1. Our intimacy with God – His highest priority for our lives – determines the impact of our lives.
2. Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.
3. God’s Word is an immovable anchor in times of storm.
4. The awareness of God’s presence energizes us for our work.
5. God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.
6. You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.
7. The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us.
8. Fight all your battles on your knees and you win every time.
9. Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees.
10. If necessary, God will move heaven and earth to show us His will.
11. God assumes full responsibility for our needs when we obey Him.
12. Peace with God is the fruit of oneness with God.
13. Listening to God is essential to walking with God.
14. God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
15. Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness.
16. Whatever you acquire outside of God’s will eventually turns to ashes.
17. We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.
18. As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances.
19. Anything you hold too tightly, you will lose.
20. Disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice.
21. Obedience always brings blessing.
22. To walk in the Spirit is to obey the initial promptings of the Spirit.
23. You can never outgive God.
24. To live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us.
25. God blesses us so that we might bless others.
26. Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.
27. Prayer is life’s greatest time saver.
28. No Christian has ever been called to “go it alone” in his or her walk of faith.
29. We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops.
30. An eager anticipation of the Lord’s return keeps us living productively.
We began with #1: "Our intimacy with God - His highest priority for our lives - determines the impact of our lives." It's interesting that this fit in so well with my focus for this year; for LOVING GOD is very closely related to our intimacy with God. If we truly Love God will will Trust and Obey Him, and our souls will hunger and thirst for Him. Intimacy with God is what were were created for - we were created in His Image to be in relationship with Him. The barriers to intimacy with God are: Pride, Rebellion, and Hurriedness, which implies that to overcome barriers, we should have Humility, Obedience, and Time.
17-Jan: #9 "Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees" - Faith is at the heart of the Christian life; and David demonstrated trust in the midst of the overwhelming challenge against Goliath. This can be done through purifying the heart, renewing the mind, ensuring motives are pure, focusing on the Lord, believing that victory comes from the Lord, and walking in the light of the finished product.
21-Feb: #15 "Brokenness is God's requirement for maximum usefulness" - This is God's method for dealing with our self-life, removing obstacles that keep us from being fully committed to Him. God targets the areas we need working on, and then controls the "pressure" so that our self-will can be broken to allow the spirit to effectively work. Eph 2:8-9 actually shows that God already knows how He will use us; and 2 Corinth 12:6-10 remind us that when we are weak, then we are strong.
7-Mar: #20 "Disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice." - Disappointments are emotional responses to failed expectations, but Discouragement is a feeling of despair we can choose to avoid. Psalm 42:11 & 43:5 both essentially point us to hope in God whenever we are in despair or disturbed. In 1 Sam 30:4, David and those with him "wept until there was no strength in them to weep." While discouragement is universal and recurring, it is temporary. Remembering who is in charge helps us through, so that we don't fall into the consequences - divided attention, blaming others, anger & depression, estrangement, loss of confidence, a negative spirit, unwise decisions, and drifting away from the Lord. Instead we can look IN (w/in ourselves), UP (to God), BACK (God's past faithfulness, for He does not change), and FORWARD (ahead to what God can do). And we should avoid being HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Take rest to reorganize, resolve to trust God, and resist discouragement. Habakkuk 3:17-19 tells us that no matter what, we can exult in the Lord and rejoice in God.
21-Mar: #12 "Peace with God is the fruit of oneness with God" - John 14:1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me". The first step to having the peace of God (a continuing decision) is to have peace with God (a one-time decision). "'There is no peace for the wicked,' says the LORD" (Isaiah 48:22). So, the key to peace is relationship with Christ (it is HIS peace, for He is the source) - it is not based on our circumstances and it is beyond our understanding b/c we may not know how we can have peace when all things are falling apart around us. So, peace is not absence of all that troubles but b/c of Him, Who anchors our soul. He didn't promise smooth sailing, just a safe landing. He is the Prince of Peace.
4-Apr: #18 "As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances" - Are we victims of circumstances or victors? Our view of God in our circumstances affect our relationship with Him and our view of our circumstances. God is in control and will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him. Like Joseph, we may not understand it all, but we can know that He is with us through it all. Whatever God sends or allows, He has plans to do something amazing. Just remember that He is sitting on the throne; and no matter how many broken pieces there are, He knows how to put it together.
18-Apr: #24 "To live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us." - It is clearly said that Christ is our life in Col 3:4. Before Christ, we were separated. And though we are born again to a changed life, we still live in a rebellious world and have a sin nature. So, in order to live the Christian life, we must remember "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal 2:20). "In Christ" is the summary of Paul's theology (Phil 1:21). This is because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Jesus instructed the disciples to wait for Pentecost because they weren't fully ready for ministry till the Holy Spirit indwelt them. Having the Holy Spirit in us is a requirement for intimacy. We can't live the Christian life on our own, we are equipped with the Holy Spirit. It is one thing to struggle through life on our own; it is quite another to allow Christ to live in and through us. In Christ makes me fit for heaven; but, Christ in me makes me fit for this life.
16-May: #29 "We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops" -The main text for this message is Psalm 23, a great comfort during our times in the valley. Valley experiences are inevitable, for we cannot have mountains without valleys. God has a higher purpose than to just keep us happy, he cares about our Relationship with Him. And, to lead us from one mountain to another, we need to go thru a valley. God allows us to go through valley experiences, but, we should avoid floundering in them. The depth the the valley often determines how much God accomplishes through it; and we should endure through the valleys so that we will not lose our reward. Remember that the Good Shepherd is with us in our valleys as well as on our mountaintops. Valleys are our most profitable times of learning and growing, especially in learning about God and the purifying work of pain. We should avoid responding incorrectly by having a correct belief system, understanding the ways of God, basing our faith on the Word of God rather than emotion, and knowing His Promises. Right responses are to surrender to God, believe He will use it for good, rest in His Wisdom, Love, and Power, and to thank God. Valleys make us more useful for God!
6-Jun: #28 "No Christian has ever been called to “go it alone” in his or her walk of faith." - Hebrews 10:25 is one of the strongest statements in Scripture on assembling together. The Church was established by Christ in His purpose for our assembling together if for worship/fellowship, instruction in the Word of God, carrying out the Great Commission, protection from being swayed, exercising spiritual gifts, our need for one another, and having a greater impact on the world.
21-Jun: #30 "An eager anticipation of the Lord’s return keeps us living productively" - Christ can come back at anytime, since there is nothing more that needs to happen before He Returns. So, since He can come back at any moment, we are to live godly lives. The "quickly" often used when referring to His return is not necessarily in timeline but in terms of being immediate when He DOES Return, "quickly" for that moment. Also, as 2 Peter 3:8 says, a thousand years are like a day. Our responsibility is to 1) watch faithfully, doing what He called us to do until He comes, 2) wait peacefully, not being anxious and standing firm even in the face of mockers (2 Thess 2:15), 3) work diligently, and 4) worship joyfully. We should make our lives count, by spending and investing our time wisely; so be intentional, for TIME is a precious fixed "commodity", that when spent, can never be gained back. On the other hand, when we give of our time to someone, it is then a precious gift. Our discussion time was closed with an encouragement to evaluate our life and consider that if our life were a book, which section of the bookstore would it be in? Adventure? Leisure? Inspirational?
I have really enjoyed this series on the Life Principles, and I have definitely become a "fan" of Charles Stanley. What a blessing this has been, and I look forward to going through the Life Principles devotional next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment