Quiet Times Search

Search Quiet Times via a keyword or string
Keyword(s):
Number of Studies:


Searching for "human" in the Quiet Time Archive
Displaying results from "0" to "25". (88 found)

2008-02-23 - Power of Gratitude - Trees, Clap your hands
Cows and birds do a far better job of praising God than most humans - they function the way God wants them to function.

Are at least half our times with God directed toward praise?

Pray though Psalms about praise - Read 1-2 verses at a time
  • Psalms 8, 24, 29, 47, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 104, 113, 135, 147, 148
The more we talk about something, the more it becomes reality to us.

2008-04-17 - Falling in Love with God - Experiencing the Spirit
What does it mean to NOT experience the Spirit?

Paul had six questions (Galatians 3:15)
  • Who has bewitched you?
  • Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or believing what you have heard?
  • Are you so foolish?
  • Trying to attain your goal by human effort?
  • Suffered so much for nothing?
  • Does God give you his Spirit because you observing the law or because you believe?
Paul's point: You are falling out of love with God

Our works will never validate our relationship with God
Only relying on the Spirit, can we feel free to have deepening relationship with God

Spirit helps with:
Help not have a heart of stone - Ezekiel 36:24-27
Speak to us not to fear - Haggai 2:1-5
Encourage one to return to God - Isaiah 44:22

No phone calls, sermon, nor spiritual book can move my heart live the Spirit

Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing - John 6:63

We are never alone on this journey - constant source of strength, wisdom, truth, and refreshment

2008-05-23 - Purpose Driven Life - You Are Not an Accident

God planned:

  • Where you would be born
  • When you would be born (waiting patiently for Juniper)
  • How long you will live
  • Who your parents would need to be for you to come the way you came

God was thinking of you even before he made the world, that is why he created the world

God's purpose even took in account sin and human error.

If there was no god, we would all be accidents

The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us - Romans 12:3



2008-05-25 - Purpose Driven Life - Made to Last Forever

This life is preparation for the next - realizing this will help you live differently

  • Place a higher premium on relationships
  • Use your time and money more wisely
  • Your priorities will become reordered

God has planted eternity in the human heart - Ecclesiastes 3:11

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears

The most damging aspect of contemporary living is short-term thinking
Only time most people think about eternity is at a funeral

This world is not our home - Hebrews 13:14
Every moment in this body is time spent away from our eternal home - 2 Corinthians 5:6



2008-07-05 - Purpose Driven Life - Gods Power in My Weakness (part 1)

God loves weak people and everyone has weaknesses

We usually deny, defend, excuse, hide and resent weaknesses

God wants to use our strengths and weaknesses - 1 Corinthians 1:27
Your weaknesses are not an accident
Being "poor in spirit" is the #1 attitude he blesses - Matthew 5:3
God is never limited by our limitations

Admit your weaknesses

Might be a good idea to list them

Two great confessions:

  1. You are the Chrst (Matthew 16:16) - we need a savior
  2. We are only human (Acts 14:15) - we are not God

Be content with your weaknesses

I am glad about my weaknesses, so the power of Christ may work - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Reasons to be content:

  1. Causes us to depend on God - the less I have, the more I depend on him - 2 Corinthians 12:10
  2. Prevents arrogance - So I wouldn't get a big head - 2 Corinthians 12:7
  3. Encourages fellowship
  4. Increases sympathy

 



2008-07-09 - Purpose Driven Life - Made for a Mission (part 1)
Your mission is both shared and specific

Mission = Latin word for "sending"
As the Father has sent me, I am sending you - John 20:21

Jesus understood he was on a mission:
  • As a teenager - I must be about my Father's business - Luke 2:49
  • On the cross - It is finished - Luke 19:30
God wants to redeem human being from Satan
We have been sent to speak for Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:20

Your mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission on earth
He call us not only to come to him but go for him


2008-07-27 - 30 Days at the Cross - Who Gets the Credit?

How quick human nature is to accept credit for certain accomplishments
God made us and enables us to do everything
What do you have that you did not receive? - 1 Corinthians 4:7

I will not boast about myself, except my weaknesses (Paul) - 2 Corinthians 12:5

Why boast about our weaknesses?

  • The cross affrirms our worth
  • Frees us from performing
  • So that Christ's power may rest on us - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Who would want the power of God?

