The Presence of God..Craig Denison Ministries

 The Presence of God

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

This week we’ll spend time breaking down the individual components of First15 by sharing God's desire for each of them. The majority of First15 is dedicated to encountering God and learning about his character, but every now and then we will cover some teaching and tools that will help in pursuing God to greater depths. This week we will get back to the basics and learn some spiritual disciplines that will help us encounter him in deeper, more transformative ways.

Scripture: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?”  Psalm 139:7

Devotional:

One of the most important pieces of spending time with God is encountering his presence. His presence is meant to be at the core of all that we do. God so hated separation from us that Jesus was sent to pay the ultimate price. And at Jesus’s death the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from mankind was torn in two—signifying that God’s presence was no longer contained but made available to everyone.

Psalm 139:7-8 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” And Psalm 84:3-4 says, “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORDof hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!”God's presence is everywhere. There is nowhere you could go that he won't be with you. There is no situation, conversation, job or place in which you can’t meet with God.

So how do we encounter the presence of God? How do we experience his nearness? Encountering God is similar to encountering another person. I don’t seek an experience with a friend; I simply seek to know him by spending time with him and gain an experience as a result. I don’t seek to hear the voice of a friend; I simply engage in conversation with him as an act of wanting to know him and hear his voice as a result.

The only thing about seeking God that makes it different is that he is spirit rather than flesh. John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” But it’s for that very reason that we can truly know him! Scripture is clear that God is everywhere and that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. His presence is already with you. Encountering him is as simple as taking some time to become aware of his nearness.

God longs for you to know him. So great is his desire to meet with you Spirit to spirit, heart to heart, that Jesus gave his life. Take time to simply seek God. Meditate on his word. Allow Scripture to fill your heart with faith. And make space to rest in God’s presence that your heart might come alive at the revelation of his nearness.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on Scripture about God’s presence.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”Psalm 16:11

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:7-10

“And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” Exodus 33:14

2. Allow Scripture to fill you with faith to encounter God. Center your understanding of encountering God around simply seeking to know him.           

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

3. Make space to rest in God’s presence. Ask him to show you how to abide in him. He desires to make himself known to you all throughout your day. He wants to be involved in everything you are doing! Nothing is too mundane for the Lord! His desire is to be with you.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8

“Abide in me, and I in you.” John 15:4

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” 1 John 4:16

Once you begin consistently encountering God's presence you will find it becomes easier and easier to set aside that time to meet with him. So many Christians are calling the time they spend reading the Bible “time they spend with God,” without actually encountering him. We preach as Christians that Jesus is alive; our faith hinges on that fact. Yet we go so long without encountering our God who is alive and present. If we're not regularly encountering the God we serve, we are living and preaching a false gospel by our actions. God’s presence is meant to be encountered. He is present, near, active, and full of love for you. May your time spent with him be marked by his satisfying presence as you experience the transforming power of encountering the living God every day.

Extended Reading: Psalm 16

Covering Others in Love When They Have Wronged Us..Emily Rose Massey

 Covering Others in Love When They Have Wronged Us

By Emily Rose Massey

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8, ESV).

My husband and I run an online ministry that helps people on their Christian journey out of the prosperity gospel movement- a movement that proclaims that the blood of Jesus has purchased for all believers a promised life of health, wealth, and abundance in earthly pleasures. This is a dangerously false message and undermines the beauty of the finished work of Christ that brings justification and forgiveness. The teachings in this movement can truly shipwreck someone’s faith- we ourselves were ensnared by this false teaching, so it is something he and I are very passionate to defend against and proclaim truth whenever possible. 

On this ministry journey, we have met others who share a similar passion as we do to help protect others from wolves in sheep’s clothing. Taking strong stances against popular teachers who are in the public eye means there will be some who are not thrilled for your ministry. Having others to link arms with to stand against false teaching online makes the pushback easier to handle as well as emboldens you to continue to warn of error and proclaim the truth. You can imagine how one might feel when one of those people who stood strong with you warning of these false teachers, suddenly turns back and begins embracing those wolves as brothers in Christ. I can tell you from personal experience it is gut-wrenching to witness and experience. The temptation that I have faced in this experience- especially after they would not heed warning or correction- is to want to back this person into a corner and expose them and their seemingly manipulative tactics as well. 

