2008-02-24 - Power of Gratitude - Badly out of Focus Children - they notice the one toy they do not have even with having a dozen other toys - how do we do? Gratitude and ingratitude are based on our focus in life
Philippians 4:8 - think about these things Philippians 4:12-13 - secret to being content in any and every situation Being content is a decision - 10% what happens to us; 90% how we react to the situation Romans 8:38-39 - nothing can separate us from the love of God |
2008-02-26 - Power of Gratitude - Uncommon Peace What enables us to have such uncommon peace? - Commonality
Stay committed to God with the mission and discipling firmly in place, our unity will remain Three warning signs, if not doing: A. Daily diet
C. Lack of discipling |
2008-02-27 - Power of Gratitude - Free at Last MLK - as bad as slavery was - there a slavery that last for eternity 2 Corinthians 5:21 - Jesus might become sin for us As existence of righteousness does not ensure we receive it Satan tries everything to help us miss this opportunity Jews after saw their failures in the past - created many regulations so they would not sin
Religion that is performance based is doomed
Romans 7-8 - Focus is not on themselves but on him who died for them; Because they are saved James 1:23-25 - Law points out their sin clearly / making them feel more indebted to God Motivation to last a lifetime - Our love responding to his grace Other motivations:
YES: I'll accept you, now let's walk together in my strength |
2008-02-28 - Power of Gratitude - Thank God Im a Country Boy What ever background we have, we can not change it Cultural heritage - Jesus from Galilee and Nazareth Job - Jesus was a carpenter son's Appearance - Jesus "nothing in his appearance that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2) Speech - Disciples "are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?" ( Acts 2:7 ) Why? "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 26-29) Jesus understands and sympathizes - No one knows more about temptation than he. Let he happy for how God made us and use it for his glory |
2008-03-01 - Power of Gratitude - Don't waste your sin Use the past to encourage others Paul did - chief of sinners - 1 Timothy 1:15-16 Joseph did:
Rejection leads to rebellion, which in turn led to failure We must become thankful rather than resentful or hurt - give the benefit of the doubt Key to a life of acceptance is develop a deep gratitude for what God has done through our challenges
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2008-03-04 - Power of Gratitude - It is so Hard and but I Love it Marriage - hardest year of a good marriage is the first one and the hardest year of a bad marriage is the last one God brings opposites together - rigid and let it go types Because God is trying to work off the rough edges If we are to grow through trials, we must learn to view them correctly First comes hurt, then can come anger or try to ignore it Other turn to "grin and bear it" or "this too must past" - blocks us from growth Garden of Gethsemance - Jesus expressed and dealt with emotional pain with prayer - Hebrews 5:7-10 If Jesus had to suffer, how much will we need to be perfected - Colossians 1:24 Trial both mature us and attract others at the same time Rejoice in the sufferings - 1 Peter 4:13 Must have heaven's perspective in every situation Even when can not figure out what God is doing - requires a child-like response Why me? > Why not me? |
2008-03-05 - Power of Gratitude - Is your Job Sacred or Secular? A large percentage of our waking hours on the job God expects even a slave to be happy with their lot in life - Colossians 3:22 Whatever you do, do it in the Lord's name - Colossians 3:17 Offer your bodies as living sacrifices - Romans 12:1 Full-time ministry We are full-time if we are disciples Others have gifts not in "up-front" roles No child of the King of Kings should feel like a second-class citizen
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2008-03-07 - Power of Gratitude - Day-Tight Compartments Sentence of death is on us and everyone we know Matthew 6:34 - Focus on today, live in day-tight compartments, rather than worrying about tomorrow The most important factor in remaining effective and thankful as we get older is to stay busy doing things that matter to God Women of noble character was busy from dawn to dusk - Proverbs 31 Being happy with our lot in life and our work - Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 Worried about aging and death - No, because I would be ungrateful for all the blessing God has given me Every good and perfect gift is from above (people in our lives) - James 1:17 What percentage of your thoughts focus of past regrets and future worries? |
2008-03-11 - Be Still My Soul - Time Away Jesus often withdrew
When was the last time you withdrew an entire night, day, or week? A retreat can be unforgetable, life-changing time |
2008-03-13 - Be Still My Soul - Times of Fasting What is fasting? - voluntary abstinence from food in order to draw near to God Fasting - frequently practiced by those who have walked closely with God:
Jesus warned about the mere appearance of fasting - Matthew 6:16-18 Advice
A "world fast" is an idea to remove yourself from movies, sports, television, newpaper, other outside info Reason to fast:
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2008-03-15 - Be Still My Soul - Exciting Personal Bible Study What happen to the days when you could not wait to learn more from God's word? When was the last time you regretted having to close your Bible and go on to other activities? Excuses:
The only way to a deep, growing relationship with God - which includes feeding on His word. Some are not put forth the effort required to dig deeper; have become lazy Some are satisfied with what they already know and are content being spoon-fed. "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Hebrews 5:11-6:3) We need to train ourselves (1 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 5:14) "This the one I esteem he who ... trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2) |
2008-03-16 - Be Still My Soul - Keeping a Journal Reasons for a journal:
Practical advice about journals:
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2008-03-17 - Be Still My Soul - Deciding What to Study How do we decide what to study?
