Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 3.13- The Greatest Mystery                          Colossians 1:15-22                           Kochite Dixon     Before I came to faith in Jesus, I’d heard the gospel preached but wrestled with His identity. How could He offer forgiveness for my sins when the Bible says only God can forgive sins? I discovered I wasn’t alone in my struggles after reading J. I. Packer’s Knowing God. Packer suggests that for many unbelievers the “really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man . . . as truly and fully divine as He was human.” Yet this is the truth that makes salvation possible.     When the apostle Paul refers to Christ as “the image of the invisible God,” he’s saying Jesus is completely and perfectly God – Creator and Sustainer of all things in heaven and earth – but also fully human (Colossian 1:15-17). Because of this truth, we can be confident that through Christ’s death and resurrection, He’s not only carried the consequences for our sins but ha

 3.12- Demonstrating Grace                          Micah 7:18-20                        Amy Boucher Pye     “In moments where tragedy happens or even hurt, there are opportunities to demonstrate grace or to exact vengeance,” the recently bereaved man remarked. “I chose to demonstrate grace.” Pastor Erik Fitzgerald’s wife had been killed in a car accident caused by an exhausted firefighter who fell asleep while driving home, and legal prosecutors wanted to know whether he would seek the maximum sentence. The pastor chose to practice forgiveness he often preached about. To the surprise of both him and the firefighter, the men eventually became friends.     Pastor Erik was living out of the grace he’d received from God, who’d forgiven him all of his sins. Through his actions he echoed the words of the prophet Micah, who praised God for pardoning sin and forgiving when we do wrong (Micah 7:18). The prophet uses wonderfully visual language to show just how far God goes in forgiving His peo

 3.11- Waiting with the Turtle                  Psalm 40:1-5, 14-17                          Amy Peterson     Every fall, when the painted turtle senses winter coming, she dives to the bottom of her pond, burying herself in the mock and mud. She pulls into her shell and goes still: her heart rate slows, almost stopping. Her body temperature drops, staying just above freezing. She stops breathing, and she waits. For six months, she stays buried, and her body releases calcium from her bones into her bloodstream, so that she slowly begins even to lose her shape.      But when the pond thaws, she will float up and breathe again. Her bones will reform, and she will feel the warmth of the sun on her shell.      I think of the painted turtle when I read the psalmist’s description of waiting for God. The psalmist is in a “slimy pit” of “mud and mire,” but God hears him (Psalm 40:2). God lifts him out, and gives him a firm place to stand. God is “my help and my deliverer,” he sings (ver

 3.10- Honesty in prayer.  Since God is all wise and all knowing it is a question as to why we need to pray.  I was in a discussion with some Christian men and the thought came out that it is when we pray and become completely honest with ourselves and with God that the things we need to know will surface.  Confession in prayer is to agree with God about what is the truth.  What really happened and how can this change life for me and others. Luke 23. 39  One of the criminals who were hanged  there  was  [ q ] hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the  [ r ] Christ? Save Yourself and us!”   40  But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?   41  And we indeed  are suffering  justly, for we are receiving  [ s ] what we deserve for our crimes; but this man has done nothing wrong.”   42  And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”   43  And He said to him,  “Truly I say to

 3.9- Tears.  Today I saw tears in a newsman's eyes.  He had been seeing some hard things in the life of little children and it seemed to me that he had been affected by what he had seen. Fervent cries and tears help us to know what is deep in the heart and soul. Jesus faced His own death on a cross and cried out if the cup could pass.  It shows us His 100% humanity.  He can understand this when we approach Him. Luke 22. 39  And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.   40  Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them,  “Pray that you do not come into temptation.”   41  And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and  began  to pray,   42  saying,  “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”   43  [ [ n ] Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.   44  And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like d

 3.8- Active waiting. People are aware that something big is about to happen and they are in a time of waiting, but it isn't a time of being idle. Wisdom tells us that waiting should be done with thought and well directed activity. 1. Don't be idle. 2. Warn those who are idle. 3. Warn the disruptive. 4. Encourage the disruptive. 5. Help the weak. 6. Be patient with everyone. 7. Don't pay back wrong with wrong. 8.Make sure others don't pay back wrong with wrong. 9. Rejoice always.  10. Pray continually. 11. Give thanks in all circumstances.  12. Do not quench the spirit. 13. Examine everything. 14. Hold to the good. 15. Abstain from every form of evil. 

 3.7- What is wisdom when war threatens to destroy everything that is important to us? Days come into our lives that beautiful buildings can come tumbling down. During my lifetime there are several days that stand out to me saying things can change rather quickly. 9.11.01 1.6.21 These come to mind immediately. To my mind things were never the same after these dates. One day a few weeks ago everything was normal in Ukraine and then they weren’t. What should we do when war comes? About 2,000 years ago Jesus told His followers that the city they were looking at was going to be torn down. The beautiful buildings and their stones would be a pile of rocks soon. He said watch out for those who use these times to mislead people. He said endurance is the key to surviving. He said that some would need to flee the violence by getting out of the cities. He said that all things pass away, but the word of God would remain. He said to be guarded regarding dissipating your energy on destructive hab