Run With Horses

How is your Prayer Life? God wants to hear from you!

Prayer
Jesus is the foundation for prayer.We talk to God and and heard and answered because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God wants to hear and answer the prayers of His children!
Prayer is talking to God. The Holy Spirit helps us prayer when we don’t know what or how to pray.Prayer is natural, just talking to God, but there is also the opportunity to practice and improve in our prayer life. Study the prayers of Paul and David!
We pray in His name.We are able to pray because He opened the way, tore the temple veil. We pray because He offers us help and comfort.We pray because He calls us friends.We pray because He offers us forgiveness.We pray because He offers us strength.We pray because He gives our lives meaning and purpose.We pray because often there is nothing else we can do!
Practical Tips:Keep a prayer journal.Write out key things you want to pray about before you start.Read a Psalm and pray along with it. Works with other passages too!Pray with a friend.Pray through the attributes of God.

Jesus IS our Firm Foundation!

 
Jesus IS Our Firm Foundation
 
Who Jesus IS matters most!
God!
Creator!
Savior!
Friend!
 
What Jesus has done in the past:
Creation.
Lived life as an example to all believers.
Called and trained disciples – gave us the priority and the method.
Taught biblical truth in the context of life.
Took our sins on Himself and died in our place, purchasing our freedom from sin!
He went to the grave and rose again 3 days later, proving once and for all that our Hope in Him is not in vain. He won the victory over death and the grave.
He sent His Spirit to be in us and live with us forever.
He gave us His righteousness.
He accepted us as His bride, the body of Christ, the church.
He gave us a purpose for life – joining Him on this fantastic work of reconciling people to God.
Blessed us in the heavenly places will all spiritual blessings, given us all we need for life and godliness.
 
 
What Jesus is doing in the present:
Interceding on our behalf.
Preparing a place for us for eternity.
Mediator between God and man
 
What Jesus will do in the future:
Come to take us home!
Reign over all the earth with us.
Be praised and exalted forever.
 
 

Have YouLeft Your Foundation?

The Gospel is Our Strong Foundation
 
What is the Gospel?
First, the Bad News… We are broken, separated from God and His design for our lives by sin.
 
The Good News!
God IS!
God is INTENTIONALLY working in the world.
He loves us!
Jesus lived as an example for us, died as a sacrifice for us, was buried in a grave and rose again – victorious over death and offering us LIFE and HOPE.
 
Why is it so important?
What makes this foundation, so foundational for a Christian?
It recognizes God’s work in our lives and in the world. It points the glory to God and gives us a purpose for our pain and trials. It gives our lives meaning and hope.
 
How do we maintain it?
A foundation needs to be maintained to prevent corrosion and decay.
Spiritual growth is a result of God’s work in our lives.
 
How do we build on it?
A foundation is meant to support a structure. In this case a life.
Practice. Follow Jesus in the little things to learn to follow Him in the big ones. The practice of obedience grows our faith.

Why Do We Resist Change?

Why Do We Resist Change?
 
Change is scary for most people. “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” carries the implied need for change. You have to make different choices. Denying yourself in anything is a big change for most of us. Choosing to serve in any way is another change. Following Jesus is giving the reigns of your life to someone else is a life of constant change. There are some good reasons why we make it more difficult than it has to be though. If you want to grow, to become the person God intends for you to be, you need to change. Here are some things to be aware of as you pursue the change that God is working in your life.
 
1. Too much too soon.
It is easy to see our failures and jump in to change everything at once. That usually doesn’t work.
It helps to prioritize the needs you see in your life and attack one at a time. At least commit to one and develop new routines or habits in one area before adding too many others. Don’t make it harder on yourself than you need to!
 
2. Not connecting related problems or not attacking the root issue.
If we make a change in an area that is influenced heavily by other decisions we make, we may find ourselves fighting a loosing battle to change something that is an uphill battle.
IE. trying to address your financial problems without addressing your spending habits.
 
3. All people tend to seek out the easy route naturally. That is usually the way we are familiar with already, no change or learning required.
You already know how to do things one way. Change means learning a new way and developing a new way of looking at life and responding to difficulties. Everyone prefers level ground, no one wants to run uphill. But the view is better from there!
 
4. Not sure why we need to change. If you don’t understand the goal clearly, or believe in it, you may find yourself lacking motivation when faced with a difficult change.
Why is this change important for you? If you can’t answer that you will struggle to make the change. Spend time thinking through and examining your life, identify meaningful change areas and make sure you understand why it is necessary before you begin.
 
5. Not having SMART goals.
Specific. Measurable. Actionable. Realistic. Time-specific.
Vague thoughts about doing better don’t usually work.
 
6. We often give up to soon. Deep, meaningful life change takes time and effort.
Anything worth doing will take time and effort. Don’t give up just because you don’t see results overnight. If you have thought through your WHY, stick with it when times get tough. There is a reason you are going through the trial.
 
7. We often try to change other people. That isn’t in your control.
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did the right thing all the time? Sorry, we don't live in that world yet. Encourage people to change, help them when they will let you, but don’t let others inability to change keep you from being the person God intends for you to be!

What if this is the END? Worried?

Many people are worried about the end of the world with wars, climate issues, moral decay and the general decay of things around us. God says trust Him, He is working!

What Do We Mean By Spiritual Growth?

Spiritual Growth should be a goal for every believer. Today we look at a few verses that help us think through what that means in the life of a follower of Jesus.

How is your parenting?

Thinking through some common questions parents have about life as a family with children.

Can You Trust God’s Providence?

Providence
How is this different from Fatalism? What is will be vs. What God purposes will be The key is God has a goal, moving all toward His purpose Fatalism has no point
How does my sin, choices affect God’s plan?
A.How should this information change my Thinking? 1.All my trials have meaning. No reason to say, “Woe is me.” Purpose in it.(Rom. 8:28)How I interpret life’s happenings
2. My sin is included in God’s plan
3. What God is doing is so much bigger than me. Spurgeon sermon on God’s providence – even the dust in the air is moving according to God’s purpose.God is working on an eternal scale, we only see what is right in front of us, and often don’t see that!
4. Knowing God is working should affect my attitude. Joy and Peace are the result of resting in Him. (illus. Norman’s truck) – Fear and worry have no place.
B.How should this change my Conversations?Word usage – accident, tragedy, Conversations about life’s troubles will be different if you see God’s hand working vs. if you don’t see it.
C. How should this affect my Decision making?You can trust God without worrying about making the “right” choice. You can’t make a choice that can ruin God’s plan.We take too much responsibility for God’s plan. “If I don’t share the gospel, this person won’t get saved.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Decisions, Decisions!

The choices we make can really affect our spiritual lives. Thinking through the process of how we make those decisions can really help us keep on track.

Questions To Ask Yourself (and then your spouse) About Your Marriage

Questions To Ask Yourself (and then your spouse) About Your Marriage
What kind of husband/ wife am I?What is the best part of our relationship in this time of life?What ways can I honor my spouse more?What is my spouse dealing with in life that I can help with right now?How can I be more understanding with my spouse right now?What strengths do I have? How do they benefit my marriage and my spouse?How can we spend more time together? What should we do or talk about?What would grow our friendship right now?How can I improve as a husband/wife?Am I growing in Christ-likeness? What will help me do so?