A person that truly boasts in the cross does not:

  • Pull away when not feeling appreciate enough
  • Rely on recongnition of other to stay faithful
  • Takes correction without prove their ways
  • Prove thry already know something
  • Project an image of self-worth
  • Have a competive spirit

Jesus could keep a full record of your credits and debts - but do you want that? sin and all?
All credit should go to Jesus

Are you trying to earn your salvation
Boast in your weaknesses. Live in the power of God.



2008-08-09 - 30 Days at the Cross - If the King is a Servant
What Jesus rightly deserved and what he received while here on earth were quite different
Jesus didn't resent or resist his role
He had a desire and compassion to help others

Greatest of humility and suffering for him to subject himself to the cruelest of deaths - Philippians 2:8

People who have a major impact are the ones who serve
Nothing moves the human heart more than someone who puts the needs of another above his own need
It is a rare and precious expression of love

Jesus has called you and me to be like him and take on his attitude toward serving others

Jesus' serving was not limited to his friends (but also his enemies)
His people will do the simple acts of service for the "least" among us

Easier to serve someone on a schedule; more difficult if unexpected or interrupting my schedule

2008-08-23 - 30 Days at the Cross - Consumed with Reconciliation
Bible makes it clear: God is consumed with reconciliation
At the cross: it reconciles us to God, then reconciles us to each other

There must be humility on both sides:

God humility (did not need to go the human level but he did for our sake) - Philippians 2:5-8
  • Made himself nothing
  • Took the very nature of a servant
  • Was made in human likeness
  • In the appearance of a man
  • Obedient to death
Man problems with humility
  • Consumed with finiding fault with God
  • Reject God rather than questioning ourselves
  • Thinks he could do a better ob
Only with humility from both God (yes) and man (sometimes) can reconciliation occur.

Do you want to resolve a conflict in a relationship?
Do it Gods way:
  1. Start with a fresh look at the cross
  2. Remind yourself of the humility shown by Christ
  3. Want reconciliation more than anything
  4. Confess your sin first


2008-08-25 - Teach Us To Pray - God Almighty
There is no other rock - Isaiah 44:6-8

God is the Almighty God
  • Nothing he cannot do
  • No victory he cannot win
  • No tragedy he cannot overcome
  • No mountain he cannot move
When we see God work in other's lives we ask:
  • How did you do that?
  • Give us the recipe
  • Whisper the secret
Simply decided to pray more, God did more
More we pray, more God can answer
He is not confined to small boxes and humanistic limitations

2008-09-12 - Teach Us To Pray - In Marriage and Family

Unless the Lord builds, its builder labor in vain - Psalms 127:1-2
Solomon probably knew the truth of this passage as much as anyone
He saw incrediable tragedy in his own family from the result of his father's unspiritual leadership
His family stands as a warning to all married disciples of how Satan can destroy the most precious of all human relationships

Powerful benefits of daily prayer with one another:

  1. Prayer keeps your relationship spiritual focused
  2. Prayer keeps us going to bed united - Ephesians 4:26-27
  3. Prayer makes us more grateful
  4. Prayer gives us focus and direction

Prayer in family life:

  1. Nightly prayer with children from infancy
  2. Daily devotionals with younger school children - 15min in the morning
  3. Taking pray walks with teenage children
  4. Quiet Times with one another
  5. Praying as a family about major decisions and challenges
  6. Praying with children after they are disciplined adds powerfullly to the impact of such training


2008-10-30 - Man of Prayer - Futile Solutions
God has the solution to sin, but man tries to come up with other ones

Eastern philosophy - experiencing the oneness of god by escaping the world of material illusion
Modern pharisee - do more good
Every system has a solution

But guilt will ultimately destroy you
Some seek to atone by becoming religous or working at humanitarian causes
Other punish themselves through drugs to self-hatred, depression, or low-self-esteem

These don't work...

