2010-06-21 - Building the temple (part 2)Consencate yourself1 Chronicles 29:5
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2010-07-20 - Desire's Journey - Deeper Desire (part 7) From the section about Jesus' trial in the dessert 3. Satan reveals his true self - Matthew 4:8-11 Satan: "You don't have to take the route of suffering" "There are shortcuts, just give your heart away" Jesus: "There are no shortcuts, my heart belongs to God alone" Once we realize what a precious that heart's desire is, we must see that and guard it with all of our might
We must be serious about our happiness |
2010-07-29 - Desire's Journey - Letting Go (part 6) With beauty, we need not fear indulging here Beauty is the closest thing we have to fullness without possessing on this side of eternity Two kinds of losses in life:
Spiritual surrender is not resignation It is surrender with desire |
2010-11-24 - Mission - People Beginning of His ministry - Luke 4
He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with suffering - Isaiah 53:3 He was tempted in every way, just as we are - Hebrews 4:15 Jesus' heart went out to people and it moved him to action Their needs drove Jesus' ministry Our charge is to walk as Jesus walked Luke 10 illustrates Jesus' plan as he send out the 72 disciples He challenged them to rejoice because their names were written in heaven The end challenge was to go and do likewise - Luke 10:37 Cannot be done unless it costs us something Seeking and saving the lost is accomplished by preaching the gospel and helping people |
2010-12-24 - Cross of Christ (part II) Isaiah 53
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2011-03-23 - God Is (part IV) Part 4 on the study of God:
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2011-07-17 - Mind of Christ - About Self (part III) B. Fruits of self centered life: 1. It causes people to be extremely concerned about their personal rights - Genesis 13:5-7 |
2011-10-16 - Genesis 16 - Ishmael is BornSummarySarai told Abram to have children with Hagar. Hagar conceived, then ran away, but an angel sent her back. Hagar's son was Ishmael. ObservationsGenesis 16:5 - You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering Personal ApplicationI know I have experience times where I think I am doing what God wants but it really comes from my impatience or my selfish desires to see things happens the way I want them and when I want them. I need to just be patient and ask "is this the Lord will?". |
2011-10-27 - Mind Change - Problems There is much more to life than your problem. It may be loud. It may shout for attention. It may seem unbearable. But God is greater. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen Romans 8:18 - Present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us Philippians 2:4 - Should be concerned not only about your own interests |
2011-10-29 - Mind Change - Joy Joy, not suffering, will be eternal. Pain is bearable when it leads to something. We are on our way to everlasting joy. “The toils of the road will seem nothing when we get to the end of the way.” Isaiah 51:11 - Everlasting joy will crown their heads Isaiah 61:7 - Everlasting joy will be theirs Romans 8:20-21 - Creation itself will be liberated |
2012-01-07 - Day 35 - Worthy of the Name 1 Peter 4:12-19
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2012-02-06 - Ministry - Compassion: The Heart of Jesus John 11:33-35 In a world so full of pain, hardship and suffering the compassion of Jesus lights the world. It is a comfort to know that "our God is full of compassion". Psalms 116:5 Jesus was deeply moved by people's suffering. Jesus sincerely cared and invested his heart in others. Does the hardship of others cause us to invest our hearts or harden them? Do we imitate Jesus' heart? We can learn to be compassionate only when we have allowed Jesus to comfort us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
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2012-02-11 - Ministry - Even While Suffering John 19:17-27 As we read the passage, particularly v25-27, it is compelling the even in the throes of pain, Jesus is taking care of his relationships. It would have been easy for him to neglect this as he was busying suffering and dying. It is easy for us as we are in transition spiritually or physically to forget to care of our relationships. This can really hurt people make them feel as though we do not care. Why did not Jesus take care of all of this earlier? Why did he get this done before everything got more harried? The scriptures are silent on this but maybe Jesus wanted to see which of his followers would remain near the cross right up until the end. Mary, formerly without her husband Joseph and now, witnessing the death of her eldest son, was sure to be hurting. Jesus saw in John the compassion and love that He knew his own mother really needed. I think he also knew that John would be for her the closest thing to her own son, Jesus. It is convicting about how much Jesus considered and thought about relationships, even while suffering on the cross. Questions/Followup
