Quiet Times Search

• Albums of pictures - when God poured out his love
• Printed memorabilia
• Special events - birthdays, weddings, graduations, baptisms

• My days are swifter that a weaver's shuttle - Job 7:6
• My days are swifter than a runner - Job 9:25
  
• Man born of woman is of few days - Job 14:1

Jesus went to God early in the morning
If Jesus needed to do this, how much more should we?

Excuses:

• I'm not a moring person
• I have to leave for work early
• I have to get the kids off to school
• I don't want to be legalistic

How does spending the early morning with God help build a closer relationship with him?

• Show the priority of this relationship
• Our waking thoughts determine the tone and course of our day
• Quietest times of the day
• Emotion have had time to recover
• Able to clear our consciences of guilt
• Cast our burdens upon the Lord
• Able to draw from his power for the day ahead (Psalms 5:1-3)

Hard time getting our of bed?

• Go to bed at a decent hour
• Set a definite wake up time
• Be responsible for getting out of bed - your responsibility
• Do whatever it takes to wake up
• Take an early morning shower
• Two clocks, far from bed

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

Reasons for a journal:

• It give you a jump start to your day - helps to remember and build on previous QTs
• Can build on a thought or a theme
• Reveals our spiritual progress
• Keeps us focused on our goals and convictions
• Becomes a seedbed of great inspiration and insight

Practical advice about journals:

• Set aside a notebook  - better than random pieces of paper
• Have a place to write down random thoughts and things that need to be done so you are not distracted
• Keep our goals before you

• We are longer slave but sons ans daughters
• We can approach him with confidence because of Jesus

• With Jesus as the high priest,  we can confidence to enter the into the throne room of God
• Can gain a heavenly perspective
• Praise God that his resources there are limitless

• Being holy, set apart, above us
• Prayer is not just asking for something but for honoring Him

• Kingdom has not come to every nation and place nor every person
• Pray for God to open doors, speaking boldly, with wisdom
• Pray for those who server and in leading roles

• God wants us to pray about surrendering to his will
• Challenges is our life must not be avoided but have a surrendered life
• Read some command and ask yourself if you are following them
• Jesus never asked for strength to go to the cross but only that he might surrender
• Besides pride and rebellion, unbelief keeps us from doing God's will

• Bring specific needs to God
• Must depend on God daily for our spiritual and physical needs
• Pray thorough your todo list and details
• Jesus said we could do nothing apart from God - John 15:5

• Lack of confession results in a hardened heart
• We will not mature if do not do this soul searching
• Be specific; ask others for forgiveness if needed
• Extend forgiveness; can not be forgiven by God otherwise

• What are your weaknesses? Have you faced them?
• Draw on God's power before Satan strikes

• Return again to praising and glorifying God
• All power rests in his hand

• 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

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead - Philippians 3:12-14

Much of our challenge is in accepting failures without feeling like failures

Peter and Judas were both betrayers
Peter was forgiven and Judas would have too if he had not killed himself

Mistakes are part of the growing process

1. Performance mind-set - try to minimize our failures (no risks)
2. Terminal thinkers - avoid calling them mistakes

Gospel allows us to start over and over again
Failure to achieve dreams is one our greatest challenges from our past

Shock > denial > anger > depression, apathy, or peace (grace of God)

BIG PICTURE - being right with God, growing in our relationship with him, and helping others

• Discover your identity and purpose through Jesus
• God was thinking of you long before you ever thought about him
• Purpose of your life fits into a much larger purpose

• Lose fellowship with God
• Expose my pride and insecurity
• Set myself up to be judged by God
• Harm the fellowship

Begin by assessing your gifts and talents

Take a long honest look at what you are good at
Try to have a sane estimate of your abilities - Romans 12:3
Make a list and ask other people

Experiment with different areas of service
When it doesn't not work out, call it an "experiment", not a failure

Consider your heart and personality
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given - Galatians 6:4

Examine your experiences and extract lessons you have learned

Remember today what you have learned about the Lord - Deuteronomy 11:2
Forgotten experiences are worthless
Paul - "Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not! - Galatians 3:4

Were rarely see God's good purpose - John 13:7

Run with patience the particular race that God has set before us - Hebrews 12:1

Satan can steal our joy by:

1. Compare your ministry with others - others doing a better job
2. Conform your ministry to the expectations of others - you are doing better and you full of pride

Avoid comparisons, resist exaggerations, and seek only God's commendations - 1 Corinthians 10:12-18

• Simply save himself and let everyone fend for themselves
• Come down in hope that they would believe
• Settle on improving their lives but not saving them

• Jesus also loved the world that he gave his only life - Love
• He cared deeply for others
• He knew he could bring salvation to many

• Reminded the Israelties not to be afraid
• Memorials and Feasts that were setup by God
• Jesus reminded the disciples time and time again to have faith
• Paul's letters remind Christians about the cross and resurrection
• Communion for us to remember the cross and resurrection

• A new life -  we too may live a new life - Romans 6:4
• Eternal life - we will not perish and nothing compares to it - 1 Peter 1:3-5

Joy set before him endured the cross - Hebrews 12:2-3
Jesus was a joyful person; even at the cross - at the cross it seemed that everything was going wrong

Yet joy joy was still in the heart of Jesus:

• He knew God was in control
• He didn't agrue with God
• He didn't need explaination
• He didn't need to justify himself
• He entrusted himself to the one who judges - 1 Peter 2:23

When we try to take over God's role - there is no joy
Jesus prayed for his disciples to have the full measure of his joy - John 17:13

Even the violent scene of the cross brought about joy and hope
What will you allow to steal your joy?

Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:13, and Luke 4:42 - shows us that Jesus often went to solitary places to pray

Solitude is essential in developing a deep relation ship with God
Be still and know I that I am from God - Psalms 46:10
Do you have a special place where you meet with God?

Psalms 5, 38, and 42 are examples of how open and expressive David was with God
He shared everything from joy and delight to anguish and dispair
How open are you with God?
God wants our hearts
As a result, we are much more open and real with others

We get fired up by sermons, fellowship, and music - Jesus went to be alone
There is nothing in your life that God cannot change

Prayer times make special memories
Israelites setup stones to remind them of what God had done - Joshua 4:7

Ideas for times with God:

• Write a love letter
• Sing a song you composed
• Write on a ballon, let it go
• Hang a poster and write the things God has done

We must love the truth, accept the truth, live by the truth, and tell the truth
Truth will set you free - John 8:32

Will perish if we refuse to love the truth and be saved - 2 Thessalonians 2:10

If children learn to accept the truth as children - they will be able to face their sins, repent of them, and be saved when they are older

Satan is a liar and the father of lies - John 8:44

• What happens when there is someone else better lookig?
• What if their suffer a disfiguring injury?
• What happens when they get older?

• Give God credit for every gift God has given your child including appearance
• Teach them continually about this - gives them a humble appreciation
  
• Teach them the value of what is inside

Instead, speak the truth in love - Ephesians 4:15

An open family is a close family
No simmering backlog of unresolved problems - children should free to speak their minds at any time

Children should believe that we care enough to give them our full attention; will not fly off the handle
This establishes an open door policy with them

Openness is not limited to parents and children - includes the children with one another
Never allow conflict between kids to go unsettled
Send them off to talk about it - Mediate if needed

King Saul - filled with jealousy and envy and held in his feelings
His patteren was to think one thing and say something else - 1 Samuel 18
Resulting in complete emotional and spiritual breakdown

Parent should be concerned for a child that holds everything in
Have open talks during your family devotional times
Establish an atmosphere of freedom and openness

Overall tone of a home
For a family to be close, the atmosphere must be great

What do we need to do to make the atomsphere great?

Basic attitude of being positive and joyful
God is with us, life is great, and no matter what happens, we're going to come out ahead

As leaders of the family, parents must set the tine
Don't let a sour, negative child ruin the atmosphere

We want to be know but we keep a safe distance
Jesus has X-ray vision to our hear and see right our heart

John 4:39 - Samaritan women:

• She was minding her own business
• Ran into Jesus and was never the same
• Will you give me a drink he asked - the fact that he (a Jew) spoke to her told her (a Samaritan) that there was some very different about Jesus
• Whoever drinks from living water will never thirst again - John 4:13-14
• He confronted her sin and help her see the emptiness of her life
• He wanteed her to see who she was without God
• Due to her discomfort, the woman tried to change to subject
• Jesus skillfully drove out her fears with his love -  brought her back to the conversation of life
• She shared with others

We too can be afraid of seeing who we really are
When we opened up and were forgiven,  we couldn't wait to tell other either

To set people free, we must be like Jesus:

• Relate to them in deep ways
• Not studying the Bible superficially - not helping them see who they are without God
• Ask the difficult questions
• Expose sin so they will see their deepest need for Jesus

Jesus' love and acceptance allowed the woman/us to be real and to change

Luke 18:22-24
Wouldn't all Christians love to meet someone who comes across as this man does initially?

Most of us would say, "can we study the Bible?"
Jesus had a very different responce because he knew his heart

Sell everything and follow him = It's not what you do but who you are
For him to have a heart set fully on following Jesus - it meant a willingness to seel all
Following the exchange, it became clear - the man was out of touch with himself and God

Jesus did challenge him but he also loved him
He pointed the man to the narrow way
At the same time he drew him close want to give him strength, faith, and hope

Jesus does not get into a lengthy theological debate
He saw weaknesses the man had to deal with if he was going to enter the kingdom of God

Each of us lacks that "one thing" deep down that we must give up and following Jesus
Something we don't know what it is but God will reveal it - Hebrews 4:12-13

When it comes to friendship, Jesus again sets the standard

Jesus knew John:

• Jesus saw his weaknesses - yet accepted him - Mark 3:17
• Jesus did not hesitate to call him to be a follower - spite of his temperament - Mark 1:19-20
• He expect John to change - Luke 9:51-56
• Jesus questioned his commitment when John sought power - Mark 10:35-37

Incredible thing about John is that it would seem that he never doubted Jesus' love

He refered to himself 5 times as the "disciple that Jesus loved"