2011-07-30 - Fearing God - Control of Rulers Kings and emperors are reduced to nothing before God and are completely subject to His sovereign power - Isaiah 40:23 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; directs it where ever he please - Proverbs 21:1 He controls the destinies of rulers as well as their actions:
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2011-08-30 - Fearing God - Turning Aside Wrath It is difficult for us to think about God's wrath; we prefer to think about his love We envision a wrathful person as out of control God's wrath is controlled, it is also described as anger, fury, and indignation Unrepentant people are storing up wrath - Romans 2:5 We were born by nature as objects of wrath - Ephesians 2:3 Through condemnation of Adam's sin and our own personal sin On the cross, Jesus suffered God's wrath in our place "Why have you forsaken me?" - Matthew 27:46 Really start to enjoy fearing God:
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2011-09-05 - Fearing God - Great Thoughts About God If you want to fear God - every aspect of your day-to-day must dominated by thoughts of God Takes work to do this, you won't grow other wise - 1 Timothy 4:7 It is not enough to just stand in awe of God as we read about Him It should be part of out thinking The sophisticated discoveries comes from when man thinks using God's thoughts
Great thoughts about God will lead us to a realistic thoughts about ourselves
The Lord delights in those who fear Him and does not trust in man - Psalms 147:10-11 |
2011-09-12 - Followup: Purity (part I) Our society exalts sexual immorality, and it’s raging out of control. Teenagers have hormones that are newly active and they can let them rage out of control. Singles are looking for love in all the wrong places. Marriages are ending in divorce more now than ever before even though more people claim to be Christians. God has made it clear that he wants us all to let the natural sexual desires remain dormant until they can be expressed within the marriage relationship. In the Bible the term “purity” is most often referring to sexual purity, but it also is used to refer to being free from contamination by worldliness in general. Contaminated water is undrinkable, just as a contaminated heart is unacceptable to God. Question: Have you ever had food poisoning? What happens?
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2011-09-18 - Proverbs on Integrity (part I) Proverbs 19:22 - Poor person is better than a liar Proverbs 20:17 - Gains by fraud ends up being worthless The 1996 New York Times had a story on a golfer named Jeff Sluman.
When someone is a person of integrity he/she is someone that has wholeness about him either.
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2011-09-19 - Proverbs on Integrity (part II) Examples of great integrity.
#1. Integrity last forever Proverbs 12:19 - Truthful lips endure forever Integrity last forever (people lie to escape something) but no one can run from the truth
Whenever we lie we ruin a part of our character.
Men and take many things away from us but no one can take our integrity (its our choice). |
2011-09-25 - Proverbs on Pride (part V) #3. Humility heals our view of self (Proverbs 15:33) (Proverbs 22:4)
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2011-09-29 - Proverbs on Laziness (part I) Proverbs 18:9 - One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys
The sluggard is the spiritual three (3) toed sloth. The Bible has nothing good to say about the sloth.
Proverbs 26:14 - As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed
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2011-09-30 - Proverbs on Laziness (part II) How do I overcome being lazy (How do I become disciplined)? 1. Carpe Diem = Seize the Day We are only given a certain amount of time in a day (and on earth)
Being disciplined is about the little things in life.
