Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

1..21- Jesus was as strong as a Lion.  In Scripture He is called the Lion of Judah. Matthew 21. 12-14  Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves.

1.20- Make these four commitments to yourself this year and you will be transformed. Be honest.  Speak the truth or nothing at all. Do not judge and condemn.  Not others.  Not yourself. Don't make assumptions about the motives of others.  Ask questions of a person to get at their own view of things and forget making assumptions about their hearts and their intentions. Do you best. Always give your personal best.  Be your best self. Matthew 5. 33-37  “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. Larry Wishard

1.19- Look at what you did yesterday and today and reflect upon what you did that made you really happy.  Those behaviors moved you into the "makeyourselfhappyzone" When you see love opportunities in your life it is also a joy opportunity or an occasion for connection with God and others. We want our children to be successful and to be surrounded by successful people.  This is normal for parents. Help them to move to be with servants and you will move them into a zone of joy.  Nurses, teachers, day care workers are some of the most underpaid workers in our society, but some of them are the most joyous people I have ever met.  Why? They work with God.  They help people.  They fulfill the purpose for which they were created.  Matthew 20.17. Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the

 What do you do in the first thirty minutes in the morning and why? What do you want? What do you desire?  What is the center of your joy? Is it money? Celebrity? Security? Fame? Or better is it family? Jesus asked often, "What do you want?"   He was seeking for them to be bold and honest about the center of what they were after day after day.  For the blind man it was his sight.  He didn't pretend it was something else.  This was what he sought and he was bold and honest with himself and Jesus and received it. Many who follow Jesus do so thinking He will cause them to be healthy and spiritually and emotional whole.  That is not bad, but it has its limits.  It is limited to our lifespan for one and our own limited imagination, but God has in mind for us things that are beyond what we can ask or think. The world then teaches habits to reach the outer limits of our thoughts and imaginations.  These habits may be excellent like making a daily

I am starting to see some connection our pledge of allegiance and our success as a country. It says one nation "under God'. God is love and His desire is for unity and not quarreling.  Even over land there are some good examples of men of faith working for peace regarding land.  Abraham and Jacob and Esau come to mind. Abraham's big household and his nephew Lot got to quarreling and Abraham just gave Lot his pick of the different areas and he took what was left. When Jacob and Esau came back together after having been separated Jacob brought gifts of peace and Esau also offered to be  as helpful as he could be to Esau.   Wouldn't you like the land wars in the middle east to end with a spirit of love and peace? In the days of the revolutionary war there was a problem with the rebels feeling that there was "taxation without representation."  They had a war.  It formed the USA. In the days of the "Civil War".  Or the "War

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others? The time is always right to do what is right. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.   Martin Luther King   WHEN, in the Course of huma

1.15 Are you weak?  Do you want an easier life? Here is a good answer I think.  Let Jesus shape you for your job and your job for you.  Let Him carry the heavy loads. Our highest paid workers seem to be those who destroy themselves healthwise and must retire "early".  I heard Mac Brown, the retired coach of the Texas Longhorns say that he was not aware of the pressure to support all the staff coaches for the Longhorns and their wives and their children and be there for them when anything went wrong. Gary Kubiak of the Denver Broncos was a head coach for only 10 years and after winning the Super Bowl last year had to retire this year for health reasons. Matthew 11. 28  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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 easy and my burden is light.” Meditate daily on the excellent examples in your care