Busy Monday Mornings - Focus on God - by: Phuong Schuetz

Monday greetings friends,

A few hours into the day and I am overwhelmed thinking about the tasks before me. My mind spirals in various directions. Where do I begin? I weep in my mind so people can't see how I feel. Then, I remember Aesop's Fable of the Turtle and the Hare. Slow....and steady.....wins the race.

Friends, living by faith is a slow and steady course. Consistence and persistence is key. Focus on God. He will keep your faith strong. You are not competing against others, only yourself. Run your race with faith in Jesus.

Don't give up!

Yearning For God - from Focus on the Family

Day 4

TALKING TO GOD

Thank God that He loves you and wants you to learn to talk to Him through prayer. Ask God to teach you how to pray.

DIVING IN

Make three sets of note cards with the following words/phrases on them: grandparent, best friend, your pastor, grocery store clerk and a neighbor’s cousin. Spread out first stack according to the person you talk to most at the top and the person you talk to the least at the bottom. Arrange the second set in the same way, with the person you most want to be around at the top. Line the third set next to the other two, with the person you most miss at the top. Compare how similar your lists are.

GOING DEEPER

Prayer is simply talking to God, who loves you and wants what is best for you. Just as you may miss someone you love when he is gone, your spirit misses God when you do not spend time talking to Him. The Bible often says that this longing to be with God is like being thirsty or hungry. Psalm 42:1-2 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" You can go to God in prayer and find Him, just as the deer finds water in a stream when it is thirsty.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER

* What do you think about when you are hungry or thirsty?
* How is being with God similar to being with a person you love? How is it different?
* How might you tell that your spirit is thirsty to be with God?

John 4:14 says, "but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Receiving Forgiveness - from Focus on the Family

In my opinion I think it can be hard to ask for forgiveness. I know that I don't like admitting when I am wrong. But I fail daily. I am not perfect nor will I ever be. But I believe it is truly beneficial and helpful when we do talk to God and ask for forgiveness. It is our mini session with the greatest counselor we will ever talk to. He is our provider and protector. Asking for His forgiveness is the best thing we can do for ourselves when we sin.

DAY 3

TALKING TO GOD
Silently confess the things you have done that are hurtful to others. Ask God for forgiveness. Then thank Him for forgiving you.

DIVING IN
At your next family meal, have everyone wear earplugs or earphones but talk as usual, without trying to help each other hear what you are saying. Also wear them as you clear the table as a family.

GOING DEEPER
When you don't come to God to be forgiven, it is as if you refuse to listen to Him. By not hearing God, you separate yourself from Him, just as you did when you suddenly could not hear your family well. Psalm 32:5 says, "I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' — and you forgave the guilt of my sin." When you ask for forgiveness, God forgives you. It is as if He removes the earplugs from your ears, and you can hear Him again.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
* Have you ever kept something you did wrong a secret? If so, how did trying to hide this secret make you feel?
* What might keep you from going to God and confessing a sin?
* How do you feel when someone forgives you for something you've done wrong?

1 John 1 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Praising God In Prayer - from Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family - Day 2

DAY 2

TALKING TO GOD

*Praise God for making you and for all that you have (food, house, people who love you).

DIVING IN

*What are 10 things you are grateful for? Write them down. Tell someone about them and why you are grateful for each. Praise God for all that He has given you.

GOING DEEPER

Short prayers are prayers that relate to everyday life. People learn to praise God and express thanksgiving through them. When you open your eyes in the morning you might say, "Thank you God for my sight and my eyes".

Psalm 145:1-2 shows a great example of how to praise our Heavenly Father. It states, "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever." We need to praise God today and every day! We are so blessed!

TALKING TO EACH OTHER

*How did writing down a list of things you are grateful for change your attitude?

*If you praised God for everything He has given you, how long would it take?

*How might praising God change you?

Psalm 145:3 says, "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom".

God Longs For Us - from Focus on the Family

I am doing a 4 day study on Talking With God In Prayer that is from Focus on the Family and I want to share these days with you.

DAY 1

Talking to God can at times be hard. I know myself I have feelings in my heart on what to say but sometimes it doesn't come out the way I want it to.

Has that ever happened to you?

We all can get busy and that can make us drift away from taking time to pray. It also can hinder us from teaching our children and loved ones about God. When you are busy you don't always remember to help others get into the habit of making time for God every day.

I'm here to tell you that God longs for you. He longs for all his children. Isn't that wonderful? I want to share with you how much God wants to hear from us and how prayer can strengthen our relationship with God and each other.

TALKING TO GOD

*Thank God for the way he cares and loves us.
*Ask him to show you how much He wants you to talk with Him daily.

DIVING IN

Line up a number of small glasses next to the kitchen sink. One by one, fill the glasses. Discuss how you could fill every container in your house and water would still flow out of the faucet. In a similar way, God's longing for you WON'T END!

GOING DEEPER

God is always available. Just as turning on the faucet you can fill another glass with water, so you can enjoy God's presence by going to him in prayer.

Isaiah 30:18 says, "The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"

God wants us to grow close to Him. He wants us to be filled with His love and peace because He longs for what is best for us. Although God works on our behalf, He wants us to respond to Him. He wants us to show a willingness to share our life with Him. One way we can do that is by talking to Him daily.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER

*Who is your favorite person to talk to and what makes this person your favorite?
*Tell about a time when you really wanted to talk to this person. Why did you long to talk to this person?
*Why might God long to be gracious to you?

Matthew 28:20 says, "and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Lets start today with a renewed spirit. Lets talk with God. It can be about anything and everything. He is with is everywhere we go. God is the head of all our houses, the unseen guest and at every meal the silent listener to every conversation. Lets include him in our daily life. He is the one who gave it to us.

WHERE TO HIDE THE BIBLE

WHERE TO HIDE THE BIBLE

When confronted with the inevitable challenges and temptations of life, what
resources do you keep ready to help you succeed? Most spiritual crises occur without warning.  What do you do to prepare yourself for those sudden and surprising assaults?

A discipline that has help me the most - hiding God's Word in my heart.
Memorizing scripture has kept me from temptations.  Scriptures I have memorized have rescued me from the pit of depression, loneliness doubt and anxiety.

When I experience fear - Isaiah 41:13.
When I am anxious - Philippians 4:6-7
When I feel unqualified - 1 Peter 2:9
Need an answer to prayer - Jeremiah 33:3
When I doubt - Mark 9:23

if you want transformation - I challenge you to set aside 15 minutes each day to read between ten and twenty verses of Scripture and then think quietly about them.  When your lifestyle revolves around scripture - people will notice a change in you!