The Experience of His Freedom..Craig Denison Ministries

 The Experience of His Freedom

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:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:1-4

Devotional:

The Christian experience of freedom was not established by the power and endurance of mankind, but by the sacrifice and love of our God. The freedom we experience is not our own, but his. Apart from the redemption bought for us, we have no strength to resist sin. And apart from continually renewing our minds to the truth of this redemption, we’ll continue to act as if chains that were broken long ago still tie us down to the world from which we’ve been successfully ransomed. Paul says in Romans 6:1-4,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

To experience freedom here on earth is to continuously acknowledge that our old ways—our former self—was buried with Christ the day we accepted him as Lord. To sin is to live outside of the reality that we’ve been given a new resurrected identity in Christ, our resurrected King.

How do you see yourself in regard to your sin today? How do you believe you experience freedom? In what areas of your life are you still trying in your own strength to fight for something Jesus already bought with his blood? What sin have you not yet brought to the glorious light of God’s powerful resurrection that you might see it for what it truly is?

There is freedom for you today in Christ that’s available apart from any past failures, present downfalls, or future concerns. You can “walk in newness of life” as you live in the reality of the inner working of the Holy Spirit and follow his leadership away from your old identity. Your mistakes don’t change the reality of God’s grace. Your sin is powerless to bind you. Your freedom is just as sure as the limitless love of your Savior.

Take time today to renew your mind to who you are in Christ. Take time to bring your sin to the light and confess it that God might take it from you as far as the east is from the west. May you experience the freedom of your risen King today as you live in light of his powerful grace.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on what the Bible says about freedom from sin. Align your understanding of your sin with the truth of God’s word.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” Romans 6:22

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3-4

“And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39

2. What sin do you need to bring to God today in confession? What feels too dark and too powerful to gain freedom from? Bring it to him that you might see it in light of his power and sacrifice.

3. Ask God to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to reveal your new identity in him. Ask him how you can experience freedom from that which doesn’t align with your new identity.

Renewing our minds to our new identity takes time. Often, while we are gaining a correct understanding of our freedom, we need to set up boundaries to gain separation from darkness. Take time to identify things that continuously lead you into temptation. It could be friends, media, or actions that seem beneficial, like lifting weights or going shopping. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you establish boundaries that will guard your heart from the outside as he does a powerful work in you on the inside. May you experience the freedom purchased for you by the blood of Jesus as you “walk in newness of life” with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Extended Reading: Romans 6

A Languishing Spirit..Amanda Idleman

 A Languishing Spirit

By Amanda Idleman 

“David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.” - 1 Samuel 30:6 

In our post-pandemic world, many of us find ourselves stuck. We aren’t depressed, but we aren’t flourishing either. Languishing, as defined by psychologists, is a sense of apathy and lack of purpose and direction. It is not a vacuum or psychological downturn but the necessary “fallow space” interval we need to rest within ourselves before we plow, seed, and harvest new crops in our lives. It is also described as a sense of stagnation or emptiness. 

Sometimes being stuck in the middle can be the hardest place to move from. It’s important to remember that we serve a God who came so we could have an abundant life (John 10:10). We were not designed to be stuck just getting by. We were created to create! God designed us to live joyfully and with purpose! We have all faced loss, crisis, fear, disappointments, and unexpected changes over the past several years. Sadly, we have all lost something as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent aftermath.

There is a character from the Bible that also faced terror, great loss, and uncertainty; his name was David. In 1 Samuel 30, David and his army of men were on the run from Saul. When he and his men returned home, they found that their families had been carried off by their enemies. They wept until they had no more strength to weep (v.4). David could have found him stuck in a place of apathy and unending grief, but he knew that his men were counting on him. God gives him the strength to continue to lead his men forward with grace and wisdom. We can learn from his response and apply them to our own lives to gain some forward motion despite trying circumstances. 

David Found Strength in God’s Presence

1 Samuel 30:6 says, “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

David was not only grappling with his own personal grief but saw the potential betrayal of his men. His circumstances were bleak! When he found himself in a scary predicament, He paused and spent time in the presence of the Lord. He knew that even when his flesh and his heart failed, God was the strength of his heart and his portion forever (Psalm 73:26). 

