Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

Matthew 2. 2  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, [ a ] magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2  “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3  When Herod the king heard this , he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the [ b ] Messiah was to be born. 5  They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written [ c ] by the prophet: 6  ‘ And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah , Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah ; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel .’” 7  Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them [ d ] the exact time the star appeared. 8  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you ha...

10   Steps in Praying for the Healing of Your Nation 1.        Don’t give up. Pray. Luke 18.1-3 2.        Pray bothersome, persistent prayers to God. Luke 18.4-14 3.        When you feel frustrated and angry toward others, examine yourself and discipline yourself. 4.        Feel the pain of guilt if you have failed. 5.        Be humble and downcast when you feel downcast. 6.        Do not beat up others. Focus on self discipline and leadership to something better. 7.        Be careful to make sure your personal prayers to God are honest. 8.        Be ready to think and know you are cleared from your failure and ready to be used for good. 9.        Believe that all things are possible with God e...

John 3. 22  After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23  John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24  for John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25  Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. 26  And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27  John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. 28  You yourselves [ g ] are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the [ h ] Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the ...

John 3. 3  Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2  this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [ a ] signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3  Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [ b ] again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4  Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7  Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [ c ] again.’ 8  The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where...

How can we as Jesus followers respond to the events in Orlando?   Having walked closely with the Aurora shooting victims who were neighbors and friends I am deeply moved by all these events. I read something this week written by Vince Vitale that resonated with me. How can we as Jesus followers respond to the events in Orlando?   1. Tears. Until we have cried with the victims we should have nothing to say. Period. Then we must call this evil.   Some wish to philosophically say there is really no such thing as evil. There is. We must repent of not challenging those who say that there is no such thing as evil. We must double down on the reality that every single life is valuable and worth protecting.   Our love for all humans must be unconditional if we follow Jesus.   For all of us sinners Jesus preferred to die rather than watch us die. 2. We must stand strong together that it is never okay to treat people as anything other than sacred...

John 1. 18  The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us [ g ] as your authority for doing these things?” 19  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this [ h ] temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20  The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this [ i ] temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21  But He was speaking of the [ j ] temple of His body. 22  So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 23  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25  and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. Psalm  5  Give ear to my words, O Lord , Consider my [ b ] groaning. 2  ...

John 2. 2  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2  and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4  And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, [ a ] what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5  His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6  Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing [ b ] twenty or thirty gallons each. 7  Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8  And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the [ c ] headwaiter.” So they took it to him . 9  When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegro...

John 1. 35  Again the next day John was standing [ z ] with two of his disciples, 36  and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38  And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39  He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the [ aa ] tenth hour. 40  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41  He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means [ ab ] Christ). 42  He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of [ ac ] John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated [ ad ] Peter). 43...

  I remind myself on this sad day for my country when a hateful "religious" man killed 49 people. I will ask God to help me.. to draw near to comfort and support the lowly and broken down and mourning. to stop being so wise in my own estimation. to never pay back evil for evil. to be at peace with all men. to never take revenge. to be a blessing to my enemies. to not be overcome with evil, but will overcome evil with good. Larry Wishard 6.13.16 Matthew 5. “ 38  “You have heard that it was said, ‘ An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth .’ 39  But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40  If anyone wants to sue you and take your [ am ] shirt, let him have your [ an ] coat also. 41  Whoever [ ao ] forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42  Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. ...