Any situation that stirs up strong emotional responses- especially that of hurt, offense, and disappointment- needs the direction and wisdom of scripture to bring clarity to those intense and very valid emotions. We must not allow our flesh to rule in the situation. When we are being led by the Spirit, it means that we are putting to death the ways of the flesh because the sins and desires of the flesh are against the Spirit. 

This is not a passive or mysterious “leading” or “subjective feeling” but rather an active, ever-present fight in the life of the believer to learn what it means to walk in love, be gracious and merciful, and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Thankfully, we as disciples of Christ are not left to human subjectivity and confusion in this leading; We have God’s word as a lamp to our feet in a world of darkness and sin (Psalm 119:105). 

As far as putting to death the desire to slander, malign, or be harsh to those who have seemingly wronged us, disappointed us, or intentionally (or unintentionally hurt us), the scripture that comes to mind that both brings conviction and direction can be found in 1 Peter 4:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8, ESV).

Intersecting Faith and Life:
When I am tempted to expose someone’s wrong-doing or sin towards me or others, the Bible urges me to love them by covering them with grace and mercy instead. For me, one way that I applied this to the situation that I discussed earlier is that I deleted screenshots that I was saving on my phone of the hurtful and error-filled things that had been said online. I was attempting to build a case against this person- to truly “put them in their place.” But ultimately, I needed to pray for this individual and watch my words about them to others. Instead of “stalking” their ministry page online, I chose to unfollow and mute their posts (even if for a season) because it was causing bitterness and a cynical attitude to rise up in my heart about them.

In those moments when I am hurt, upset, or offended, I must extend grace, which doesn’t mean that we don’t lovingly rebuke, correct, or warn when necessary because that is also extending love toward others. But after that difficult confrontation has taken place, we must release that situation to the Lord, and He will be the One to vindicate us if we truly have been wronged or sinned against. We need to rest in His sovereignty and trust that He will work in that person’s heart as well as ours as He teaches us to truly love others like He does. Above all, we must remember that every person is made in the image of God, and they deserve love and respect no matter their actions or words towards us. May the love and mercy that has been given to us from the Lord flow to the most difficult of people in our life. 

Further Reading:

• Proverbs 10:12
• 1 Corinthians 13

A Prayer for Gratefulness..Meg Bucher

 A Prayer for Gratefulness

By Meg Bucher

“The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” Psalm 28:7 NLT

Positive thinking is important, but without proper roots, we may force our view of what is good in front of what God proclaims “good.” Gratefulness intersects with positivity in a realistic way which allows us to see what we currently have and entrust God with what is to come. He promises hope and a future for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and a life that is more than we can ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

The psalmist wrote, “the LORD is my strength and shield.” Strength, in context to the Hebrew word translated from the Old Testament, is defined with words such as strength, power, might, and stronghold. But it’s also defined with words like stubborn and strong-willed. (NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary.) The LORD is strong …He will defend us by His will, which cannot be thwarted by any means. He is a protective shield. Our lives are safe under His arms, yet often we walk around in fear and worry. Instead, as the psalmist wrote, we can trust Him with all of our hearts. He helps us, and our hearts are filled with joy. We burst into prayers of thanksgiving for His dependable presence in our lives. 

Let's pray:

Father, 
Praise, glory, and honor to You! You are our strength and our shield. When we do not want to wake up in the morning, You remind us why we are loved, worthy, and important. Father, when life is too hard and sad to face, You lift us up with Your strong arms to walk through those days until the season changes. Thank You, Father, for being our strength. Thank you for Jesus, through whom we have access to the power and strength of Your Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit, come into our lives with a fresh wind of inspiration and power to strengthen us as we walk through our daily lives. Give us the wisdom to see things through Your perspective, Father, and the discernment to know which way to go, what to say or not to say, and the next right thing You will for us to do. 

Father, You give us the strength to forgive. God, You have the power to dissolve misunderstandings and let the truth shine stronger than the confusion. We pray for the blessing and strength of Your clarity today, God. Strengthen us to forgive, give us another chance, and reconcile what seems impossible. You are strong enough to accomplish what we cannot, Lord. Do it. 

Father, thank You for being a shield for us. There are dark elements surrounding us in the world, some we can see, and others are only felt. But God, You see what’s happening, and You are in control. Thank You for protecting us, both from what we can see and the bulk of what we cannot. We pray today You would shield us from negative thoughts, Father. Shield us from lies that lead us to believe falsities about ourselves and others. Give us clarity to see life from Your perspective, God. Shield us from our enemies and from enemy attacks, Father. What we cannot see coming, You do. So, help us to obey You daily, and walk in Your will so that we rest under the covering of Your shield, God. 

