Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

7.23- Mark 10. 10  Getting up, He *went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. 2  Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to [ a ] divorce a wife. 3  And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4  They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and [ b ] send her away .” 5  But Jesus said to them, “ [ c ] Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6  But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female . 7  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother [ d ] , 8  and the two shall become one flesh ; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9  What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 10  In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. 11  And He *said to them, “W

7.22- Matthew 19. 19  When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2  and [ a ] large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. 3  Some Pharisees came to [ b ] Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to [ c ] divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4  And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female , 5  and said, ‘ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh ’? 6  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7  They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away ?” 8  He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to [ d ] divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9  And I say to yo

7.21- Mark 6. 14  And King Herod heard of it , for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15  But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “ He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old .” 16  But when Herod heard of it , he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!” 17  For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18  For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19  Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so ; 20  for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; [ l ] but he [ m ] used to enjoy listening to him. 21  A strategic day came w

7.20- Matthew 14. 14  At that [ a ] time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2  and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; [ b ] he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3  For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4  For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5  Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [ c ] John as a prophet. 6  But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced [ d ] before them and pleased Herod, 7  so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8  Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9  Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of [ e ] his dinner guests. 10  He sent and had John be

7.19- John 2. 2  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2  and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4  And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, [ a ] what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5  His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6  Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing [ b ] twenty or thirty gallons each. 7  Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8  And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the [ c ] headwaiter.” So they took it to him . 9  When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom, 10  and *said to him, “Every man

How to follow Jesus during times of harsh treatment Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of Jesus disciples who watched Him suffer crucifixion though innocent wrote about how He handled unjust suffering. If you are a follower of Jesus here is how to behave during times of suffering and harsh mistreatment. 1. Submit to authorities whether they are harsh or not. 2. Silence critics by excellent behavior. 3. Do not cover up evil. 4. Respect everyone. 5. Love the brotherhood of believers. 6. Fear God. 7. Honor the King. 8. Remember Jesus is the only perfect example. He trusted everything over to God who will judge justly. 9. Be dead to sinful vengeance that is God’s business. 10. Follow Jesus as a good shepherd who has saved us from being lost sheep. Trust Him. 1 Peter 2.13-25 Larry Wishard

7.18- Luke 2. 2  Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all [ a ] the inhabited earth. 2  [ b ] This was the first census taken while [ c ] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3  And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5  in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6  While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [ d ] manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Psalm 37. 37  Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. 2  For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. 3  Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwe

7.17 Matthew 1. 18  Now the birth of Jesus [ r ] Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been [ s ] betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned [ t ] to send her away secretly. 20  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [ u ] the Child who has been [ v ] conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21  She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for [ w ] He will save His people from their sins.” 22  Now all this [ x ] took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23  “ Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name [ y ] Immanuel ,” which translated means, “ God with us .” 24  And Joseph [ z ] awoke from his sleep and did a