Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

My New Year’s Visions My normal thoughts in the morning were diverted because I ended my own yearly devotional book one day before the year ended.  I decided to think about daily renewal instead of yearly renewal.  I believe that I don't need new year's resolutions as much as a new daily vision.  So I meditated upon what I had learned from some important people. This is a new day. A new month. A new year So here goes. I will accept my failure as a writer for writing in first person too often. I see myself this way: I will set my own attitude for each day.  It will not be set by anything or anyone except God and His love inside my heart.  Period. I see myself building up people in new ways.  I plan to encourage the timid people and to be merciful with people who live in cynicism and doubt. I have a clear view of me being able to handle awkward moments when I don't agree with people I love and respect.  Some of these are respected family members and some...

John 20.10 11  Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12  and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13  They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14  At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15  He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16  Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17  Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God a...

John 19. 38  Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39  He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. [ e ] 40  Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41  At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 20. 20  Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2  So she came running to Sim...

John 19. 28  Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31  Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32  The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33  But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34  Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudd...

1 John 4. 20  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. Matthew 9. 9  As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10  While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12  On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy , not sacrifice.’ [ a ] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Isaiah 1. ...

John 19. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18  There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19  Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth , the king of the jews . 20  Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21  The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22  Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 23  When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24  “Let’s not...

I've got some good news for you. Here is something that Jesus has taught that most all who read His life would agree upon. Life does not end with death.  There is a possible reunion eventually with those who have died. Jesus knew the names of His students when He was here and He connected with them personally.  He was not some distant figure known through a television screen or radio, but a personal teacher.  He knew and knows His sheep personally. We can gradually learn to hold people both tightly and lightly. Near the time for our movement to heaven to go back home to be with our heavenly Father there are people who get anxious to move there. The other side is presented to us as a blessing like a wedding banquet or something else that is beautiful and wonderful. "A better place." If we do our work properly there will be a spirit of forgiveness and grace that turns bad situations into better situations. If you are a Thomas type who lays down "unless...

John 19. 19  Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2  The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3  and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. 4  Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5  When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6  As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” 7  The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” 8  When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9  and he...

John 18. 28  Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29  So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” 30  “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” 31  Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32  This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. 33  Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34  “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” 35  “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you...

John 18. 25  Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” 26  One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27  Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

John 18. 19  Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20  “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21  Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” 22  When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded. 23  “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24  Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

John 18. 15  Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16  but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17  “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” 18  It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

John 18. 10  Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11  Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” 12  Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13  and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14  Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.

John 18. 18  When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. 2  Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3  So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. 4  Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5  “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6  When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7  Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. 8  Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9  This happened s...

John 17. 20  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23  I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24  “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25  “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26  I have made you [ e ] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may...

John 17. 13  “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17  Sanctify them by [ d ] the truth; your word is truth. 18  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

John 17. 6  “I have revealed you [ a ] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9  I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of [ b ] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by [ c ] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would ...

John 17. 17  After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4  I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 16. 25  “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26  In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27  No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28  I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 29  Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30  Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31  “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32  “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33  “I hav...

John 16. 16  Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17  At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’ ?” 18  They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’ ? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19  Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20  Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born i...

John 16. 12  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14  He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15  All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 16. 16  “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2  They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3  They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4  I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5  but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6  Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7  But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8  When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9  about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10  abou...

In Memory of  Irv Eggert When I moved to Denver Colorado in 1977 I got to know Irv and Vera Eggert.   Irv was a man then who loved the church and loved the Bible and truly respected those who were serious about their walk with the Lord. A bit later Irv was involved in helping to start a new congregation in Denver and in that context I was blessed to work with Irv for about twenty five years.   I was the minister at the SE church of Christ in Aurora and Irv and his wife Vera were actively helping to make the congregation the best it could be for God’s glory.   They opened their home to small groups and worked at building up the people of all ages.   They “adopted” several different families who needed and wanted a deeper relationship with God and with each other in Jesus Christ. Irv was great at visiting people.   He visited visitors to church services.   He visited people in hospitals.   He reached out to anyone who needed encoura...

John 15. 26  “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27  And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

John 15. 18  “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20  Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ [ b ] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21  They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23  Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24  If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25  But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reaso...

John 15. 15  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [ a ] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9  “As the Father ...

John 14. 28  “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29  I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30  I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31  but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.

John 14. 25  “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.