Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Matthew 22. 23  On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24  asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘ If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother .’ 25  Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26  so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27  Last of all, the woman died. 28  In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29  But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not [ m ] understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31  But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32  ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of J

Matthew 22. 15  Then the Pharisees went and [ g ] plotted together how they might trap Him [ h ] in what He said. 16  And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and [ i ] defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17  Tell us then, what do You think? Is it [ j ] lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18  But Jesus perceived their [ k ] malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19  Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a [ l ] denarius. 20  And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21  They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22  And hearing this , they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. Psalm 64. 64  Hear my voice, O God, in my [ a ] complaint; Preserve my life from dread of the

What To Do During Difficult Times God tells His children that there will be those who want to hate them and even to kill them. Remain on track to obey Jesus basic commands. Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Enjoy the Spirit of love, joy and peace that God has placed in your heart as His child. Allow your life to be guided by the example of good leaders you have known. Look at the outcome of their lives and notice how they lived. Imitate their faith. These memories and the spirit of love will guide you into a good way of life. Look at the consequences of hate and bitterness versus the results of unfailing love. The future is good for people who live a life of love. Bring glory to God who creates beautiful things. Keep your hope alive and see God turn sadness into joy. Transitions are hard. Change comes with discomfort. There is great travail and pain getting into this world and there is great travail and pain g

Matthew 22. 22  Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2  “The kingdom of heaven [ a ] may be compared to [ b ] a king who [ c ] gave a wedding feast for his son. 3  And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4  Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5  But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own [ d ] farm, another to his business, 6  and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7  But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8  Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9  Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there , invite to the wedding fea

Matthew 21. 33  “Listen to another parable. There was a [ i ] landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower , and rented it out to [ j ] vine-growers and went on a journey. 34  When the [ k ] harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35  The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36  Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37  But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38  But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39  They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40  Therefore when the [ l ] owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41  They *said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,

Matthew 21. 28  “But what do you think? A man had two [ f ] sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘ [ g ] Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29  And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30  The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will , sir’; but he did not go. 31  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes [ h ] will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32  For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this , did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. Psalm 62. 62  My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. 2  He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. 3  How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him , all

Matthew 21. 23  When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24  Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one [ d ] thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25  The baptism of John was from what source , from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26  But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the [ e ] people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27  And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Psalm 61. 61  Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. 2  From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3  For You have been

Sunday, 3.22.13 I woke up on this Sunday morning three years ago thinking this would be a normal day in my life.  It was not to be. Things went normal for the first few hours.  I woke up about 4am.  Spent time in some prayer, meditation, writing and planning for my day of teaching about Jesus all day Sunday which I had been doing most all Sundays since April 1, 1969. I had enjoyed a long and healthy and busy life doing the job I wanted to do.  Preaching, teaching, writing and encouraging people to follow Jesus.  Who could be more blessed?  I was the luckiest man in the world on this day. The 8am meeting with the elders and staff was normal. The 9am worship prep time was normal. The 9.30 class time was normal. The 10.30 am worship service was normal. The 11.30am time frame was a bit unusual as someone had given some flowers to the church to pass along to people that might be encouraged with them.  I went downstairs and got to sets of flowers.  I didn't even know who I was

Matthew 21. 18  Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19  Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. 20  Seeing this , the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21  And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22  And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Psalm 60. 8  “Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!” 9  Who will bring me into the besieged city? Who [ m ] will lead me to Edom? 10  Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us? And will You not go forth with our armies, O Go