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Living By Faith
~ May you find the strength and courage to trust in Him today with all that you are.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7
Living by faith is the key that unlocks the door to the fullness of God’s promises. There is no doubt that God will always be faithful to His promises. Scripture is clear in 2 Timothy 2:13 that “if we are faithless, He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself.” Faithfulness is within God’s nature. But, without faith we will not experience the fullness of what is available to us in God’s promises. God does not force emotion on us. He does not force us to receive the joy and peace that comes through trusting Him. He does not force us into the fullness of relationship available to us in faith. And He does not force His purposes on us. Faith is the vehicle by which we experience all that God longs to give us. Specifically, faith is the avenue on which we experience the fullness of God’s promises for intimacy with Him, purpose in this life, and freedom from sin.
Hebrews 10:19-22 says:
“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.”
By faith we walk into God’s presence. In faith we believe God desires to be with us.
Experiencing the fullness of restored relationship with our heavenly Father requires a heart full of faith and trust that God longs to tangibly be with us, His children. Without faith we will live solely for the pleasures this world has to offer and miss out on all the satisfaction of living this life for and with God above all else. In faith we can experience all the intimacy available to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Hebrews 11:32-34 says:
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets — who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”
We’ve been sent out by Jesus to make disciples of all nations. We’ve been given a command to bring light into the darkness everywhere we go. You and I have been given a purpose of eternal value and of great importance to our Lord and King. And Hebrews 11 is clear that it is by faith that the works of God are done.
• When we live by faith, we bring the kingdom of God into every dark corner around us.
• When we live by faith, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in and through every situation to draw others to Himself.
It’s in faith that we find our purpose.
And finally, Ephesians 6:16 says:
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
It is through faith that we walk in the freedom from sin available to us by the promise of God. As children of God wrapped up in the finished work of Christ, we have been set free from the bondage of sin. By the power of Jesus’ death on the cross, you and I never have to sin again. But Paul teaches us in Ephesians that it is through faith that we extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. If we don’t trust God at His Word that we who were completely entangled to the schemes of the enemy by sin are now considered the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), we will not walk in freedom. It is through faith that we renew our mind and experience the wonderful freedom from sin available to us.
We all need a greater measure of intimacy with God, purpose, and freedom from sin. Not one of us has experienced all that is available to us through faith. May you seek out all that God has in store for you if you will take Him at His Word and trust Him in response to His faithfulness. Spend time in prayer receiving all that God longs to give you by faith.
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~ by Craig Denison
May you be filled with hunger for the deeper things of God today. And may you have the courage and tenacity to seek out everything God has in store for you. If you will pursue Him with all your heart in faith you will discover all that your heart has been searching for. He has adventure, excitement, joy, fulfillment, and love for all who live by faith. Today is the day to live in the newness of life Jesus died for you to have.
https://www.first15.org/devotionals/living-by-faith-2023/
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Love Wins
~ As God’s people, He’s inviting us into His victory, a victory we so desperately need. May God establish us in His power today, and may chains fall off us and others as God guides us into a lifestyle of victory in Him.
Through Jesus, God has obtained victory in the earth. The dominion the devil had over humanity was crushed by the cross of Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:13-15 says:
“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, He disarmed the spiritual [demonic] rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.”
Jesus has triumphed over everything that stood between us and a life lived in relationship with God.
One of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture, Romans 8, tells us:
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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 8:37-39
We’ve been given victory over the enemy and all his schemes. But even though we have obtained victory in Jesus, the devil still works to lead you and me back into our former ways. Even though Jesus has defeated the enemy, we still must live out that victory every day and help others around us do the same. Even though love has won, we still must fight for the victory in others.
We need each other to experience the freedom available to us in Christ. Scripture admonishes us to engage in confession, community, worship, and spiritual battle together:
Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
James 5:13-16 says, “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
We must engage with one another and fight for a life lived victoriously in Christ together. The Bible is clear that sanctification is a process worked out, and it’s a process meant to be worked out together.
We must call out the greatness in each other. If you see a brother or sister struggling with temptation, fight for them through prayer. Speak life into them. Encourage them in who God has made them to be. Stand with them through whatever circumstances and consequences come their way. See them through the fight until they experience victory over the power of sin and darkness in their life. Open up to those around you and ask for their help in your own life! You don’t have to fight spiritual battles alone. There are people around you who will fight for victory in your own life.
Through Christ, love has won. He has paved the way of victory for you and me. We are the world’s no longer. Ephesians 2:10 says:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Walk in the works God intends for you today and, in love, fight for those around you to do the same. You and I are meant for more in this life than the struggle with sin. Let’s fight for the victory in each other.
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~ by Craig Denison
You don’t have to be perfect before you can fight for the victory in someone else’s life. You don’t have to be fully experiencing freedom before your Father would use you to help someone else. If the only people that could engage in ministry had to be perfect, the movement of Christianity would have died long ago. You are equipped to help right now exactly as you are. Engage in community with fellow believers as God intends and experience more life together as you walk in the victory laid out before you by the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
https://www.first15.org/devotionals/love-wins-2023/
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Love Forgives
~ Every day we’re wronged in some way. And every day is an opportunity to show others forgiveness, not because they deserve it, but because loving forgiveness is the way of our Good Shepherd, the author and founder of our faith. May God empower us to forgive as He does today.
