Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

7.16 John 6. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 6  Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2  and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3  Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4  The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5  When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7  Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages [ a ] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9  “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10  Jesus said, “Have the people...

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln James 3 13-16  Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom?  Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats. 17-18  Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust c...

7.15 Luke 4. Luke 4 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness 4  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2  where for forty days he was tempted [ a ] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ [ b ] ” 5  The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7  If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ [ c ] ” 9  The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the ...

7.14- Matthew 25. 31  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38  When did we see you a strange...

7.13 Matthew 25. 14  “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, [ a ] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19  “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of m...

Matthew 12. 7  If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ [ a ] you would not have condemned the innocent.   I have been journaling out my own feelings for about forty years. The reason I started doing this was for my own mental health. It started with some crisis situations that I felt I had handled in an inappropriate way that made me want to quit trying to be a "people-helper". Some these thoughts have been shared at times in an effort to try to help others. Dallas policeman, Major Max Geron did the same regarding the Dallas shooting and he asks that those of us who want to understand would read and share. I do so today. Larry Wishard, 7.12.16 July 9, 2016 Reflections by a Dallas police officer Filed under: General Homeland Security — by Christopher Bellavita on July 9, 2016 Max Geron is a Major in the Dallas Police Department. He wrote this. “Hey man this is Reuben. I don’t know if you heard but there’s a city-wide a...

7.12 Matthew 25. 25  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2  Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6  “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7  “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10  “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And th...

7.11- Matthew 15. 15  Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3  Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ [ a ] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ [ b ] 5  But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6  they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8  “‘These people honor me with their lips,      but their hearts are far from me. 9  They worship me in vain;      their teachings are merely human rules...

7.10- Matthew 8. 8  When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2  A man with leprosy [ a ] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4  Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” The Faith of the Centurion 5  When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6  “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7  Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 8  The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I t...