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 | ||||||||||||||
2008-05-08 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Ambition: from God or Satan Depending on the motive: There is positive ambitions - Romans 15:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:11 There is negative ambitions - Galatians 5:20 There is pure spiritual ambitions with bad motives: Matthew 20:20-28 - wanted their shot at the left and right seats of Jesus We often want the right things for the wrong reasons
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2008-05-10 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Money - Root of All Evil?, part 2 There are spiritual challenges for both those who have money and those who don't God promises to give us what we need, but not what we may want 1 Timothy - need for contentment with the basic of life Examine:
Seeking advancement or seeking to please God? How content are you with what you have? - Philippians 4:12 1 Timothy 6:9-12 - not just avoid but flee from the love of money - Some use people, and love money - God uses money and loves people Who is master in your life? God OR Money - Luke 16:13 Avoid the extremes of loving it and envying those who have more than you Use money to the fullest extend to serve him and bless others | ||||||||||||||
2008-05-11 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Escaping the Performance Trap Performance trap - termed as perfectionism (not measuring up = sin) Guilt and imagined guilt come from performance based - must learn to understand God's grace Good thing to do our best but when mixed with pride is a wrong turn Rejection (or fear of) - is the root of most of our insecurities Performance-oriented tries to conceal insecurities with a superimage of self Unless we are open about our negative points we will never reallty feel loved Paul opened up his life: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13
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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
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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 | ||||||||||||||
2008-05-16 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Color-Appreciative Unity Church with one only one race stand in stark contrast to the early church Rich and poor Educated and uneducated Young and old Black, Asian, Hispanics and white Only God could bring such a group together in love and harmony Our unity is a demonstration of true disciples - John 13:34-35; 17:20-23 Being Color-blinded is an absence of prejudice Color-appreciative is making us a family | ||||||||||||||
2008-05-18 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Spiritual vs Doctrinal Thinking, part 2 Goal is the be focus on personally knowing God, being changed, and helping others to do the same Doctrine is important - Must watch it - Timothy 4:15 Must have sound doctrine - 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 1:19, 13, 2:1 Our study helps us understand the heart of God and imitate it
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2008-05-19 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Sentimentality Can easily become sentimental when talking about salvation:
All have sin and have fallen short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23 Being "broader" than the Bible puts you on the wrong road God will be the judge and he has given us the basis of his judgement - John 12:48 Extremes:
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2008-05-22 - Purpose Driven Life - It All Starts with God It's not about you You were born by HIS purpose and for HIS purpose Our search for purpose usually starts at the wrong place - ourselves Self Help Books = Consider your dreams > Clarify your values > Set some goals Being successful <> (not equal) Fulfilling your life's purpose Easiest way to fine out the purpose of an invention is to ask its owner Ephesians 1:11
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2008-05-23 - Purpose Driven Life - You Are Not an Accident God planned:
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
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 This world is not our home - Hebrews 13:14 | ||||||||||||||
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:
Your realize that nothing is insignificant, tested by:
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) | ||||||||||||||
2008-05-27 - Purpose Driven Life - Life is a Temporary Assignment Life is a temporary assignment It is descriped as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, a wisp of smoke Compared to eternity, life is extremely brief With this understanding. worries lost their grip on our lives In order to keep us from getting too attached God allows us to feel much discontentment and dissatisfaction in life
Some would consider them foolish and lost everything but they gained everything - God and heaven In heaven we will ask ourselves:
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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:
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2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2) Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):
