Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

3.3- Disqualification to be a disciple of Jesus. Loves his/her father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters and his own life more than Jesus. Does not carry his own cross. Does not follow in Jesus’ path. 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 firs

3.3- Jesus said invite people to dinner who cannot help you. Luke 14. 12  And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13  But when you give a [ h ] reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14  and you will be blessed, since they [ i ] do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 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!”

3.2- Jesus wants everyone invited to God's big banquet for His children saved by grace and mercy. Luke 14. 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 poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22  And the slave said, ‘Master, what you comm

3.1- By the grace and mercy of God I expect to not live a life of shame and regret. This is a constant emotional banquet of joy. So thankful that God's mercies are new every morning. Philippians 1. 20  according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

2.28- Reflections on Billy Graham and his way of helping our nation. During my formative years I went to high school where we had Baccalaureate services alongside our high school graduation.   This service was to honor the graduates, but to allow various local ministers and church people to bid Godspeed to our graduating seniors.   This was often done at the First Baptist Church of my hometown, Ladonia, Texas.   I remember a couple of the ministers for the Baptist church and Methodist churches in our town, Vandergriff and Trumpler come to mind right now.   I say all this to say that my school and my town were affected positively by many other congregations other than my own.     In our town and around the world we experienced the impact of a Baptist preacher named Billy Graham.   From Truman down to Trump all Presidents were directly affected by Billy Graham.   He came on television during Presidential Inaugurations and other special times.   When the Oklahoma bombing