Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 5.15- Love’s Long Reach                              Psalm 139:1-10                                James Banks      Mary Lee is a sixteen foot, 3,500 pound great white shark tagged by oceanographers off the east coast of the US in 2012. The transmitter attached to her dorsal fin would be tracked by satellite when she surfaced. For the next five years Mary Lee’s movements were observed online by everyone from researchers to surfers, up and down the coast. She was tacked for nearly 40,000 miles until one day her signal stopped – probably because the battery on her transmitter expired.     Human knowledge and technology reach only so far. Those “following” Mary Lee lost track of her, but you and I can never evade God’s awareness throughout every moment of our lives. David prayed, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there:                     (Psalm 139:7-8). “Such kno

 5.14- A Ready Remedy                       Isaiah 53:1-6                                     Amy Peterson     Following the park guide, I scribbled notes as he taught about the plant of the Bahamian primeval forest. He told us which trees to avoid. “The poisonwood tree secretes a black sap that causes a painful, itchy rash. But not to worry! The antidote could usually be found growing right next to it. Cut into the red bark of the gum elemi tree,” he said, “and rub the sap on the rash. It will immediately begin to heal.”     I nearly dropped my pencil in astonishment. I hadn’t expected to find a picture of salvation in the forest. But in the gum elemi tree, I saw Jesus. He’s the ready remedy whenever the poison of sin is found. Like the red bark of that tree, the blood of Jesus brings healing.     The prophet Isaiah understood that humanity needed healing. The rash of sin had infected us. Isaiah promised that our healing would come through “a man of suffering” who would take our

 5.13- I have been amazed in thinking lately about the concept of "finishing strong". I have watched close up the finish of life of my parents and Sheila's parents. They all four had more capacity to teach than I had the ability to learn. Especially when it came to teaching me about suffering. They were experiencing things with their body that I had not experienced and so I did not have the capacity to seek the knowledge they had to give to me. This reminds me of God's knowledge of my need of mercy is greater than my own knowledge of my need of mercy. He is full of mercy. His love is higher than the heavens is the theme of the Psalmist. I recently discovered a song called His mercy is more. Greater than my sin is the mercy of God. God wants all people to be rescued from any bad guilt and shame situation they get themselves into. He only asks us to confess the truth and our need and He provides His amazing grace. So I say again that my parents had more to te

 5.12- Jesus’ vision of who his Father wanted to come to the family celebration surprised a lot of the religious people. He told a story once about some workers getting a surprisingly large payment at the end of the day. There are places where Jesus shows an amazing grace to invite people to paradise with Him. This reminds me that I am not the judge of what God does with people. I can’t see into their hearts and I don’t really know their background but God knows the secrets of their hearts. The rewards that God gives to people in this life and the next are not my business. The work for me to do is to teach and help people to get to know the great love that God has for all them. I was watching the memorial service for a brother who was a great hero of our family and they said his goal in life was to go to heaven and take as many with him as possible. Me too! Matthew 7. 7  “Do not  [ a ] judge, so that you will not be judged.   2  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and  [

 6.11- Push the children of God including yourself, most and firstly yourself to move forward from accepting the grace and mercy of God.   We move forward into service with whatever gifts we have.     Sometimes we serve and complain because others don’t serve in the way we do. Luke 10. 38  Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.   39  And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word.   40  But Martha was distracted with  [ u ] all her preparations; and she came up  to Him  and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving  [ v ] by myself? Then tell her to help me.”   41  But the Lord answered and said to her,  “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;   42  but  only  one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Peter encouraged us to do our work and pre

 5.11-   Who do you turn to when you realize that you have made a bad mistake? That is a critical decision. A friend who: is willing to help me improve the situation instead of saying, “That’s your problem.” Is understanding. Is sympathetic. Is loving. Is compassionate. Is humble. Philippians 2. 2  Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any  [ a ] affection and compassion,   2  make my joy complete  [ b ] by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.   3  Do nothing  [ c ] from  [ d ] selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;   4  do not  merely  look out for your own personal  interests , but also for the  interests  of others.   5  Have this attitude  [ e ] in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,   6  who, as He  already  existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God somethin

 5.10- God is omniscient. All wise. God is omnipotent. All powerful. God is omnipresent. All present. Without beginning or end. Eternal. The great I AM. Genesis 1. 1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.   2  And the earth was a  [ a ] formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the  [ b ] surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the  [ c ] surface of the waters.   3  Then God said, “ [ d ] Let there be light”; and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

 5,9- Birds are singing this morning reminding me that God knows when one falls. He is aware of me and my circumstances. When Mary called for Jesus to come and heal Lazarus she thought He was four days late but He was on time. Through our rear view mirror, we can see the wisdom of His timing. I will join the birds in singing His praise today. Matthew 6. 25  “For this reason I say to you,  [ q ] do not be worried about your  [ r ] life,  as to  what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body,  as to  what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing?   26  Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather  crops  into barns, and  yet  your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?