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2008-06-03 - Purpose Driven Life - Best Friends with God God wants to be your friend God's ideal relationship - Adam and Eve (no rituals, ceremonies, or religion) Moses, Abraham, David, Job, Enoch, and Noah had intimate relationships with God Most in the OT had just the fear of God You are not longer servants but friends - John 15:15 Through constant conversations Make it a habit to have daily devotion time but it more than just that God wants to be included in every activity in your life (Some think you have to get away) Key to the friendship is not changing what you do but your attitude toward what you do Pray all the time - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray as often as possible Help me trust you You are here with me I'm depending on you You are my God How awesome you are! Pray as often as possible Your goal is not a feeling but an awareness of the reality that God is always present Through continual meditation Thing about His Word throughout your day - who God is, What he has done, and what he has said Meditation is simply focused thinking - Worry is a form of meditation Friends share secrets God told his secrets to Abraham, Daniel, Paul, his disciples, and others friends When you read your Bible or hear a sermon - develop a practice of review the truth in your mind | ||||||||||||||
2008-06-11 - Purpose Driven Life - Experiencing Life Together Life is meant to be shared Fellowship - now refers to casual conversation, socializing, food, and fun Jesus knew that 12 was the maximum size for a group for everyone to participate In real fellowship people experience... ... Authenticity
... Mutuality (Romans 1:12)
... Sympathy
... Mercy
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2008-06-13 - Purpose Driven Life - Restoring Broken Fellowship Relationships are always worth restoring God has given us the ministry of restoring God gave everything (his son) for restoring relationships Does not mean avoiding conflict or appeasement Talk to God before talking to the person God may change your heart or their hear - James 4:1-2 Tell God your frustrations Most conflict is rooted in unmet needs; some needs can only be meet by God Always take the initiative God expects you to make the first move - Matthew 5:23-24 Abandon your offering at the alter and go make things right first Acting quickly reduces the spiritual damage Bitterness is only hurting yourself Sympathize with their feelings Use your ears more than your mouth - Philippians 2:4 Focus on feelings and not facts Start with sympathy, not solutions Confess your part of the conflict Ask "Am I the problem?" - Matthew 7:5 The way you handle a conflict creates a bigger hurt Attack the problem, not the person How you say it is important as what you say Cold War - country decided on weapons that should never be used Cooperate as much as possible - Romans 12:18 Sometime it cost our pride, self-centerness Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution Reconciliation focuses on the relationship Takes a lot of effort to restore a relationship | ||||||||||||||
2008-06-14 - Purpose Driven Life - Protecting Your Church It is your job to protect the unity of the church Supreme model for unity is the Trinity Jesus' final moment was thinking and praying about the church's unity Make every effort to keep the unity - Ephesians 4:3 Focus on what we have in common We share the same life, salvation, and same future Conflict - focused on "disputable matters" Be realistic in your expectations People become disillusioned with church Should not be surprised - made up of sinners, including ourselves - 1 Corinthians 1:10 Reconciliation - not running away - road to stronger character and deeper fellowship If the church must be perfect to satisfy you, that same perfection will exclude you Choose to encourage rather than criticize It is always easier to stand on the sidelines than get involved Judge another believer:
Satan is the accuser of our brothers Other Christians are not the real enemy Any time spent for comparing and criticizing should be used for building others up Refuse to listen to gossip People who gossip to you will also gossip about you Great wounds usually come from other sheep, not wolves Practice God's method for conflict resolution Go to the person you are having issues with - Matthew 18 Takes a man of courage to speak the truth in love Support your pastor and leaders - Hebrews 13:17 No perfect leaders They are accountable but so are you You will give an account on how you obeyed your leaders | ||||||||||||||
2008-06-16 - Purpose Driven Life - How We Grow God wants you to grow up - some grow older but never grow up (Ephesians 4:14-15) Nothing shapes your life than the commitments you make God's part and your part Our part is to: Continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling - Philippians 2:12-13 Our role = "work out" salvation (grow - in a body workout we have our body but we make it better) Changing your autopilot Becareful what you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts - Proverbs 4:23 Going on a diet, exercising does not work if you do not change your thinking - "I am going on a diet" The way you think determines the way you feel - which influences how you act - Ephesians 4:23 Babies by nature are completely selfish It is not the amount of biblical information and doctrine you know | ||||||||||||||
2008-06-17 - Purpose Driven Life - Transformed by Truth The truth transforms us Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with truth Everything around you exists because "God said so" Must accept the Bible's authority
Unrealiable authorities (at the Garden of Eden as well):
Must assimilate its truth Allow yourself to be transformed by the truth
Must apply it principles
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2008-06-22 - Purpose Driven Life - It Takes Time There are no shortcuts to maturity - it takes us years to mature physically While we worry about fast we, God is concern how strong We arrive to spiritual maturity when have gained the fullness of Christ - Ephesians 4:13 Why does it take so long to learn?