We can find supernatural encouragement in the presence of God. Somehow a moment of prayer and worship can shift our eyes from being focused on what feels impossible to us to seeing the endless power we have through Christ. If you find yourself unable to envision a thriving life, then it’s time to spend time in a place of worship. Don’t neglect creating space to be with the Lord. He gives young men dreams and old men visions (Acts 2:17). This just means that God inspires us! 

David was Encouraged By God’s People

1 Samuel 30:7-8 says, “ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them? “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” 

David went to the priest and then to the Lord. To find wisdom, we need the input of other believers as well as the wisdom God gives through answered prayer.  If you are struggling under the weight of loneliness and isolation, I encourage you to make a point to find a church community. We are made to do life together. As imperfect as the church can be, it is the place where we are able to find renewed purpose through community and service. 

David Knew the Voice of the Lord

In 1 Samuel 30:8, God answers David’s question. David has immediate clarity for his difficult situation because he knew the voice of the Lord. 

Do you know what God’s voice sounds like in your life? It’s hard to find purpose, joy, and passion when we are living chaotic lives! It's tempting to follow every new fad, set of advice, or trend. It’s important to care about what is going on in our world but we can start to drown if we are moved by everything that is put in front of our faces. We need to hear from the Lord to find a place to passionately move forward. 

David was able to be confident in a scary moment because he knew the voice of his Father. 

Intersecting Faith and Life 
If you are stuck and feel unable to move forward in your life, focus on the one right next step you can take to move forward. Don’t let overanalysis of what “could be” or what “has been” paralyze you. Just take one tiny step forward at a time and see the Lord begin to move on your behalf. 

Further Reading 

• 1 Samuel 30 

How to Recognize Spiritual Weeds in Your Life..Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

 How to Recognize Spiritual Weeds in Your Life

By Bobbie Schaeperkoetter

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. – Matthew 7:18

Reaching my hand into the dark soil, I could feel that the roots had gotten deep. I had to put my weight into the pull to unearth something I had spent weeks tending. I felt a little discouraged; I’d invested my time and attention into something that had proved to be working against the growth I was seeking the whole time. I also felt a little frustrated that I’d been so easily deceived.

You see, for weeks I had been painstakingly watering and weeding a little plot of dirt along the side of my home. The year before it had been a vibrant little garden filled with strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

The strawberries come back every year, but the other plants weren’t ones that I expected to see come back. However, three hearty sprouts had pushed up through the dormant soil. I didn’t recognize the new growth and assumed it was something returning from the previous year. I’m a novice gardener at best, so I devotedly gave these budding starts priority. They thrived and quickly grew tall and strong.

When Spiritual Weeds Take Root in Our Lives

Pulling out that weed and the others like it caused a slew of thoughts to start circulating around my mind. As Christians, how many weeds have taken root in our lives? How many things have we poured our time and attention into that are choking out the Spiritual fruit we are trying to grow? How can we tell the difference between a weed and fruit when it is so easy to mistake one for the other? Am I watering weeds?

How to Recognize a Spiritual Weed vs. Fruit

Galatians 5:22-25 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

These verses set the standard. If what we are investing our time and energy into isn’t growing those types of fruit, we need to look closely to be sure it isn’t a weed. If it is a weed, we have to be willing to reach down into the dirt and uproot it before it grows and starts choking out the fruit we are working so hard to grow.

Can you see examples of that going on in your own life? I hate to admit it, but I know that I can see it in my life without having to look very hard at all.

For me, it’s social media. Being engaged in social media is a part of my job, but I can easily spend way too much time and energy engrossed in my news feed. That is time and energy that would be much better spent doing the work that God has given me to do or loving and serving the people he has placed in my life.

Whatever You Water Will Grow

Just like the weeds that I meticulously watered began to choke out the fruit in my garden, the weeds we care for can begin to choke out the fruit that we want to grow in our lives. I had let some weeds grow in my garden and in my life that needed to be effectively dealt with.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have some weeding and watering that I need to do. Would you like to join me?

