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Search Quiet Times via a keyword or stringSearching for "god." in the Quiet Time Archive
Displaying results from "50" to "75". (81 found)
2011-10-11 - Genesis 11 - The Tower of Babel SummaryThey began building a great tower for themselves, but the Lord confused their language. Shem's line included Abram who married Sarai. ObservationsGenesis 11:4 - so that we may make a name for ourselves Personal ApplicationI need to check my motivations on why I do things - especially the "good" things. Is it to further my relationship with God or for selfish gain or to please someone else? |
2011-10-12 - Genesis 12 - The Call of AbrahamSummaryGod told Abram, "Go. I will make you a great nation. You will be a blessing." In Egypt Abram lied about Sarai and Pharaoh was cursed. ObservationsGenesis 12:1 - Leave your country, your people Personal ApplicationI value comfort but it is not the same comfort that comes from God. When I look at my heart, I am slower to change then I used to be as a younger Christian. This should not be. What is stopping me from changing? Would I being willing to move again for God? |
| 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 |
| 2011-10-28 - Mind Change - Simplicity Be thankful. Laugh. Sing. Trust God. Apply this today. Apply it every day. Yes, even with what is happening today. Don’t let any new development stop you. Proverbs 31:25 - A noble woman can laugh in her days to come Psalms 147:7 - Sing praises to our God John 14:1 - You believe in God - no distress |
| 2011-11-10 - Mind Change - Trouble Trouble is often the ground where God cultivates some of his best crops. No trouble is bigger than God. No trouble is stronger than God. No trouble overwhelms God. Genesis 50:20 - God trouble helps save lives Galatians 4:13 - Because of an illness that Paul preached to the Galatians Philippians 1:12-14 - Christians were encouraged by Paul's chains |
| 2011-11-23 - God (part I) Though it sounds so simple, understanding the true nature of God can be very challenging. Many of us were raised with false perceptions of God – inappropriate and incomplete. Unfortunately, those views caused us to act in certain ways, most of which were ungodly. In this study we will learn a few of the problems connected with false views about God and how to make sure we know the real God. God has been misrepresented
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| 2011-11-24 - God (part II) God is a powerful God
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| 2011-12-02 - Guarding Your Heart (part I) Keeping your heart in good condition is not just an important physical principle, but a spiritual one as well. A bad spiritual heart will cause spiritual sickness and ultimately spiritual death – separate from God. The Bible gives us some great information on how to keep our hearts in good spiritual shape and keep them beating strong and healthy for God until the day we die. We guard our hearts to keep the good and keep away the bad we’re tempted to do
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| 2011-12-04 - Day 1 - Saved Completely DAY ONE: "Saved Completely" What God has done for you through your baptism into Christ is truly AMAZING! Colossians 1:21-23
Hebrews 10:19-23
Keep it in a special place to re-read later. |
| 2011-12-07 - Day 4 - Learning to Pray Luke 11:1-13
If you pray 10 minutes of each section, you will pray a powerful 40 minutes! Read the Psalms to learn how to really praise God. Philippians 4:6-7
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| 2012-01-09 - Day 37 -The Grace of Giving Luke 21:1-4
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
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2012-01-13 - Genesis 20 - Abraham lies about Serah at GerarSummaryIn Gerar Abraham said, "Sarah is my sister." King Abimelech took her but God warned him in a dream. He restored Sarah to Abraham. ObservationsGenesis 20:3 - You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken Personal ApplicationI usually don't have an issue with knowing right from wrong. It is usually that I am not aware of what I am doing. I am either not paying attention or not focused. I need to watch my life closely so I will be righteous in God's eyes and so others can be saved because of it [1 Timothy 4:16]. |