Father, when we want to know outcomes and yearn for justice, we choose instead to trust You with all of our hearts. You help us, and our hearts are filled with joy. We burst out in songs of thanksgiving, God, for who You are and who we are in Christ Jesus. Give us hearts full of gratefulness, Father, for who You are, and Your faithful love for us expressed in so many ways daily. 
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Forgive Each Other—Sounds Simple, Right?..Mark Altrogge

 Forgive Each Other—Sounds Simple, Right?

By Mark Altrogge

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13

God commands his children to forgive each other.  For this reason: He has forgiven our incalculable debt against him, so we should forgive those who sin against us.

Seems straight ahead and simple, right? Maybe not quite so straight ahead and simple as it seems on the surface.

We live in a fallen world, and both Christians and non-Christians sin against each other. And very often in devastating ways. Sadly, even Christians fall into horrible sin at times and it can be life shattering when you are sinned against. Sin causes anguish, sadness, and misery. So when someone sins against you, I would not say you just quickly and flippantly say, Oh well, I forgive you, that’s ok. Everything back to normal.

If someone hurts or betrays us and then asks forgiveness, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about that sin and how it hurt us. It doesn’t mean we just brush it under the carpet and move on. Sin is devastating. It can take time to get to the place where we can forgive and restore the relationship.

There have been times in the past I have been too quick to encourage people to get together with someone who has sinned against them and grant forgiveness.

And forgiveness doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be consequences. Certain sins might even involve calling the police, even though someone repents. If I go out and irresponsibly charge $20,000 on my credit card, then ask my wife’s forgiveness, even though she forgives me, I will have to pay that money back. I’ll have consequences for a long time.

And even when we forgive someone, that doesn’t mean we must immediately trust them. Sin shatters trust. It can take a long time to earn trust again once it has been shattered.

Forgiving others takes the power of God. We can’t do it in our own strength. But Jesus can help us. If you are struggling with unforgiveness or bitterness toward someone, cry out to God to help you. Seek counsel, talk to a trusted mature Christian or your pastor. If you know someone was sinned against in a significant way and worked through it and came to a place of forgiveness, get together with them and seek their insights.

Forgiveness and reconciliation should be a goal believers work toward for the glory of God. Colossians 3:13 says “you also MUST forgive.” Unforgiveness and bitterness aren’t options. We’re working out our lives together. I need you to forgive me when I sin against you, and I must forgive you as well because God has forgiven us in Christ.

Choose to Trust God in This New Year..Rick Warren

 Choose to Trust God in This New Year

By Rick Warren

“It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before” (Hebrews 11:7 NLT).

Faith is obedience when you don’t understand it. In just the New Testament alone, there are 1,050 commands, and they’re all there for your benefit. God says things like, “Love your enemies” and “Forgive the people who hurt you.” That’s not easy! There are a lot of commands in the Bible that seem difficult, unreasonable, unrealistic, unachievable, or even impossible. But when God says things like, “You should save sex for marriage,” he’s not being mean. He says it because he knows best and knows what will make you happy more than you do.

Every time God tells you to do something, it’s a test of your faith. The question is this: Do you trust God, or do you trust your gut? Do you trust the Word, or do you trust the world?

We’re starting a new year, and these are important question to ask. How will we answer them this year? Will we trust God, or will we do what we think we should do, regardless of God’s direction? Will we trust the Word of God, or will we trust what the world says we should do?

As a kid, did your parents ever ask you to do something that seemed unreasonable? When you asked them, “Why should I do this?” they would say, “Because I said so!"

Looking back at some of the things your parents told you to do “because they said so,” was it the right thing? Yes. Can you see in hindsight now how they were wise? God will say the same thing the rest of your life, not just when you’re a kid. When you’re 80 years old, God is going to be saying, “I want you to do this.” And you’re going to go, “Why? That doesn’t make sense.” And God will say, “Because I said so.”

It is a test. Faith is believing when you don’t see it, but it’s also obeying when you don’t understand it. If you do not learn to obey, you’ll miss so many blessings in life that God has in store for you.

But if you learn to do what God tells you to do without question, even when it seems absurd and the exact opposite of your natural tendency, then you’re going to grow in faith, and you’re going to get blessed.

Let’s make responding in faith our focus for this New Year!