Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

3.14- What Heaven Enjoys most. I had a strange discussion last week. Since I am a retired preacher I had been assigned to help watch out for the dangers and extremes in the ministry staff at our church. It has been an interesting week. One of the youth ministers had not shown up at the church office all week so on Friday I asked him to meet me at the building for an accountability meeting. Josh arrived a bit late for our meeting with his usual upbeat attitude. “Where have you been all week?” I said, "Its been quite a week" he replied, "One of our students is in detention it takes a while to get in and out of there. My intern’s car brakes went out the first week he bought the junker so I helped him put on brakes. My wife was tied up at the women’s shelter all one day, so had to keep the kids and study at home. On Wednesday we moved our youth meeting down to under the bridge homeless place to give them some sandwiches. So it’s been busy.” I reminded him as

3.13-This blood.  What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. John 19. 37  And again another Scripture says, “ They shall look on Him whom they pierced .” Zechariah 12. 10  “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, [ h ] the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

3.12- Jesus is the passover lamb.  He is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  God had marked His delivered children by the blood on the doorpost.  We are also marked by the blood of the lamb and rescued from spiritual death.  The sacrificial lamb has no broken bones. John 19. 31  Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath ( [ o ] for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32  So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33  but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35  And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36  For

3.11- Jesus experienced the dividing up of the one thing he ever owned, a seamless robe.  If you think of someone dividing up your property it is good that Jesus understands the cold heartedness of humans.  John 19. 24  So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “ They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast [ n ] lots .” 25  Therefore the soldiers did these things. Psalm 22. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me [ m ] in the dust of death. 16  For dogs have surrounded me; [ n ] A band of evildoers has encompassed me; [ o ] They pierced my hands and my feet. 17  I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18  They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

3.10- Jesus was loved by the common people but hated by the religious leaders.  This was so because He was from heaven, not from this world.  He had convicted them of sin.  He had done what they said humans could not do, love the unlovely. John 15. 18  “If the world hates you, [ e ] you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20  Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21  But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. 22  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have [ f ] sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23  He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24  If I had not done among t

3.9- You can live in this world and be blessed with friends.  Now the very best of friends will at times fail  us because we are human and imperfect.  Then we might have a friend who is weak like Judas and betrays us.  Jesus understands.  He was destined to be God came to earth to be able to understand and tell our Father in heaven how it is. John 13. 18  I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘ He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me .’ 19  From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He . 20  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” Psalm 41. 9  Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. 10  But You, O Lord , be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them. 11  By this I know that You

4.8-You cannot worship in your church building We are going through a season now that the leaders of our community are asking the church to meet in their homes instead of their church buildings. This is for the purpose of reducing the danger of the Corona virus spreading and killing more of our citizens.   I read about some churches who are using this as an opportunity to show their independence from needing to obey the government laws.   Is this a time to cooperate and have home church services and/or online services?   Is this a time to stand up for our own independence to reject the laws of the authorities? Titus 3  Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, 2  to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. 3  For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one anot