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Searching for "sacrifice" in the Quiet Time Archive
Displaying results from "0" to "25". (73 found)

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

  • Hospital worker = God's minister to the medical professionals
  • Factory worker = sweating it out for the Lord
  • Programming = designing and mental stress for the Lord


2008-05-21 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Even though
Hebrews 11:8,11,17:20
  • Even though he did not know where he was going
  • Even though he was pass age to have kids
  • Even though he God said to sacrifice his son
  • Abraham reasoned... spiritually
Romans 4:18 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed

He was not a blind idealist, he faced the facts: God creates the laws but he not bound by them

We will not be victorious if we sacrifice our faith on the alter of reason, logic or cynicism

It is time to get back to idealism that belongs to faith in God:

  • We can change
  • Our children can change
  • Our marriages can change
  • Our hearts can change
  • We just can't give up

We have the same God who was with Abraham

2008-05-31 - Purpose Driven Life - What Makes God Smile? (Part 2)
Noah was an example of making God smile (continued):
  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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


2008-06-24 - 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

2008-07-23 - 30 Days at the Cross - It Keeps on Cleansing

The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin - 1 John 1:7
"Purifies" = present tense as in a da by day, constsant cleansing

His blood was the only thing that could possibly attain forgiveness for me - Ephesians 1:7
Blood make atonement for one's life

Imagine the priest persuading an Israelite to trust God's ways and offer the lamb
Do we have more faith in our weak, self-invented sacrifics than we do in God's plan fo grace?

Jesus' sacrifice for our sins must be accepted first for the joy of our sacrifical life to make sense
His blood is keeping us cured as we openly confess, repent, and appeal to God for our forgiveness - 1 John 8:2-6

Where does your value come from? As a blood-bought sinner or my ability to produce a perfect life

 



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
We hear: "Do what feels good"

Sacrifice is a voluntary presentation of ourselves to God to be used for his purposes
Jesus sacrificed his comfortable position with God to serve, heal, love, preach the good news

 We can respond in serveral ways to the sacrifice of Jesus:

  • Pretend it never happened
  • Can decide to hide from the challenge
  • Immerse ourselves in other thoughts
  • Stand back with our arms folded
  • Understand the facts but no personal acceptance or responsibility

Christ love needs to compel us - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Hiding is dishonest. Spectating is hypocritical. Committing is powerful.

What happens when you offer your body as a living sacrifice?

  • It produces many seeds - John 12:24-25
  • Life truly becomes life
  • Our joy is multiplied
  • It effects us and other for enternity

What types of sacrifices is God asking of you right now?
Is there is anyone, anything, any place, or any position you are holding on to?



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
  • Connection to the highest places - John 1:11
  • His ability to move the masses was unparalleled - Matthew 7:28
  • His understanding of what it takes to succeed was clear and unwavering - John 12:23-24
  • He stayed on task until it was done - John 19:30

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?
  • Working for a promotion
  • Earn more money
  • Gain material possessions
  • Working for the Lord - Colossians 3:23
Is it to please your boos, yourself, or God? - Rich young ruler - Matthew 19:16-30

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?

2008-08-14 - 30 Days at the Cross - Not for Adults Only
Even when Jesus was on the cross he had concern for his mother

Why didn't he protect her from the experience?
She needed to understand how far we must go to save the lost

Being a Christian parent does not mean you try to spare your children the cross: show them how to get on it
As parents, it is often harder to teach or to call our children to sacrifice than it is to call ourselves to sacrifice

Are you teaching?
  • Love for enemies and pray for them - Luke 6:27-28
  • Sacrifice of sleep for someone
  • Be flexible and inconvenienced for others
We are entrusted to be an example for the very souls of our children

2008-08-15 - 30 Days at the Cross - Nothing but the Best
Do what comes naturally. Get in touch with who you are. Do what feels right. Be true to yourself. - These are the ideas the world tells us.
Do they really change our lives?

Jesus' blood shed challenges us to reconsider our empty way of life

What a person is willing to give reveals a lot about the person
Jesus was the perfect Son and an exact representation of God - Hebrews 1:3

God's precious and costly sacrifice seeks and demands a response.

