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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

Negatives - ingratitude
Positives - gratitude

You can tell the size of the person by the size of things it takes to make him angry

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

2008-02-27 - 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

Not the content of their character
Basis of conformity to rules
Majored in the minors and minored in the majors

Religion that is performance based is doomed

what must we do to please God
Condemn others outwardly
Condemn ourselves inwardly
Everything becomes a matter of right and wrong
Hearts focused if we have done enough and have done it right

1 Corinthians 15:10 - I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me
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:

Fear - only for a while
Christian fellowship - until other's disappointments and failures
Ambition - until our disappointments and failures

NOT: Measure up and I will accept you
YES: I'll accept you, now let's walk together in my strength

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

2008-03-02 - Power of Gratitude - Making Peace with the Past

Putting the past behind us is very important to maintaining the attitude of gratitude
God is the God of new beginnings
Also also need to put past sucesses behind us - if glory days are in the past, so is our gratitude

Sins in the past - either what someone did to you or what you did to other/God

Dealing with past - goal to find how the past is messing up the present not to live in it

David psalms - he struggled at the beginning of many of the psalms and figured it out at the end during most
Writing feeling to help resolve the past - not new, David did it centuries ago

Forgetting the past was never to be inclusive of past blessings

What were you worry about a year ago? Don't know? God brought us through it!

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?

Star-studded evening would tell how many descendants Abraham would have - Genesis 15:5
Looking at God's creation - humbled Job's pride - Job 38:4-7

FInd park, trails, and open spaces.
Open your eyes, listen, breath the realivily clear air

When is the last time you:

Took in a sunrise or sunset
Watched the changing cloud formations
Listen to the songs of the birds
Strolled through the leaves of fall
Listen to the snow fall as they gently fell to earth
Took a good look at the flowers of spring
Stopped to watch the a powerful thunderstorm
Stood in awe of the sparkling stars

Psalms 19:1-4; Psalms 65:8-13

Time outside with God is just what many of us need and nothing else will suffice

2008-03-19 - Be Still My Soul - Seven Questions to Ask

Having difficulty finding any treasure in your personal Bible study?

Here are seven questions to ask:

Is there a promise to claim? What are the conditions?
Is there a command to obey? Is there something God expects me to do?
Is there sin to avoid? Am I guilty of this?
Is there a teaching that need to believe?
Is there an example to follow or avoid? Learn from some examples, record your responses to these examples
Is there a difficulty to explore? Don't let difficulties throw us, let inspire to study further
Is there something in the passage I need to pray about?

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
Sometimes we are just called on to forgive
Not forgiving is like allowing a physical cut become infected

Examples

Esau wept bitteryly when he failed to receive the blessing - Genesis 27:34
Israelites incrediblity harsh and treatment from the Eyptians - Exodus 1:14
Naomi changed her name to Mara, meaning "bitterness" (losted husband and sons) - Ruth 1:21
Hannah wept "in bitterness of soul" because of her infertility - 1 Samuel 1:10
David's men because of the loss of their children - 1 Samuel 30:6
Job while not understanding the discipline of God - Job 7:11
Missing the grace of God cause bitter root - Hebrews 12:15
Envy becomes bitterness - James 3:14

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

What form do we expect our Christian suffering to take?
Are we looking for a Christianity that does not involve suffering?

Bible command us to get rid of all bitterness
Two ways to overcome bittereness:

Forgive - Ephesians 4:32
Trusting God is at work in all things for our good - Romans 8:28

2008-04-06 - Falling in Love with God - Rediscovering each other

Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him - Luke 24:13-32

They did not see Jesus because they lost hope and did not see him in a new light

There is no joy like rediscovery - ex. rediscovering your spouse

Some today:

"We are not compatible anymore"
"We have both changed"
Think about an old boyfriend or girlfriend

We need to "rediscover" our spouse if we have lost hope

We need to "rediscover" Jesus if we have lost hope of connecting with him again

Because of Jesus we can be one with Him
He has not changed
He is thinking of me, I am I thinking of him?

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

The good news that Jesus is the Christ - Acts 5:42
Proclaimed the Christ there - Acts 8:5
Jesus is the Christ - Acts 9:22
"This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ" - Acts 17:3
Testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ - Acts 18:1-5

God's Christ was not confined to mere 33 years
By him all things were created - 1 Colossians 1:16-20

Sometimes we forgot - The Christ still lives today

Romans 8:28

Who can be against us? No one
Who will bring any charge against us? No one
Who is he that condemns? No One

Christ is "begging God for us" Hebrews 7:25 (Dios Habla Hoy Bible)

2008-04-10 - Falling in Love with God - Jesus: Together Forever

No eye has seen,
No ear has heard
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared for those who love him - 1 Corinthians

Our Journey to heaven is like a race:

If you start too fast, you can die
The most important thing is finishing
Cannot compare myself to anyone else or I will get thrown off
I think about walking when I think no one is looking
Envy people standing on the sidelines
Finish line seems to literally pull me along

Heaven is the finishing line that should literally pull me along

Can you imagine what it will be like to see Christ face to face?
He might say something like "I never doubted; I knew you would make it!"