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2008-06-23 - Purpose Driven Life - Dont Get In A Hurry Believe God is working in your life - Expect gradual improvement Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned
There are many examples where God goes through the process of maturing It took over eighty years to mature Moses Don't try to get out of anything prematurely - James 1:4 Don't get discouraged Things God plans don't always happen right away, just be patient - Habakkuk 2:3 A delay is not denial from God | ||||||||||||||
2008-06-29 - Purpose Driven Life - Using Personality and Experiences Personality You are very unique 102,400,000,000 in DNA terms It is obvious that God loves variety It is easier to work with the grain than against it Experiences
Greatest ministry comes from our most likely come from your greatest pain When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the comfort God has given us - 2 Corinthians 1:4 Paual was honest with his bouts of depression If Paul kept his experience to himslef, millions of people would have never benefitted from it Don't waste your pain, us it to help others
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2008-07-01 - Purpose Driven Life - Real Servants (part 1) We server God by serving others How can you know if you have the heart of Jesus? Real Servants make themselves available to serve Like a soldier, always by for duty - 2 Timothy 2:4
Real servants pay attention to needs Always looking out for ways to help others Real servants do their best with what they have Servant never make excuses, procratinate, wait for better circumstances | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-03 - Purpose Driven Life - Thinking Like a Servant (part 1) Service starts in the mind Servants think more about others than about themselves Not thinking less of ourselves, thinking of ourselves less Self-denial is the core of servanthood Servants think like stewards, not owners Remember the God owns it all
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2008-07-10 - Purpose Driven Life - Made for a Mission (part 2) Your mission is a wonderful privilege
Telling others how they can have eternal is the best thing you can do If have the cure for AIDs, you would share it You just have to remember the hopeless you felt without Christ Your mission has eternal significance Impact the eternal destiny of other people Consequences will last for ever; consequences of your job will not All of us must quickly carry our tasks; all work comes to an end - John 9:4 | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-11 - Purpose Driven Life - Made for a Mission (part 3) Your mission give your life meaning The nest use of your life is to spend it for something that outlast you. My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me - Acts 20:24 The is some people that only you can reach God's timetable is connected to the completion of our mission Some are focus on when Christ will come No one knows (or will know) the day or hour of the end - Matthew 24:36 It is not for us to know; it is up to us to witness - Acts 1:7-8 Jesus quickly switch the conversations from prophecy to evangelism Satan would rather have do anything besides sharing your faith Expect Satan to throw all kinds of diversion at you Anyone who lets themselves get distracted from God's plan is not fit for the Kingdom of God - Luke 9:62 | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-16 - Purpose Driven Life - Becoming a World-Class Christian (part 2) Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking Stop thinking like children (thinking like only of self), and like like mature people (grown ups) - 1 Corinthians 14:20 Most advertising encourages selfish thinking To make the paradigm switch to mature thinking - need to dependence of God God has given us his Spirit so we don't think like the world thinks - 1 Corinthians 2:12 Shift from local thinking to global thinking God so loved the world... - John 3:16 God made all the nations and where they would be, so we would look for him - Acts 17:26-27 The world already thinks globally: business, competition, and news If you ask me, I will give you the nations - Psalms 2:8 What should we pray for?
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2008-07-17 - Purpose Driven Life - Becoming a World-Class Christian (part 3) Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking Eternal thinking will keep us from majoring on minor issues We fix our eyes on what is unseen - 2 Corinthians 4:18 Deal sparingly on things the world trusts on you - 1 Corinthians 7:31 Let's strip off anything that holds us back - Hebrews 12:1 Invest in the future (in heaven) Store up treasure in heaven - Matthew 6:20-21 Real treasure in God in heaven and the friends we can bring with us - 1 Timothy 6:19 | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-19 - Purpose Driven Life - Balancing Your Life (part 2) Write down your progress in a journal We remember what we record Writing helps clarify what God is doing in your life Moses kept a written record of their progress - Numbers 33:2 (NLT) Moses recorded the stages in their journey - Numbers 33:2 (NIV) Don't just record the good things David recorded his fears, doubts, and struggles with God Write down for the coming generations what the Lord has done - Psalms 56:8 Pass on what you know to others He who blesses others is abundantly blessed - Proverbs 11:25 Paul told us spiritual things so we tell others - 2 Timothy 2:2 Knowledge increases responsibility - James 4:17 Teaching other followers = a good servant of Christ - 1 Timothy 4:6 We learn for God's glory and the growth of the kingdom | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-26 - 30 Days at the Cross - Wisdom and Power of God Will the cross ever make sense to the world? Will all the wisdom of the world, no one has found God Jews sought a miracle worker general ignoring scriptures like Isaiah 53 God's plan was never to impress prideful scholars or to find acceptance among the rulers of the ages Some things never change:
Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing God didn't come to impress the world. Are you? | ||||||||||||||
2008-07-28 - 30 Days at the Cross - Life through Death Voluntary surrender is not easy; never comfortable nor enjoyable Rebellion comes from man's desire to be God Only when we are sick of our old nature will we be convinced to totally sell out to God Most of our cires are designed to produce our surrender So how do we go about taking up our cross?
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2008-07-31 - Questions and Answers - Part 1 Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:
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2008-08-06 - Questions and Answers - Part 7 Answered the following questions in the Q & A section:
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2008-08-07 - 30 Days at the Cross - Spectators or Sacrifices Sacrifice - we think of pain, suffering, loss, and the uncomfortable concept of denying self Sacrifice is a voluntary presentation of ourselves to God to be used for his purposes We can respond in serveral ways to the sacrifice of Jesus:
Christ love needs to compel us - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 What happens when you offer your body as a living sacrifice?
