Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 12.24- It is helpful to be open and transparent. This does not mean we need to blab about all our opinions all the time. Much of our private lives are no one else's business. Meddlers should stop meddling and we should not encourage them. What I am wanting to encourage is that we ask Father for what we want. Like a trusting child we accept that this thing is a desire and knowing it we ask God for it in prayer. Prayer does not tell God something he does not know as much as it tells us what we don't know. Once this desire is made clear to us then it can received sooner or later or the desire for it might go away because we want something else that seems better to us. With honesty we can know we have freely opened our heart to our friend Jesus. We know him. He knows us. A secure feeling. John 15.   5  I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him  [ f ] bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.   6  If anyone does not remain in Me, he

 12.23- There is a balance between truth and grace. Strong people are willing to defer to others, but they are not doormats to wipe your feet on. Where we have family reunions there are times when people start demanding we follow their directions rather than do what we believe is best. This season is a time to pray for wisdom and guidance. Sometimes it best to say nothing and walk away. Later, without anger we may be able to explain our point of view without bitterness. A heart of love speaks words of grace and truth. Ephesians 4. 25  Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood,  speak truth each one  of you  with his neighbor , because we are parts of one another.   26  Be angry, and  yet  do not sin ; do not let the sun go down on your anger,   27  and do not give the devil  [ t ] an opportunity.   28  The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have  something  to share with the one who has need.   29

 12.22- There is a short list of things we are promised to recieve if we ask for them in prayer. Wisdom is one of these. The neat thing about finding our shelter in wisdom instead of in wealth is that wisdom preserves the lives of those who take shelter in it. Trusting wealth may not preserve one's life. Ecclesiastes 7. 12  For wisdom is  [ k ] protection  just as  money is  [ l ] protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom keeps its possessors alive.

 12.21- Every place in every season is beautiful if you know how see it properly. James 1. 17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or  [ p ] shifting shadow.  

 12.20- Visitors from the heart of the great healer. Today I had planned some activities that always lifts my spirit. Going grocery shopping. I was moving in that direction and a big surprise was dropped in on my day. Four guests came over to visit and encourage me and this was even beyond the upbeat day I had planned for myself. One was born in London, age 91. All four were overcomers. Each has a heart story of how to keep going when things get tough. What a day! 2 Corinthians 4. 7  But we have this treasure in  [ e ] earthen containers, so that the extraordinary  greatness  of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;   8  we are  afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;   9  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;   10  always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.   11  For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that

 12.19- I saw a couple of people interviewed these weekend who really impressed me. A 100 year old inventor who said that it was his work inventing toys that drew families together that kept him excited about life. He was described as an optimist. His next toy invention he expected to be his best. A lady got her bachelor's degree at age 73 but still felt she had more work to do. She got her Masters at age 90 and got a new job starting the next day. She said any day she didn't learn something was not a good day. About 3,000 years ago these words were written "they shall still bear fruit in old age."" Psalm 92. 12  The righteous person will  [ h ] flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13  Planted in the house of the  Lord , They will flourish in the courtyards of our God. 14  They will still  [ i ] yield fruit in advanced age; They will be  [ j ] full of sap and very green, 15  To  [ k ] declare that the  Lord  is just; He is  my rock,

 12.18- God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves. Many of the characters he uses to teach us lessons were not successful winners. They were broken people who could be honest with themselves and God and keep going. I watched an interview with a woman who is a quadriplegic for 56 years describing her life with God. "The depths of God's joy comes in deep affliction. God shares his joy on his own terms. Suffering chronic pain is the gash through which grace flows. Agony bringing ecstacy transcends logic. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed." Romans 5. 5  Therefore, having been justified by faith,  [ a ] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   2  through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and  [ b ] we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.   3  And not only  this , but  [ c ] we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;   4  and persev