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2008-02-23 - Power of Gratitude - Trees, Clap your hands

Cows and birds do a far better job of praising God than most humans - they function the way God wants them to function.

Are at least half our times with God directed toward praise?

Pray though Psalms about praise - Read 1-2 verses at a time

Psalms 8, 24, 29, 47, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 104, 113, 135, 147, 148

The more we talk about something, the more it becomes reality to us.

2008-02-25 - Power of Gratitude - Solitary Places

When gratitude cause us to rise early to spend time with God - seeing one of the greatest fruits
No one says that QT must happen in the morning - it always goes better than the days when trying to work out another time during the day

I learned to pray when I sensed that I would come apart at the seams emotionally unless I didn't

Three things helped with prayer life:

Solitary place - no bothered for a curtain amount of time
Can walk and pray
Can pray out loud

writing can help - proven by therapists - helps with negative thoughts

There is no gratitude without prayer

2008-02-29 - Power of Gratitude - Bon Appetit

Satan works to both deceive us and accuse us - People tend to have a deceived or an accused conscience

Too many of us seem to think that God turns away from us when we are doing bad and turns back when we repent
Fathers are much more engaged when their kids are not doing well

God ran to the Lost Son - Luke 15
Gave his only Son when we were not doing well - John 3:16-17
Christ died for the ungodly - Romans 5:6-11

At the point the mind changes - our conscience should be cleared
Sin is serious - that is what the cross is all about
Feel the burden of sin long enough to be convicted and move to repentence

2008-03-08 - Power of Gratitude - Is This All There Is?

Most of the physical pursuits of life (Ecclesiastes) are substitutes for what we really need - a relationship with God

"Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ" - Philippians 3:7-11

The answer - to be totally immersed in my relationship with God through Christ
To know God in such a way and at such a level that all else pales into comparision
When this level is reached, nothing else will matter:

Not position
Not recognition
Not performance
Not respect

Fear of death will lose its hold

"For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" - Philippians 1:21

Thankful books

Do it just before going to bed every night
God is too good for us not express gratitude
Ideas: come up with 7 areas of gratitude and incorporate one area into your prayers each day

Physical blessings
Family blessings
Spiritual blessings

2008-03-14 - Be Still My Soul - All the Time

To be real, a relationship with God must be all-the-time
If not, you are compartmentalizing your walk with God

"I am with you always" - Matthew 28:20
""Pray continually" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Nehemiah prayed, wept,and fasted for days before talking wit King Artaxerxes then he prayed again right before talking to him just before opening his mouth - Nehemiah 2:4b

Your relationship with God does not depend how you have a quiet time
We should learn to pray short prayers throughout the day
If we don't remember God throughout the day, can become legalistic about our quiet times

Both are needed - a quiet time can never replace all-the-time

2008-03-15 - Be Still My Soul - Exciting Personal Bible Study

What happen to the days when you could not wait to learn more from God's word?
When was the last time you regretted having to close your Bible and go on to other activities?

Excuses:

Days of excitement are for young Christians
Mature means being dead and lifeless
See other older Christians not doing well and assume that is our fate

Paul: "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Philippians 3:12-16)

The only way to a deep, growing relationship with God - which includes feeding on His word.
Some are not put forth the effort required to dig deeper; have become lazy
Some are satisfied with what they already know and are content being spoon-fed.

"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity" (Hebrews 5:11-6:3)
We need to train ourselves (1 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 5:14)
"This the one I esteem he who ... trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2)

2008-03-18 - Be Still My Soul - How to Study

God intends for every disciple of His to delight in His Word - Psalms 119:18

Ways to study:

Study one book of the Bible - Make a simple outline; sometimes we lose patience in our understanding - keep working at it
Study a section of a book - ie Sermon of the Mount; Jesus and the disciples in the upper room
Study one chapter of the Bible - Hebrews 11, 1 Corinthians 13, and others
Study one verse - This is really deep! compare it, cross reference words, look up meanings
Study one topic - understand and master; use topical, chain-reference, and concordance

Take notes and review each day

2008-03-23 - Be Still My Soul - Pour Out Your Heart

We can to one of a few things in challenging times:

Handle it ourselves
Turn to God superficially; mentioning thing to God
Turn to God - pouring out our hearts

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:

Get in the habit of telling God how you feel
Be in a private place
Take a period of time away
Allow yourself to cry - frustration, sorrow, or joy

2008-03-24 - Be Still My Soul - Pray the Psalms

What is meant by "praying through the Psalms"?

Using the Psalms as a guide to expressing your own heart to God

Psalms 25 - wide-ranging; allowing us to confess sin; ask for wisdom
Psalms 86 - we humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness and worship God
Psalms 103 - prayer of praise

Pour out our hearts when weak or discouraged - 45, 46, 57, 62, 63, 141, 118

Teach us how to confess our sins in a heartfelt way - 32, 38, 51

2008-03-25 - Be Still My Soul - Personal

Moses enjoyed a relationship with God that few have ever known
He was face to face - It was because Moses wanted that way

When Moses was heading to the promised land God said he would not go with him - Exodus 33:2
Moses was appalled, recoils in horror
It was not enough to be forgiven
It was not enough to be successful

Moses wanted to know more of God - Now show me your glory (Exodus 33:18)

How would I react? Would I be fine with the promised land without God?
We can sing, strive to be committed, give money, work hard to share our faith, and even pray
Must be more focused on closeness to God more than on the success of our ministry

2 Corinthians 3 - in Jesus we can have a greater relationship with God than what Moses had the opportunity to have

2008-03-27 - Be Still My Soul - Persistence

We "should always pray and not give up" - Luke 18:1

Disciples who are not close to God are simply not being perisistent

Examples of persistent prayers:

Elisha - prayerd 7x before the promised rainfall came down -1 Kings 18:42-45
Jesus - returned three time to the garden of Gethsemane to surrender to God's will - Matthew 26:36-FF
Paul - prayed three times before given an answer he did not want - 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Early church - prayed all night for Peter's deliverance - Acts 12:1-17

2008-03-29 - Be Still My Soul - Praise

Thanksgiving is praise made practical

We always thank God - Colossians 1:3
Overflowing with thankfulness - Colossians 2:6-7
And be thankful - Colossians 3:15
Being watchful and thankful - Colossians 4:2

What should we be grateful for?

Answered prayer
Blessings of family and friends
Health
Material blessings
Church

Our appreciation grows, our anxiety decreases, and our joy abounds
Never known a person who habitually expressive of gratitude to be afflicted with continual discouragement and depression
Good idea to start and keep a gratitude list

2008-03-31 - Falling in Love with God - Intro

Loving God is a journey

Father draws us to himself - John 6:44

Father does not change - James 1:17
Hard to understand God when we are so inconsistent

It is OK for a journey to have highs and lows

Why love God?
Why not just obey him?
Why not just "gut out" our journey with God? Because we are commanded to

What touches you most about God?

He never quits
Always a refuge
Always will take you back
He will make sure you know where you are
Champion of the truth and the underdog
Tender with the weak and brokenhearted
Hammer the arrogant and pround
Never makes a mistake

Despite all the good qualities of God - our relationship with God still takes work

2008-04-02 - Falling in Love with God - Bitterness

An emotional response (along with fear) that succeed at undermining our love for God

A result of an uncard-for emotional wound

Matthew 18:15-17 - can resolve most issues
Sometimes we are just called on to forgive
Not forgiving is like allowing a physical cut become infected

Examples

Esau wept bitteryly when he failed to receive the blessing - Genesis 27:34
Israelites incrediblity harsh and treatment from the Eyptians - Exodus 1:14
Naomi changed her name to Mara, meaning "bitterness" (losted husband and sons) - Ruth 1:21
Hannah wept "in bitterness of soul" because of her infertility - 1 Samuel 1:10
David's men because of the loss of their children - 1 Samuel 30:6
Job while not understanding the discipline of God - Job 7:11
Missing the grace of God cause bitter root - Hebrews 12:15
Envy becomes bitterness - James 3:14

Bitterness will actively oppose any attempt to restore our love for God

Bitter or better - a channel of curses or blessings

Disciples need Jesus' example to overcome the pain of the cross

Jesus wants us to have his attitude toward suffering

What form do we expect our Christian suffering to take?
Are we looking for a Christianity that does not involve suffering?

Bible command us to get rid of all bitterness
Two ways to overcome bittereness:

Forgive - Ephesians 4:32
Trusting God is at work in all things for our good - Romans 8:28

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 greatly affects our ability to love; renders lifeless our love for God

Fear one of the most powerful and universal tools Satan uses for:

Keep man from the knowledge of God
Experience of God's power
Experience grace in our lives
Taking our eyes off of God and onto our circumstances and insecurities

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
Fear is rarely rational

Why are you so afraid - Matthew 8:26
Don't be afraid - Matthew 14:27
Don't be afraid - Matthew 17:7
Don't be afraid - Matthew 28:10
Don't be afraid - Mark 5:36
Don't be afraid - Luke 5:10
Don't be afraid - Luke 8:50
Don't be afraid - Luke 12:7
Don't be afraid - Luke 12:32
Don't be afraid - John 6:19-20
Don't be afraid - John 12:15
Don't be afraid - John 14:27

God understands the destructive nature of fear
He simply commands us to deal with our fears through our relationship with him

2008-04-05 - Falling in Love with God - Faithful Follower

Israel - when in the dessert, they did not need plant to know that God

In the end they were wishing they could be back into slavery

The way back from wandering is not found in activity but pulling out the scrapbook and remembering
When we had the conviction - "God will take care of me"

Remember:

Holiness was a simple issue between you and I God; not "having to be open"?
When your relationship with God was more private than public?

