Even spiritual men and women become discouraged. You can see it in their eyes. And they wonder why. ~ Jon Courson

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virture, and if there be any praise think on these things.
	Philippians 4:8
The theme of Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is that the key to experiencing joy in your heart is to have the right thoughts in your mind. How are we to think? We’re to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Even spiritual men and women become discouraged. You can see it in their eyes. And they wonder why. It’s because they’ve been thinking thoughts which are not true and honest, lovely and pure. They stared at David Letterman before they went to bed. And they wonder why they wake up grumpy. If you are prone to depression, do not watch late night TV. You’ll wake up cynical about life and with a tainted twisted perspective. Instead, fill your mind with the goodness of God and the wealth of His Word, and, like Paul, you’ll awake with a song in your soul.

Humanity has a problem. It's sin. ~ Bob Coy

SIN ALL STARTED IN EDEN

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:17 (NKJV)

Humanity has a problem. It's sin. Sin. Every day, in every way, people sin. So much so that it defines us. Sin isn't just something that we do, it's what we are. It's our nature. It's in our DNA. None of us have a choice in this matter. We're born into this existence as damaged goods. We are flawed and fallen-fallen from the plan and purpose God originally had for us.

How did this happen? It all goes back to the Garden of Eden where God first made man. There he was, spotless and new, without any defect, flaw, or sin of any sort. All was well with man, the world around him, and God. There was just one thing God required of man in order to maintain this perfect harmony: "Don't eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you do, you will die."

Several significant things were established when God gave His command. He showed that He was in authority, that man was responsible to obey Him, that it was possible to disobey Him, and that choosing disobedience would bring deadly consequences.

We all know what happened. Man chose to disobey, and by doing so he became something less than what God required. That's what sin essentially is-falling short of God's standard for our lives. From this point on, man became something different. His nature was altered, and he lost harmony with God, the world around him, and even himself.

Like a serpent, sin had wrapped itself around man's heart and proceeded to wind its way through the pages of human history.

Discuss, Dig, Decide

Discuss with your group how you have seen the effects of sin in your own life and the high cost of its consequences. Share an example of how a sinful choice produced sinful results.

Dig into Genesis Chapter 2. What purposes and plans do you discover in this passage? How were these plans altered in the choices that were made? What was the real sin that took place? How do you see that same sin showing up in your own life?

Decide with your group how this month’s study can offer each of you the greatest benefit and blessing. Share your expectations. If space is available, invite someone new to the group. Take bold steps to ask someone who you feel would be blessed to be a part of your group.

Man is so needy, and God has so much to give. ~ Bob Hoekstra

Even More on David and the Lord's Lovingkindness

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house. (Psalm 36:7-8a)

We have been meditating upon Old Testament passages that speak of God's lovingkindness (a term very much like the word grace in the New Testament). We have been considering verses from David's life and testimony. David treasured the lovingkindness of the Lord. "Howprecious is Your lovingkindness, O God!" An understanding of the far-reaching implications of the Lord's lovingkindness gave him this perspective. David learned that the Lord's lovingkindness (His zealous, steadfast love for His people) drew hearts to seek God for His gracious protection. "Therefore the children of men put their trust under theshadow of Your wings." David also knew that God's lovingkindness fully satisfies hungry hearts that seek the Lord's fullness. "They areabundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house."

Man is so needy, and God has so much to give. The needs of man could hardly be overstated. The resources of God could only be understated. Words like emptiness and deficiency describe humanity. Words like fullness and abundance describe our God.

Man begins his human existence in spiritual bankruptcy (born in sin and ready to pursue ungodliness). "Behold, I was brought forth ininiquity, And in sin my mother conceived me…The wicked areestranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Psalm 51:5 and 58:3). For these desperate needs, the Lord has forgiveness and salvation. "Blessed is he whosetransgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered…The LORD is…my salvation" (Psalm 32:1 and 18:2). Yet, once redeemed, man still must not look to himself, nor to the world from which he came. "My soul thirsts for You…in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water"(Psalm 63:1). The Lord must be the new supply for the new man. Like David, we must find what we need from "the fullness of [God's] house."When we look to God's fullness to replace our inadequacy, we will find the same spiritual satisfaction that David testified about long ago. "Mysoul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouthshall praise You with joyful lips" (Psalm 63:5). We also will rejoice, because we will be "abundantly satisfied."

Dear God of spiritual abundance, I am so blessed to be in Your family. Please remind me often that the world and the flesh are spiritually bankrupt. Teach me to draw upon the fullness of Your house through humble dependence upon You. Every time I have ever done that, my heart has been fully satisfied!