| 2012-01-15 - Ministry - The Generator of Power John 15:1-7; Mt 7:7-12; Luke 18:1-8 Prayer generates the power in a disciple's life. Without prayer, there is no power, no relationship with God, and no expectation of miracles. Prayer connects us to God's heart and reveals to us God's will. We can be afraid to pray because we think God will test us by not answering our prayers. James chapter 1 tells us that trials test our faith not unanswered prayer. We begin to pray with unbelief in our hearts and no expectation of answered prayer in our minds. God does not always answer when WE want Him to but He will answer. It is up to us to persevere and mature long enough to receive the answer. God desires to give us whatever we wish as long as we remain in relationship with Him. God is a merciful and loving God. He wants to bless us and encourage us. Generations of powerful men and women have walked before us in real relationship with God. They witnessed incredible answers to prayer. God has not changed since then. He is willing to answer; are you willing to pray? Pray with Passion Pray with Expectation Pray with Specificity Pray with Boldness Pray with Perseverance What three things will you pray about until they are answered, no matter how long it takes? |
| 2012-01-17 - Ministry - The Heart of Gratitude Luke 17:11-19, Psalms 100:4, 1 Thessalonians. 5:18 Jesus believed that if the heart of a man was healed and doing well, then that individual could really experience a complete healing from God. In Mark 2 the paralytic who was lowered through the roof by his friends in the middle of a crowded house for Jesus to heal did not hear the first words from the lips of Jesus, 'you are healed.' The first thing he heard was, "Your sins are forgiven." The obvious problem to everyone was his physical condition, yet Jesus saw the spiritual issues of the man's life and healed them first! The ten lepers came to Jesus and when he cleansed them only one came back, throwing himself at the feet of Jesus, overwhelmed with gratitude! Jesus wondered where the other nine were, but proclaimed to the man, "Your faith has made you well." Even though the other nine were cleansed of their leprosy, did they really 'get well?' The one who returned was made well-he was filled with gratitude! Many of us have been baptized, yet how many of us are filled with gratitude? Questions:
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| 2012-01-21 - Ministry - Faith in God Moves Mountains Mark 11:22-24 Jesus makes a very simple short powerful statement; "Have faith in God." Believe in ME and you will be able to move mountains. Jesus had the faith to move mountains. Jesus calls each of us to have a faith that can move mountains.Each of us has mountains or obstacles in our lives. These obstacles take on many different forms. They may be character sins that never seem to change, family situations that seem to continue month after month, and financial debt that never seems to go away. These obstacles sometimes seem as large and permanent as mountains. But Jesus tells us to "Have faith in God", to believe in our hearts, and the mountains can be thrown into the sea. It is a very simple, but powerful statement, "Have faith in God." What mountain is secretly holding back your faith? How much have you put it before God? Decide today to lay it out before God and really believe that He can change it. Fight against cynicism and unbelief. |
| 2012-01-25 - Ministry - Jesus' Rescue Mission Matthew 18:10-14 (Luke 15:3-10) It is comforting to know we serve a God who is not only all-powerful and all-knowing, but also all-loving. Sometimes the spiritual battle gets so intense that we wonder if God really cares. This passage proves how deeply God cares about each individual "sheep". How we do spiritually does matter to God. He does not want any of his disciples to wander off and fall away. Jesus is the perfect shepherd who will do whatever it takes to go after the one lost sheep. Each soul matters to God. Jesus' heart is to keep on searching, keep on hoping, and keep on loving until the sheep is found and returns home. We need to take on Jesus' heart and persevere in rescuing those who have given up on their relationship with God. Satan wants us to get hurt, get bitter and angry instead of being compassionate and determined to help those who have lost faith. Let's be inspired by Jesus' unfailing love and decide to be part of Jesus' rescue team! Questions:
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| 2012-01-30 - Ministry - Christianity or Christ? John 6:25-40 Jesus explains to the hungry crowds that their minds should be set on spiritual fulfillment, not on physical fulfillment. The bread that they are looking for is not a loaf of bread or even the manna that Moses' generation ate. The bread they needed was the bread from heaven: the Son of God. Having a relationship with Jesus is what will satisfy. Believing in him is what will change our lives. It is not Christianity but Christ. We chase spiritual fads, deep, theological issues, when all the Jesus wants is for us to be deeply dependent on him. This requires a radical change in how we have learned to exist. Some of us get burned out being Christians because having faith in God is not our focus. We spend a lot of time trying to do things and not time having a real relationship with "Christ who is our life." Questions/Followup:
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| 2012-02-04 - Ministry - Pick Up Your Sword Matthew 4:1-11 As Christians we constantly live under spiritual warfare. The battle between Satan and God constantly rages. In this passage we see just a glimpse of one skirmish. Satan attacks with his weapon-temptation, and Jesus responds with his skillfully sharpened sword: the Word of God. In this clash Jesus is able to defeat Satan first because he sees the battle,and second because of his passion to fight it with the scriptures. Question: Do you see the battle? Do you know when you are being tempted, or do the devil's enticements escape you and you easily fall into sin? In these scriptures Jesus teaches us how to fight back. (V.4) When daily temptation and sin come we have to have deep convictions that we need the Bible. (Satan's first temptation was doubt. "If you are the Son of God") Are you tempted to ignore your desperation for God? Are you desperate to be right with God? Are you tempted to skip your quiet times? (V.6-7) Are you tempted to test God? Do you think, "If he doesn't answer this prayer, then I won't pray anymore," or "He didn't do that, so I am leaving." Does bitterness or persecution tempt you? Tempted to doubt the kingdom or the scriptures? Tempted to doubt the only church in the Bible, the salvation of family members, or tempted to ignore certain passages Cling to the truths in the scriptures, they are your most powerful weapons. (V. 8-10) Q: Are you tempted by the world? Tempted by their ease? Their power? Their leisure? Tempted to worship what they do-money, attention, praise, desire? (Ps 73) Write down the temptations you are most susceptible to. Find a scripture passage in your QT that will help you fight back. |
| 2012-02-08 - Ministry - One Thing Mark 10:17-22 Can you imagine having a little one on one time with Jesus? What do you think you would ask? What would he say? If Jesus was to challenge you on something in your life, what do you think it would be? He did have a similar conversation with a rich man in Mark 10:17-22 and the rich man asked a pretty important question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds with emphasizing obedience to the commands, and the rich man insists that he has been obedient to those Jesus spoke of. Then Jesus tells him, "one thing you still lack," he said, "go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." So, what was the rich man missing? What did he still lack? Was it a love for the poor? Was he not sacrificial enough? Was it that he loved money too much? I think he was simply ungrateful. Study out the following passages and see for yourself if it something that Jesus might have to talk with you about in your one on one time today!
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| 2012-02-16 - Fear of Failure - God Will Give Us the Grace We Need to Succeed by Sean Kiluk, San Francisco Church of Christ 2 Corinthians 9:8 God will give us all the grace we need to be successful in whatever role he has put us in. He did not put us where we are to fail, but to rely on him for success. Our problems come when we value success and praise more than knowing God. God forgives us, and he loves us even though we fail or sin. His love is unconditional. We need to have confidence in God's grace in everything. We will fail at times, but God has enough grace to ensure a victory in the end. Decisions:
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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. |
| 2012-02-20 - Fear of Failure - Relying on God Never Fails by Jeremy Clark, San Francisco Church of Christ Jeremiah 17:5-10; Hosea 10:12-13 Often the failures in my life have felt devastating. They have made me doubt myself, made me doubt my purpose and made me doubt God. When I began to lead a ministry, I thought I could do it by myself. I was out to prove to myself that I was capable. As I began to lead I ran around all the time, I was exhausted, anxious, and worried about getting in trouble every day. I was miserable. What I didn't realize was that as I was trying to prove that I could do it, God was proving to me that I couldn't without him. My failure made me want to quit. I felt cursed; it seemed all the the work I did meant nothing. God was showing me my pride, but instead of praying more, I worried more and ran around more and was completely ineffective. My failure came because of my pride, my unwillingness to be open, and not getting the help I needed. I was relying on myself, and God was teaching me that he would not bless it. That lesson was hard to learn, but one so valuable to my life once I was willing to learn to rely on God and not my own strength.
