Quiet Times Search
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Displaying results from "0" to "25". (186 found)
| 2008-03-04 - Power of Gratitude - It is so Hard and but I Love it Marriage - hardest year of a good marriage is the first one and the hardest year of a bad marriage is the last one God brings opposites together - rigid and let it go types Because God is trying to work off the rough edges If we are to grow through trials, we must learn to view them correctly First comes hurt, then can come anger or try to ignore it Other turn to "grin and bear it" or "this too must past" - blocks us from growth Garden of Gethsemance - Jesus expressed and dealt with emotional pain with prayer - Hebrews 5:7-10 If Jesus had to suffer, how much will we need to be perfected - Colossians 1:24 Trial both mature us and attract others at the same time Rejoice in the sufferings - 1 Peter 4:13 Must have heaven's perspective in every situation Even when can not figure out what God is doing - requires a child-like response Why me? > Why not me? |
| 2008-03-05 - Power of Gratitude - Is your Job Sacred or Secular? A large percentage of our waking hours on the job God expects even a slave to be happy with their lot in life - Colossians 3:22 Whatever you do, do it in the Lord's name - Colossians 3:17 Offer your bodies as living sacrifices - Romans 12:1 Full-time ministry We are full-time if we are disciples Others have gifts not in "up-front" roles No child of the King of Kings should feel like a second-class citizen
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| 2008-03-09 - Be Still My Soul - Early Morning Time Jesus went to God early in the morning Excuses:
How does spending the early morning with God help build a closer relationship with him?
Hard time getting our of bed?
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| 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:
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| 2008-03-28 - Be Still My Soul - Postures Prayer is not only for our minds and hearts, but our bodies Types of prayer postures: Kneeling
Prostrate
Out loud and silently - Esther 4:1, Hebrews 5:7, James 4:7-9 / 1 Samuel 1:13 If prayers are not offered from a variety of postures then we are not praying as we ought We can not separate our bodies from our hearts Author has developed the ability to pray with great concentration and intimacy while running |
| 2008-04-03 - Falling in Love with God - Fear The other emotional response that undermines our love for God Perfect love drives our fear - 1 John 4:18 Fear one of the most powerful and universal tools Satan uses for:
There is healthy fear (like fearing God) but unhealthy fear is one that controls us and causes us to turn away from God's direction
God understands the destructive nature of fear |
| 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:
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. |
| 2008-05-02 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Forgiveness, part 2 1 Peter 2:18
1 Peter 3:8-9
Taking the way of the cross accomplishes:
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| 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 |
| 2008-05-17 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Spiritual vs Doctrinal Thinking, part 1 Can major in the minors and minor in the majors Tendency to be doctrinal focused - 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2 Timothy 2:14-19; Titus 1:5-11; Titus 3:3-11 Can come from a desire to be leaders, takes focus off our personal lives Numbers 12:1-15
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| 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) |
| 2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2) Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):
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| 2008-06-05 - Purpose Driven Life - Worship That Pleases God God wants all of you All of your soul, mind, heart, strength God is pleased when... ...our worship is accurate
...our worship is thoughtful
... our worship is practical
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| 2008-06-06 - Purpose Driven Life - When God Seems Distant Easy to worship God when things are going great God matures relationship by times of separation - Job, David, Jesus God promises to never leave you or forsake you Sin separates - Friendships are tested by separation and silence Sometimes distance from God is not because of sin - feelings may be off It is not a feeling, God will remove your dependence of feelings Tell God how you feel God can handle your doubt, fear, anger, grief, confusion, and questions Remember: God is unchanging: Job praised God in these ways:
His promises do not change despite circumstances Remember what God has already done for you Even if God will not do anything else for you (very unlikely) He gave his son |
| 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 |
| 2008-06-22 - 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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| 2008-06-24 - Purpose Driven Life - Accepting Your Assignment You were put on earth to make a contribution Not what we get out of life, it what you give You were created to server God God created us for a life of good deeds - Ephesians 2:10 Set apart for a special work - Jeremiah 1:5 You were saved to server God Saved us and chose us for his holy work - 2 Timothy 1:9 We are not saved by service but you are saved for service Offer yourself as living sacrifices to God - Romans 12:1 Our love for each other proves we have gone from death to life - 1 John 3:14 A saved heart is one that wants to server He leaves us here to fulfill his purpose |
| 2008-06-28 - Purpose Driven Life - Applying Your Abilities We are all have abilities that God has given us To build the Tabernacle, God engaged all kinds of craftsmanship - Exodus 31:3-5 All of our abilities come from God God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well - Romans 12:6 Can not say, "I don't have any abilities to offer"
Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God - 1 Corinthians 10:31 Remember the Lord your God; he give the ability to produce wealth - Deuteronomy 8:18 What I am able to do, God wants me to do God equips you will you need for doing well - Hebrews 13:21 Seriously examine what you are good at doing and do it God will never ask to something you have no talent for Abilities are not just to make a living, but also for service for him Be sure to use our abilities to help each other - 1 Peter 4:10 |
| 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 |
| 2008-07-23 - 30 Days at the Cross - It Keeps on Cleansing The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin - 1 John 1:7 His blood was the only thing that could possibly attain forgiveness for me - Ephesians 1:7 Imagine the priest persuading an Israelite to trust God's ways and offer the lamb Jesus' sacrifice for our sins must be accepted first for the joy of our sacrifical life to make sense Where does your value come from? As a blood-bought sinner or my ability to produce a perfect life
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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? |
| 2008-08-11 - 30 Days at the Cross - Seeing It Through It is not hard to start something but it takes character to finish What did it take for Jesus to reach his goal? Nothing less than a relationship with the Father and death With dull disciples - could have become impatient Exhausted after a long journey - could have become selfish He never gave in How did he stay so determined to overcome? Offered prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears - Hebrews 5:7 Jesus shed tears for:
We are aware of our ineffectiveness, we focus on what we should be doing but neglect our relationship with God |
| 2008-09-14 - Teach Us To Pray - Our Daily Bread Many of us have little concern about having food Other things can distract us like: finding a job, paying off debt, development of our children Satan schemes to blind us God Worry definition:
If the enemy can get us to be preoccupied, it destroys our effectiveness as disciples He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom - Isaiah 40:28-31 Our Father is the God of the universe; nothing is too great for him |
| 2008-10-28 - Man of Prayer - Experiencing Forgiveness Being a Christian is a no-lose proposition Athlete - performance dictated opportunity to participate Student - achievement is based off of grades and advanced degrees Every area in which we perform we are eventually bound to fail We become a Christian on the basis of my failure and Jesus' performance By grace we have been saved - Ephesians 2:8 Much more than just an initial experience of grace but a transformation of justification - we need daily bread (grace) Jesus taught his disciples to confess their sins - Luke 11:4 |
| 2008-11-01 - Man of Prayer - Getting Honest On a daily basis we need to allow the Holy Spirit to show us areas of our life to be brought to confession Psalms 139:23-24
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