What do you let your mind do when you have problems? ~ Joyce Meyer

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
—Proverbs 3:5-6

What do you let your mind do when you have problems? Do you try to figure things out instead of leaving them in God's capable hands?

There is the mind of the flesh, which is wrong thinking based on your thoughts and reasoning. And there is the mind of the Spirit, which is right thinking based on the Word of God and the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. Confusion, frustration, and anxiety are the products of operating in the mind of the flesh. Joy is the product of the Spirit and of following the leading of the Spirit in prayer and fellowship with God.

If you operate in the mind of the Spirit, you can have "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding," and you can have "joy unspeakable" and be "full of glory" right in the middle of terrible trials and tribulations. (See Philippians 4:7; 1 Peter 1:8 KJV).The peace "which passeth all understanding" and "joy unspeakable" are types of peace and joy that don't make any sense. In other words, when you have these types of peace and joy within, you are happy without having any particular reason to be happy. You are happy just because you know that God is and that He is able to "direct and make straight and plain your paths" in an exceedingly, abundantly above all-you-can-ask-or-think way. You don't have to try to change yourself or anyone else—and that makes you happy.

You don't have to worry about tomorrow—and that makes you happy. You don't have to worry about yesterday—and that makes you happy. You don't have to know how to do everything—and that makes you happy. All you need to do is know the One who knows. Trying to figure things out will only wear you out. But if you trust God for the answers, you can enter His rest.

every single person is going to spend eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. ` Mark Balmer

Take a Look Around

Based on “Under His Influence – Emptied and Filled”

by Pastor Mark Balmer;
8/29-30/09, Message #MB387;

Daily Devotional #6 - “Take a Look Around”

Preparing the Soil (Introduction): After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31, NLT)

Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Stop and take a look around today.

When you are at work, home, in a store, or at a restaurant, take a look at the faces of people. As Pastor Mark reminded us, every single person is going to spend eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. It is as simple as that.

And it is God’s desire that every single person spend eternity with Him!

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

We live in a broken world where so many people are sadly lost and don’t live with the love of God inside of them. Many are walking around lost in the darkness of our world with no true meaning or peace, desperately searching for answers. As Christ followers, we are called to be a light for God, evident by the way we live on a daily basis.

We are to stand out, apart from the rest of the world, so when people look at us they see a difference – a supernatural difference. And more importantly, when they notice that we are different, we pray that they will desire what we have, which is God Himself, living inside of us—a free gift that He wants to give to every single person. He desires for every person to spend eternity with Him. As the body of Christ, we have no time to waste.

It is so easy to become complacent and to focus on ourselves instead of focusing on Jesus, as we are called to do. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) It is time for us to take a stand and live a Spirit Filled life for God!

Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): So what should we do?

First and foremost, before anything else, we must always remember to empty ourselves of us.

God cannot fill us if we are already filled. So spend time journaling, reading God’s Word and asking God to help you become empty of self. Pray to Him, talk with Him, and allow Him to help you. Completely surrender your life to Him. He wants to work in you and through you, but you have to be willing to let go and allow Him to accomplish His will in your life. Challenge yourself to do this on a daily basis. Constantly empty yourself of you, so God can fill you with the Holy Spirit. Do it today!

Cultivating (Additional Reading): Acts 1:12-14; Job 33:4; Psalm 143:10; Ezekiel 2:2
lh

Leadership: Do your words and actions always match? (84-2) ~ Barry Werner

Do your words and actions always match? (84-2)

August 25th, 2009 in 1 Samuel, Attitude, Leadership Principles, Obedience to God, Old Testament | leave a response

The Lord grants favor and honor to leaders who seek Him. Read 1 Samuel 2:26 and 3:15–4:1.

John Maxwell states in his book The 360 Degree Leader that “The true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” Samuel had influence. “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men.” When Samuel spoke people listened “…and He (the Lord) let none of his (Samuel’s) words fall to the ground. All Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.” What did Samuel have that other leaders did not have to garner this kind of favor from God?

From his childhood Samuel was obedient to the Lord and Eli (his elder and mentor). Obedience is described in scripture in terms of attitude and action. We see an attitude of truth and the action of obedience toward his mentor Eli when Samuel, as just a boy, delivered a heartbreaking message from God concerning the future of Eli’s family. Samuel was afraid but when his mentor requested the whole truth Samuel complied.

