first15-devotional-banner-2022

Weekly Overview:

What a gift we have in the Christmas season. God himself took on flesh and dwelt among us that we might find eternal relationship in him. His coming serves as a continual reminder of his grace and pursuit of us who are lost without him. As we look to Jesus this week to celebrate who he is and what he’s done, may you find life-giving hope and foundational joy.

Scripture:

“But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’” 2 Timothy 2:19

Devotional:

Sometimes as believers we’ve known Jesus to be our Savior for so long that we fail to dive in to all it means for us and thereby miss out on all the wonderful fruit salvation is meant to bear in our lives.

Jesus died, not just to usher us into heaven at our death, but that we might find salvation from the things of this life that don’t flow from the heart and hands of the Father. God’s will is that we would walk in fullness of life all the days of our life (John 10:10). He has peace for us instead of anxiety (2 Thessalonians 3:16). He has an eternal purpose for us instead of frivolous pursuits (Ephesians 2:10). He longs to fill our hands with good gifts instead of the fruit of anxious toil (James 1:17). And he has a new nature and newness of life instead of the sins and cares of who we were before Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

So the questions in response to God’s truth become: what are you waiting for? What’s holding you back from all of these amazing things God has for you? What’s keeping you from walking in newness of life today?

Experiencing the fruit of salvation begins with a clear revelation of what God does and doesn’t want for you. Without faith to hold on to the promises of God, we easily fall victim to the lies and temptations of the enemy. Now that Satan has no hold over our eternal destiny, his pursuit is robbing us of all that’s available to us in God that he might both hurt us and the heart of God.

But we serve a King who was not only Savior on the day of Calvary, but comes to us each day offering us salvation from the things of the world. The Holy Spirit inside each of us has the will and ability to deliver us from anything not found in the will of God that Jesus’ sacrifice might bear its full fruit in our lives. And in spending time in dedicated communion with God, studying the Scripture to find what’s been allotted as our portion in Jesus, and seeking to follow the moment-to-moment leadership of the Holy Spirit, we find the power we need to experience all God has for us.

Seek today to understand God’s heart for you. Look for promises you can hold on to about his character and will. And in response to a revelation of God’s will, have faith and vision to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit into fullness of life. May today be marked by the life-giving fruit of salvation in Jesus.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the life available to you through salvation in Jesus.

“For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” Acts 17:28

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

2. Spend time looking at your own life with the Holy Spirit. What in your life isn’t in God’s heart for you? Where are you not experiencing the fruit of salvation in Jesus?

“For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11-12

3. Bring to God the parts of your life that aren’t in his perfect will. Allow him to cast vision over your life. Let him fill you with faith to live the life he longs to give you.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

God is a god of the journey. He doesn’t expect perfection from us. He knows we are dust. He’s just after your heart that you might go through this life together. Don’t miss out on opportunities for relationship by running from the heart of God when you realize your own imperfection. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to experience grace by trying to hide your sin. Allow God into everything you are and do. Journey with him that you might experience the wonders of a god who loves you just as you are. Find joy in experiencing right now the eternal relationship afforded you by your Savior King.

Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 5

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