Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 6.19- You Are Called To Be Free                      Rick Warren                                                                      “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free” (Galatians 5:13 NIV). God wants you to live in freedom. Let that sink in for a bit.     Freedom is your calling. God doesn’t want you to live a buttoned-down, constrained life. He wants you to have an abundant life.     Jesus says, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT). If you’re not living a full and satisfying life, it’s not because God doesn’t want you to have it. He wants to set you free from: The pain from your past. This is the regret or resentment that keeps you from being all God wants you to be. The pressures of your present. This is the stress or exhaustion you face trying to manage the complexities of everyday life. The pessimism about tomorrow. These are the worries about your future or the futures of those you love.

 6.18- The Prescription for Justice                           Romans 12:19                            Max Lucado     The Bible says “vengeance is God’s; He will repay” (Romans 12:19).  What a great reminder. Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God.  We tend to give too much or too little, but the God of justice has the precise prescription.  God can discipline your abusive boss. He can soften your angry parent. He can bring your ex to his knees or her senses.      Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we’ve moved on, God is still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies?  That’s God’s job.

 6.17- Memorial Day is Always Humbling                                                              Ron Rose     Not too many years ago, I walked... barefoot on the sands of Normandy--standing alone on awe-inspiring Omaha beach. In the gentle sounds of the waves, I could hear echoes of bullets, exploding shells, and the constant cries of war. I buried my toes deeper in the sand of fear and sacrifice. And, as I walked up and down that sacred place, I was overwhelmed by indebtedness and gratitude.     More than 130,000 troops were crammed onto 1,000 transport ships. None of them wanted to die that morning, but thousands did. They died for my freedom. They died so I could, on this day, choose to come to Norman--free--and wiggle my toes in that sand. They died so I could feel their presence and remember...and so I could say, "Thank you!”     The coastal wall was fortified with tank-top turrets and extensive barbed wire; thousands of mines were set to deter the landing craft and four d

 6.16- To all of you followers of Jesus who are not tall. God does not look at things the way the world does. The world has set itself up to admire those who tall and poised and well dressed even if well dressed today may mean holes in your jeans for some people groups. God is different.   As He told Samuel when He chose king David to be the leader of His people. 1 Samuel 16 7  But  God  told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him .  God  judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face;  God  looks into the heart.” God calls people to be close to Him who are willing to open their heart to Him. Some are tall and some are short and some are medium in height.   God is not impressed with looks and stature.   He doesn’t care if you are male or female, black, white or brown, tall or short, rich or poor, educated formally or not.   City or country.   Rural or urban or suburban.   R

 6.15- The time and place and ways of God’s move of people from earth to heaven seems random to us, but is not away from the power of God.   There is not a sparrow that falls apart from the will of God and there is not a person who moves to heaven apart from God’s awareness.   God is our comforter when we lose a loved one who is moved home at an unusual time from our perspective.   God is the God of all comfort and He comforts us so that we can comfort others. 1 Corinthians 1. 3-5  All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. 6-7  When we su

 6.14- Friends can help us through these times by their prayers.   Paul, the great writer for Jesus, said that people had helped him through hard times by their prayers.   This prayer connection helps us to not feel alone.   We can ask God’s favor for our friends in their work or in their community. 2 Corinthians 1.11 11  if  you also join in  helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by  many persons in our behalf for the favor  granted  to us through  the prayers of  many.   This is why Job’s friends were commended for going over to be with him when he got into such deep hurt and sorrow.   They went to him.   For the first few days they did the right thing by being silent and being there with him. Psalm 119.149 Hear my voice according to Your faithfulness; Revive me,  Lord , according to Your judgments. Psalm 130. 130  Out of the depths I have cried to You,  Lord . 2  Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the sound of my pleadings. 3

 6.13- Suffering and humility must come before maturity.   We must learn not to rely on ourselves and our strength, but upon God’s strength.   This is difficult for most of us humans.   The false gods we make in our hearts must be crushed before God can rebuild us.   The grapes must be crushed before the good wine of God’s goodness can flow out of us.   We must let go of our old life before God can give us His new life in us.   As the Gaither song says, “Sometimes it takes a mountain or a desert to get ahold of us.”   We must learn to give up on being our own god and controlling everything and trust God as our guide and shepherd in life. This is not easy.   Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   What do I mean then by this is not easy.   I mean that human selfishness is our human nature.   We have to let go of this in order to have a great life.   A life that is great is a life of being fruitful and helpful to others. Matthew 11. 28  “Come to Me, all  [ v ] who a