7/29/2010 Injecting Humor Into Your LifeScriptures: Proverbs 17:22, Psalm 2:4, Psalm 126
Do you know thats its okay to laugh in church? The Bible tells us that "laughter doeth good like a medicine," a good medicine for a host of ailments! Laughter is an amazing thing, it is a: tension dissolver, antidote to anxiety and a shock absorber. Let's practice the phrase: "if we can laugh at it, we can live with it!" Mark Twain said it this way: "laughter is the greatest weapon that we humans possess and its the one we use the least." Need more laughter in your life but wondering how? 1) Look for laughter- Ecclesiates 3:4 tells us "there is a time to laugh." Laughter is a great witness to those who do not know Jesus our Savior. Psalm 126 says "when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, their mouth was filled with laughter...then the heathen said "the Lord hath done great things for them." The heathen saw their laughter and understood the power of God! Lets witness with joy! 2) Take a daily dose of laughter- "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Research has shown that "children on average laugh four hundred times per day, while adults on average laugh fifteen times per day." Where did the change happen? A good laugh is good for your heart! Literally! "It increases circulation, improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the body's tissue." With all the stress in this world, we need a resource thats God given, we need laughter. How many times a day do you allow laughter? 3) Follow the Creator of Laughter- God has a sense of humor! Think about some of the animals he created: organutans, anteaters and hammerhead sharks! Laughter is the physical manifestation of joy! Its the very sound of joy! We need to let people hear it! Psalm 30:11-12 says God turns "mourning into dancing," we need to let God turn our mourning into dancing. We need to let Him gird us with gladness. Its time to let the Creator of laughter inject some humor into our lives. We need to show the world the joy that comes from serving our marvelous Savior! 7/26/2010 LifeScriptures: Matthew 10:39
We all know that life is unpredictable and we, as humans, seem to have certain expectations on how life is supposed to work out. We also know that in most cases life often goes the opposite way than we expected. Jesus said, in Matthew: "He that findeth his life shall lose it." Trying to find our own way without God is dangerous! When we cling to our own desires and opinions we can lose our own life. We only have one life and our lives are not something to gamble with! We have to go beyond living for ourselves. So often we become slaves to ourselves, to our: lusts, sins, fears, shortcomings, faults and experiences. God shows us that when we, humans, take control of our lives we are actually losing control. But lets look at the rest of the verse: "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." How do you find something you let go of? By giving our lives to Jesus, He acutally shows us what is enslaving us and through His control of our lives we are set free! With Jesus at the helm we can live free of destructive behaviors and destructive dependencies. A life with Christ's control is one with present meaning; a life beyond fears, lusts, faults, sins and limited experiences. One of the hardest things in life is to let go, its especially hard to let go off others. But what's even harder than letting go of others, its letting go of ourselves to fall into the hands of Jesus. We need to let go of the control and of our human expectations and let God! Its time to let go! 7/23/2010 God's Blessing is Awaiting Your ArrivalScriptures: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Before we get into this lesson realize this: God has a blessing just for YOU! What God has for you, it is for you! Its not dependent on your position in life: young or old, rich or poor, educated or not, single or married. You will not have to lie, steal, cheat, politic or deceive someone to get it. The blessing God has for you will come your way in His time! You may not have everything you desire at this time, but a blessing is coming your way! Lets look at your scriptures from the book of Samuel: Samuel has come to anoint a son of Jesse to be the next king and Jesse calls all his sons, except David. Jesse did not want David around, but the prophet had a question for Jesse: "are here all thy children?" God's blessing is not based on: other people's feelings about you, how people treat you, or if people ignore and overlook you! God's blessing is for you! Samuel said to them we will not sit down until David shows up and when Samuel saw David the Lord said "Arise, anoint Him, for this is He." David was the one God had chosen and the anointing awaited his arrival. No person or situation could keep him from God's blessing. God has a blessing just for you! Nothing and no one can stop it! But we must keep our hearts right with God, because soon we will arrive at our destination of blessing! "Samuel anointed a young shepherd to be the next king of Israel and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David." Scriptures: Matthew 24:6-7, Psalm 73:6, Proverbs 13:10, Proverbs 16:18, Ecclesiastes 4:1-4
Think for a minute: have you heard of any rumors of wars lately? Jesus said "wars will break out near and far," but He doesn't want us to panic! To understand this sign, we must first know what war is: "a state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict between nations, sates or parties." In the Bible, Jesus talks about two types of wars: "nation aganist nation...kingdom aganist kingdom." He shows us that there is a difference between nations and kingdoms. In the Greek, nation, or "ethnos," is translated to mean ethnic. The Word shows us that this war is between ethnic groups: its a war about beliefs. When one group feels superior to another or desires what another group has. The root of this war is sin, specifically pride! "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall," says Proverbs 16:18. Satan uses man's pride to cause destruction. The second type of war is "kingdom aganist kingdom." The Greek word for kingdom is "basileia," which is translated to mean "something that has borders." It is a war between borders, a war about power! Its about more land, more poeple, more resources, more finance, and more power. The root of this war is sin: envy! "So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit," Solomon wrote it in Ecclesiastes. The world's system condones oppression and oppressors have great power. Their victims are helpless and Satan is exalted in their oppression. Jesus has warned us that these wars are coming, but He tells us "see that ye be not trouble." We are not to panic, but continue to seek His kingdom and know He holds us in His hands. Jesus told us to "take heed," for He comes to use in troubled times! |
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