Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 8.7- Finding Life                            John 14:5-14                                  Poh Fang Chia     The words of Ravi’s father cut deep. “You’re a complete failure. You’re an embarrassment to the family.” Compared to his talented siblings, Ravi was viewed as a disgrace. He tried excelling in sports, and he did, but he still felt like a loser. He wondered. What is going to become of me? Am I a complete failure? Can I get out of life some way, painlessly? These thoughts haunted him, but he talked to no one. That simply wasn’t done in his culture. He had been taught to “keep your private heartache private; keep your collapsing world propped up.”     So Ravi struggled alone. Then while he was recovering in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt, a visitor brought him a Bible opened to John 14. His mother read these words of Jesus to Ravi: “Because I live, you also will live” (v. 19). This may be my only hope, he thought. A new way of living. Life as defined by the Author of

 8.6-   A Treasure to be Shared                      II Corinthians 4:1-7                            Bill Crowder     In March 1974, Chinese farmers were digging a well when they made a surprising discovery. Buried under the dry ground of central China was the Terracotta Army – life-size terracotta sculptures that dated back to the third century BC. In this extraordinary find were some 8,000 soldiers, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots drawn by 520 horses. The Terracotta Army has become one of the most popular tourist sites in China, attracting over a million visitors annually. This amazing treasure lay hidden centuries but is now being shared with the world.     The apostle Paul wrote that followers of Christ have a treasure inside them that is to be shared with the world: “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT). The treasure inside us is the message of Christ and His love.

 8.5- Put Down Your Burdens                       Matthew 11:25-30                       Lawrence Darmai     A man driving his pickup truck on a country track saw a woman carrying a heavy load, so he stopped and offered her a lift. The woman expressed her gratitude and climbed into the back of the truck.     A moment later, the man noticed a strange thing: the woman was still holding onto her heavy load despite sitting in the vehicle! Astonished, he pleaded, “Please, Madam, put down your load and take your rest. My truck can carry you and your stuff. Just relax.”     What do we do with the load of fear, worry and anxiety we often carry as we go through life’s many challenges? Instead of relaxing in the Lord, I sometimes behave like that woman. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are wear and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), yet I’ve caught myself carrying burdens I should offload onto Jesus.     We put down burdens when we bring them to the Lord in prayer.

 8.4- Believe something is possible and amazing things can happen. Helen Keller was blind, but she believed she could do amazing things in spite of this and look what happened. Here some amazing things that blind people have done. Blind race car driver? Yes. Blind painter? Yes. Blind architect? Yes. Blind musician? Yes. Blind mountain climber? Yes. How can this be? It requires someone who believes in God and can see the unseen. Jesus was one who believed in His heavenly Father and taught us to pray to Him. He also taught that in for prayer to work properly we must believe, receive, pray without doubting and forgive everyone of anything they have done to us. Then we can receive a blessing that is beyond imagination. Do you believe in God though you cannot see Him? Have you seen people help you in amazing ways who have seen Him carry them through hard times? I have. If you don’t love your neighbor whom you can see, how can you say you love God whom you cannot see? We have neighbor

 8.3- We have partners in our life. Golden rule partners. Our retirement advisor has been with us for twenty five years. Our primary food source grocer has served us for at least forty years. Our pharmacy druggist has watched over us for nine years. Our doctor retired after five years and the next one is a great lady with two children who serves us on her day off. Yesterday one of our business partners called to say that I accidently left my credit card over there. We might want to come get it. These partners are honest and fair. They use the golden rule that Jesus gave. They treat people the way they want to be treated. For 2022 years this principle has guided great partnerships. One of our partners replies to my thanks for his help. "It's my pleasure.". What a country. My parents were farmers, ranchers and meat market workers. They taught me by example. You will never regret treating people right. I'm thankful my kids and grandkids have jobs in a free count

 8.2- I just heard a man who was out in the community mixing with people very different from himself. He said that a project connected to his church had gotten him out into new areas meeting and being greeted by people very different from himself. He made the point that door opener to the friendships had been some service projects for their church. Churches, if lead by Jesus Christ, are very diverse. The people there do not all have the same background of opinions on things. Jesus went to a mountain to pray about who should be the guys who would travel with Him and be trained by Him. He picked guys who were very different. Matthew was a tax collector. Simon the Zealot was from a group that were known for hating tax collectors. Jesus has followers who have different opinions about many things. Don McGlaughlin was right when he wrote: "True Christian fellowship is not the gathering of like-minded people who enjoy mutual admiration, like "birds of a feather flocking tog

 8.1- Human beings have limits. You can usually go further than others think you can. You may go further than you originally thought you could. But all humans have limits. Put your oxygen mask on before the children. Self care should not be selfish, but it is necessary. My verse of the day was reminding me that God does not give a spirit of fear but of love, power and self control. I like what Shad. Mec. Abid. Said "God may save us or he may not save us but we will serve no other god." Daniel 3. 3  King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, [ a ]  and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.   2  He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.   3  So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for t