2008-04-08 - Falling in Love with God - Jesus: Their All

1 John 1:1-4

Jesus: that which:

Was from the beginning
We have heard
We have seen with our eyes
We proclaim

"No one ever spoke the way this man does" - John 7:46

Christ was their happiness
Christ was their peace
Christ was what they wanted to experience in life
They were committed to experiencing Christ

Paul's joy of completing the task the Lord Jesus has given him - Acts 20:16-24

They did not chafe at the cost of following Christ - cost was a chance to grow

2008-04-11 - Falling in Love with God - Remembering The Father

It is good to be reminded of who God the Father is:

1. God's love is unconitional

Thomas, the douber, was forgiven
Peter, who deied the Lord, was forgiven
Paul, killer of Christians, was forgiven

The only ones who dail to receive forgiveness are the ones who fail to ask for it

2. God always comes through

God is faithful, he can not disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13)

3. Nothing is impossible for God

God's power is absolute
He can change anyone and anything
It is never an issue of whether or not God has power, it is if we believe

4. God never makes a mistake

He knows what we can bear - he is always right

2008-04-12 - Falling in Love with God - Our False 'Gods'

Here are some false 'Gods' we can create in our mind:

He get "attitudes" when we misbehave
He does not really forgive
His power is limited to people's choices
He has no reason to his plan
He does not always answer prayer; too busy
He thinks we ask for too much stuff
He does not want to "over-bless"
He will bless when you have earned it
He looks are the results of our performance
He barely tolerates our presence

All of these ideas are false, contridict the Bible, and are from Satan

If this is my "Father", I will have a turbulent relationship with "him"

2008-04-13 - Falling in Love with God - Our Perception

We must wafe through our fog of experience and except the truth about God

We can not love a God who is created in our own image

God's timing doesn't always make sense to us:

Sarah - 25 years before blessing her with a son
Moses - was 80 years old before God
Joshua - 40 years of preaching outside of Jersalem
Jesus - 40 days of tempation in the dessert for about 1000 days of ministry

Some of us have bad days, maybe years. How do we return to God?

Our only hope is to believe in his promises more than we believe in our own perceptions

2008-04-19 - Falling in Love with God - Intimacy

Dictionary definition of Intimacy:

Marked by close acquaintance
Relating to one's deepest nature
Innermost
Marked by informality
Very personal

Respectful, but must not be formal - personal

"Quiet Times" OR "our time with God" assumes there is formal meeting / impersonal only
Do we treat friends or co-workers this way?

God desires to know who we are at the deepest level

2008-04-21 - Falling in Love with God - Communication

Talking to God is the best way to break the chains that our hearts captive

Tempted to everything but talk to God

Sometimes we feel that we need to get everything "just perfect" before going to God

God listens to complainers - Job, Jeremiah, Jonah, Abraham, and Moses

God prefers honest agreement to dishonest submission

Psalms 42 - Half of psalms like David telling himself what he should be thinking and feeling

Deepest parts of him longed to connect with what is deepest with God

2008-04-22 - Falling in Love with God - Listening

Whose voice should I listen to?

There are many voices:

Voice of guilt that reminds me of the past
Voice of doubt tries to tell me about the future
Voice that says we are weak and can not do it
Voice that judges me of wrong doing and bad motivation

Reason for the voices is our own sinful nature

To deal with these other voice we need to memorize scriptures - to not be swayed and know the correct voice to listen to

2008-04-23 - Falling in Love with God - Discerning God's voice

Thought	Worst that could happen	Truth	Scripture
I'll never change	I could try and fail	God can do anything	Ephesians 3:20
I'm and idiot	I could look foolish	We all look stupid; It won't kill me	Psalms 139:14
How can I help anybody?	Help but nothing changes	God will work one way or another	2 Corinthians 5:20
I don't feel God is with me	Go through a time feeling disconnected	God promised he would never leave	Matthew 28:20
Why would allow this to happen?	I have to experience pain from time to time	God has a great plan for my life	Romans 8:28
You'll never amount to anything	Your expectations don't become a reality	God has a dream for you	Jeremiah 29:11

God's word contains God's voice

2008-05-01 - Power of Spiritual Thinking - Forgiveness, part 1

Jesus calls for unlimited forgiveness - disciples plea to increase their faith

If on-goning relationship difficulties - maybe one or both are too concerned about who sinned the most rather than focusing on reconciliation

With a willingness to forgive, we cannot be forgiven by God - Matthew 6:14; Matthew 18:23-35

We must forgive in the way that God forgives - Colossians 3:13
He forgives quickly, completely, and repeatedly - and then forgets the sin - Hebrews 8:12

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