May 22 2016 Your Guilt And God's Love

YOUR GUILT AND GOD’S LOVE

Psalm 32:3-5 – When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

1 John 4:18 – Perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.

What To Do About It:

1. Trust God to forgive you.

Romans 3:23-24 – All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet now God declares us not guilty.  If we trust in Jesus Christ, Who in kindness freely takes away our sins.

2. Learn to forgive yourself.

Proverbs 4:25 – Look straight ahead with honest confidence, don’t hang your head in shame.

3. Rely on God’s grace.

Psalm 119:96 – Nothing is perfect except (God’s) Word.

Psalm 103:13-14 – As a Father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honor Him. He knows what we are made of, He remembers that we are but dust.

Romans 8:31 – There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

4. Stop the negative self talk.

Proverbs 4:23 – Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Job 9:20 – (Job) Everything I say seems to condemn me.

Philippians.4:8 – Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right, think about all you can thank God for and be glad about.

5. Remember you can’t please everybody.

Proverbs 29:25 – It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you.

6. Commit yourself to doing God’s Will.

Matthew 11:29-30 – (Jesus) Come to Me, all you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you res.  The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.

January 24 2016 Daring To Imagine

DARING TO IMAGINE

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 3

Three Categories in the Bible

Some things we shouldn’t imagine

Some things we can’t imagine

Some things we should imagine

WHY DREAM?

1. My imagination shapes my life.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)" . . . For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is."

Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)"Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts."

Genesis 11:6 (Amp) The Lord said, "Now that they are one people speaking one language, this is only the beginning of what they will do. Now nothing they have IMAGINED they can do will be impossible for them!"

2. Imagining is essential to living by faith.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NCV)"We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever."

3. Great lives are built around great dreams.

Ephesians 1:18 (NJB) "May God enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope that his calling holds for you."

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)"Where there is no vision, the people perish . . ."

4. God’s dream for my life is bigger than my dream.

Ephesians 3:20 (Mes)"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever IMAGINE or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by his Spirit working deeply and gently within us." 

Let the size of my God, determine the size of my goals

5. Doubt is the enemy of imagination.

James 1:5­7 "If you need wisdom, just ask God for it, because He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. But when you ask God, you must believe in faith and not doubt. For a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven back and forth, and tossed about by the wind. Such doubters cannot decide about anything they do, so they should not imagine receiving anything from the Lord."

Mark 9:22­24 (NLT) "The man said, ‘Please heal my son if you can.’ Jesus replied, ‘What do you mean, "If I can?" Anything is possible IF a person believes.’ The father replied, ‘I do believe, but help me not to doubt!’"

6. Growing my character will clarify my vision.

2 Peter 1:5­9 (NCV) "To your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self­control; and to your self­control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love for everyone. IF all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to BE USEFUL AND PRODUCTIVE in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But anyone who does not have these things CANNOT SEE CLEARLY."

7. If a dream is from God, it will be connected somehow to to His Church & Plan for the World

"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life." Mark 8:35 (NLT)

August 2 2015 How To Overcome Temptation

HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION

Matthew 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil One.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (GN) "Every temptation that comes your way is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise. and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist; at the time you are tempted, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out." 

FIVE STEPS TO OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

1. Refuse TO BE INTIMIDATED

Ephesians 6:10-11 (GN) "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.   Put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand aaisnt the devil’s schemes.” "

2. Request HELP FROM GOD

Psalm 50:15 (GN) "Call to me when trouble comes;  I will save you, and you will praise me."

Hebrews 4:15-16 (LB) "(Jesus) ... had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned So let us come boldly ... to God... and find grace to help us in our times of need "

3. Refocus YOUR ATTENTION

James 1:14-15 (LB) "Temptation is the pull of your own evil thoughts and wishes. These evil thoughts is lead to evil actions. . . "

Proverbs 4:23 (GN) "Be careful how you think;  your life is shaped by your thoughts.” 

4. Reveal YOUR STRUGGLE TO A FRIEND

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (GN) "Two are better than one, because together ... if one falls down, the other can help him up.  But if someone is alone and falls ... there's no one to help him.  "

James 5:16 "Admit your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." 

5. Resist THE TEMPTOR

James 4:7 (JB) "Give in to God then resist the devil and he will run away from you.  "

Ephesians 6:17 (JB)... accept salvation from God to be your helmet and receive the word of God... to use as a sword."

June 22 2014 Replacing Condemnation With Confidence

Replacing Condemnation With Confidence

I John 3:21 – If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.

Two Causes Of Self-Condemnation:

1. Unresolved guilt. (Ps. 32:3-5)
2. Unrealistic expectations. (Ps. 119:96)

What To Do About It:

1. Accept God’s forgiveness.

Romans 3:23-24 – All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet now God declares us not guilty. If we trust in Jesus Christ, Who in kindness freely takes away our sins.

2. Forgive yourself.

Proverbs 4:25 – Look straight ahead with honest confidence, don’t hang your head in shame.

3. Relax in God’s grace.

Psalm 119:96 – Nothing is perfect except (God’s) Word.

Psalm 103:13-14 – As a Father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honor Him. He knows what we are made of, He remembers that we are but dust.

Romans 8:31 – There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

4. Eliminate negative self-talk.

Proverbs 4:23 – Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Job 9:20 – (Job) Everything I say seems to condemn me.

Philippians 4:8 – Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right, think about all you can thank God for and be glad about.

5. Quit trying to please everybody.

Proverbs 29:25 – It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you.

6. Focus only on doing God’s will.

Matthew 11:29-30 – (Jesus) Come to Me, all you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads, and I will give you res. The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.

May 12 2013 Keeping Love Alive In Your Marriage

Keeping Love Alive In Our Marriage

Proverbs 20:14 - Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone.

5 Ingredients For A Lasting Love

1.  Respect.
Ephesians 5:33 - Every husband must love his wire as himself and every wife must respect her husband.

1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect.

2.  Responsibility.
Philippians 2:4-5 - Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

3.  Recreation.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 - Enjoy life with the woman you love.

4.  Romance.
Proverbs 3:21, 23 - Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up, an unloved woman who is married.

Proverbs 5:18-19 - Rejoice in your wife.  Let her charms and tender embrace satisfy you.  Let her love alone fill you with delight.

5.  Resolve.
Malachi 2:15 -  Has not the Lord made you one in body and spirit?  So guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your affections, for they influence everything else in your life.

Psalm 127:1 - Unless the Lord builds the house, it’s builders labor in vain.