First15 Devotional - First15

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A Life of Sacrifice May 16, 2020

Show notes

On the third day of our series on pursuing simple Christianity, we’re looking at what it means to live a life of sacrifice to God. May we discover what it means for our hearts, minds and will to be fully surrendered to Jesus, and in return may we find the abundant joy he has promised. He is trustworthy and true. And we will find the life God has planned for us when we surrender all to him.

Our Scripture for today comes from Luke 9:23, and today's worship is Better by Pat Barrett.

First15 is a daily devotional written and recorded by Craig Denison. If you would like to learn more about the First15 app, books, blogs, videos and our other resources, please visit first15.org. You can always reach out to us on our contact page on the website.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

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Live a life marked by faith.

The Bible has so much to say about our faith. And if I’m being honest, a lot of it is really confusing.

In Matthew 21 Jesus tells us that we’ll receive anything we ask for, if we have faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that it’s impossible to please God if we don’t have faith. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that it is by faith that we “see” the path forward, and not with our physical sight.

But when I look into my own heart, I come face to face with ways I doubt on a daily basis.

I often trust in my own strength, lean on my own understanding, and seek to provide for myself with my own power rather than relying on the strength, empowering, and provision of God.

But, I also know that simply trying to have more faith doesn’t work either.

This is why I wrote a four-week devotional, Faith, to unpack what the Bible says about living a life marked by an authentic faith.

Faith isn’t something we muster up on our own. It’s not something we produce or create. Faith is the natural response to seeing, experiencing, and believing in God’s faithfulness.

And the pathway to greater faith is greater experience, greater understanding, and a true heart-knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us that guides our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

We've launched Volume 6 of our First15 Devotional Series, Faith, created to guide you into transformative experiences with God’s faithfulness and empower you to start living a life marked by authentic faith.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY!

Love People May 15, 2020

Show notes

As we continue our week exploring the simple principles of the Christian faith, today let’s look at what it means to love people. Many of us know that God asks us to love others, but often loving people is easier said than done. God knows our weaknesses, and any command he gives, he has a plan to empower us and give us grace to be obedient. As you explore how God may want you to love people today, may your heart be opened to his profound grace.

Our Scripture for today comes from 1 John 4:7, and today's worship is For The One by Brian and Jenn Johnson.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

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Live a life marked by faith.

The Bible has so much to say about our faith. And if I’m being honest, a lot of it is really confusing.

But when I look into my own heart, I come face to face with ways I doubt on a daily basis.

I often trust in my own strength, lean on my own understanding, and seek to provide for myself with my own power rather than relying on the strength, empowering, and provision of God.

But, I also know that simply trying to have more faith doesn’t work either.

This is why I wrote a four-week devotional, Faith, to unpack what the Bible says about living a life marked by an authentic faith.

Faith isn’t something we muster up on our own. It’s not something we produce or create. Faith is the natural response to seeing, experiencing, and believing in God’s faithfulness.

And the pathway to greater faith is greater experience, greater understanding, and a true heart-knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us that guides our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY!

Love God - It's All About Relationship May 14, 2020

Show notes

This week we’re going to focus on the simplicity the Christian life is meant to be marked by. Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements: love God and love people. But in our humanity we have made complex what God designed to be peaceful, purposeful, and simple. A. W. Tozer remarks in The Pursuit of God,

“Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.”

May we discover the peace and joy that come from pursuing a simple Christianity this week.

Our Scripture for today comes from Matthew 22:37-38, and today's worship is How Great Is Your Love by Phil Wickham.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

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Reimagine what love looks like

Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements: love God and love people. Love is at the center of our Christian faith, but in this season of COVID-19, it can be more difficult than ever to experience it, much less live it out.

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

First15 Conversations: Shane Pruitt May 13, 2020

Show notes

Are you familiar with the phrase “out of sight, out of mind?” In this pandemic season, I’ve realized there are so many things I took for granted about my daily life. There are so many things I’ve counted on, benefited from and trusted in, without really thinking about all the people involved in making it possible. Now, after months of seeing various shelves emptied at the grocery store, businesses struggling to reopen, and COVID-19 curves rising and falling, I realize more than ever how interdependent we are and that much of my own life is not in my control.

