2008-02-25 - Power of Gratitude - Solitary Places When gratitude cause us to rise early to spend time with God - seeing one of the greatest fruits No one says that QT must happen in the morning - it always goes better than the days when trying to work out another time during the day I learned to pray when I sensed that I would come apart at the seams emotionally unless I didn't Three things helped with prayer life:
There is no gratitude without prayer |
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 |
2008-02-29 - Power of Gratitude - Bon Appetit Satan works to both deceive us and accuse us - People tend to have a deceived or an accused conscience Too many of us seem to think that God turns away from us when we are doing bad and turns back when we repent Fathers are much more engaged when their kids are not doing well God ran to the Lost Son - Luke 15 Gave his only Son when we were not doing well - John 3:16-17 Christ died for the ungodly - Romans 5:6-11 At the point the mind changes - our conscience should be cleared Sin is serious - that is what the cross is all about Feel the burden of sin long enough to be convicted and move to repentence |
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
|
2008-03-06 - Power of Gratitude - Here I Raise My Ebenezer Miraculous storm, allowing the Israelites to rout the Philistines (erecting the monument - Ebenezer) - 1 Samuel 4:1 Crossing the Jordan and God had them setup a memorial of twelve stones - Joshua 4:21-22 We all need those landmarks etched in our memories to remind us of what God has done in our lives Disciples need reminders:
Job's understood life was short:
|
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? |
2008-03-08 - Power of Gratitude - Is This All There Is? Most of the physical pursuits of life (Ecclesiastes) are substitutes for what we really need - a relationship with God "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ" - Philippians 3:7-11 The answer - to be totally immersed in my relationship with God through Christ To know God in such a way and at such a level that all else pales into comparision When this level is reached, nothing else will matter:
"For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" - Philippians 1:21 Thankful books Do it just before going to bed every night God is too good for us not express gratitude Ideas: come up with 7 areas of gratitude and incorporate one area into your prayers each day
|
2008-03-10 - Be Still My Soul - Quiet Time Jesus deeply valued his time alone with God Jesus sought out quiet time Jesus found a quite place Jesus urged alertness How long? until a sense of peace and closeness with God How much time in prayer and study? mix it up; our relationship should not become stale "Remain in me, and I will remain in you" - John 15:4-8 |
2008-03-12 - Be Still My Soul - Time Outdoors Do you realize that nearly all of the people we read about in the Bible spent most of their time outside?
FInd park, trails, and open spaces. When is the last time you:
Psalms 19:1-4; Psalms 65:8-13 Time outside with God is just what many of us need and nothing else will suffice |
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:
|
2008-03-14 - Be Still My Soul - All the Time To be real, a relationship with God must be all-the-time If not, you are compartmentalizing your walk with God "I am with you always" - Matthew 28:20 ""Pray continually" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Nehemiah prayed, wept,and fasted for days before talking wit King Artaxerxes then he prayed again right before talking to him just before opening his mouth - Nehemiah 2:4b
Both are needed - a quiet time can never replace all-the-time |
2008-03-18 - Be Still My Soul - How to Study God intends for every disciple of His to delight in His Word - Psalms 119:18 Ways to study:
|
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:
|
2008-03-21 - Be Still My Soul - The Pattern (Part 1) What are we to pray about and in what order? God has not left such crucial issues to guesswork Matthew 6:9-13 - Above all other scripture on prayer - understand this one Things to remember:
|
2008-03-22 - Be Still My Soul - The Pattern (Part 2) Our Father.
|
2008-03-23 - Be Still My Soul - Pour Out Your Heart We can to one of a few things in challenging times:
Pour out your hearts - Psalms 62:8 I pour out my complaint before him - Psalms 142:2 How can we be close to someone if we have not poured out our hearts God is all-knowing but unless we tell him our feelings we will never draw close Everyone has feelings; it may be difficult at first Jesus: offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears - Hebrews 5:7 Suggestions:
|
2008-03-24 - Be Still My Soul - Pray the Psalms What is meant by "praying through the Psalms"? Using the Psalms as a guide to expressing your own heart to God Psalms 25 - wide-ranging; allowing us to confess sin; ask for wisdom Psalms 86 - we humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness and worship God Psalms 103 - prayer of praise Pour out our hearts when weak or discouraged - 45, 46, 57, 62, 63, 141, 118 Teach us how to confess our sins in a heartfelt way - 32, 38, 51 |
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:
|
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 |
2008-03-30 - Be Still My Soul - Psalms You Sing Nothing is quite as effective as music in improving our moods and softening our hearts
Frees us from a mere intellectual approach Humbles us, especially those of us who are vocally challenged Get a songbook and start singing during your quiet times If your relationship with God seems dry and lifeless, music may be the missing element |
2008-03-31 - Falling in Love with God - Intro Loving God is a journey Father draws us to himself - John 6:44 Father does not change - James 1:17 It is OK for a journey to have highs and lows Why love God? What touches you most about God?
Despite all the good qualities of God - our relationship with God still takes work |
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
|