Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

5.29- Human beings are not creatures of instinct. We have free will. We hear that God is love and He teaches us how to multiply good things.What we sow is what we reap. 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.”

 5.28- Take Jesus at His Word When it comes to healing our spiritual condition, we don’t have a            chance. We might as well be told to pole-vault to the moon.                         We don’t have what it takes to be healed. Our only hope is that God               will do for us what He did for the man at Bethesda – that He will step             out of the temple and step into our ward of hurt and helplessness.            Which is exactly what He has done . . . .                                                     I wish we would take Jesus at His word   . . . .                                                When He says we’re forgiven, let’s unload the guilt.                                               When He says we’re valuable, let’s believe Him.                                                    God’s efforts are strongest when our efforts are useless. Max Lucado  

 5.27-       In Love Letters from God, Glenys Nellist invites children to interact with the Lord in a deeply personal way. These children’s books include a note from God with a space for the child’s name to be inserted after each Bible story. Personalizing scriptural truth helps young readers understand that the Bible isn’t a storybook. They’re being taught that the Lord wants a relationship with them and that He speaks to His greatly loved children through the Scriptures.                                                                                                                                                 I bought a book for my nephew and filled in the blanks in the beginning of every note from God. Delighted when he recognized his name, my nephew said, “God loves me too!” What a comfort to know the deeply and completely personal love of our loving Creator.       When God spoke to the Israelites directly through the prophet Isaiah, He called their attention to the heavens.

 5.26- When Billy Graham was 92 years-old, he was struggling with Parkinson's disease. In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.' So he agreed.                After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said:                                                                                                  "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Eins

 5.25- Do you know what you want? Do you believe this God's will? Boldly ask your Father for it. Believe you have received it. If you hold anything against anyone forgive them so your Father in heaven will forgive you. Enjoy your life as a child of God. Mark 11. 20  As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots  up .   21  And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.”   22  And Jesus answered and *said to them,  “Have faith in God.   23  Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be  granted  to him.   24  Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be  granted  to you.   25  And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in hea

 5.24- When I walk as a lame, aged walker, it is best to pray for level ground with no rocks. I need to be alert in my heart to receive any hardship as a form of spiritual and athletic training. A discipline, put together for me by my physical therapist and healer, Jesus and His team. Great athletes love hard training. Lord, help me to delight in training. Weaknesses. Hardship. Difficulty. Amen. Hebrews 12. 4  You have not yet resisted  [ c ] to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;   5  and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “ My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord , Nor   faint when you are punished by Him ; 6  For   whom the Lord loves He disciplines , And He punishes every son whom He accepts .” 7  It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom  his  father does not discipline?   8  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then

 5.23- Our hope, because our God is a God of grace, is that we will be restored to our strength after a time of suffering a set back. How many times have we been healed. Our bodies were built to heal. For example I learned in teaching biology that blood is made to clot when a wound is opened. Blood thinners work against this so we were created to recover. So if you have been injured look forward to restoration. 1 Peter 5. 10  After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen,  and  establish  you .   11  To Him  be  dominion forever and ever. Amen.