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2012-10-15 - Prayer of the Righeous - Wiping Away Tears When suffering hits us we can either drop to our knees in prayer or run from God Paul chose to run toward God and saw suffering as an opportunity to rely on God - 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 Suffering is a language God understands Jesus was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering - Isaiah 53:3 Because of this, he is able to help those who are being tempted - Hebrews 2:18 The gospel is the story of God's suffering He made the world, the world reject him Parable of the Talents tells the story of God's rejection - Matthew 21 When God was only left with the option of sending his Son, he did - Matthew 21:35-37 We murdered him and understood what it meant to not be whole Because God has given men freedom to choose, there is suffering on earth When we suffer, we have a chance to draw closer to God There is unique bond between those who are suffering and comforter - Matthew 5:4 |
2014-01-25 - Bless Your Children We need to boldly redefined success for them = “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” - Deuteronomy 6:5 1. God’s Word must “be on your heart.” Must always tell them how God is moving:
Every day gives you fresh, new material for making your life with Christ a front-row experience 2. Training your children to love God must occur within the context of close relationships. Talk about God is informal time:
Making disciples of all nations begins with your own children - it all starts with their hearts.
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2015-02-03 - Suffering with Benefits Take pleasure in my weakness; when I am weak, I am strong - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul did much of his writting in prison and enduring arrests, beatings, threats against his life because of Jesus People who take pleasure in suffering are usually the ones who need mental help. Paul knew his suffering wouldn't last forever and that God had something better He remembered his suffering would last a moment, while the glory to come would last forever Suffering can:
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2015-04-07 - Clear Conscience I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear fpr as long as I live - Job 27:6 How oftern do we long for a quiet conscience when what we really need is a clean conscience? Job did a quick personal inventory - He had a completely clean conscience Though Job didn't know why he was suffering, he knew that it hadn't come as a result of sin God called Job "blameless" a man of complete integrity - John 1:8 Do you enjoy a clean conscience? Are you at peace with God? with the people around you? |
2015-04-29 - Suffering Yet I want your will to be done, not mine - Mark 14:36 We sometime have a difficult time with the idea of a loving God when we go through difficult times A life of without suffering is prefered and you will would probably do anything you could to avoid it Even as Jesus prayed for relief, he remained completely and single-mindedly submitted to his Father's will At the moment of truth, he was willing to go through with the appointment God had made for him Nothing tests your submission to God's will and plans like adversity |
2015-05-25 - Suffering Servant All of us have strayed away - Isaiah 53:5 Jesus Christ was the perfect example of that kind of giving Isaiah saw this example of a humble, suffering servant from his own time He depicts a man who willingly subjected himslef to unspeakable suffering on the behalf of others How does Jesus' selfless giving motivate you? |
2015-06-25 - Taking Stock Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors - 3 Chronicles 33:12-13 Times of stress can motivate a man to do little self-examination Manasseh made sinning into personal art form:
God warned Manasseh that he would pay for his sins but he refused to listen Assyrian forces invaded Judah and took him away to Babylon for 12 years of suffering The once proud Manasseh humbled himself saying "The Lord alone is God!" |
2015-08-01 - Listen No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words - Job 2:13 Many men struggle with just listening - why God gave us two ears and only one mouth At first Job's friends were the exactly the kind of friends he needed After Job had spoken, they began speaking but instead of comforting him they tried to fix his problems - which made things worst Sometimes it is best to just listen instead of trying to fix things |
2015-08-31 - Unexpected Wisdom I am full of pent-up words and the spirit within me urges me on - Job 32:18 Job's three friends felt that God was punishing Job for some hidden sin - he rejected this Job thought God was treating him unfairly All four of them had it wrong Elihu: God repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve - Job 34:10-11 His knew Job's suffering could not be in vain. Job shouldn't see his affection as God didn't care about him rather as a tool in God's hand to teach Job more |