What types of sacrifices is God asking of you right now? | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-08 - 30 Days at the Cross - Problems or Possibilities Suffering is a problem for us:
We spend too much time asking questions:
We should:
The issue is how you respond and how you will respond in the future | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-13 - 30 Days at the Cross - Lasting Impact We learn that we should pursue: fame, fortune, and material possessions from the world Jesus refutes all that we have learned - service, sacrifice, and spiritual power
Many of us spend more time at work than any other single place If we aren't living the cross here, how can we be living it at all Honest is required - may mean less money or advancement Time commitment - it is easy to get caught up at work Every disciple needs to work hard - but what is the reason?
How could a temporary ob on earth be more important than Jesus and his work? If we compromise at work, how will we ever overcome the world? | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-17 - 30 Days at the Cross - Do not Come Down! Jesus was tempted with the words, "save yourself, come down from the cross If they understood the eternal significance of the moment, they would have cried "No, Jesus! Do not come down!" Jesus was tempted:
Our mission is the same (Luke 9:23) - must deny self and lose our life for others We must quit looking for some new,easy approach and decide to love The world is screaming out: "Save yourself! Come down from the cross!" Jesus cries: "Do not come down!" | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-18 - 30 Days at the Cross - Turning the Tables Jesus came to turn the tables on Satan
When he died, almost everyone thought evil won Satan pulled out all the stops. 7 moves to turn the tables:
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2008-08-19 - 30 Days at the Cross - Prayer and Purpose Because of the cross we are able to pray Looking at Christ's humble submission to the cross that we can learn we can learn how to pray Thank God for the incredible opportunity that we have to talk to him because of his grace He shows us the attitude we must have as we follow Christ in prayer - right perspective on suffering After praying, he was able to face the mock trial, jeering, and the beatings Disciples, who failed to pray, fled and desperation - they were powerless Jesus purpose of praying was to make sure that we could be saved Our main purpose to pray is not complaining but for others | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-28 - Teach Us To Pray - Strength and Shield The closest solar system is 3.5 light years away or 21 trillion miles Some galaxies have 10 trillion stars Countless are the stars but has no trouble Our visible universe is 15 trillion by 6 trillion miles across We need to learn to trust God's ability to meet our daily needs:
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2008-08-29 - Teach Us To Pray - The God who Enjoys Hearing and Watching Us We enjoy accomplishment: meeting a deadline, A on a test Imagine the incredible feeling God must have experienced when he first viewed his own creation:
How would iy affect your prayer life if you had a deep conviction that God enjoys his relationship with you? God Enjoys Hearing Us Talking to Him God Enjoys Watching Us | ||||||||||||||
2008-08-30 - Teach Us To Pray - God Enjoys Talking to Us To truely know him, we must absorb his Word God's Word was written with one purpose in mind - to communicate God's love:
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2008-09-02 - Teach Us To Pray - Full Of Faith Reading from 2 Kings 6:15-17 We can relate to Elisha's servant, he lacked faith As Elisha's servant looked down at the Arameans, he turned in despair to Elisha Do you collapse in a heap of self-pity or discouragement? Elisha's servant got humble and trusted his leader Problems always look less daunting when you get God in the picture and decide to be full of faith | ||||||||||||||
2008-09-04 - Teach Us To Pray - Persistent and Determined Luke 18:1-8 - Persistent widow kept on seeking justice from an unjust judge until she received it
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2008-09-06 - Teach Us To Pray - Praise and Thanksgiving God's plan is a blessing and not a burden - 1 John 5:3 Once we lose our gratitude, we have lost everything Growing in Gratitude
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2008-09-07 - Teach Us To Pray - Honesty and Openness Honest communication is crucial element to any great relationship: God, spouse, children. Consider how ludicrous it is to not be real with God:
Moses:
It is in our openness that we hear our faithlessness and can turn away from it. God wants a relationship with you He wants to know our longings, aspirations, problems, anxieties, doubts, and even our sin | ||||||||||||||
2008-09-08 - Teach Us To Pray - Reasoning with God Reasoning with God in prayer is an expression of great faith Persistent widow reasoned with the unjust judge - Luke 18:1-8 We cannot change the eternal purposes of God but we can change his mind on how his purposes will be accomplished Abraham was a man who reasoned with God - his Son being sacrificed - Genesis 18:23-33 Moses was too - God decided to destroy the disobedient Israelites and start a new nation True humility is the key to the prayer of reason - not telling God what to do |