Refreshing Our Spirits With Scripture

4.21- "You can like what you do or dislike what you do. I have chosen to like what I do." Barbara Bush Our family has always chosen to like what we do. This been a gift from God to have joy in our work. Ecclesiastes 6. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.

4.20- "Wherever you are God can be glorified there." Curt Parsons John 9. 9  As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2  And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3  Jesus answered, “ It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4  We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” 6  When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7  and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. 8  Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” 9  Others were saying, “...

4.19- 1 Corinthians 13. 4  Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered , 6  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7  [ b ] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8  Love never fails;

4.18- 1 Thessalonians 5. 12  But we request of you, brethren, that you [ i ] appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you [ j ] instruction, 13  and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 14  We urge you, brethren, admonish the [ k ] unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 16  Rejoice always; 17  pray without ceasing; 18  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19  Do not quench the Spirit; 20  do not despise prophetic [ l ] utterances. 21  But examine everything carefully ; hold fast to that which is good; 22  abstain from every [ m ] form of evil.

4.17- As I meditated on Matthew 15 this morning and prayed for my family of six I wrote some intentions I hoped for our family from my point of view. We go to the wise for guidance and for warning. We are a joyful people who seek to improve our intelligence by seeking knowledge. We don’t play religious word games.  Religious arrogance and conceit are not proper for us. We honor all the members of our family.  We honor the mother and the father.  We honor the grandfather and the grandmother.  How?  By praying for them.  By thinking, “What do they possibly need?”   Can I provide something they want or need.  Then do it. We know that things that are not rooted in God’s wisdom, but that are evil are going to be torn up someday.  It could be on earth in our lifetime, but it might be after our life.  Things that are against God’s plan will be destroyed eventually. Matthew 15. 12  Then the disciples *came and *s...

4.16- I am a follower of Jesus. A disciple. A student. A believer. But I am not as effective as I want to be.   I’m too sweet and too tender.   I sway with the winds of the zestiest, spirit of the age when I should be standing firm. I seek robust spiritual growth for myself. 100 times production in my life. or 60 times production in my life. or 30 times production in my life. Do you expect to be productive? Have you given up on abundant fruitfulness in your life as a student of Jesus.   I hope not. If you have stopped reading the words of Jesus with any faith in him, this message is not really pointed toward you. If you have had a time of testing, trouble and pressure and given up on standing with Jesus words, this message not for you. If you have drifted into worrying constantly about what is going on in your smart phone and your 24/7 news cycle and have stopped your ears from hearing God, then this writing is not for you. Bu...

4.15- Have you been called names.  Did someone call you trouble maker? Matthew 10. 24  “A [ v ] disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25  It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house [ w ] Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!