Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

10.15- Luke 14. 25  Now [ m ] large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26  “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [ n ] hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31  Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32  Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends [ o ] a delegation and a

10.14- Luke 14. 15  When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Parable of the Dinner 16  But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17  and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18  But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a [ j ] piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; [ k ] please consider me excused.’ 19  Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [ l ] please consider me excused.’ 20  Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21  And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the po

10.13- Luke 14. 14  It happened that when He went into the house of one of the [ a ] leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2  And [ b ] there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3  And Jesus answered and spoke to the [ c ] lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4  But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5  And He said to them, “ [ d ] Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6  And they could make no reply to this. Parable of the Guests 7  And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table , saying to them, 8  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not [ e ] take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9  and he

10.12 Luke 9. 57  As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58  And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [ ai ] air have [ aj ] nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59  And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60  But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61  Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62  But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Psalm 130. 130  Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord . 2  Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3  If You, [ a ] Lord , should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4  But there is forgiveness with You, That Yo

Is it possible that you don't like to be around weak, broken-down, drama surrounded people? Some of us like drama and some of us do not. God loves drama kings and drama queens and those who are not. I see men and women every day who create drama where none is needed. At times they are weary of the drama they create. Can I change the patterns and habits in my heart to pray for them and be open to help them the best I can. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible. I will remember today these three verses from my teacher. He wanted them to come to where He was. Matthew 11. 28 “Come to Me, all [z]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is [aa]easy and My burden is light.”

10.11- Luke 9. 51  When the days were approaching for His [ ad ] ascension, He [ ae ] was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52  and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to [ af ] make arrangements for Him. 53  But they did not receive Him, because [ ag ] He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54  When His disciples James and John saw this , they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55  But He turned and rebuked them, [ [ ah ] and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56  for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” ] And they went on to another village. Psalm 129. 129  “ [ a ] Many times they have [ b ] persecuted me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say, 2  “ [ c ] Many times they have [ d ] persecuted me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me. 3  “The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.”

I'm praying a prayer of thanks today for Drs, Nurses, therapists and EMTs. I did not need the help of hospitals and doctors and nurses much until the time close to my retirement, but when that happened I came to love them deeply. Doctors and nurses come in all sizes and shapes, skin colors, nationalities and religions. (My favorite phlebotomist was a Muslim woman.) The best ones are not driven by money, but by hearts of compassion for patients. Of course, they need provisions and God provides. They dress simply for their work. They love helping sick people. They are calm and peaceful when others are frightened. They work in total chaos to bring order and stop the bleeding and add nutrition. They give words of comfort “relax I’m about to stick you”. Then when it hurts they say, “I’m sorry.” They don’t quit on hard cases. They speak calm and good news to fearful, broken people. Matthew 10. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing

10.10- Luke 9. 46  An argument [ aa ] started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47  But Jesus, knowing [ ab ] what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48  and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” 49  John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” 50  But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him ; for he who is not against you is [ ac ] for you.” Psalm 128 128  How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord , Who walks in His ways. 2  When you shall eat of the [ a ] fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine [ b ] Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. 4  Behold, for th

10.9 Luke 9. 37  On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. 38  And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my [ v ] only boy , 39  and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth ; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves . 40  I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” 41  And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42  While he was still approaching, the demon [ w ] slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43  And they were all amazed at the [ x ] greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, 44  “Let these words sink into