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far - Philippians 1:21-26

Better than what? Better than all.

2008-04-11 - Falling in Love with God - Remembering The Father

It is good to be reminded of who God the Father is:

1. God's love is unconitional

Thomas, the douber, was forgiven
Peter, who deied the Lord, was forgiven
Paul, killer of Christians, was forgiven

The only ones who dail to receive forgiveness are the ones who fail to ask for it

2. God always comes through

God is faithful, he can not disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13)

3. Nothing is impossible for God

God's power is absolute
He can change anyone and anything
It is never an issue of whether or not God has power, it is if we believe

4. God never makes a mistake

He knows what we can bear - he is always right

2008-04-14 - Falling in Love with God - Holy Spirit is everywhere

We may suffer more from our neglect of God's Spirit than through any other spiritual problem

We need to be aware of the spirit all the time

A look through the Bible:

Spirit was present at creation
God anoints men with his Spirit
Spirit credited with giving David the plans for the temple
Engendered Jesus in the womb of Mary
Was at Jesus' baptism in the form of a dove
Lead Jesus into the dessert
Did the healing in Jesus' ministry

2008-04-22 - Falling in Love with God - Listening

Whose voice should I listen to?

There are many voices:

Voice of guilt that reminds me of the past
Voice of doubt tries to tell me about the future
Voice that says we are weak and can not do it
Voice that judges me of wrong doing and bad motivation

Reason for the voices is our own sinful nature

To deal with these other voice we need to memorize scriptures - to not be swayed and know the correct voice to listen to

2008-04-23 - Falling in Love with God - Discerning God's voice

Thought	Worst that could happen	Truth	Scripture
I'll never change	I could try and fail	God can do anything	Ephesians 3:20
I'm and idiot	I could look foolish	We all look stupid; It won't kill me	Psalms 139:14
How can I help anybody?	Help but nothing changes	God will work one way or another	2 Corinthians 5:20
I don't feel God is with me	Go through a time feeling disconnected	God promised he would never leave	Matthew 28:20
Why would allow this to happen?	I have to experience pain from time to time	God has a great plan for my life	Romans 8:28
You'll never amount to anything	Your expectations don't become a reality	God has a dream for you	Jeremiah 29:11

God's word contains God's voice

2008-04-25 - Falling in Love with God - Heaven in Focus

In heaven every knee will bow
Our hope and citizenship is there

If we are in love with God, we will be ready

God's idea of heaven may not be "recreational"

Our purest motivation to going to heaven must be to be with God

On the deepest level, he longs for us to be with him

The goal of our faith is salvation that we might be with him

Not just peace in heaven
Not just the promise of no tears or no trials

So many times we want heaven on earth - 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Focus on the eternal - feel refreshed

Focus on what is seen - feel unsure, clouded and drained

2008-04-28 - Falling in Love with God - Forever Seeking

Falling in love with God - is attainable

We will find what we seek:

If we seek relief in salvation, this is what we will find
If we seek acceptance and a community, this is what we will find
If we seek wisdom and insight, this is what we will find
If we seek effective ministry, this is what we will find
If we seek God more and more deeply, this is what we will find

What are you seeking?

Lord searches every heart; if you seek him, he will be found by you - 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

How many times have we tried to do something with seeking him first?

None of us can be "strong" without seeking
Talent, experience, and insight are cheap gifts and can never take the place of a heart that seeks after God

There are many decisions that you need make about your relationship with God:

How much time should go by without special prayer time?
What am I trying to accomplish in my Bible study?
What do I need to allow the message of God really soak into our heart?
Where can I go and be really free to wrestle emotionally with the will of God?

2008-05-04 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Buy Now and Pay Later

Many struggle with the route of least resistance - CHARGE IT

Satan invented the mind-set: Sin now and pay later

God is not short-term but long-term
Pay up front and gain big dividends later
Righteousness is an investment of life

Without perseverance through hard time times we will not grow - Romans 5:1-5, James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:5-14
God does not "zap" change into you:
Change requires:

Practice until our character is different - Hebrews 5:14
Patience if did not get it right for ___ time
Trust God that this change is for our own good - Romans 8:28

We always know what we want, God always knows what we need

2008-05-07 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - In Touch and Out of the Pit

Talking help condenses our thoughts but writing focuses our thoughts further in a more compact form

David - controlled his emotions by pouring them out in writing
Anguished spirit > Full of faith

We need to work through our past by writing and talking about things that hurt us
Our undealt-with hurts always result in anger and bitterness
May also discover many forgotten positive memories

Ultimately, blame goes to Satan - separate sin from the offender (some responsibility)
By God's grace, healing can occur

Be clear minded so you can pray - 1 Peter 4:7

2008-05-13 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Power of Negative Thinking