2009-01-02 - Raising Awesome Kids - How to Nuture Confidence (part 3)
Teach them to appreciate and applaud the efforts and achievements of others

  • Children who learn to admire and encourage other will be confident
  • They will be strong enough to give credit where credit is due
  • Teach your kids to give their best and never blame anyone when they lose
  • Teach them to be like Jonathan - could have been jealous of David but became his best friend - 1 Samuel 18
  • John the Baptist became lesser so Jesus could become greater - John 3:30

Be basically encouraging
Be your children's biggest fan
If you are fundamentally positive - when you give correction it will be received with thankfulness rather than discouragement
Some say - 5 compliments to overcome one criticism
Human nature flourishes on a diet of praise

2009-01-18 - Jesus with People - Grateful Son
Mary and Jesus - no greater pain than for parent to bury a child and live with that memory

Jesus stops the process of redeeming humanity to focus on one final moment with him mom
All excuses for neglecting our families die with Jesus - spends final moment and thinking how to provide for her

Jesus submitted himself to being human - learned the lesson to honor your mother - Exodus 20:12

4x in  the gospels - Jesus relates to Mary:
  1. He obeyed her - Luke 2:51
  2. He allowed her to influence him when he performed his first miracle - John 2:1-11
  3. He did not allow his devotion to Mary make him sentimental - Mark 3:20-35
  4. Protected and provided for her needs as he died on the cross
He was not too "spiritual" that he neglected the needs of others

Busy disciples - often neglect the needs our immediate family?
Husbands - too busy to listen to our wives?
Parents - too busy to invest in our relationship with our children?

When we neglect to provide for our relative - we deny the faith - 1 Timothy 5:7-8
Jesus won Mary's soul with a relationship


2009-01-30 - Jesus with People - Greatest in th Kingdom
I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom  of heaven - Matthew 18:1-4

Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost - Matthew 18:12-14

We need to become like children in a very specific way
Our human nature wants to be first and to have control
Matthew 18 were driven by the same desire - they asked Jesus "Who is the greatest?"
When become like little children, we become like Jesus

Paraphrase - Because of your power-hungry pride you guys are not even in the kingdom of God, and nothing will change this fact unless you start imitating this child

After Jesus' sacrifice, all his teachings made sense
Having a child's humility is impossible until we understand the cross
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends - John 15:13

Must see other brothers and sisters in Christ as God's little spiritual children who must be cared for
God's heart is that not a single person be lost
Do we feel the personal responsibility for others?

Who do you know who is struggling spiritually? What can you do to help them?

2009-02-13 - Jesus with People - Jesus Wept

Upon hearing about the death of his close friend Lazarus, Jesus wept...

Jesus really felt the emotions that we feel
He fully divine and fully human at the same time
He knows what it is like to experience loss, pain, hurt, and fatigue

Why did he cry? Scripture does not say. Could be because:

  • He felt the hurt of Mary and Martha
  • He was expressing the hurt of the loss of his friend
  • He was antipating his own death

Who are your deepest relationships in the church?



2009-02-24 - Jesus with People - Walking with Jesus

We must respond to Jesus' pursuit of us with our pursuit of him

Even with the testimony of woman, the disciples doubted

When Jesus stood in front of them, they thought he was a ghost - What hid their understanding?
Their inexperience of living by faith - Luke 9:45

Jesus was dead, yet lived afain
He defied science and human understanding

How long was your Emmaus road?
What is the greatest challenge to your faith at the moment?



2009-05-13 - No one like him - Jesus and the Scriptures
How did Jesus view the scriptures?
  • Human writings/stories?
  • Significant?
  • Authoritative?
Some think Jesus’ view came from his culture:
Didn’t accept views about: Samaritans, Gentiles, women, leapers, tax collectors
Jesus hung around the wrong people, wrong parties, and wrong trainees

Jesus had great confidence found in the scriptures
11x in gospels (20x mores by gospel writers) in where Jesus said he was the fulfilling what had been written

2009-09-15 - Wild at Heart - Healing the wound (part 1)
Source of real strength comes from the one that truly possess it.
It was meant from the beginning that we have a desperately dependence on God
“Apart from me you can do nothing” – We are made to depend on God
God designed the human machine to run by itself
Sin and our culture came together – prevent the wound from being healed – to be independent
We believe deep in our hearts that if we need anything from anyone is a sort of weakness
The Son could do nothing by himself – the Father and I are one
Like trying to finish the marathon with a broken leg

2009-10-13 - Wild at Heart - A Beauty to Rescue
Evil power who holds her captive
Only a champion may win her
Every little girl knows the fable without ever being told
Little boys rehearse their parts
Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet and so on
Strong man coming to rescue a beautiful women is universal and human nature

Why is it ten years later I wondered if I even wanted to be married to her anymore?
Why do most us get lost somewhere between “once upon a time” and “happily ever after”?

