Thursday, October 31, 2013

Everything Is Beautiful for Its Time by Rick Warren

“God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11a NLT) The seasons of life include both good and bad times. Life is full of contrasts. We go through mountains, and we go through valleys. We go through successes, and we go through failures. We have wins, and we have losses. In weather, there are four seasons. But in your life, there are dozens of different seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 gives us a representation of different life experiences: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace” (NLT). Life is a combination of contrasting seasons. All sunshine and no rain make a desert. If you are following God's will, if you're really trying to live your life according to the way God wants you to live, then all of these experiences have meaning and purpose and value in your life. And they're all God's will! Some of you think that the only time you're in God's will is when you're at church or having a quiet time. You can be in God's will as you’re cleaning out a closet. You can be in God's will mowing your lawn. You can be in God's will moving to a new location or not moving to a new location. There's a time and season for everything. Ray Stevens sang a song called "Everything Is Beautiful in Its Own Way." He lied. It's not true. Everything is not beautiful. Cancer is not beautiful. Child abuse is not beautiful. War is not beautiful. Everything is not beautiful in its own way. He misquoted Ecclesiastes 3:11 which says,"God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” That's very different. God can take even the bad things and, in the proper season, turn them around and use them for good in the way he intends. Some of you are going through a season right now that is not beautiful. It's ugly. Your finances look ugly. Your health looks ugly. Your marriage or a friendship looks ugly. Your future looks ugly. But God can make something good out of it if you'll give him the pieces. Talk It Over What are the pieces of an ugly situation that you need to trust to God today? What does the world tell you is the purpose for a difficult season of life? How do you know if you are in God’s will?

Are you gorgeous on the inside?

Think only about the right things!

Saturday, October 12, 2013
   
Trust One Day at a Time
by Rick Warren
"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.… Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:6, 8 NLT)

God wants you to trust him one day at a time: "Give us this day our daily bread." Not for next week. Not for next year. Not for next month. Just one day at a time.

Philippians 4:6 and 8 show us that there are four things that you need to do to trust God on a daily basis: "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.… Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (NLT).

Worry about nothing.
Why is worry such a big deal? Because it's not just a bad habit. It's a flat out sin! But God keeps his promises, and you can trust that he will take care of you. "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34).
Pray about everything.
Prayer can change things. Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (NIV) God solved your biggest problem — getting into Heaven — when he sent Jesus to die for you. If God loved you enough to send Jesus to die for you, don't you think he loves you enough to take care of all these other problems?
Thank God in all things.
No matter what happens, give thanks. The Bible doesn't say, "For all things give thanks." It says, "In all things give thanks." You don't have to be thankful for bad things in your life. You should never be thankful for evil. You don't have to be thankful for cancer or a car accident or war or abuse. But God says in everything give thanks. Why? Because you know that God's going to take care of you. You know he's going to meet your needs. You know he's going to help you.
Think about the right things.
God gives us a list of things to think about, things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
Where do you find things that are pure and lovely to think about? At the movies? I don't think so. On TV? No. You will only find pure and lovely and honorable thoughts in the Word of God. You need to read it, study it, memorize it, and fill your mind with it. Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" (NLT)

Talk It Over

Where do your thoughts turn most often?
In what situation do you need to thank God today?
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