Leaders are still measured by their attitude and actions. They will be measured by those they report to, those on their team and the God that created them. This measuring will continue from their first nervous actions of leadership responsibility until their last. Those closest to us will evaluate our words by our actions and then judge if our words are reliable and contain truth. Leaders gain influence when their words and actions match and lose influence when their words and actions do not match.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 indicating that your words and actions always match, how do you rate yourself? If you are a seven or below you will need to begin immediately to change your attitude and action if you have any hope to be effective in your leadership role. Your assignment:

• Go to God and ask forgiveness for the times you have not had an obedient attitude or actions toward Him.
• Create a list of actions you can take that will facilitate change in your attitude and daily actions – a list of positive action steps that you will apply to your daily life that change your inner, deeper secret truths that control your attitude and actions.
• Commit your list to God asking Him to give you truths for change from His Word and power to change from His Holy Spirit.

• 

Tags: Actions, Words

« Are you striving for reputation or honoring God? (84-1)

Are you afraid of confrontation? (84-3)

Twitter Proverbs from Rick Warren

1. Ask God to use ALL who teach his Word today."I wont sin by failing to pray for u."1Sam12:23 Please pause&pray,then RT. Thx!about 3 hours ago from web
2. Dr. N. Geisler, 9am PST Sun “If God exists, why evil?” Saddleback’s Ahmanson Lectures on Apologetics-3http://bit.ly/38sfdiabout 5 hours ago from TweetDeck
3. Dr. J.P Moreland NOW LIVE, “Has Science Made Belief in God Obsolete?” Saddleback’s Ahmanson Lectures on Apologetics-2http://bit.ly/38sfdiabout 6 hours ago from TweetDeck
4. Dr Darrell Bock, teaching right now on "Jesus from the Earth Up" Saddleback's Ahmanson Lectures on Apologeticshttp://bit.ly/38sfdiabout 8 hours ago from web
5. @UYWILarry Rick,thx for being a Kingdom revolutionary! LARRY,the Church was global centuries before globalization! Jn17:183:40 PM Sep 4th from web
6. "Come&see"(attraction) &"Go&tell"(proclaimation) are both biblical evangelism.To all, Jesus says"COME!" To believers,"GO!"3:23 PM Sep 4th from web
7. God loves ALL styles as long as worship is "in spirit & truth"(Jn 4:24) It must be Authentic&Accurate.Devotional&Doctrinal.3:16 PM Sep 4th from web
8. No music is "sacred",just the lyrics.Music preference shows ur background,not theology. FACT:God likes some music u dont!3:06 PM Sep 4th from web
9. 30 yrs ago I cut "impossible" out of my dictionary because its not in God's vocab."With God all things are possible"Mt19:262:51 PM Sep 4th from web
10. When Kennedy said "We're going to the moon" it was still impossible.Never confuse decisionmaking & problemsolving.2:46 PM Sep 4th from web
11. Make the decision THEN solve the problems."if you wait 4 perfect conditions you'll never get anything done."Eccl 11:4(NLT)2:44 PM Sep 4th from web
12. Your LifePurpose comes in 3 stages:1WHATGod wants u to do. 2 HOW& WHERE 3WHEN(timing) Delays between stages test ur faith.10:38 AM Sep 4th from web
13. Saddleback this wkend: FAITH& REASON;Norm Geisler,JPMoreland,Darrell Bock,William Lane Craig,Dinesh D'Souza,Greg Koukl! 6 messages9:18 AM Sep 4th from web
14. "Surrender your WHOLE body to be used for righteous PURPOSES.”Rom 6:13(TEV) Which part of you is the least converted?8:32 AM Sep 4th from web
15. Discipleship is thinking,feeling &doing:Head,heart&hands!Rom 6:13 Churches &people usually overstress1 &neglect the other28:30 AM Sep 4th from web
16. Humility isnt thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less.If you focus on others, you forget you.1Cor10:2410:42 PM Sep 3rd from web
17. Accept diversity but not divisiveness:Warn a divisive person,then warn a 2nd time.Then have nothing 2do with him.Titus3:105:38 PM Sep 3rd from web
18. More are enslaved TODAY worldwide than before the Civil War.Where are OUR abolitionists? Human trafficking #2 profit crime4:44 PM Sep 3rd from web
19. Liberal theology: "A God w/o wrath brought men w/o sin into a Kingdom w/o judgment thru a Christ w/o a Cross."- Neibuhr '384:37 PM Sep 3rd from web
20. FUN:Soc media in Bible:"Insomniac,I TWITTER away" Ps102:7(Mes) Also Isa.38:14(NAS) Saddleback-1st church on Internet-'92!8:23 AM Sep 3rd from web