Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

7.9.19 Luke 6. 46  “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47  Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and [ ac ] acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48  he is like a man building a house, who [ ad ] dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the [ ae ] torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49  But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly , is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the [ af ] torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”  Psalm 28. 28  To You, O Lord , I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. 2  Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward [ a ] Your holy sanctuary. 3  Do not drag me away ...

7.8.16 Luke 6. 37  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; [ v ] pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38  Give, and it will be given to you. They will [ w ] pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” 39  And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40  A [ x ] pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will [ y ] be like his teacher. 41  Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will s...

Matthew 23. 37  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38  Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ [ c ] ” My heart is filled with tears. ST PAUL — The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer during a traffic stop fit a longstanding pattern of disparate, unfair and even violent treatment of black people, Minnesota’s governor said Thursday, after millions of people watched the bloody, dying man in a grisly video recorded by his girlfriend and streamed live moments after the shooting. “Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white?” Gov. M ark Dayton asked at a news conference. “I don’t think it would have.” Martin Niemoller wrote Firs...

7.7.16- Luke 6. 17  Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18  who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 19  And all the [ i ] people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. The Beatitudes 20  And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are [ j ] you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21  Blessed are [ k ] you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22  Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23  Be glad in that day and leap for joy , for behold, your reward is great in heav...

7.6.16- 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. 43  “You have heard that it was said, ‘ You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45  so that you may [ ap ] be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47...

7.5.16- Matthew 5. 21  “You have heard that [ k ] the ancients were told, ‘ You shall not commit murder ’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be [ l ] liable to the court.’ 22  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be [ m ] guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘ [ n ] You good-for-nothing,’ shall be [ o ] guilty before [ p ] the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be [ q ] guilty enough to go into the [ r ] fiery hell. 23  Therefore if you are presenting your [ s ] offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24  leave your [ t ] offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [ u ] offering. 25  Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into pris...

Happy Birthday America. The First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In 1993 I traveled to Russia with a group of friends from Denver, Atlanta and other American cities. The people were most gracious and excited to have openness to receive Americans to exchange ideas about what is important in our lives. Our group was there to share the love of Jesus for all nations and all people. The first meeting was in a grand hall of a major university in Barnaul Russia. Thirteen times zones from Denver I was quite shocked to hear some things for the first time. A lady who was a professor of literature told about her grandfather being killed by Stalin along with millions of other Rus...

7.4.16 Matthew 5. 17  “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not [ h ] the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19  Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches [ i ] others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever [ j ] keeps and teaches them , he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20  “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Psalm 23. 23  The Lord is my shepherd, I [ a ] shall not want. 2  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside [ b ] quiet waters. 3  He restores my soul; He guides me in the [ c ] paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4  Even though I walk through the [ d ...

7.3.16- 5  When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the [ a ] mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2  He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3  “ [ b ] Blessed are the [ c ] poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5  “Blessed are the [ d ] gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 6  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10  “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11  “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12...