Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Luke 17. 17  Jesus said to his disciples:  “Things that cause people to stumble  are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.   2  It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones  to stumble.   3  So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister [ a ]  sins against you, rebuke them;  and if they repent, forgive them.   4  Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5  The apostles  said to the Lord,  “Increase our faith!”

Luke 16. 16  “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.  Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,  and everyone is forcing their way into it.   17  It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 18  “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The Rich Man and Lazarus 19  “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.   20  At his gate was laid a beggar  named Lazarus, covered with sores   21  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.  Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22  “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.   23  In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.   24  So he called to him, ‘

Luke 16. 4  The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15  He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Luke 16. 10  “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

I love the smell of manure.  It is the smell of success. We go through those times in our marriages or work life that we experience "stinkin thinkin" as Zig Ziglar used to say.  I grew up on the farm and at times we moved manure out to cover the soil.  It actually accelerated the growth.   A crisis is an opportunity for accelerated growth into deeper and richer relationships.  When it seems our world smells like manure it can be the smell of success.  In chaos and pain look for chances to grow deeper in your spiritual life.  Luke 13. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize (manure)  it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” Jesus

Luke 16  Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2  So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3  “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4  I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ 5  “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6  “‘Nine hundred gallons [ a ] of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ 7  “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “‘A thousand bushels [ b ] of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ 8  “The master commended the dishonest manager bec

Luke 15. 11  Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12  The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13  “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17  “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired se

Luke 15. 8  “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins [ a ] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”