Questions to ask yourself:
Commit passages of scripture to memory |
2008-03-20 - Be Still My Soul - Bible Studies That Changed my Life Author, Sam Laing, describe different times in his life when quiet times were life changing including:
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2008-03-25 - Be Still My Soul - Personal Moses enjoyed a relationship with God that few have ever known He was face to face - It was because Moses wanted that way When Moses was heading to the promised land God said he would not go with him - Exodus 33:2 Moses was appalled, recoils in horror It was not enough to be forgiven It was not enough to be successful Moses wanted to know more of God - Now show me your glory (Exodus 33:18) How would I react? Would I be fine with the promised land without God? We can sing, strive to be committed, give money, work hard to share our faith, and even pray Must be more focused on closeness to God more than on the success of our ministry 2 Corinthians 3 - in Jesus we can have a greater relationship with God than what Moses had the opportunity to have |
2008-03-27 - Be Still My Soul - Persistence We "should always pray and not give up" - Luke 18:1 Disciples who are not close to God are simply not being perisistent Examples of persistent prayers:
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2008-03-28 - Be Still My Soul - Postures Prayer is not only for our minds and hearts, but our bodies Types of prayer postures: Kneeling
Prostrate
Out loud and silently - Esther 4:1, Hebrews 5:7, James 4:7-9 / 1 Samuel 1:13 If prayers are not offered from a variety of postures then we are not praying as we ought We can not separate our bodies from our hearts Author has developed the ability to pray with great concentration and intimacy while running |
2008-03-29 - Be Still My Soul - Praise Thanksgiving is praise made practical
Never known a person who habitually expressive of gratitude to be afflicted with continual discouragement and depression Good idea to start and keep a gratitude list |
2008-04-01 - Falling in Love with God - How Bad It Can Get A mission of Satan is undermine my relationship with our Father Must ask all the time: How are God and I doing? Typical doing questions:
Relationship questions:
When we drift 1. Combative - Psalms 55:20-21 Presedes sin / sensual gratification
3. Hopeless - Job 3:11-13 Hopelessness is godlessness |
2008-04-02 - Falling in Love with God - Bitterness An emotional response (along with fear) that succeed at undermining our love for God A result of an uncard-for emotional wound Matthew 18:15-17 - can resolve most issues Examples
Bitterness will actively oppose any attempt to restore our love for God Bitter or better - a channel of curses or blessings Disciples need Jesus' example to overcome the pain of the cross Jesus wants us to have his attitude toward suffering
Bible command us to get rid of all bitterness
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2008-04-04 - Falling in Love with God - Doing vs Being Remembering the height from which you have fallen - Revelation 2:1-7 Doing the right works does not mean you are doing good Not a substitute for dealing with our heart Satan's plan: Damage our relationship with God, then damage our faith about our ability to change Ephesians
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2008-04-05 - Falling in Love with God - Faithful Follower Israel - when in the dessert, they did not need plant to know that God In the end they were wishing they could be back into slavery The way back from wandering is not found in activity but pulling out the scrapbook and remembering When we had the conviction - "God will take care of me" Remember:
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2008-04-08 - Falling in Love with God - Jesus: Their All 1 John 1:1-4 Jesus: that which:
Christ was their happiness Christ was their peace Christ was what they wanted to experience in life They were committed to experiencing Christ Paul's joy of completing the task the Lord Jesus has given him - Acts 20:16-24 They did not chafe at the cost of following Christ - cost was a chance to grow |
2008-04-09 - Falling in Love with God - Jesus: Anointed One Jesus is the Christ, Messiah - meaning the "Anointed One" The book of Acts - Christ was lifted high
By him all things were created - 1 Colossians 1:16-20 Sometimes we forgot - The Christ still lives today Romans 8:28
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2008-04-30 - Falling in Love with God - God Finding Us When does seeking really start? Romans 3:11 - there is no one that seeks God Studying the Bible is simply allowing ourselves to be sought by God If it was our own effort - baptism may seem like the end of the quest We need to active learners When we were young, we understood obligation - "I gotta go to school"
Treasures are for those who will continue to seek forever; not for those who want tips and tricks for being "effective" If there were ever a moment to be a passive learner, it would be when you walk with Jesus Luke 11:1-13 - where would we be if the disciples had not asked about praying to the Father? - not know how to address the Father We need to take responsibilty to get deep and ask questions |