Key Scripture Verse:
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” ~ Ephesians 4:32
We’re promised forgiveness from our Father because His forgiveness is offered in complete grace. Ephesians 1:7 says:
“In [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”
We have done nothing to deserve the forgiveness God so freely lavishes upon us. God offers us forgiveness because He is love; it is His very nature. And as Jesus demonstrated through His death, love forgives.
Sin stood between us and God like a great chasm separating a wanderer from an oasis; and so great was the Father’s love for us that He sent His only Son that we might be justly forgiven. Jesus fully bore the weight of our sin. In doing so, He received the wrath of God on our behalf that we might be afforded restored relationship with our heavenly Father. He set aside what was fair for Himself and chose to give grace.
“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21
Christianity is the only religion where salvation is based on grace instead of works. God, in His love, has laid before us a path founded on mercy, and He calls us to do the same for others. As the children of God, brought into His family solely by His grace, we must forgive as God has forgiven us. Colossians 3:13 says:
“[Bear] with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, [forgive] each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Jesus modeled forgiveness perfectly in laying down His own life for you and me. In order for us to forgive others, we must be like Jesus and die to our own rights for the sake of the person who has wronged us. Forgiveness requires humility. It is a decision to offer unmerited grace because “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Think about your own life for a moment:
• Who in your life do you feel has wronged you?
It could be a small wound. It could be a life-altering sin committed against you. Maybe a parent left you. Maybe you were abused. Maybe you lost a job opportunity that should have been yours. Maybe it was a word someone spoke against you that hurt you. Whatever sin was committed against you, large or small, call it back to mind. Feel the injustice over it.
Now reflect for a minute on the sin of the world committed against God. The story of humanity is a fall from perfection because of pride. In every age thus far, man has chosen his own way over God’s and has thereby perpetuated the cycle of sin and destruction we live in today. God placed His judgement over the sins of all humanity, past and present, on the person of Jesus because He couldn’t take being separated from you and me. We have all been wronged, but no one more than God. Every day humanity turns away from God.
God weeps over what’s been done to you. He knows your pain because people wrong Him every minute of every day. But still, He chooses to forgive because there is no love without forgiveness. There is no abundant life apart from restoration of relationship. There is no joy for God or us when we harden our hearts and live for what is fair rather than what is good.
We aren’t called to forgive because someone deserves it:
• We forgive because love requires it.
• We forgive because abundant life requires it.
Choose love today over your own sense of fairness. Choose to be like your heavenly Father and forgive those who have wronged you. Choose to be a doer of Colossians 3:13 and “[forgive] each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” You weren’t made to live with the weight of unforgiveness, so don’t bear it any longer. The Spirit will help you. He will give you the strength and courage to do what seems impossible. Spend some time in God’s presence today and forgive as He guides and directs you.
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~ by Craig Denison
Forgiveness is a process. But it is a process worth going through. Assess your heart immediately after you’ve been wronged. Go through the process of forgiveness instead of allowing the wound to be reopened time and time again.
The French proverb says:
“Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.”
It’s ok to be hurt. It’s only harmful if you write your wounds in marble and let them linger longer than they should. God has designed you in His image and has given you His Spirit. You have the strength to forgive. So, choose love today and every day. Allow the Spirit to work in your heart, healing the wounds people and life have caused you through the wonderful gift of forgiveness.
https://www.first15.org/devotionals/love-forgives-2023/
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Love Makes Time for Others
~ May God grant us His perspective and fashion us into His likeness today.
There’s a story in Luke 8:40-42, 49-56 that gives us insight into Jesus’s love for those in need. Luke writes:
"Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. . . While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” And when He came to the house, He allowed no one to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand He called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And He directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened."
Jesus made time for those in need. He wasn’t too busy to leave what He was doing, which happened to be ministering to a large group of people, to make time for a single girl. Jesus displayed the heart of the Father in going after the one. Throughout His ministry, Jesus consistently made time for people around Him. Whether it was eating a meal with His disciples, going to the house of Zacchaeus, or spending time with little children, Jesus was there for those around Him.
God is the same way with you and me today. Through the death of Jesus, we have been given an opportunity to have conversation with God all day, every day. God’s desire is to make time for us. He counts our needs as important. Jesus’s ministry exemplified God’s heart to make time for His children. This week as we are looking at what it means to not only be a hearer of God’s Word but a doer, let’s ask God how we could be more like Jesus.
• In what ways could you make time for those around you today?
• Will you choose to spend time with someone in need even if it doesn’t fit in your schedule?
• Will you put those around you above yourself?
If you will choose to be a doer of God’s Word today, you will experience the joy of not living just for your own goals and pursuits, but for the benefit of others around you. Spend some time with God in prayer today, and ask Him to help you know when and how to make time for those around you in need.
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~ by Craig Denison
Love is Powerful:
It has the power to lead someone to Jesus, heal a wounded heart, and even help someone on the path to restored relationship with God. It’s worth your effort to make time for those around you today. Jesus never wasted a minute. He did everything in perfect accordance with the Father’s will. You won’t be missing out if you make time for someone today. Follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit as you seek to love others well.
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