The Great Connection

CONSIDER
The great and precious promises of God connect us to His divine nature. As a result of this connection, we possess the moral capacity to be holy and the emotional ability to be healthy. His promises give us the direction to arrive at His ultimate destination of Christlikeness.

BIBLE TRUTH

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Rom. 8:12–14 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Although we are not fully aware of all aspects of our inheritance, God’s promises provide a taste of the expectations He fulfills so we may live with earnest anticipation as we experience His life living through us. His promises are not merely for the hereafter, but encompass life here and now. God provides the solution for life change. By acting on His promises we have His resolution to all problems and deliverance from the social ills that plague us. We do not comprehend that the solutions to all of life’s problems stem from believing and acting on the promises of God. God is literally saying to you, “I can solve your emotional problems, your parenting problems, your relationship problems, your mental problems, all of your problems, if you will trust My truths.” If our Christianity does not make a difference with our problems, then we have a problem with our Christianity.

PRAYER
God, because of Your glory and excellence You have given me great and precious promises! These are the promises that enable me to share Your divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. . . . (2 Pet. 1:4)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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Blessed by Our Benefactor

CONSIDER
As our benefactor, God provides from the resources of His kindness, love, and mercy, through the abundance of His grace, to complete our souls. He does not give us what we deserve but from an overflow of His generosity. It is ironic that when we think of God’s benefits, we most often visualize our version of what the blessing should look like. We often miss experiencing God as our benefactor because we want Him to bequeath to us people, positions, and possessions, believing that through these we would be fulfilled.

BIBLE TRUTH

But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life." (Titus 3:4–7 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
The benefits of God include His purchasing our freedom through His Son, Jesus Christ. This freedom affords the privilege of entering His home as His child, where we can sit at His table dressed in our royal robes washed in the blood of Jesus. The price was not paid to merely release us to seek our independence or to indulge ourselves with the pleasures of this world. We are now free to belong to Him. It is sad, however, when the selfish mind misses this whole truth and insists freedom gives liberty to sin and do what we want to do when we want to do it. For these deluded individuals, eternal life in heaven is more important than being children of God. The idea of a relationship with Jesus holds no value to such people. It is yet another form of indulgence waiting for them in the next life of everlasting bliss. But for the authentic Christian, relationship with Jesus is vital. Possessing the privilege of the position as His child, our persistent pursuit is His divine nature and Christlikeness.

PRAYER
Abba, Father, I am so very privileged to be your child! You have sent the Spirit of Your Son into my heart prompting me to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now I am no longer a slave but Your own child. And since I am Your child, You have made me Your heir. . . . (Gal. 4:6–7)



(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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Empowered to Live Beyond Ourselves

CONSIDER
Grace from heaven moves the heart to calm tranquility. When our core needs are addressed, the issue of well-being is resolved, the crisis of the day is settled, the intricacies of interpersonal relations are solved, and the prospect of pleasing God is complete God’s peace pervades. When will that ever happen? When we access God’s grace. There are two access points from which we may qualify to enter into God’s grace. The first is faith, believing what God has said. The second is obedience, doing what God has said. Navigating these pathways will enable the Christian to negotiate all of life’s challenges and experience Jesus Christ as relevant to every area of life.

BIBLE TRUTH

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Col. 1:9–10 NLT)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
As surrendered followers of Jesus Christ who live in desperate dependency upon Him, we are empowered by God to live beyond ourselves. The power to live Christ’s life on earth cannot be manufactured by our own efforts. We are not even capable of conceptualizing the process. Human beings on a quest for their own best interest usually resort toward self-indulgence or self-promotion, thinking self-empowerment is somehow the solution to their powerless condition. Seeking within our own strength to create our own grace always leads to some form of illicit dependency, addiction; some inappropriate behavior, deviance; some undesirable state of being, mental illness; or some irreversible consequence, death. Thus grace must come to us not through us. In God’s economy we are the recipients of His grace not the progenitors of it.

PRAYER
God, I must admit I have a difficult time comprehending that You have given me everything I need for living a godly life. But I choose to trust that by Your divine power, You have given us everything we need for living a godly life. . . . (2 Pet. 1:3)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


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User-friendly Grace

CONSIDER
The prospect of God’s unmerited favor giving undeserving people the power to live depends exclusively upon the person of Christ. Jesus provided the way to access God so we can have the power to live the life He lived in the fashion in which He lived it—being dependent upon God. Grace is the catalyst, providing what is needed and furnishing what is lacking to embed the image of Jesus Christ, God’s most precious treasure, on our souls.

BIBLE TRUTH
“May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!” (2 Pet. 1:2 NET)

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
God anticipates every challenge, while enabling us through His grace to have the power to live Jesus’ life on earth. All His spiritual, psychological, and interpersonal power that is beyond our comprehension and aptitude is made user-friendly through God’s truth in our lives. We are not required to have a thorough understanding of the inner workings of God’s abilities, nor a profound knowledge of the intricacies of our problems. It is sufficient to know, “I am hurting”; “I am afraid”; or “I am sinking”; and that God is able to rescue me from this present evil world as I desperately depend upon Jesus Christ. A desperate dependency on Jesus reveals God’s abundant power.

PRAYER
Lord, thank You for being close to me, especially when I am brokenhearted. Please rescue those whose spirits are crushed. Thank You for rescuing me when my spirit is crushed. . . . (Ps. 34:18)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to POST A COMMENT about the insights you have received on your journey toward desperate dependency.