One thing that can hurt your discipline is if you over commit
Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything
Tips
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2011-10-01 - Genesis 1 - Creation & RecreationSummaryGod created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He made humankind in his image and gave them charge over the earth. ObservationsGenesis 1:1 - the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, Personal ApplicationGod is bigger than I think he is. I have made him too small in my mind and do not allow Him to take control -- this is absurd since he has control over the universe and does a perfect job at it. My actions show that I don't fully trust God in this way. |
2011-10-21 - Mind Change - God is in control God is in control Today…tomorrow…forever. God is God. Nothing is outside his sovereignty. He cannot lose control. He is never surprised or unprepared. God never asks, “What are we going to do now?” Psalms 2:2-6 - The Lord is not bothered by a united front Psalms 90:2 - you brought the world into being Isaiah 50:7 - LORD helps me, so I am not humiliated |
2011-11-05 - Mind Change - Mood Choose you mood. If the one you have right now is not right, you can exchange it. Don’t allow the “wrong side of the bed” to control your life. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 - Choose life over pride Joshua 24:15 - Choose today whom you will worship Psalms 119:30 - I have chosen the way of truth |
2011-12-08 - Day 5 - The Grace of God Romans 5:6-11
Application: Write down (and do) 3 things today that will show God how grateful you are to be saved! |
2012-01-01 - Day 29 - Jesus is Coming Soon 2 Peter 3:3-14
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2012-02-02 - Ministry - The Wild Man Mark 5:1-20 So often in our lives as disciples we can unfortunately relate to the wild demon-possessed man we see in the scriptures. In my own life there are times when I long to be able to meet and connect with Jesus and to go deeper in my relationship with God but have it cut short by anger, anxiety and frustration. It's at these times that I must examine the sin and the areas of my life that are out of control. Areas to examine:
V17- The people begged Jesus to leave, even after he performed such an amazing miracle. Why? Jesus represented the light! John 3:19-21 teaches us that the light has come into the world to expose darkness. You will not want Jesus around if you do not welcome exposure. Questions for thought:
Focus on the relationship, not on the sin. Learn how to love people in spite of the sin in their lives. |
2012-02-03 - Ministry - A Righteous Response Mark 11:15-17, John 2:15,16 How does Jesus deal with anger? I know many of us, consider Jesus' response to the temple being used for a marketplace as an example of righteous anger. However, I studied eight different translations and the scriptures never state "Jesus got angry. John records that Jesus "made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area. It is hard to imagine myself doing this without harshness and anger but I did not conclude that Jesus was harsh or mean. In Mark 11:17 it simply says that he next "taught them". In John, the disciples saw his actions as "zeal" and when confronted by the Pharisees he answered their questions with profound teaching. This was not a man out of control while responding to mistreatment of his Father's house. Jesus was very God-focused in the way he dealt with the emotion of anger. In Mark 3:5,6 the scripture points out that Jesus was angry "at their stubborn hearts" because they could not respond to his questions due to evil intentions in their hearts. Jesus was angry. How did he deal with it? Further study indicates Jesus combined anger with being/feeling: "deeply distressed. His next response was to heal a man with a shriveled hand and to teach us all an amazing lesson about how deeply God cares for us. WOW! I'm not like Jesus when I get angry, how about you? Challenge:
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2012-02-18 - Fear of Failure - Letting Problems and Failures Build Your Faith by Tracey Jones, San Francisco Church of Christ Romans 4:18-22; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 5:1-6 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us. Romans 5:3-4 (NLT) I think as a non-Christian, I was the most anxious, controlling person in the world. I remember I would have almost every minute of my life planned out from beginning to end. Although it helped me to be disciplined and to achieve goals, it stopped me from letting people into my heart. I was always the strong one to my friends and family…"the rock". They saw all the successful things on the outside, but they didn't see the desperate, feeble person I was inside. When I began to work with people, it was very difficult for me, because I had no control whatsoever over them. That lack of control began to crush me. Now I see that God is using my problems and failures to encourage me to grow. He is telling me the little that I know is not enough - I need to keep growing and changing and developing into the person He wants me to be. One decision I have made when I have problems in my ministry, marriage, or family is to pray about them and to commit them fully to God. Now, instead of giving in to thoughts like “I can't change that woman's heart, I pray specifically about what I need help with and have confident expectation of what God will do. This has brought much more joy to my marriage, ministry, and life. What is stealing your joy? Could it be that you are letting problems and situations dictate your life? Decide today to commit those things to prayer and ask God to give you increasing character to deal with your life. |
2012-02-26 - Fear of Failure - God is in Control by Amy Kim - Ministry Intern: San Francisco Church of Christ Hebrews 3:7-19 Failure is just a time of testing. We harden our hearts, rebel and give up or we can have faith, be humble and move on. When I fail the first thing that happens is my pride gets hurt because I always think that I am in control or that I can do it. But God allows me to experience failure to remind me that I can't do it all. God is the only one who can. The question is whether I am as happy and excited about life when I fail as when I am successful. The only way I can do that is trust that God is in control. All I need is to do is trust him to do it, be willing to humble out and be surrendered, acknowledging that I can't do it at all. Decisions:
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2012-03-19 - Renewing of your Mind (part II) 2. Buying the Camero - Matthew 6:19-24 3. Becoming a disciple - Matthew 7:13-14 4. Saint Joe trip - 1 John 4:16b-18 What lies is Satan telling you?
