Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Thoughts about the terrorist attack in Paris and the prediction by some that we approach WWIII How do foolish people talk in times of war and destruction? They say “peace is here”.   They say, “things are getting better.”   They say we can fix this with money and weapons when this is really a war of ideas.   Freedom and liberty versus war, violence and hate.   Freedom of boys and girls to go to school, versus the idea that little girls don’t need to go to school.   These are not the same ideas.   They are the opposite.   Don’t be fooled.   Freedom and openness is the opposite of religious fundamentalism. Believe it. Is it wrong to complain against God for the burden of war through the centuries? No. Great Bible heroes have always freely voiced their complaints to God.   I recently went to the Grand Canyon and noticed how water erodes rock.   Job said that God wore him down the same way. Who reigns?   Who is over a...

John 10. 11  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

John 10. 6-10  Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

John 10. 10  1-5  “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

John 9. 35  Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36  “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37  Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38  Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39  Jesus said, [ a ] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40  Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41  Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

John 9. 24  A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25  He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26  Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27  He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28  Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29  We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30  The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31  We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes ...

John 9. 17  Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 18  They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19  “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20  “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21  But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23  That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

John 9. 13  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14  Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16  Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.