Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

4.8-Forgiveness is a tool that we have to help our lives that our enemy the evil one does not have. Jesus reminds us that we must forgive others in order to be forgiven.   God has blessed us and we should bless others.   Because God has provided for us we should provide forgiveness to others and we will receive the greatest blessing of all, forgiveness.   Grace and mercy flowing out from God into our minds and hearts will truly transform us. Matthew 6. 9  “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10  your kingdom come, your will be done,     on earth as it is in heaven. 11  Give us today our daily bread. 12  And forgive us our debts,     as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13  And lead us not into temptation, [ a ]     but deliver us from the evil one. [ b ] ’ 14  For if you forgive other people when they sin against...

4.7 Psalm 84 [ a 10  Better is one day in your courts      than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God      than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11  For the Lord God is a sun and shield;      the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold      from those whose walk is blameless. 12  Lord Almighty,      blessed is the one who trusts in you. m 84. I Stand at the Door By Sam Shoemaker (from the Oxford Group) I stand by the door. I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out. The door is the most important door in the world - It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There is no use my going way inside and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the...

4.7- The virtue of fire, stamina, desire and perseverance is hard to overestimate.   Granted zeal can be misdirected, but apathy and laziness is an even worse problem it seems to me.   God changed the zeal of Moses and Paul from something bad into something good. John 2. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14  In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15  So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16  To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17  His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” [ c Romans 12. 19  Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5. 19  Do not quench the Spirit.

To the family and friends of Max Sommer, I am sorry for your loss.  He was a great friend of my wife and I who served with Max and Lisbeth at the SE church in Aurora Colorado, but also a close friend of ours. I am attaching this note and perhaps the minister there or others might be willing to share a bit of it with those present at the celebration if they wish to do so. Again thanks for emailing us. Love, Larry and Sheila WISHARD Max Sommer, one of most amazing people I have ever met. I went to my computer about 10.20pm ,4.6.17, and read for the first time of Max’s death.   I had not spoken to Max in about a year.   I knew he had moved to Grand Junction and that he had some health problems. I first met max in about 1984 or 1985 when he and a group of friends from Castle Rock were going through some hard times due to a church transition and they needed some encouragement and wanted to help a church in the Denver suburbs.   The group chose to help wa...

4.6 Blessed are the peacemakers.   Matthew 5. 9  Blessed are the peacemakers,     for they will be called children of God. John Petree was a good friend of mine who had flown out of NE America to drop bombs on Russia if needed in a war situation.   After he left this work, as a follower of Jesus, he was always interested in reaching Russians with the good news of Jesus instead of the bad news of a nuclear war.   He found out about some friends going to Russia in 1993 for an outreach mission.   We made arrangements to join a group from Atlanta. As we flew over Greenland I remember him looking down at it and saying the memories he had of flying over it many times to protect our nation. We found the people there interested in meeting Americans and learning about our attitudes toward Russians.   We had great studies in the library of a major university.   John kept asking to meet someone from Russia who ha...

4.5- The temptation before the temptation is to not be led by the Spirit of God.  If you are led by the Spirit of God there will be times in the desert. Matthew 4. 4  Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [ a ] by the devil.

4.4- Jesus pushes us for positive change.  Those who love us do as well.  Those whom God loves, God disciplines. Proverbs 3. My son, do not despise the Lord ’s discipline,      and do not resent his rebuke, 12  because the Lord disciplines those he loves,      as a father the son he delights in. [ b ] Jesus and His cousin John pushed for positive turn arounds Matthew 3. 3  In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2  and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,      make straight paths for him.’” [ a ] 4  John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5  People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the...

4.3- What kind of God do you serve? In the Bible it is often mentioned that there are many false religions as well as many that are outdated and fulfilled in a later agreement or New Testament, New Covenant. Pure religion is rare.  It is in fact to keep one separate from the evil world and busy serving the widows and orphans.  This is the nature of our God. 1 Peter 5. 6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you st...

4.2- If you have a child or a grandchild whom you are praying for I hope you will keep in mind the attitude Jesus spoke of in the parable of the prodigal son.    Luke 15. 17  “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20  So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Give them space and freedom to learn either in the hard way or an easier way. It takes different things for different people. Pray and look for them to come home to God and to you if you are a parent or grandparent who...

4.2- 2 Timothy 2. 1-7 2  You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3  Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4  No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5  Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6  The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7  Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. For those concerned about how to develop Men of God I like what Dudley Hall wrote on his web site in speaking of his book Men in Their Own Skin Our world needs men and not just a few of them. We don't need any kind of man...