They are stronger than we are; we seem like grasshoppers - Numbers 13:31-33

Negativity oftn excites stronger emotions
- Easily swayed by the negative report
- Forgot God's amazing miracles and victories
Negative thinking is a pervasive tendency
Majority of people inevitably practice negative thinking
- No wonder so many people reacted negatively to Jesus
- How many were confident that the resurrection would follow? Next to nil
Negativism is deceptive to observers - seems normal
Negatives are often mixed with positives to sound better
Leaders have a responsibility to determine the thinking of the group
Negativity is tragic in its results - destroys faith and unity of the group

No one remembers the names of the spies, we do know the name of those who avoided or overcame negativeness

2008-05-14 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - I was Born this Way

Son will not share the guilt of the father - Ezekiel 18:20

Environment or heredity - most likely both
Must be slow to judge situations we do not completely understand otherwise may bless us with an understanding in a way we do not want

Other extreme - develop a victim mentality regarding ourselves or others
Can lead to being angry, use drugs, being immoral, or just about anything else
We have difficulty applying this to a murder

Answer: despite it being more difficult and having different backgrounds, the standard is still the same
He does not ask us to do anything he will not enable us to do
Identify the sin > repent of it > start relying on God grace > formulate a plan to overcome sin
Psychology can find root causes but it is powerless to find a cure

Hezekiah and Josiah were righteous amount a line of kings that were evil

The promises of God are far greater than our past and present challenges

Pray that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way - Colossians 1:10-12

2008-05-26 - Purpose Driven Life - Seeing Life from God's View

How do you see your life? What images come to mind?

Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind

Life on earth is a Test

Trials, temptations, refining, and testing occurs over 200x in the Bible

Success:

Abraham - offering his son
Jacob - working for Rachael
...and many others

Failed:

Adam and Eve - failed when tempted
David - failed several times
...and many others

Your realize that nothing is insignificant, tested by:

Major changes
Delayed promises
Impossible problems
Unanswered prayer
Undeserved criticism

God wants you to pass - James 1:2-3

Life on earth is a Trust

God loans you the earth, we never really own anything

Want to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant"

God uses finances: As a test (in good times) and a trust (hard times)

2008-05-29 - Purpose Driven Life - Planned for God's Pleasure

You are planned for God's pleasure
He chose to create you for his enjoyment
Bringing enjoyment to God is the first purpose in life
He considers valuable enough to keep you for eternity with him

Bringing pleasure to God is called worship
Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship to God
Worship is a universal urge - if not worshiping God, it will be something
Worship is not for your benefit, not "I got a lot out of it"

Worship is far more than music
Worship music is not limited to a particular style of music - nothing to do with volume or speed of the song
Style of the music says more about you than it does God

Worship is not a part of your life, it is your life
Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship
Whether you drink or eat or whatever... do it all for the glory of God- 1 Corinthians 10:31

2008-05-30 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 1)

"Noah was a pleasure to God" - Ephesians 5:10

Noah was an example of making God smile:

When we love him supremely
- Noah did it when no one else did
- God wants a relationship with you - Hosea 6:6
- It is the greatest commandment
When we trust him completely
- Problems that Noah could have had:
  - Noah had never seen rain
  - Lived hundreds of miles from the ocean
  - Rounding up all the animals
  - Many discouraging days around people
  - Children were probably embarrassed

2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2)

Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):

When we obey him wholeheartedly
- Noah was given detailed instructions on: size, shape, number of animals, and materials
- Completely, wholeheartedly, without delay, without explanation, joyfully, with enthusiasm
- Wholeheartedly = completely and exactly
- Partial obedience is disobedience
When we praise and thank him continually
- Noah built an altar to the Lord - Genesis 18:20
- We are to offer a sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving - Hebrew 13:15; Psalms 116:17
When we use our abilities
- God enjoys every detail, not just "spiritual" activities - Psalms 37:23
- Reject yourself, you reject God's wisdom in creating you
- There are no nonspiritual abilities just misused ones
- Children do not have to anything special to make their parents happy

2008-06-04 - Purpose Driven Life - Developing Your Friendship with God

You are as close as you choose to be to God
Must work to develop your friendship

Must choose to be honest

...about your faults and feelings
No one in the Bible was perfect:

Abraham - allowed to question and challenge
David - God patient during his accusations
Job - allowed to vent his bitterness
Moses - told God exactly how he felt

God listens to the passionate word; bored with predictable
We may harbor resentment toward God
He wants you to hold back nothing about how you feel

Choose to obey

John 15:14 - You are my friends if you do what I command
We are not equals - We obey obey God because we love him
True friendship isn't passive; it acts
"Great things for God" - Great things come once in a lifetime; small things come everyday

Must choose to value what God values

What does God value the most? His lost children

Must desire a friendship with God more than anything
Longing, yearning, thirsting, hungering - that was David

Nothing matters more
NO: What is it worth to you?
NO: What cost is too much?

Problems are wake-up calls for you come back to him

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