around me. Lord, I confess that I have let stress take a hold of my life, rather than You. I have let stress control my mood, my attitude, my emotions, and my actions. Lord, I repent of this! Please Father, help me see what is stressful in my life and hand it over to You. Help me not let the stress win out. Help me actively think on Your goodness to me. Help me to renew my mind with Your unchanging Word. I am so hopeful for my eternity with you, Lord, where there will be no more stress and I will be overwhelmed by Your love, beauty, and never-ending peace! Help me look back on all the ways You have rescued me from my stressful moments and look in hope to the future where You will one day rid all stress, forever. In the meantime, I know and trust that You hold my future. Help me live boldly in the truth of Your goodness and power today. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, amen.