2015-09-01 - Real Life Knowledge Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance? - Job 42:3 You really find out what he or she is made of when you're not at your best After suffering through the loss of his property, wealth, health, and family, Job came to better understand God - Job 1:8 God had called Job a man of complete integrity - Job 1:8 When he suffered, he began to question God, complaining to God and accusing God of treating him unjustly When God revealed himself, Job had to retrack the foolish things he said. I take back everything I said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance - Job 42:6 Job began to understand his smallest: I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes - Job 42:5 |
2015-10-27 - Life of Separation Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daugther and instead to share the oppression of God's people - Hebrews 11:24-25 He left his life of ease under Pharaoh and indentified himself with the suffering of his own people Mose was born to a poor Hebrew mother, but he was raised in a world of privilege He left Pharaoh's family and inheritance for being a descendant of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob When you identify yourself with Christ you leave your old ways and thinking. |
2015-10-28 - Deceptive Feelings I long for the years gone by when God took care of me - Job 29:2 During his worst time of misery, Job began wondering if God still cared about him After he lost everything, Job felt abandoned and longed for the good old days God knew exactly how much Job had suffered but Job could not feel it Job was so focused on his suffering that he lost sight of the unchangeable fact that God would never abandon him Feelings speak truth about your pain but can lie about God's response God had never abandoned anyone he loves |
2015-11-01 - Secure in Love I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love - Romans 8:38 Through difficult times we are tempted to think God must really hate me Some have the misguided idea of the relationship between difficulties and God's love Paul opposed such thinking through his suffering that most of us can not imagine He never saw his suffering as an occasion to doubt God's love for him Can anything ever separate us?
No! Despite these things overwhelming victory is ours through Christ - Romans 8:37 |
2015-11-08 - Humbled You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's - Mark 8:33 Peter must have felt great when Jesus publicly blessed him from understanding Jesus' true identity Then it was shown that he needed to be knocked down a peg Jesus stunned his disciples about him going to Jersulem and Peter scolded Jesus because of it Peter was out of line and Jesus would not allow him or any other disciple to act as roadblocks to the path God set for him Jesus knew Peter had failed to see things from an eternal perspective Jesus was the conquering Kig but he was also the suffering Servant Peter was to play a big part in Jesus' mission but he first needed to humbly trust in the Lord's plan |
2015-12-05 - High Road When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord gave him twice as much as before - John 42:10 As Job's painful story draws to a close, he faces a choice: how to handle his friends offering nothing but accusations and condemnation? They basically said - If you are suffering like this, it must be because your sin has angered God Most of us shrink from those who attack us. Not Job:
Job took the high road and refused to hold grudges, he took an even higher road when he prayed for them |
2015-12-23 - Your Motivation I am ready to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus - Acts 21:13 Proper motivation goes a long way to determine whether or not your life will become everything God wants it to be Paul changed the world for Jesus despite enduring incredible suffering and persecution:
What would motivate a man to go trhough what Paul endured?
Paul did and said everyhing out of a spirit of love What is your motivation? |
2015-12-30 - Not About Me I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen - 2 Timothy 2:9-10 Paul freely chose to suffer for Christ Despite opponents he faces, pain and suffering, he gladly continued to speak the name of Jesus Was he a masochist? No, he did not enjoy the pain but tried to move on where ever he could - Acts 26:29 Paul enjoyed anything that would help to get the gospel message preached to those who needed to hear it Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution - 2 Timothy 3:12 |
2020-01-20 - Trust - A matter of perpective "Trust in God" can seem easy at times but when trouble hits, justice seems dead and love seems to vanish, many are appalled nature's "heartlessness" and "indifference" Jesus saw these same situations as evidences of God's love, his long-suffering patience, and willing to allow the lost to find him Countless people trusted God only to discover when evil fotune came, that trust was not as strong enough to stand the shock Trust shapes perpective Many things can blot out our trust in God:
Jesus had all of the dark experiences it is possible to have He has a message to commicate that would drive away gloom and woe the world to him Jesus trust was unbroken despite many rejections and even his own men forsaking him His death appeared to be a heart-breaking failure, but rather a victorious outcome for us |