A Prayer to Prepare Him Room..Ashley Moore

 A Prayer to Prepare Him Room

By Ashley Moore

"…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." - Luke 2:7, NIV

Every Christmas season, I look forward to buying a pine-scented candle and pulling the Christmas decorations out of the shed. My husband, our three kids, and I sip hot chocolate and reminisce as we admire the ornament collection and listen to Lauren Daigle’s Christmas album. What are some of your family's Christmas traditions?

Maybe you clear out a space in front of your window to put up a fresh tree you cut down together. Or do you take the thanksgiving decorations off the mantle to put up the nativity scene? Perhaps you replace your regular string lights around your patio and put up the special twinkle lights. 

Whatever the case, this time of year always ushers in a spirit of preparation. We prepare our calendars for holiday gatherings. We prepare our homes with Christmas-themed decorations. We prepare our plates with Christmas cookies and special holiday delicacies. We prepare everything else in our lives, but do we take time to prepare our hearts and minds?

Before the Son of God's birth, Roman leaders decreed a census to account for each person. This required people from all over Israel to return to their hometowns to be registered. This caravan included Joseph and Mary, who traveled to Bethlehem, even though Mary was very near to her time to give birth to Jesus (Luke 2:2-4).

Because so many people arrived around the same time when Mary and Joseph looked for a comfortable place for her to give birth, there was no lodging available for them (Luke 2:7). Admittedly, as someone who resides in the Western world, this is hard to imagine because I live in a time of modern medicine and hospitals, fancy hotels, and convenience. But this event held no such comforts for the birth of Christ. The only space available for Jesus’ birth was a barn!

My intention is not to villainize today's culture, which places a high value on comfort and security. However, culture, today and of old, often prioritizes comfort over holiness. Just like the influx of visitors overcrowded the accommodations in Bethlehem, we often overcrowd our hearts, moving Jesus to the fringes instead of the center.

I propose that we prepare our hearts and minds this holiday season by reading the biblical accounts of Christ’s birth (Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2). Make these true stories a part of your family’s existing traditions. Read them to your children and visiting family. Talk about the light of the world as much as you talk about the beauty of the tree with its twinkling lights. Worship our Savior King as you hum along to your favorite Christmas album. 

We are often too easily swept away in all the magical traditions causing us to forget the true gift of the Christmas season. As we prepare our homes and families for Christmas, can we also prepare room in our hearts and minds? String the lights up, sip the cocoa, and as you prepare room in your home, also prepare Christ room in your heart and mind this Christmas. Let's remember how the King of the World, the God of the Universe, the Word of God, became a gentle and lowly baby so that we would have a way to be reconciled to God for eternity. Unlike the townspeople of tiny Bethlehem, let God's people everywhere prepare Him room. 

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord, 
Thank you that even in an openly hostile, anti-Christian world, we still have the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ. God, I know there is nothing inherently wrong with the Christmas traditions, but help us to keep the proper perspective and priority this holiday season. Forgive us when we crowd up space for you by being overly distracted with traditions. Help us weave in the biblical accounts of your birth to prepare room for you in our hearts as often as we make room for the Christmas decorations this year. Help us get creative and make it a point to use this time of year to share the good news of the birth of our Savior. We love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

STAR..Rebecca Barlow Jordan

 STAR

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

FROM THE FATHER'S HEART
My child, search for Me daily with as much diligence as the wise men on the night of My birth. My "star" still shines. I still bring hope. I continue to light the way for anyone who seeks to worship Me. And as long as you keep Me on the throne of your life, you won't have to look far to find Me.

A GRATEFUL RESPONSE
In search of the star, I journey far to see my heart's delight. There, all along, in the day or the night, You wait to receive my gifts of praise and adoration. I have seen the light; I have found love wrapped in a manger. You, Lord, will always be the star of my life.

SIMPLE TRUTH

At the center of Christmas is the heart of God.