Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 11.7- The power to choose my own attitude about anything that happens to me is a gift from God. James 1. 2  Consider it all joy, my brothers  and sisters , when you encounter various  [ c ] trials,   3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces  [ d ] endurance.   4  And let  [ e ] endurance have  its  perfect  [ f ] result, so that you may be  [ g ] perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

 11.6- God help us to change our minds and look for the good possibilities in people instead of their weaknesses. Acts 9. 26  When he came to Jerusalem, he tried  repeatedly  to associate with the disciples; and  yet  they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple.   27  But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus.   28  And he was with them,  [ l ] moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.   29  And he was talking and arguing with the  [ m ] Hellenistic  Jews ; but they were attempting to put him to death.   30  Now when the  [ n ] brothers learned  of it , they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. 31  So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria  [ o ] enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it  [ p ] continued

 11.5- We see that the worst failures in life can become the best examples of overcoming by persistence and endurance. It is not whether or not you fall down. All fall down. It is getting up over and over. 2 Corinthians 4. 7  But we have this treasure in  [ e ] earthen containers, so that the extraordinary  greatness  of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;   8  we are  afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;   9  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;   10  always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.   11  For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.   12  So death works in us, but life in you.

 11.4- The reason we tell our children "No" at times is because we are sure they need something else more. I think it's that way with God at times. Matthew 26. 36  Then Jesus *came with them to a place called  [ o ] Gethsemane, and *told His disciples,  “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”   37  And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed.   38  Then He *said to them,  “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” 39  And He went a little beyond  them , and fell on His face and prayed, saying,  “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You  will .”   40  And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter,  “So, you  men  could not keep watch with Me for one hour?   41  Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is  [ p ] willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42  He went away a

 11.3- Surprised by Wisdom                           I Corinthians 1:18-25                            James Banks     “It seems like the older I get, the wiser you become. Sometimes when I talk to my son I even hear your words coming out of my mouth!”     My daughter’s candor made me laugh. I felt the same way about my parents and frequently found myself using their words as I raised my kids. Once I became a dad, my perspective on my parents’ wisdom changed. What I once “wrote off” as foolishness turned out to be far wiser than I had thought – I just couldn’t see it at first.     The Bible teaches that “the foolishness of God is wiser” than the cleverest human wisdom (I Corinthians 1:25). “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness” of the message of a suffering Savior to rescue “those who believe” (verse 21).     God always has ways of surprising us. Instead of the triumphant king the world would expect

 11.2- Life Changes                             Ephesians 4:20-24                               Amy Boucher Pye     Stephen grew up in a rough part of East London and fell into crime by the age of ten. He said, “If everyone’s selling drugs and doing robberies and fraud, then you’re going to get involved. It’s just a way of life.” But when he was twenty, he had a dream that changed him: “I heard God saying, Stephen, you’re going to prison to murder.” This vivid dream served as a warning, and he turned to God and chose Jesus as his Savior – and the Holy Spirit transformed his life.     Stephen set up an organization that teaches inner-city kids discipline, morality, and respect through sports. He credits God with the success he has seen as he prays with and trains the kids. “Rebuilding misguided dreams,” he says.     In pursuing God and leaving behind our past, we – like Stephen – follow Paul’s charge to the Ephesians to embrace a new way of life. Although our old self is “corrupted by i

 11.1- Objects in Mirror                       Philippians 3:7-14                                       Adam Holz     “Must. Go. Faster.” That’s what Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, says in an iconic scene from the 1993 movie Jurassic Park as he and two other characters flee in a Jeep from a rampaging tyrannosaurus. When the driver looks in the rearview mirror, he sees the raging reptile’s jaw—right above the words: “OBJECTS IN MIRROR MAY BE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.”     The scene is a masterful combination of intensity and grim humor. But sometimes the “monsters” from our past feel like they’ll never stop pursuing us. We look in the “mirror” of our lives and see mistakes looming right there, threatening to consume us with guilt or shame.     The apostle Paul understood the past’s potentially paralyzing power. He’d spent years trying to live perfectly apart from Jesus, and even persecuted Christians (Philippians 3:1-9). Regret over his past could easily have crippled h