Today on the First15 podcast, we’re sharing an encouraging conversation Josh and I had with Shane Pruitt, Director of Next Gen Evangelism for the North American Mission Board. Shane shares incredible wisdom for trusting God when life is out of your control and the power of relationships with those who are different than you. We know it will be encouraging to you today!

We know that life is so difficult for many of you right now, and we hope that this conversation will lead you towards God’s peace in the midst of your circumstances today.

Love-based Simplicity May 13, 2020

Show notes

As we wrap up our week on the simplicity of love, today we’ll look at the concept of simplicity itself and what it means to have a solitary pursuit. As you fix your eyes on Jesus today, may you find that the weight of the world falls away. And may you choose the path of simplicity and love going forward living out in joy and peace.

Our Scripture for today comes from Colossians 3:14, and today's worship is Nothing Else by Cody Carnes.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

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Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

Love-based Obedience May 12, 2020

Show notes

God is the perfect parent. He is unlike anyone we’ve ever known, and his love is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Imagine knowing your parent loved you perfectly, and that their intentions and motives behind giving you direction was literally perfectly loving? That’s how God is with us. His wisdom and direction is something we can trust implicitly because he can trust his heart toward us, and that truth makes obedience a joy. As we explore love-based obedience today, may your heart be open to the goodness of your loving Father.

Our Scripture for today comes from John 14:21, and today's worship is Yes (Obedience) by MDSN.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

_____________

Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

The Joy of a Love-based Life May 11, 2020

Show notes

Most of the time our emotional happiness is based on our life’s circumstances. As we continue our week on the simplicity of love, today we’ll be taking a look at the joy that comes from living a love-based life. Once we know that God’s love is for us always, unconditionally—no matter what, our hope is secure and joy is ours for the taking. May you walk in joy today as you lean into this love-based reality a bit more.

Our Scripture for today comes from Philippians 4:4, and today's worship is You Are My Joy by United Pursuit.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

_____________

Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

All He Asks of Us is Love May 10, 2020

Show notes

It has been and always will be easy for people, especially religious people, to become focused on the wrong things in life. I constantly find myself making things more difficult or convoluted than they really are. The reality of this life with God is that all he asks of us is love. As we continue this week on the simplicity of love, today we’ll explore God’s heart on the subject. What does God require of us? What does he ask of us? May we take a step back today, examine our own hearts’ pursuits, and rest in the reality of how simple God’s love really is.

Our Scripture for today comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13, and today's worship is There Is No Striving by Rita Springer.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

_____________

Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

His Love Has Set Us Free May 09, 2020

Show notes

There is nothing in the world more freeing than being loved as you are. Today we’ll be exploring how God’s love has set us free as we continue in our week of the simplicity of love. Having God’s love and affection from the start before giving him anything in return frees us from the burdens and weight of having to earn his love and strive for his affections. Today God wants us to step out in and fully live experiencing that freedom as beloved children. May your heart be even a little more free today after a fresh encounter with the Father’s love.

Our Scripture for today comes from Romans 8:1-3, and today's worship is Psalm Ninety-One by Kendrian & Lauren Dueck.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

_____________

Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

His Love Has Redeemed Us May 08, 2020

Show notes

As we explore the simplicity of love this week, today we’ll look at how God’s love has redeemed us. There is an amazing Brennan Manning quote that says, “In loving me, you made me lovable.” And that is basically the concept we’ll be unpacking today. God’s love has come in and given us meaning, beauty, redemption, and purpose. It is through God loving us that we become sons and daughters; we become saints. I hope today you’ll open your heart up to this life-changing love, and never be the same again.

Our Scripture for today comes from Psalm 130:7, and today's worship is Since Your Love by United Pursuit.

Click here to help even more people encounter God through the ministry of First15.

_____________

Reimagine what love looks like

This is why we are launching volume 5 of our First15 Devotional Series, Love.

Within this 4-week journey, you will:

Learn how to stand firm on God’s love in every circumstance.
Receive lasting comfort in the goodness of God’s immense love for you.
Find ways to love others out of the overflow of God’s love for you, even from a distance.
Watch your faith come alive as you love God in word and deed.

If you are longing to experience God’s love in a deeper way, please request your copy of Love today.

CLICK HERE

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