Our culture has grown cynical about the fable
We have not been poisoned by fairy tales

Many guys think that the biggest battle was asking her out
She is the special target of the Evil One
He turns most vicious malice against her
If he can destroy her or keep her captive, he can ruin the story

2009-12-06 - Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2)
  • Love is the only way to win the free response of men
  • Work of the Holy Spirit
    • Must be born again
    • Christ began His ministry by being baptized - John 3:3-9
    • Made clean through the Word and set apart to God for Holy Service - John 15:3
    • Only the Spirit can carry on the redemptive mission of evangelism
    • Jesus was God in revelation but the Spirit was God in operation
    • Evangelism was not a human undertaking but a divine project.
  • With Him they felt that everything was possible
  • The superhuman work to which they were called demanded superhuman help.
  • Through confession of their deep-seated pride and enmity in utterly surrender of themselves to Christ
  • It is not who we are but Who He us that makes the difference
  • Only those who followed Jesus all the way came to know the glory of this experience
  • Jesus was deliberately investing all He had in these few men so that they could be properly prepared to do His work.
  • We cannot give something away which we do not possess ourselves.
  • The very ability to give to give away our life in Christ is proof of its possession.


2009-12-15 - Master Plan - Reproduction (part 2)
  • The Test
    •  Could His disciples do a good job without His bodily supervision as they could with it?
    •  Human point of view: Never could be sure that His investment in their lives.
  •  Life-sustaining power of the vine was not to be given to endlessly upon lifeless branches
    •  A barren Christian is a contradiction.
    • A tree is known by its fruit
  • Principle throughout His ministry
    • Reward of His own sacrifice for the world - John 12:24
    • Distinguishing work of those who did the will of His Father - Matthew 7:16-23
    • Wages given to His disciples for their work in the harvest - John 4:36
    • What was lacking in the Sadducees and Pharisees - Matthew 3:7-8


2009-12-17 - Master Plan - Reproduction (part 4)
  • Are those who have followed us to Christ now leading others to Him?
  • Not enough to rescue the perishing but to build them in the faith of Christ.
  • Converts go out and make leaders out of the converts not just simply more followers.
  • Church should be measured on how many Christians are actively winning souls.
  • Lord added to the Church, those who were being saved
  • Within a few centuries, the world would have known the hand of the Master
  • Shortcuts have failed
    • Adaptations of the principle are always necessary in the light of changing circumstances.
    • Costly principles of leadership development can not undercut
    • We try ceremonies, programs, organizations, and crusades of human ingenuity.
    • We must understand that evangelism is not done by something but by someone
    • God's nature is to get personal. Men reaching other men for Christ.
  • Need men who:
    • See His vision
    • Feel His passion
    • Willing to be nothing so that He may be everything


2010-02-22 - One Another - Reconciling with One Another (part 2)

Biblical Principles of Reconcilation:

  1. Realize the urgency and importance of being reconciled - Matthew 5:23-24
    • God would rather you patch up things with your brother than worship him
    • Have you called someone on a Saturday night to talk so you can worship God acceptably  the next day?
  2. Accept the obligation and possibility of reconciliation
  3. Know that we cannot always have our way
    • Reconciliation does not mean that everone will agree; power of the gospel is diversity working together in harmony
  4. Make every effort to work things out - Ephesians 4:3
  5. Forgive as the Lord forgave you - Colossians 3:13
  6. Pray for your enemies (against human nature - Matthew 5:44


2010-03-16 - To Live is Christ - Profit to Loss
If anyone want to talk about 'confidence in the flesh', Paul was ready to take them on - Philippians 3:4-7
Paul used the events in his life to show just how empty all human achievements in before God

Heredity reasons (how Paul was more than others but counted them a loss)
  • He was circumcised the first day it was possible (eighth day)
  • He was an Israelite
  • He was from the tribe of Benjamin (most honored tribe of all)
  • He was a Hebrew of Hebrews - carefully passed on Hebrew language to children
Hard work reasons (how Paul was more than others but counted them a loss)
  • He was extremely zealous - Galatians 1:14
  • He vigorously opposed the church
  • He was faultless in the eyes of others
He considered it all a loss = Greek: "the thinks that were gains to me, I counted loss"
If anyone had a right to glory in the flesh, Paul did, but he clearly saw that no one has that right

Next 25 >>