Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

 7.12- Religion without grace can become toxic and do more harm than good. It can make people elitist,, arrogant and isolated. But pure religion is based on God's grace to all of us messed up people. Then we can help each other to become all we can be. James 1 26  Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.   27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

 7.11- I just watched a little boy walking through a mall where he saw a vending machine. A claw for prizes. He decided to crawl in to get something from the bottom. He got trapped in the machine and instead of him grabbing something the machine grabbed him. This is our lives as humans. Like a fly and fly paper. The fly thinks, " I got you." The fly paper says to the fly " I have you." Things as our servants are good, but if we let them become our masters it's a claw machine trap. Money. Use money don't love money. Business. Religion. Overdone it becomes a trap. 1 Timothy 6 These are the things you are to teach and insist on.   3  If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,   4  they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions   5...

 7.10- On this day twelve years ago Sheila, Jared and I drove from Aurora CO. to Las Vegas New Mexico.  We were ending 30 years of living in our home there.  Jared had spent every holiday with us in that house and so we had some departure sadness.  But on the other hand we had a two day road trip to our new home in Texas.   We stopped in Albaqurke sp NM for a night and a soccer game between Mexico and Colorado.  It was very memorable and as I sit her tonight I am thankful for the many new memories we have in our home in Texas. Each step of the way in our moves we have felt God was guiding us as a shepherd.  What great memories.  Psalm 23 Psalm 23 A psalm of David. 1  The  Lord  is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2       He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3       he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths   ...

 7.9- Pass it on. I was blessed to go to Christian camp as a youth. They showed a video of some survivors of camp Mystic on a bus singing: "It only takes a spark to get a fire going. And Soon all those around can warm up in it's glowing. I'll shout it from the mountaintop. I want my world to know The Lord of love has come to me. I want to pass it on." How can bad things happen to people spreading God's love? I don't know, but I know God is love. And I know He is the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1 3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,   4  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.   5  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.   6  If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are c...

 7.8- Children sent to camp came learn of God's love Killed by a flood. A voice is heard in Ramah Weeping and great mourning Rachel weeping for her children And refusing to be comforted Because they are no more. God sent his son into this kind of world. This why I weep And my eyes overflow with tears See Lord, how distressed i am! I am in torment within, My groans are many I am worn out with groaning I drenched my bed with tears My eyes grow weak with sorrow Let your tears flow like a river Day and night Give yourself no relief, Your eyes no rest. Arise, cry out in the night, As the watches of the night began, Pour out your heart like water In the presence of the Lord Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children Matthew 2 13  When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14...