Make every effort is the only appropriate response - 2 Peter 1:5-7
Motivated by God's grace and example, we can increase our faith

Sin weakens our character, steals our energy, and undermines our determination

2008-09-08 - Teach Us To Pray - Reasoning with God

Reasoning with God in prayer is an expression of great faith
The Canaanite woman was one of two times Jesus said someone had "great faith" - Matthew 15:21-28

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
Moses gave specifc reasons for not destroying them and God heard him and changed his mind
He prayed with great humility - Numbers 12:3

True humility is the key to the prayer of reason - not telling God what to do
Expressing our outlook and giving reasons to back up our thinking



2008-09-21 - Teach Us To Pray - Friends and Loved Ones
To intercede or pray on someone else's behalf is a privilege
Our prayers are sacrifices which are pleasing to him - Hebrews 13:15

Paul: I want you to know how much I am struggling for you - Colossians 2:1
Who do you struggle for? How about people you have never meet?

Far be it that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray to you - Samuel to King Saul - 1 Samuel 12:23

Jesus intercedes for us - Romans 8:34
Like a good friend, he adds or subtracts from what you are missing or need
Jesus makes us complete in God's sight

2008-10-10 - Man of Prayer - YHWH-jireh
YHWH-jireh means "the Lord will provide"

Our God is a provider
God saw Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, God provided a ram

"My God will meet all your needs - Philippians 4:19

He is a good provider
Every good and perfect gift comes from His hand - James 1:17
No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly - Psalms 84:11

2008-11-21 - Raising Awesome Kids - Strength and Conviction (part 1)
But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord - Joshua 24:15

Fathers should be the rock of our family

When the call goes forth in the kingdom of God for response and sacrifice, we must lead the way
Our personal walk with God and our zeal should be an inspiration

Our responsibility to initiate, plan, and conduct family devotionals
If we have convictions, our family will have them

Natural thing for children to want to follow the lead of their father



2009-01-26 - Jesus with People - Nic at Night

Some people's needs could be quickly dealt with: "Heal my blindness" or "Let me just touch your garment"

But not Nicodemus, Jesus knew it would be a long night - John 3:1-3

Nicodemus, was a man looking for something:

  • Groun up learning about God
  • Surrounded by a system caught up in traditions
  • Knew the Bible stories
  • Very active in the Jewish faith
  • Jesus capured his attention by his teachings and his works
  • Felt that there was something missing

Could this be right? Could Jesus be the Messiah?

Jesus was straight to the point: I tell you the truth, you must be born again - John 3:3
He needed a wake up call - Same lesson we need today - we need a new birth
He was part a system of legalism  (following rules with seeking the heart of God)
People trying to earn what God desired to just give them

Nicodemus knew he could get time with Jesus and he did
He receieved the answer and Jesus taught him the depth of God's love

Who was intrumental in answering your questions and healping you see the truth?
What sacrifices do you see that they made for you?
Are you doing the same for others?



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?

2009-02-15 - Jesus with People - Widows Financial Sacrifice
Mark 12:41-44

Without ever speaking to her, he made her gift he biblical standard for financial sacrifice

She gave all she had to live on - Luke 21:4
Being a widow at that time, she likely had no income
Probably hungry and surely without financial hope
He faith in God was evident in her action

Bible does not tell us what happened to her - we can know that GOd took care of her needs - Matthew 6:25-26



2009-02-16 - Jesus with People - Widows Emotional Sacrifice
Be careful for your hearts will be weighed down with anxieties of life and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap - Luke 21:34

Sacrifice requires that we take control of the anxieties of our lives
It is a daily struggle

In order to change our character weaknesses, true emotional sacrifice is needed
  1. We must admit that we are sinful
  2. We must realize Jesus has called us to follow him and be righteous
  3. Humbly commit to change
  4. We must change
The solutions are simple, emotional sacrifice is not


2009-02-17 - Jesus with People - Widows Physical Sacrifice
Physical sacrifice is central to our commitment to Jesus

Physically, priorities must be set, reexamined and set again

God will help us discern what we can give physically
God is capable of giving his strength when ours is failing

Paul learned to rely on the Lord through physical suffering - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9
God grace is sufficient

Each of us, with the help of God must live physically sacrificial lives daily - Philippians 2:12
Sacrifice is our act of worship - Romans 12:1



2009-03-02 - Promises of God - Give and it will be given to you

God is faithful. He will meet all our needs
Based on the extent to which we focus on the Father and his will - extent to which God moves in our lives

He desires to meet our every need - to the point of sacrificing his own son - Romans 8:32
Does our knowledge of him transform us?
Does it propel us forward in capturing God's heart of sacrificing for the needs of other?

