Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 4.25- During this corona virus I have heard of many stories where people were afraid of dying alone without anyone. That is truly sad. Once Paul said as he was nearing death that all had deserted him, but the Lord was with Him. The Bible says that God is near to the broken hearted. It is never too late to decide to receive forgiveness. It is never too late to say, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” It is always the right time to live without regret. You are not too old or too near death to decide to live aligned with the love of God. Matthew 20. 20  “For the kingdom of heaven is like [ a ] a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2  When he had agreed with the laborers for a [ b ] denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3  And he went out about the [ c ] third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4  and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and what

4.24- What a Week this past week. On Sunday afternoon with people in Atlanta. On Tuesday morning with people in Denver. On Wednesday evening with people in Fort Worth. On Thursday morning with people in Fort Worth. On Thursday lunch with people in Denver. On Thursday evening with people in Denver. Six meetings with people in all those different places and with different people during the time that the government said we could not meet together. Through our computers I met with about 60 people last week. These friends of mine saw each other and caught up on how things were going in their lives. The group that Jesus has formed is very flexible. It can meet in a house. It can meet in a café a park or a beach . It can meet in several cities and several houses at once. There is a spirit among them. When they are filled with the Spirit of God there is something that happens. They are all in heart, soul, mind and str

4.23- I was listening to NPR last week and there was a man being interviewed who was a protester in the Umbrella protests in Hong Kong. They had come to arrest some of the people who had been a part of this protest and he was not with them. He said he felt bad because he didn't get arrested with them. He was standing up for freedom of the press and freedom of assembly and the leaders from mainland China had started to limit these freedoms. He said, "Finally, they came and arre sted me and I felt happy that they had not left me out I wouldn't want them to be arrest and me not be arrested" There is joy in the heart of being a part of a courageous group of people. I have heard many of the workers in the hospitals say they had a day off and wanted to get back there to be doing the work with the co-workers. Reminds me of the words about Moses in the days of the Passover and Exodus of the Jewish people from slavery and oppression. Hebrews 11. 

4.22  Trusting God in hard times. This who are disciples of Jesus are known for their confidence and courage. Acts 4. 5  On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6  and Annas the high priest was there , and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7  When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 8  Then Peter, [ c ] filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “ [ d ] Rulers and elders of the people, 9  if we are [ e ] on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, [ f ] as to how this man has been made well, 10  let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that [ g ] by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead— [ h ] by [ i ] this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11  [ j ] He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders

4.21- All of you who know me know well that self-control, balance and moderation is a constant challenge for me and maybe for most all of us. There is a Proverb which says, “Have you found honey? Eat only what you need.” Our bodies have a hunger for certain things. Protein. Carbs. Healthy fats. Fruit. Veggies. Most of us know what healthy eating looks like in terms of choices and amounts. Our weight issues, for most of us, is not about knowledge, but our practice. Our disciplin es. There is a hunger in the human heart. We want at the basic end of things to have bread and water and maybe some fish. At the other end we are tempted to forfeit our souls for this world. The evil one knows that humans have been created by God with some natural needs or hungers. The problem comes when we fill that hunger with the wrong things. Here are some things Jesus mentioned that are hunger for the wrong things. Some might surprise you. Scripture that is not Jesus centered.

4.20- Perseverance. Today I had a meeting with some guys I started walking through life with over forty three years ago. Our children were just children and now their children are college graduates. Our meetings together have been to study the life of Jesus who was born about 2020 years ago. We mark time by His birth.  Perseverance. These guys have been with me when I was falling on my face with my best dreams crushed to the earth. We watched as plans evolved for building up a new congregation in a suburb of Denver. We had a huge wall of our church building up and overnight a giant wind came up and blew the entire wall down into smithereens. Perseverance. We watched as our children went to college on plan A and later had to move to plan B. Perseverance Though one recently lost his wife he perseveres. They had the same friendliness and steady joy that they have possessed all the time I have known them. Their faithfulness through the years I somet

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