Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

12.14- Let God be God and You be You. Job 39. 39  “Do you know the time the [ a ] mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? 2  “Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth? 3  “They kneel down, they bring forth their young, They get rid of their labor pains. 4  “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; They leave and do not return to them.

12.13- Jesus produces the very best to meet our needs as a manifestation of His glory. He reflects our God who is full of love for us and searches for us. Psalm 139. 139  O Lord , You have searched me and known me . 2  You know [ a ] when I sit down and [ b ] when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3  You [ c ] scrutinize my [ d ] path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 [ e ] Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord , You know it all. 5  You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. 7  Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [ f ] Sheol, behold, You are there. 9  If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10  Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right h

12.12- Seeing the Person Inside 2 Corinthians 5:12-21 David McCasland On February 1, 1960, four students from an all-black college sat down at a “whites only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of them, Franklin McCain, noticed an older white woman seated nearby looking at them. He was sure that her thoughts were unkind toward them and their protest against segregation. A few minutes later she walked over to them, put her hands on their shoulders, and said, “Boys, I am so proud of you.” Recalling the event years later on National Public Radio, McCain said he learned from this never to stereotype anyone. Instead he should pause to consider others and seek an opportunity to talk with them. The first-century church, like ours today, was often fractured by divisions based on race, language, and culture. Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus in Corinth to help them respond to those who were more concerned with outward appearance than

12.11- That which you share will multiply. That which you hold will diminish. John 12. 20  Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21  these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22  Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23  And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25  He who loves his [ h ] life loses it, and he who hates his [ i ] life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26  If anyone [ j ] serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [ k ] serves Me, the Father will honor him.

12.10- Stop. If we can see the beauty of autumn then we can see they beauty of every human being regardless of their race, nation, age or status in life. James 2. 2  My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2  For if a man comes into your [ a ] assembly with a gold ring and dressed in [ b ] fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3  and you [ c ] pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4  have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil [ d ] motives? 5  Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor [ e ] of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6  But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and [ f ] p

12.9- Prayer. Honest, sincere, gut level over and over prayer for what we need and want aligns our goals and our behaviors. Luke 11. 9  “So I say to you, [ g ] ask, and it will be given to you; [ h ] seek, and you will find; [ i ] knock, and it will be opened to you. 10  For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11  Now [ j ] suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a [ k ] fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12  Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your [ l ] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

12.8- We can take our thoughts captive. We can decide to treat others the way we want to be treated. Do not judge and you won't be judged. Forgive and you will be forgiven. We set our outcomes by our actions. Luke 6. 37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; [ v ] pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38  Give, and it will be given to you. They will [ w ] pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”