Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 1.30- A Hundred Years from Now                      Job 19:21-27                             Tim Gustafson     “I just want people to remember me a hundred years from now,” said screenwriter Rod Serling in 1975. Creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone, Serling wanted people to say of him, “He was a writer.” Most of us can identify with Serling’s desire to leave a legacy – something to give our lives a sense of meaning and permanence.     The story of Job shows us a man struggling with meaning amid life’s fleeting days. In a moment, not just his possessions but most precious to him, his children, were taken. Then his friends accused him of deserving this fate. Job cried out: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!” (Job 19:23-24).     Job’s words have been “engraved in rock forever.” We have them in the Bible. Yet Job needed even more meaning in his life than the lega

 1.29- I asked a man who I consider one of the most successful men I have ever known this question, "What is your most important life principle?" "Always tell the truth. Always." Colossians 3. 3  Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things  that are  above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.   2  [ a ] Set your minds on the things  that are  above, not on the things that are on earth.   3  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.   4  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5  Therefore,  [ b ] treat the parts of your earthly body as dead  to  sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which  [ c ] amounts to idolatry.   6  For it is  because of these things  that  the wrath of God is coming  [ d ] upon the  [ e ] sons of disobedience,   7  and in them you also once walked, when you were living  [ f ] in them.   8  But now you also

 1.28- Today I hope to take hold of what I'm supposed to take hold of and let go off what I'm supposed to let go of. Philippans 3. 12  Not that I have already  [ g ] grasped  it all  or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that  [ h ] for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus.   13  Brothers  and sisters , I do not regard myself as having taken hold of  it yet ; but one thing  I do : forgetting what  lies  behind and reaching forward to what  lies  ahead,   14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.   15  Therefore, all who are  [ i ] mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well;   16  however, let’s keep  [ j ] living by that same  standard  to which we have attained.

 1.27- Being healed from spiritual lostness by Jesus is like a bad stinky smell being changed into the most wonderful smell imaginable. From a skunk smell to the most attractive perfume in your memory bank. From a dead squirrel to the road smell to a freshly mowed grass. From a dead rat to a turkey dinner smell. Rescue: Perishing vs. Saved (2 Cor 2:15) 2 Corinthians  14  But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place.   15  For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:   16  to the one an  [ d ] aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?   17  For we are not like the many,  [ e ] peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

 1.26- Salvation. What does it mean? Being saved. Coming to Jesus. Knows Jesus. Is born again. What does this mean in practical terms?  Can we break it down better for the modern person? It is like a container that is deadly dirty that is completely clean and totally  sanitized and safe to drink from. Purity: Dirty vs. Clean (Heb 10:22) Richard Beck Here (slightly edited) is the list from Unclean, metaphors used in Scripture to describe salvation: Purity: Dirty vs. Clean (Heb 10:22) Rescue: Perishing vs. Saved (2 Cor 2:15) Economic: Debt vs. Payment (Matt 18:27) Legal: Punishment vs. Justification (Rev 18:5) Freedom: Slavery vs. Emancipation (1 Cor 7:23) Optics: Dark vs. Light (John 1:5) Seeking: Lost vs. Found (Luke 15) Nationality: Alien vs. Citizen (Eph 2:19) Well-being: Illness vs. Health (Matt 9:12) Relationship: Enemy vs. Friend (Jas 4:4) Conflict: War vs. Peace (2 Cor 10:4) Epistemology: Ignorance vs. Knowledge (Luke 11:52) Family: Orphan vs. Adoption

 1.25- Dak Prescott was interviewed after the football game that the Cowboys lost on Sunday.  He was asked a question that set him up for a mistake.  They asked him what he thought about people throwing cans at bottles at the people as they left the field.  He said he thought that was bad.  Then the reporter said that actually they were not throwing at the players but at the referees.  He said, "Well credit to them then.  If they were not throwing at us but the referees, credit to them.  Maybe that is why the referees were running off the field." One of the reporters gave him another question to allow him to back track and clarify and take it back.  He did not. Then on Monday there was no apology for saying that throwing cans and bottles at the refs was okay. No apology on Tuesday. On Wednesday the NBA referees came out with a condemnation of the fans and Prescott's words. After that Dak issued an apology. True repentance is only known between a person and God.  There are

 1.24- We have the choice of sowing whatever kind of seeds we want to sow.  That is our choice.  If we choose to sow seeds of judgment and condemnation, then that is what we will reap from others in this life. If we have the spirit of pardon toward others, then they will have that spirit toward us.  We set the tone for the kind of atmosphere that is around us in our homes and in our work. If we are generous with others then we will find they are generous with us.  We are not set the spiritual and emotional temperature where we find ourselves. Luke 6. 37  “Do not  [ w ] judge, and you will not be judged; and do not  [ x ] condemn, and you will not be condemned;  [ y ] pardon, and you will be pardoned.   38  Give, and it will be given to you. They will  [ z ] 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.”

 1.24- Keep Your Mouth Shut                           Proverbs 17:28                          Alan Smith            A preacher, a politician and an engineer were led to the guillotine. The preacher was asked if he wanted to be face up or face down when he met his fate. The preacher said that he would like to lie face up so he would be looking toward heaven when he died. The blade of the guillotine was raised and released. It came speeding down and suddenly stopped, just inches from his neck. The authorities took this as divine intervention and released the preacher.     Next, the politician came to the guillotine, and he also decided to die facing up, hoping he would be as fortunate as the preacher. So the blade of the guillotine was raised again and released. It came speeding down and suddenly stopped just inches from his neck, so he was released as well.     The engineer was next, and he too decided to die facing up. The executioner slowly raised the blade of the guillotine, when