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2012-11-14 - Message of the Arrows (part II) Becoming a Christian does not necessarily solve the dilemma of the arrows A continued blindness of the arrows can cause loneliness, emptiness, and longing for something not defined Without God, life becomes a series of happenings and circumstances we are unable to control Instead of a love for God, your life begins to feel like a series of repetitive behaviors - "Believe and Behave Accordingly" Our outer stories become a theater of the should and the inner the story of needs Romance invites trust and the arrows intimidate us into self-reliance The deepest question we ever is related our heart's greatest needs and answers that life us: Who am I? Romance answers someone special and good heart - life will flourish when we give it away Arrows tell us we are a dime a dozen, worthless and dark - arrange for what little we have left Instead of dealing with the Arrows, we silence the longing Which is the truer message? If we hang on to Romance, what do we do with the wounds? If we deny or minimize the wounds, we are deny a part of our heart |
2015-04-02 - In Control Joseph: So it was God who sent me here, not you! - Genesis 45:8 Joseph's hear and mind had made peace with his treacherous brothers He firmly believed that the God who remains in control of all things had sent him to Egypt When one of your kids defies everything you save or your job moves in a different direction, how do you react? Do negative emotions to rule the day or take refuge in God who is in control? God has an amazing way of using even the worst circumstances for your good Like you, Joseph did know the events ahead of him, he had to move forward by faith |
2015-04-20 - Gratitude Go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you - Luke 8:39 People who express daily gratitude reported higer levels of:
Jesus and his disciples encountered a violent demon-possessed man - naked, out of his mind, completely alone He calmly and purposefully took control of the situation and delivered the man from his life of torment Jesus told the man to go home and tell everyone what had happened The man gratefully followed Jesus' instructions When you think of everything that God has done for you, what other response is there but to follow him? A greateful heart is the best, infectious witness to the goodness and power of God
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2015-06-21 - Your Smallness It's the voice of a god, not of a man - Acts 12:22 It is easy to recoginze a man who does not realize his own smallness He is one of with an air of self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction Herod was known for his terrible treatment of his subjects and his uncontrolled egotism (a quality that cost him everything) When a delegation of men from Tyre and Sidon, they stroked Herod's ego and he accepted their adulation That day, Herod usurped the worship that God reserved for himself; Herod's life ended that day |
2015-07-18 - Don't Panic Paul urged everyone to eat; you have not touched food for two weeks - Acts 27:33 When problems arise and overwhlm us, are we tempted to "fly off the handle" or panic? A vicious storm slammed Paul's boat and conviced even seanoned sailors they were going to die Paul had been through enough in his life of faith to know God would allow him to complete his appoined mission without dying. God promised not a hair on their head will perish during the trip We can find peace knowing nothing happens to us unless our heavenly Father allows it Our situations may not be easy or fun but God still remains in control |
2015-08-10 - True Leader An elder... an honorable position - 1 Timiothy 3:1 Timothy faced the daunting responsibility of picking the right leaders for his congregation Paul instructed Timothy to look for leaders with:
Timothy understood that God had called all believers to live by a higher standard than the world around them Being a church leader means consistently demonstrating the kind of character worthy of being emulated |
2015-09-09 - Pride's Angry Partner Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage - Daniel 3:13 Anger can erupt from a lot of things but most commonly from pride The proud man tends to believe that he is owed something such as respect and admiration Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance knew no bounds and it show showed up when three men refused to bow down to his idol Like his anger, Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into blazing-hot Uncontrolled pride turns into uncontrolable anger God used the situation to save his faithful and humble the proud If you want to keep anger from being a problem in your life, put a check on your pride |
2015-12-15 - Temper As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you'll never be king. Now fo and get him so I can kill him! - 1 Samuel 20:31 Few emotions can harm our hearts and relationships like uncontrolled anger Anger led to:
Saul's anger erupted out of jealousy of David's popularity and treat of becoming king His anger was so fierce and overwhelming that he attempted to kill David at least three times Saul's anger made it to his son Jonathan because he was tried to protect David Saul showed his true colors when he allowed anger to control his every motivation, decision, and action |
2016-11-16 - Genesis 27 - Jacob Steals Esau's BlessingSummaryRebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac into giving Jacob his blessing. Esau vowed revenge so Rebekah told Jacob to go to her brother Laban. ObservationsGenesis 27:12 - What if my father touches me... he'll curse me instead of bless me
Genesis 27:20-24 - How did you find it so quickly?... Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you are really Esau... But are you really my son Esau?
ApplicationHow am I implementing God plan via his promises? My own way or in God's timing? PrayerLord, I want to be obedient and hunble to your plan and in your own way and your own timing. |