Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Bob Hines, a close friend who was a Navy pilot gone to be with the Lord now. During the night I sometimes wake up and cannot go back to sleep.  Last night I watched a military history show and they were interviewing a WWII soldier.  He recounted a time when under great fire they lost eighty one men in the platoon of a hundred.  The nineteen were moving out and he heard a sound from one of the soldiers whom he thought was dead.  It was his sargent.  He went to his side to hear him say, "Scoop, you're not going to leave me out here are you?"  The back of his head had been blown open.  At this point the old man stopped to try to keep himself from crying.  "I got out a bandage and put his head back together as best I could.  I picked him up and helped him to walk with me and we made it to a medic station.  I never saw him again." John 12. 23  And Jesus *answered them, saying, “ The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glo...

Mark 9. 38  “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” 39  “Do not stop him,”  Jesus said.  “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,   40  for whoever is not against us is for us.   41  Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Mark 9. 33  They came to Capernaum.  When he was in the house,  he asked them,  “What were you arguing about on the road?”   34  But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35  Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,  “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36  He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms,  he said to them,   37  “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Mark 9 21  Jesus asked the boy’s father,  “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered.   22  “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23  “‘If you can’?”  said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

I am not supposed to write this until later this year but.... I am full of thanksgiving. Some of the things I will write about here may be things that you don't know personally and some of you have also experienced these. I am thankful for -Good mental and physical health. -America, the home of the brave and the land of the free.  Here I was given a free, public education.  I learned to read and think for myself without having to follow dictators and religious bigots. -Scriptures.  For thousands of years people have done what they could do to preserve and translate the words of Jesus into my own language. -Family and friends who have shown me an example of how to live a great life with as few regrets as possible. -A wife, children and grandchildren who cause my cup to overflow. -My friends who are a lifeboat. -Training and open doors for me to work as a teacher/minister/writer. -Pick-me-ups after I have fallen down which has given me resilience. T...

Mark 9. 2  Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and [ a ] James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3  and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4  Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5  Peter *said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three [ b ] tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6  For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7  Then a cloud [ c ] formed, overshadowing them, and a voice [ d ] came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, [ e ] listen to Him!” 8  All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

Mark 8. 31  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32  And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33  But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on [ s ] God’s interests, but man’s.” 34  And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35  F or whoever wishes to save his [ t ] life will lose it, but whoever loses his [ u ] life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37  For what will a man give in exchange for his soul ? 38  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words i...

Mark 8. 27  Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28  They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29  And He continued by questioning them, “ But who do you say that I am?” Peter *answered and *said to Him, “You are [ q ] the Christ.” 30  And He [ r ] warned them to tell no one about Him.

Mark 8. 22  And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him. 23  Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24  And he [ o ] looked up and said, “I see men, for [ p ] I see them like trees, walking around.” 25  Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26  And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”