Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

5.13- Principle #12 We do not have a right to certain things. Since we are radical disciples of Jesus we don’t believe we have a guarantee of anything here on earth.   Not a house.   Not a car.   Not anything.   Not a television.   Not a computer.   Nothing.    We have a promise of nothing.   We have a right to nothing.   This is the teaching of Jesus is that we follow a man who had no home and died with only a seamless robe with was gambled over at death.   Our parents had a home and a farm and many other material blessings, but Jesus does not guarantee such a thing.   That is an extra blessing from Him.   Our parents appreciated these things and tried to not waste any of their riches and wealth.   They passed some of this wealth on to us, but they did not have any guarantee Matthew 8 18  When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19  Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherev

5.19- Principle 18 We see our life in our family as a joyful wedding banquet type of celebration every day.   We have joy all the time in our hearts.   Even when we have a sorrow event that happens we still keep joy and hope in our hearts. Mattthew 22. 22  Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2  “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 4  “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

Tonight is the end of the first four years since I resigned as a minister on 5.12.13.     One of the things I have noticed about great leaders in the last four years by observation is the difference between a goat herder and a shepherd.   I have written a post for my blog on a daily basis for these four years, but I have not preached a single sermon. Goat herders have a way of forcing followers to come along. Shepherds way of drawing people by love. Goat herders use pagan methods.   They use “lord it over” tactics to drive the goats.   They may use stick or staff to beat instead of guide and rescue from danger.   They are rulers or lords or bosses.   They exercise authority.   They tell you they are the boss.   They don’t speak with people, they speak down to people.   They don’t listen they tell.   They don’t ask, “What do you want me to do for you?”   They tell, “Here is what I want you to do for me.” A real leader would never assert loudly that he or she is the “b