Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

8.5-What kind of nation do you want your nation to be? 1 Peter 2. 13  Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14  or to governors as sent [ p ] by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15  For [ q ] such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16  Act as free men, and [ r ] do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17  Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the [ s ] king. I am thankful that America is not a banana republic. I think it is great that we don't allow the winner of an election to imprison the losers. I think it is great that the winner cannot reform the constitution as is going on in Venezuela. I am glad we have a balance of power. When Republican Presidents got out of line, (Nixon) there was accountability. When a Democratic President got out of

8.4- Today I will remember: Speak words that build up people. God’s promises believed in my heart will cause me to -be a partaker in God’s nature. -escape the corruption that is in the world because of lust. -grow by adding diligence, faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love to my life. I am forgiven of my sins because of God’s mercy and grace. I can practice the best practices for my life today and live day by day. I can remind others to be stirred to be the best they can be. I can speak personally of what Jesus Christ has done for me. I can affirm with love my own family members. I can pay attention to God’s word and bring light to the darkness. 2 Peter 1. 1  [ a ] Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same [ b ] kind as ours, [ c ] by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2  Grace and peace be multipli

8.3- Secret, hidden verses 2 Chronicles 34. 34  Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2  He did right in the sight of the Lord , and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Eternal principle. 1 When you do right there is a focus on not being extreme to the right or the left. 9  They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the [ a ] doorkeepers, had collected [ b ] from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10  Then they gave it into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord , and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord [ c ] used it to restore and repair the house. 11  They in turn gave it to the carpenters and to the builders to buy quarried stone and timber

8.2- 24 Rules on friendship How to pick friends who will help your life to be a success in the short term, middle term and long term. 1. Someone who is done with low living and mediocrity. 2. Someone who desires to be the best they can be. 3. Someone who never gets drunk. 4. Someone who is not afraid for the other people to call them "strange". 5. Someone who doesn't waste their energy on self-destructive things. 6. Someone who is clear minded. 7. Someone who is self-controlled. 8. Someone who is not a criminal. 9.  Someone who prays often. 10. Someone who loves deeply. 11. Someone who does not expand the number of people who know your faults. 12. Someone who is hospitable with complaint. 13. Someone who uses their gifts and talents to serve others without bragging. 14. Someone who loves God's word. 15. Someone who works not from their own strength, but from the strength of God. 16. Someone who genuinely gives God the praise for his/her success.

8.1- What is the difference between a Facebook Friend and a True Friend? What is a true friend? Someone who has similar interests in deep and important and life and death matters. Someone who is focused on meeting the needs of others. Someone who is self denying instead of selfish. Someone who is willing to risk rejection to grow in friendship. Someone who builds up your love of God. Someone who loves sacrificially. Someone who is loyal to you. Someone who will never speak negatively of you behind your back. Someone who will challenge you to be the best you can be. That is the difference between a Facebook friend and a True Christian Friend. I want to be a better friend to my wife, my children, my grandchildren. I am not saying that none of my Facebook friends are true friends. John 15 12  “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14  You

7.31- The Prayer of Jabez. 1 Chronicles 4.10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested.  The Prayer of Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 30.18, For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon 19  everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” The prayer of Jabez is for enlarged borders and things that are bigger.  It appeals for God to be with us and to keep us from harm. The prayer of Hezekiah is for God to pardon people who have a heart for Him even though they don't do so according to the official, letter of the law rules. Jesus saw an immoral woman and noticed that she loved Him more because she had been forgiven more. Luke 7. 40  And Jesus answered him, “Sim

7.30- What are the advantages of knowing your weakness? Psalm 119. 28  My soul [ k ] weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. Psalm 24. 24  The earth is the Lord’s , and [ a ] all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2  For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. 3  Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord ? And who may stand in His holy place? 4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul [ b ] to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. 5  He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And [ c ] righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6  [ d ] This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face— even Jacob. [ e ] Selah. 7  Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O [ f ] ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 8  Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. 9  Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O [