In Philippi, church sacrificed financially to support Paul (only church to do so) - Philippians 4:14-18
God will meet all your needs - Philippians 4:19
Those who are giving to others and giving to God can be assured that God will give to what they need - Luke 6:38

The more we are focused on his will, the more our needs will be richly met

What must be true in our lives in order for us to claim the promise that God will meet all our needs?



2009-04-25 - Why We Need Jesus - He Reconciles Us to God
HE RECONCILES US TO GOD...
  1. There is but one mediator between God and man - 1 Timothy 2:5
  2. God sent Christ to reconcile sinful man back to Him - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
  3. This God did this by offering Christ as the sacrifice  for our sins - 1 John 4:9-10
  4. We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins - Ephesians 1:7
  5. Jesus is the only way to God - John 14:6


2009-10-15 - Wild at Heart - Offering our Strength (part 1)
Man come to offer his strength, woman invites the man into herself
Requires courage and vulnerability and selflessness for both of them
Man must rise to the occasion, must move, women opens herself in stunning vulnerability
Man spills himself - sweet is the death
Life is created
When a man withholds himself from his woman, he leaves her without the life only he can bring
She is made for and craves words from him - Proverbs 18:21

If a man refuses to offer himself, then his wife will remain empty and barren
Silent man starves his wife
A man who leaves - he sacrifices them (wife and children) rather than for them
Examples:
  • Maximus
  • William Wallace
  • Life of Joseph, husband of Mary – was heroism
Cost him his reputation

2009-10-17 - Wild at Heart - Offering our Strength (part 3)
She needs God more than she needs you
You need him more than you need her

You do not love her to get a good grade, you love her because that is what you are made to do

Ruth: How does a good woman help her man to play the man? Arouse him to be a man
Boaz offers her some protection and some food, but what Ruth really want was a ring

Four options:
  1. Badger him - Why don’t you stand up and be a man?
  2. Whine about it - Hurry up and marry me!!
  3. Emasculate him - I thought you were a real man
  4. Inspire and energize him
Ask men what they would prefer

Will you fight for her?

Stop being a nice guy and act like a warrior
Pray for her like you never prayer for her before, OUT LOUD
Step between her and the forces of darkness

Not just once (some will do it 1,2, or 3 times)
Man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice

2009-11-28 - Master Plan - Church is the continuing fellowship (part 1)
  • Church is the practice of Jesus in a larger dimension.
  • The group of believers ministry to each other individually and collectively
  • Jesus must be the leader, with leaders that follow Him
  • Preaching to the masses will not suffice in preparing leaders for evangelism
    • Not occasional prayer meetings
    • Not Christian training classes
    • Not confirmation classes
  • Building men is not easy (baby learns all the time)
    • Requires constant personal attention
    • Children are not raised by proxy
    • Requires sacrifice of personal indulgence and time
    • Requires frequent contact not just weekly church services and Sunday School


2009-12-05 - Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 1)
  • Disciples realized that they were responding to Jesus who was willing to give of Himself for them
  • Examples of Jesus giving himself away
    • Gave away what the Father gave to Him - John 15:15
    • He gave them peace - John 16:33
    • He gave them despite pain and suffering - John 15:11
  • Love is not love until it is given away
  • Jesus – God gave away His most precious possession
  • No greater love than to lay down our live for others
  • Jesus impressed the deep compulsion of His eternal purpose
  • It was clear that the Master considered no service too small or sacrifice too great.
  • Jesus denied Himself many of the comforts and pleasure of the world and became a servant
  • He continually gave His life “for their sakes”
  • Disciples learned not in theory but in practice (painful and hard to accept)
  • Jesus life was the measure by which they were to regard their own service.
    • To give freely as they had received – Matthew 10:8
    • Love one another as He loved them - John 13:34
    • Calvary love was the standard


2009-12-13 - Master Plan - Supervision (part 2)
  • On the job training – let followers have experience or make some observations of their own
  • Gave them greater awareness of their deficiencies
  • Kept disciples going toward the goal He had set before them.
  • He did not expect more from His disciples than they could do
  • He did expect their best
  • We never assume the work is done. Ask lots of question / probe.
  • There are many things that can happen to frustrate, discouraged or defeated.
  • The goal is world conquest.
    • Never dare to let a lesser concern capture us.
    • No further training or inspiration needed.
    • Focus can easily be on us.
  • The ability of a worker is not developed if there is no supervision
  • Our little efforts can be a excuse for not doing more.
  • We can lose the advantage years of hard work and sacrifice.
  • Disciples must be brought to maturity
  • We have not been called to hold the fort but storm the heights.


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