Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Mark 12. 41  And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting [ u ] money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42  A poor widow came and put in two [ v ] small copper coins, which amount to a [ w ] cent. 43  Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [ x ] the contributors to the treasury; 44  for they all put in out of their [ y ] surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [ z ] all she had to live on.”

Mark 12 38  In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39  and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40  who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Has Christianity died? It looks dark...but Mark 15. 3  When the [ o ] sixth hour came, darkness [ p ] fell over the whole land until the [ q ] ninth hour. Acts 7. 57  But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58  When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him ; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59  They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60  Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [ ag ] fell asleep. Matthew 5. 13  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how [ e ] can it be made salty again ? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Luke 13. 18  So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and...

Mark 12. 28  One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [ q ] foremost of all?” 29  Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘ Hear , O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord ; 30  and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength .’ 31  The second is this, ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself .’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32  The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him ; 33  and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself , is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34  When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After th...

Mark 12. 24  Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [ n ] understand the Scriptures or the power of God?

I had a friend who recently was frustrated because I didn't write and post certain things that I would discuss with my inner circle in private. The reason is this: There are news stories that get a lot of heat, more heat than light, in the mainstream media or social media that I am not sure what to say. I have a life in two places.  A life in the world and a life among the Christians.  With my Christian friends I know where they stand on things generally, but with the world I have no idea about where they are.  I will leave comments about the world to God or Jesus or someone else.  I will try not to meddle in God's business with the world. I will comment on things I know for sure from my own experiences in my 68 years of life. I want to be excellent in the way I handle suffering in this world. I want to move away from focusing on human desires. I want to live for the will of God. I have wasted enough time doing things pagans do. (Make your own list or find o...

Mark 12. 13  Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14  They *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [ e ] defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it [ f ] lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15  Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [ g ] denarius to look at.” 16  They brought one . And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17  And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they [ h ] were amazed at Him.

Mark 12. 6  “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7  “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’   8  So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9  “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.   10  Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected      has become the cornerstone; 11  the Lord has done this,      and it is marvelous in our eyes’ [ a ] ?” 12  Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;  so they left him and went away.

It's Palm Sunday according to some Calendars and Easter Approaches. The evidence causes me to believe the tomb of Jesus was empty. I was thinking this morning of things that increase my belief. -His support for me in my times of weeping. -Telling others how Jesus has supported me and others. -Gathering with other believers to worship Him. -Peace that passes understanding in the hardest of times. -Being filled with the Holy Spirit. -Receiving forgiveness and passing it on and moving on. -Feeling the broken places and the scars on my friends who follow Him and seeing their faith. -Receiving a touch or uplift from Jesus through His servants in a surprising way at a surprising time. These things increase my belief and make me look forward to Easter on this Palm Sunday. Larry Wishard

Mark 11 22  “Have faith in God,”  Jesus answered.   23  “Truly [ f ]  I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.   25  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”   [26]  [ g ]