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| 2012-02-21 - Fear of Failure - God is Able, Part 1 by Del & Daurence Johnson - Region Leaders: San Francisco Church of Christ When I think about how many times that I have blown it or dropped important balls, it can be very depressing. So often I feel inadequate, incapable and fearful. This has made me prideful and unopen. Failure is never fatal when we have our eyes on God and not on our mistakes. God is perfect, I am not. God is pure, I am full of sin. God is righteous, I am jaded. Why not base our level of success on God and who he is rather than ourselves? 1) God is able to keep you from falling. Jude 24 When failure seems inevitable, it's probably because you are not looking to God. God wants us to learn from our experiences, not be perfect. 2) God is able to save completely. Hebrews 7:25 As I look at the sin in my life and how I keep repeating it, it can discourage me from believing I can be pleasing to God. This is why we need forgiveness. He is able to save completely. He can and will get me through. My challenge is to never quit on God or myself. 3) God is able to guard what you have entrusted to him. 2 Timothy 1:12 When we sacrifice day after day and year after year, we are investing ourselves in heavenly treasures. As Special Missions contribution quickly approaches again, we will have to reinvest ourselves into God's dream again. God is protecting and always will protect our lives and our dreams. He is faithful. Decisions:
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2012-08-03 - Genesis 22 - The Offering of IsaacSummaryGod told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham obeyed, an angel stopped him. The LORD provided a ram instead and blessed Abraham. ObservationsGenesis 22:2 - Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering Personal ApplicationI know for me I give until it starts to physically hurt, brings up bad memories, or I don't see the need to. It does not depend on me; I need to sacrifice in relation to the need. As I grow close to go God I will see God's heart in this. |
| 2012-10-29 - The Lost Life of the Heart Our years can be consumed with service and business But somewhere out there someone is saying, "There is something more" We just assume it is our imagination Then it speaks again, "Aren't you thirsty? There is something missing" This feeling might feel disloyal to our routine and against the program we are following We try to silence the voice with outward activity and redoubling our Christian service You long to be in a love affair, an adventure with God. You were made for something more. Samuel heard the voice of God calling to him in the night - 1 Samuel 3:4 It took him three time before he realized it was God Rather than ignoring the voice, Samuel finally listed In our lives, we can become frustrated by our heart's continuing sabotage of a dutiful Christian life But sometime at night, when our defenses are down, we still hear him calling us In the morning, activities scream for our attention and think we have won the battle of the "flesh" Satan loves to turn the truth upside down We try to lose ourselves in:
We create distance between ourselves and others; even distance between ourselves and our own heart... |
| 2013-09-06 - Consistency through Consecration Consecration, which means to clean something up and then dedicate it to God. Cleansing your life and home from any stumbling blocks or evil influences and then presenting yourself and your family into God’s hands. If there are influences in your home that dishonor God or are pulling you or your family members away from God, you should seriously consider removing them. King Hezekiah rose to the throne after the death of Ahaz,
There is nothing greater, more fulfilling, or more important than living with this goal in mind. |
| 2013-11-30 - Holy Matrimony God alone designed the marvelous mystery of marriage. |
| 2014-03-21 - Train Them to Honor Authority (part I) Honor is attractive
The whole concept of authority comes from God. Earthly authority is His design and tool for creating order and for keeping us accountable and responsible, for honoring good and for punishing evil - Romans 13:1-4 Authorities on earth help keep us mindful of His superior, eternal authority God can turn the heart of anyone in a leadership position in any direction - Proverbs 21:1 We should be like Jesus and submit to our imperfect, human authorities knowing that God uses them to carry out His purposes - John 19:11 The only time we should not submit to them is when they are asking us to disobey God and sin - Acts 5:29 Notice that Scripture does not tell us to obey them only if we agree with their judgment - Hebrews 13:17-18 When dishonoring authority, you are not rebelling against an individual but against God Himself. Handling and responding to authority is serious business. |
| 2014-03-22 - Train Them to Honor Authority (part II) You should actually want your leaders to succeed. You should be eager to help them fulfill their roles. This is how we should treat those over us - with a clear conscience, in respectful ways - not only from a fear of God but as a witness and an example to our children. Our kids will most likely adopt our views on authority in their own lives as well. We are accountable to Him - both to love Him and to fear Him. When you teach your children to honor authority, you are teaching them to better honor God.
Helping them not “forget his deeds” but to “keep his commands” - Psalms 78:7 Honoring authority will help them obey you. Honoring authority is a hallmark of godly men and their children.
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2014-05-31 - Genesis 24 - Search for the Bride of Isaac (part II)SummaryEliezer met Rebekah by the well exactly as he had prayed. ObservationsGenesis 24:12 - Please give me success today ApplicationI do not have the dependant prayer I need to have. I have many failures because I depend on myself and do not ask God. |
| 2015-01-07 - Genesis 24 - Eliezer: Profile of a True Servant Eliezer approached a responsibility with single-mindedness and careful planning with a dependance on God.
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