Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Mark 11. 15  Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [ b ] doves; 16  and He would not permit anyone to carry [ c ] merchandise through the temple. 17  And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘ My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations ’? But you have made it a robbers ’ [ d ] den .” 18  The chief priests and the scribes heard this , and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

Mark 10 46  Then they *came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47  When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48  Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49  And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here .” So they *called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50  Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51  And answering him, Jesus said, “ What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “ [ q ] Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52  And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has [ r ] made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Mark 10. 42  Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43  But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44  and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [ p ] life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10. 23  And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24  The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26  They were even more astonished and said to Him, “ [ h ] Then who can be saved?” 27  Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” 28  Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 29  Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30  [ i ] but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [ j ] the present age...

What successful people do that is different. 1. They look beyond painful moments to future times of joy and blessing. 2. They are aligned with God's purposes and so pray with confidence and positive expectation. 3. They love deeply their family and friends. 4. They develop and grow in self control. 5. They are joyful because they see themselves as living a blessed life. 6. They are willing to make sacrifices in the short term for fruit in the long term. 7. They are loyal to their family, friends and business partners. 8. They are open versus secretive.  What they are is what they are 24/7/365. 9. They consider themselves chosen both for blessings and opportunities to serve. 10. They are extremely confident yet not arrogant. 11. They march to the beat of their own interior drum, not the world's. 12. They are extremely connected to the joy and productivity of this amazing universe. Larry Wishard

Mark 10. 17  As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 18  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19  You know the commandments, ‘ Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness , Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother .’” 20  And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” 21  Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22  But at these words [ g ] he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

Mark 10. 13  And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14  But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15  Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all .” 16  And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

Mark 9. 42  “Whoever causes one of these [ z ] little ones who believe to stumble, it [ aa ] would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he [ ab ] had been cast into the sea. 43  If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into [ ac ] hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44  [ [ ad ] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched . ] 45  If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into [ ae ] hell, 46  [ [ af ] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched . ] 47  If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into [ ag ] hell, 48  where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched . 49  “For everyone will b...